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2014 » Papers » Volume 3 » The Benefits of Using Internet Authentic Audio-Video Material in the Business Communication Class 1. THE BENEFITS OF USING INTERNET AUTHENTIC AUDIO-VIDEO MATERIAL IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION CLASS Authors: Dumitrescu Virginia Mihaela Volume 3 | DOI: 10.12753/2066-026X-14-164 | Pages: 156-161 | Download PDF | Abstract
The present paper draws on the author's own experience of using Internet authentic audio and video material (supplemented by text-only or traditional forms of printed material) for educational purposes in ESP (business communication) and intercultural business communication classes, at undergraduate and graduate levels. Starting from the premise that one learns best by example, it shows how using material featuring real business people either talking about their work experience or captured while carrying on their actual daily activities may help students at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies acquire and develop the business communication skills required by their future professions. Such material, which offers not only examples of verbal/ face-to-face communication, but also information on appropriate non-verbal and para-verbal communication specific to British and American business people, allows a certain degree of immersion in a native-speaking business community, while at the same time providing exposure to foreign cultural environments.
A comparison between the results achieved by using audio and video Internet material with one series of intercultural business communication students on the one hand, and exclusively printed material and visual aids with another group of students helps illustrate the various practical benefits of integrating a wider variety of Internet tools in the business communication class. The comparison also proves that the young generation's thinking patterns, as well as its characteristic ways of gathering and processing information, call for a more and more intensive use of multimedia technology in class (which may effectively convert information into knowledge by stimulating students' cognitive faculties). | Keywords
(semi-)authentic material, real-life situations, communication skills, cultural awareness and competence, global mindset. |
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