2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Surveys and analyses of English use of small and medium sized manufacturing companies
| Project/Area Number |
19520431
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
English linguistics
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| Research Institution | Shibaura Institute of Technology (2008-2009)
Institute of Technologists (2007) |
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Principal Investigator |
YAMAZAKI Atsuko Shibaura Institute of Technology, 工学部, 教授 (10337678)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2007 – 2009
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| Keywords | コミュニケーション / 中小製造業 / English for Specific Purposes / 海外進出 |
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| Research Abstract |
The author conducted surveys to investigate English communication needs of small and medium sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs). One hundred eighty five companies responded to the questionnaire and representative from twenty six of them were interviewed. About half of the companies responded that English is the most important communication language at the workplace, even though their operations were mainly domestic or connected to Asian countries. The analyses revealed that SMEs holding a patent considered communication in English more important than companies without a patent. On the other hand, many SMEs expressed passive attitudes toward overseas operations due to their lack of qualified personnel for international communication.
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