Workplace English language training programs represent a corporate investment in language skills enhancement and human capital development. This book evaluates English language training programs in Chinese workplaces by examining a range of training effectiveness variables and identifying the factors that facilitate or hinder effective learning outcomes for workplace English training programs and explores the potential benefits of these programs. This book will benefit both companies that are developing their training and development strategies and private training organizations that are developing training programs for particular industry and business needs. It will also be an excellent resource for learners who are seeking business English communication skills opportunities and trainers who are refining their workplace teaching practice. This book reiterates the significance of business English communication skills development programs in terms of the benefits to economic globalization, human capital development, employability, sustainable livelihoods, and lifelong learning in China. Having conducted a policy evaluation at both the national and local levels, this book also informs policy stipulation for corporate employee language training schemes. Although this book primarily examines corporate experience in China, the findings and recommendations will have important implications for other countries in Asia and worldwide.

New 2014 updated technology plan. This book is a valuable resource for workplace language training providers as well as corporations and organizations wishing to employ such providers' services. It serves as a guide to promote quality and accountability among providers. This book also offers insights that enable providers and client organizations to develop realistic expectations for their workplace language training programs. The practices outlined in this text are illustrated with useful case studies drawn from successful English language training situations.

The authors integrate ideas and examples that reflect new ways of thinking about workplace education.

Mastering the American Accent is an easy-to-follow approach for reducing the accent of non-native speakers of English. Well-sequenced lessons in the book correspond over eight hours of audio files covering the entire text. The audio program provides clear models (both male and female) to help coach a standard American accent. The program is designed to help users speak Standard American English with clarity, confidence, and accuracy. The many exercises in the book concentrate on topics such as vowel sounds, problematic consonants such as V, W, TH, the American R and T and others. Correct lip and tongue positions for all sounds are discussed in detail. Beyond the production of sounds, the program provides detailed instruction in prosodic elements such as syllable stress, emphasis, intonation, linking words for smoother speech flow, common word contractions, and much more. Additional topics that often confuse ESL students are also discussed and explained. They include distinguishing between casual and formal speech, homophones (e.g., they're and there), recognizing words with silent letters (e.g., comb, receipt), and avoiding embarrassing pronunciation mistakes, such as mixing up "pull" and "pool." Students are familiarized with many irregular English spelling rules and exceptions, and are shown how such irregularities can contribute to pronunciation errors. A native language guide references problematic accent issues for 13 different language backgrounds. Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.

This two volume handbook provides a comprehensive examination of policy, practice, research and theory related to English Language Teaching in international contexts. More than 70 chapters highlight the research foundation for best practices, frameworks for policy decisions, and areas of consensus and controversy in second language acquisition and pedagogy. The Handbook provides a unique resource for policy makers, educational administrators, and researchers concerned with meeting the increasing demand for effective English language teaching. It offers a strongly socio-cultural view of language learning and teaching. It is comprehensive and global in perspective with a range of fresh new voices in English language teaching research.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE brings to students, researchers and practitioners in all of the social and language-related sciences carefully selected book-length publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings and applications. It approaches the study of language in society in its broadest sense, as a truly international and interdisciplinary field in which various approaches, theoretical and empirical, supplement and complement each other. The series invites the attention of linguists, language teachers of all interests, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, historians etc. to the development of the sociology of language.