Contribution to Book
Language, Business & Culture: Innovative Directions in Foreign Language Curricula
The Importance of Learning a Second Language: Essays on Re-envisioning Foreign Language Education
(2023)
Abstract
Essentially today there are no purely domestic businesses: Everything is at some level global.
The increasing need for bilingual professionals necessitates the training of this next generation
of professionals to be equipped with both linguistic and cultural skills beyond the traditional
rigorous business curriculum. Thus, forward-thinking institutions of higher education are
bringing together languages with other disciplines to prepare students for that reality.
In fall 2019, Montclair State University (a public 4-year university located in northern New
Jersey, just 20km from Manhattan) launched a new joint undergraduate program—a B.A. in
Language, Business & Culture (LBC). LBC unites faculty from the College of Humanities and
Social Sciences and the Feliciano School of Business to successfully integrate elements from
both programs with the ability to combine language and culture skills with business to further
engage in important global employment opportunities both at home and abroad. The major
comprises core courses (fundamental business, and language for business courses), a language
concentration (choice of in Arabic, French, German, Italian or Spanish), an international
experience and a professional capstone course.
Recently the 2018 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Making Languages
Our Business: Addressing Foreign Language Demand Among U.S. Employers: nine out of 10 U.S.
employers report a reliance on U.S.-based employees with language skills other than English,
with one-third reporting a high dependency. LBC responds to the findings and
recommendations of this report by providing students with opportunities to strengthen the
transversal skills that increase employability by exploring contemporary narratives of language
and culture through the perspective of business. It proposes a connection between the
language and culture to the nation’s business and economy, unifying a student’s pre-existing
knowledge of products and their presence in the global marketplace, to the language and
cultural background that is communicated by these products.
LBC majors will be required to pursue an international experience (local internships with
international companies, or an internship in a target-language country). This experiential
learning opportunity will activate various forms of knowledge in a hands-on context that allows
students to have direct contact with the professional world before graduating.
Each component of the joint program of the inter-college initiative will benefit future
professionals in numerous ways. The book chapter will outline the rationale, goals,
development, and outcomes to date.
Keywords
- interdisciplinary program,
- business foreign language,
- innovation,
- experiential learning
Disciplines
Publication Date
2023
Editor
Kathleen Stein-Smith
Publisher
Mellen Publishing
ISBN
978-1-4955-1077-9
Citation Information
Enza Antenos. "Language, Business & Culture: Innovative Directions in Foreign Language Curricula" The Importance of Learning a Second Language: Essays on Re-envisioning Foreign Language Education (2023) p. 24 - 42 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/enza-antenos/4/