More Than Just Words: The Importance of Register

Sabine has just left school and is looking forward to going to university and starting her Business Studies course at university. A diligent student, she accesses the university website to find out as much about her upcoming course as she possibly can.

She’s a little surprised to discover that Business English is a required module on her course. On the other hand, she’s quite happy about this. English is going to be important to her and she is very confident that she speaks good English. English has been her favourite school subject for many years and she’s even spent a year attending a high school in the United States. She’s got many friends from other countries and regularly chats to them on online platforms and on social media. She likes listening to podcasts in English.

So, Sabine attends her Business English class but soon realises her range of vocabulary and use of grammar are limited at times. On her course, she has to write short academic essays as well as formal correspondence. She’s a little disappointed with the feedback she gets. There are often comments that she uses the wrong register.

This is not uncommon. Young people can have had a great deal of exposure to casual informal English but little exposure to formal English. However, adapting to context – the situation or people – and adjusting language in terms of vocabulary and grammar are very important when it comes to Business English. These are skills that be developed and mastered and important components of Business English courses at an intermediate and advanced level.

Why?

Some companies have corporate cultures that use formal communication internally. There is a hierarchy with a strong chain of command, levels of responsibility and status, often with many rules and regulations.

Other companies tend to less formality which is reflected in their style of internal communication. Such cultures can be typical of certain industries such as creative industries or start-ups.

Students might lose their dream job because they have failed to communicate effectively and appropriately at a job interview.

Then they may work in a company that has either of these cultures and employers will expect them to be able to adapt their communication style accordingly.

Even if students believe that they will only ever work in an informal environment, there will be occasions when they will need formal English. 

For example, this could be:

 – interaction with clients or stakeholders

– writing a formal business letter that has legal consequences

– representing the company at an international conference.

Employers need their employees to represent the company or institution they are working for and to appear professional, competent and credible. The consequences of using the wrong register could be dramatic and have a negative impact on a person’s career.

In the university environment, a requirement or option may be to write academic essays in English. Some students do go on to follow academic careers and they will need to publish all kinds of formal papers and articles.

Last but not least, Business English exams often set questions that test students’ ability to use and adapt to informal and formal English. Examples include:

– changing an informal email to a formal business letter

– writing a business report to an important client

– writing a blog for a company website that reflects the corporate culture.

Explain Why!

So, students really need to home their abilities to read the room and develop language skills so as to adapt their communication style accordingly.

A first step is to explain to students why register is important in Business English. Then, they can understand the necessity of feedback so that they use this feedback to develop their skills.