Construction of Business English Negotiation Practice Teaching Mode Based on PBGS Project Method

Lei Kuang

【Abstract】Project Based Group Study （PBGS） teaching， as a kind of education mode reflecting individual oriented ability， has been widely used in modern higher education. This paper analyzes the current situation of business English Negotiation teaching， and focuses on the reform and practice of business English Negotiation teaching based on PBGS.From the four aspects of the introduction of PBGS teaching mode， the current situation and orientation of business English Negotiation training course， the application of PBGS teaching in Business English Negotiation training and its key points for attention， this paper expounds the application of PBGS teaching mode in Business English Negotiation training course.

【Key words】Project Based Group Study （PBGS）; Business English Negotiation; Practice Teaching

【作者簡介】Lei Kuang， Nanchang Institute of Technology.

1. Introduction

With the rapid development of global economy， international trade is more and more frequent，  many colleges have set up the core course of “business English Negotiation”， they can use certain business English Negotiation Strategies and skills to carry out international business communication and business English negotiation activities smoothly. However， at present， many teaching methods are lagging behind.  College English teaching should adopt a new English teaching mode supported by modern information technology， especially network technology.

2. Teaching Reform of Business English Negotiation Course Based on PBGS

The PBGS teaching model is a popular teaching model in the West， and the Chinese name is project-based team independent learning. Under the guidance of teachers， the project tasks are completed together within a specified time.

In the classroom， the students are allowed to complete the change from student status to negotiating practitioners and improve their ability to learn actively. Let students directly solve practical problems according to different roles.

2.1 Form team learning mode

It is the key to break the traditional way of learning and organize the learning group reasonably. The members of each team should be divided into learning groups according to their gender， interest， ability and English level .

2.2  Design typical projects to arouse students enthusiasm

When implementing the PBGS teaching method， you must choose a simulated negotiation project ， implement the role of each participating student， require students to collect language and text materials related to their roles， then， students are required to show the whole process of negotiation activities in the simulation scene in the form of a group within the specified time.

2.3  Combining students subjectivity and teachers guidance

In English teaching， the negotiation preparation process takes a long time， and a lot of work needs to be completed after class， some students have poor initiative in their study.Therefore， teacher should regularly check the progress of the students tasks as an assessment indicator for the final exam.

2.4 Scientific evaluation of students learning achievements

Teacher evaluation should be based on affirmation. Teachers score each student separately according to the individual student participation and finally get the students overall scores of simulated negotiations. This evaluation can cultivate teamwork spirit and individual performance awareness， stimulate students self-learning interest.

3. Case Study

3.1  Design of background

All students participating in PBGS are divided into several groups，respectively playing the host and invited party in business English negotiation. Students can choose a real company as the negotiating parties， and then choose some familiar negotiation items or trading commodities according to their own interests.

3.2  PBGS negotiation project practice case

（1） Before negotiation

Before the negotiation， each negotiation group shall determine the main and auxiliary negotiators， complete their own negotiation scheme design under the guidance of teachers， analyze the advantages and disadvantages of both parties， draw up the negotiation agenda，  etc.

（2） Formal negotiation

The formal negotiation is divided into three stages， at the beginning ， the teacher introduces the negotiation judges， negotiation agenda and basic requirements of the negotiation. Then the two sides take turns to show the professional demeanor and introduce the basic contents of the negotiation in the way of speech. and the speaker complete the following contents： introduce the name of our team， company situation， team composition and team members division of labor， etc.

（3） After negotiation

After the negotiation， the buyer and the seller shall summarize and sign the agreement terms reached in the negotiation process， and emphasize the follow-up actions to be taken in the future， thank the other party for their cooperation and express their willingness to continue cooperation in the future.

3.3  PBGS negotiation project assessment design

In the whole process of PBGs negotiation， the lecturer and experts inside and outside the school are the judges and instructors， and the results of each negotiation group are given according to the performance of negotiation group in the simulation negotiation activities and the simulation negotiation report.

4. Conclusion

In a word， the reform of Business English Negotiation Course Based on PBGs has achieved some results. In this process， students learning enthusiasm is fully mobilized. The ability of using negotiation language and strategy， business etiquette literacy and team cooperation awareness have been improved significantly. However， there are still some problems in the negotiation， such as the lack of overall awareness and team spirit， and the lack of specific scoring standards. There is a big contrast between the scores and other issues need to be further studied and improved. These problem can be further studied in the future work.

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