Developing shared communication practices: A study of BELF in multinational team meetings

Tone Holt Nielsen

doi:10.1515/jelf-2020-2029

Article

Developing shared communication practices: A study of BELF in multinational team meetings

Tone Holt Nielsen

Published/Copyright: October 12, 2020

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From the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca Volume 9 Issue 1

Abstract

A growing number of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) adopt English as their official corporate language. Research on English used as a business lingua franca (BELF) in such contexts shows how its use is negotiated, context dependent, and influenced by cultural and linguistic diversity. Multinational teams (MNTs) are legion within MNCs, and need to find efficient ways of communicating across their diversity, in particular in demanding and complex interactions such as meetings. This case study uses non-participant observation and interviews to study how one MNT has developed shared BELF communication practices for meetings. It examines the BELF communication practices in both the MNC context and at the team level. The analysis of the data shows that team members were highly aware of the challenges posed by cultural and linguistic diversity, and how they developed their local communication practices by processes of developing common ground, building trust, and good leadership.

Sammendrag

Et økende antall multinasjonale selskaper bruker engelsk som sitt offisielle konsernspråk. Forskning på bruk av engelsk som lingua franca i næringslivet (BELF), viser hvordan bruken er gjenstand for forhandling, er kontekstavhengig, og er påvirket av et kulturelt og språklig mangfold. Multinasjonale team er vanlige i multinasjonale selskaper, og disse trenger å finne kommunikasjonsmåter som tar hensyn til dette mangfoldet, særlig i forbindelse med krevende og kompleks samhandling som for eksempel i møter. Dette case-studiet bruker ikke-deltakende observasjon og intervjuer for å undersøke hvordan et multinasjonalt team har utarbeidet delt BELF-kommunikasjonspraksis både for konsernkonteksten og på team-nivå. Analysen av dataene viser hvordan deltakerne i teamet var veldig klare over de utfordringene som kulturelt og språklig mangfold fører med seg. Analysen viser også hvordan de utviklet sin lokale kommunikasjonspraksis gjennom prosesser som innebar utvikling av et felles referansegrunnlag, tillitsbygging og god ledelse.

Keywords: BELF; communities of practice; corporate language; English as a business lingua franca; international business meetings; multinational teams

Nøkkelord: Engelsk som næringslivsspråk; internasjonale forretningsmøter; multinasjonale team; konsernspråk; praksisfellesskap

Corresponding author: Tone Holt Nielsen, Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Oslo Business School, Oslo Metropolitan University, PO Box 4, St. Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo, Norway, E-mail: toneni@oslomet.no

Appendix 1

Observation form with summary of findings. Study of English lingua franca use at a meeting.

Focus	Observations
Lexis: “tribal language,” specific technical/professional terms, use of other languages	Use of financial terms like “KPI”, “commoditized services”, “diversified portfolio” etc., and terms specific to the company
	Some use of Norwegian between those in the room, as well as Norwegian words like “ja” (‘yes’) and “altså” (‘that is’) while speaking English
	Quite a lot of idiomatic English was used, e. g. “local flavour”, “shoot from the hip”
	Jokes about language were made, e. g. “make this business great again”, and the use of the word “shall” as being “marching orders”
Accommodation: strategies to enhance understanding and adjust to others	The four in the room spoke to each other in Norwegian, seemingly to get clarification
	They used a lot of positive affirmation, e. g. “that’s a great idea”, and backchanneling, e. g. “yeah”, “uhm”, when others said/suggested something
	They asked for confirmation from others and invited comments, e. g. “that’s my action, right?”
	Potential criticism was expressed carefully, e. g. “I really like graphs, I don’t understand exactly what is going on?”
Interaction: turn taking, participation, potential problems to articulate/lack of nuance in language	The team leader, “Bart,” chaired the meeting, introduced the agenda, asked for comments, e. g. “shooting over to ‘Theo’ and ‘Søren’”, expressed affirmations and summed up who would do what
	They looked at a PowerPoint together much of the time
	Polite interaction, yet informal address
	Gestures and gaze, e. g. to indicate confusion, were not verbalized, thus only reached those present at HQ
	Some technical problems with the computers affected interaction
	There was a good flow in the conversation, and turn taking seemed to work
	There were side conversations, one in the room in Norwegian, and one online in English

Appendix 2

Interview guide for follow-up interviews after observation of the meeting:

Name, age, nationality, mother tongue, education, role/title at company

Questions on the specific meeting that I have observed:

Thoughts about this meeting?
1. Goals achieved? Using English in this meeting?
BELF characteristics
1. The use of specific terms/company speak
2. The use of other languages/linguacultural elements
3. Accommodation
Interaction/participation
1. What do you think about your own participation in this meeting? Turn taking? Did you find the words and expressions needed / express what you wanted to?

Questions on English in these types of meetings in general

Shared enterprise and repertoire; the “B” of BELF: What would you say you have in common / share with the other participants in these meetings?
Personal experience with the use of BELF in these types of meetings; thoughts about using English, how well do you think you manage. Advice to me about the use of English in these meetings if I was a recently hired employee here?
Thoughts on
1. English use in this business?
2. With Norwegians?

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Published Online: 2020-10-12

Published in Print: 2020-10-25

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2020-2029

Keywords for this article

BELF; communities of practice; corporate language; English as a business lingua franca; international business meetings; multinational teams