Korean Professionals’ Experience With Using Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF): A Grounded Theory Approach

Kanghee Lee Korea National University of Transportation

Abstract

This study uses grounded theory to explore Korean professionals' experience with communication in Business English as a lingua franca (BELF). The author collected data for the study by conducting semistructured interviews with 12 Korean professionals, resulting in 120 concepts, 33 categories, and 14 main categories in the coding process. The findings highlight the significance of accommodation, which affects the success of BELF communication and serves as a major action for resolving problems. The study emphasizes that BELF dynamics should be understood as a multifaceted and interactive process in which various factors are intricately interconnected, giving rise to fluid and complex BELF phenomena.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
10.1177/10506519241307789
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