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Abstract

The acquisition of pragmatic competence in the workplace is the ultimate goal for business Chinese learners. Whether the business Chinese textbooks and instructional materials can meet the language needs of different workplaces in China has a close bearing on the quality and efficacy of business Chinese teaching. Funded by both the interdisciplinary research grant from the University of Hawai‘i Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), and the Business Language Research and Teaching grant from twelve US CIBERs, this study will present an endeavor to fi ll the gap between the actual needs of the stakeholders and the current status of business Chinese textbooks in the market. Two major parts of this study include (1) a needs analysis with triangulated sources and methods that would increase the reliability and validity of the interpretation of data (Long, 2005), and (2) an analysis of the panoply of teaching materials in light of current pedagogic theories with a particular focus on pragmatics and content. Recommendations from this study may provide reliable guidelines for business Chinese curricula intended for helping students of business Chinese acquire the tools to communicate successfully.

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