Chinese MBA Students’ Perceptions of Business English Writing: Needs Analysis and Student Self-Reflections

Abstract

Despite the steady growth in the recruitment and education of MBA students in China, there is a dearth of research on MBA students’ perceptions of Business English Writing (BEW) in this context. This paper conducts a qualitative inquiry into Chinese MBA students’ perceptions of BEW in English as a foreign language context in China. Forty-four MBA students of a ten-week BEW course participated in this study. An open-ended questionnaire was used near the end of the course to elicit their work-related writing needs, self-reflections on BEW abilities, and perceptions of the BEW course. A focus group was conducted with six students to provide insights into the students’ work-related writing experience. The results showed that the students’ work-related writing needs differed in terms of their respective job positions, with those working in foreign-funded enterprises or joint ventures having more job-related demands to write in English than those working at state-owned enterprises. Moreover, the students generally regarded their BEW abilities as moderately good or low, with distinct expectations of the BEW course raised. Pedagogic implications were drawn for improving BEW course in the Chinese context.