In the globalized labor market, skills gaps between industry expectations and university preparation are becoming more prevalent. English communication skills (ECS) are vital soft skills in all workplaces, particularly in international business, where English is commonly used as a lingua franca. This case study examined the nexus between academia and industry regarding the instruction of ECS and their applicability to meet the requirements of the globalized business landscape by collecting data from 43 personnel in the international ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh. The research reveals that English courses in higher education do not adequately address the communication needs of the international RMG business, which requires practical experience in the workplace, trade-specific vocabulary, intelligibility, and clarity rather than a high level of fluency. The study recommends promoting the teaching of English for general business purposes in Bangladesh by integrating theoretical and practical learning in the classroom and workplace as part of the curriculum.

Although power manifests as a form of social behavior through language, how it contributes to business English lingua franca (BELF) discourses remains underresearched. This article problematizes how perceptions of power dynamics manifest through choices of BELF discourses as practiced in the Bangladeshi ready-made garments (RMG) industry. Data for this study were collected from interviews with three levels of business professionals. Findings show that perceived power is embedded in everyday business discourses to both empower and disempower speakers and influence differences in their language use. Specifically, perceived organizational position, business position, linguistic ability, and sociocultural identity impacted language differences.