The Relationship between Students’ Motivation for Studying Business English and Their Knowledge of Business English and Its Terminology
The Relationship between Students’ Motivation for Studying Business English and Their Knowledge of Business English and Its Terminology

Summary/Abstract: The study investigates the relationship between English Philology students’ motivationfor studying Business English and their actual knowledge of business terminology, someunderlying economic concepts and basic rules of business correspondence. It is hypothesizedthat students who have higher motivation also possess more extensive knowledge of BusinessEnglish, yet motivation alone is not enough but must be accompanied by a real effort put instudying the language. The study consisted of a test focusing on business terminology, thecorrection of errors in a business letter, and a test of selected economic concepts, followed bya questionnaire. As the results show, both the students’ motivation and knowledge of BusinessEnglish are varied. In particular, their knowledge varies between years of studies and areas ofterminology or skills. In fact, some of the terms proved difficult even for relatively advancedstudents. Thus, even though motivation does play a role, its role does not seem to be decisive,as Business English is a complex field whose mastery requires extensive study and a lot ofsustained effort. However, their awareness of their language needs is quite high, so they arelikely to remain motivated and to attain a high level of competence in Business English.

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