Challenges in using English language in written communication in the banking and finance sector

BANKING ACADEMY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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GRADUATION THESIS

CHALLENGES IN USING ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IN BANKING AND

FINANCE SECTOR

Supervisor: Tran Thi Thanh Giang

Student: Nguyen Le Thao Ngan

Class: K20ATCB

Academic Year: 2017 - 2021

Student ID: 20A7510125

Hanoi, May 2021

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CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I declare that the graduation thesis “Challenges in using English language in written

communication in the banking and finance sector” is done by me under the

guidance of Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Giang.

Signature

Name: Nguyen Le Thao Ngan

Date: May 23th, 2021

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I am really grateful to Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Giang for the

dedicated guidance and support during the course of this research for over the past

two months. The frequent meetings and review sessions were very much

appreciated and provided a number of useful insights which aided in the completion

of this research. I would also like to thank all of the participants taking part in the

interviews - the specialists, the analysts, the supporters, and the interns who are

working for MSB Bank, TNEX bank and Ernst & Young Vietnam Ltd - helping me

in implementing the interviews, getting valued information and discovering new

findings for the research. Finally, I would like to thank my family for all of the

cheering and encouraging me, giving me strength to complete this research.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................. vi

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. vii

LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. viii

LIST OF APPENDIXES......................................................................................... ix

ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................1

1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................1

1.2 Background of the study .................................................................................1

1.3 Objectives of the study ....................................................................................2

1.4 Significance of the study..................................................................................3

1.5 Scope and limitations of the study..................................................................3

1.5.1 Scope ...........................................................................................................3

1.5.2 Research limitations...................................................................................3

1.6 Definition of terms...........................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE....................................5

2.1 Literature review .....................................................................................5

2.1.1 Communication process...........................................................................5

2.1.2 Communication channels ........................................................................6

2.1.3 Common communication barriers...........................................................8

2.1.4 Written communication in the workplace .............................................10

2.1.4.1 Common forms of written communication in the workplace ..............10

2.1.4.2 Characteristics of effective written communication the workplace....11

2.1.4.3 Challenges to written communication in English the workplace .......13

2.1.4.4 Strategies to deal with the challenges to English written

communication in the workplace ....................................................................16

2.2 Theoretical framework..................................................................................17

CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................20

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3.1 Locale of the study .........................................................................................20

3.2 Research design..............................................................................................20

3.3 Population and Sample description .............................................................21

3.4 Research instrument......................................................................................23

3.5 Data collection procedure .............................................................................26

3.6 Data analysis...................................................................................................26

3.7 Reliability and validity ..................................................................................28

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ...................................................29

4.1 Use of English for written communication in the workplace ....................29

4.1.1 Common forms of written communication in English ...........................30

4.1.2 Level of use ...............................................................................................34

4.1.3 Target audiences.......................................................................................36

4.2 Challenges.......................................................................................................38

4.2.1 Past challenges .........................................................................................39

4.2.1.1 Topical knowledge ..............................................................................39

4.2.1.2 Language knowledge ..........................................................................40

4.2.1.3 Affective schemata ..............................................................................43

4.2.2 Present challenges....................................................................................44

4.2.2.1 Topical knowledge ..............................................................................44

4.2.2.2 Language knowledge ..........................................................................44

4.2.2.3 Personal attributes..............................................................................45

4.2.2.4 Affective schemate...............................................................................46

4.2.3 Summary ...................................................................................................46

4.3 Solutions for the challenges...........................................................................47

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION...............................................................................50

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5.1 Summary of findings .....................................................................................50

5.2 Conclusion ......................................................................................................51

5.3 Recommendation ...........................................................................................52

5.3.1 Recommendations to workplace challenges in written communication in

English ...............................................................................................................52

5.3.2 Room for improvement.............................................................................53

REFERENCES........................................................................................................54

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BELF - Business English as Lingua Franca

HR – Human Resouces

IT – Information Technology

JD – Job Description

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Differences between internal communication and external communication

...................................................................................................................................10

Table 2: Interview participants’ profiles...................................................................22

Table 4: Forms of written communication in English used by participants .............31

Table 5: The frequency of using English for written communication ......................35

Table 6: Target audiences in English written communication .................................37

Table 7: Summary of challenges..............................................................................46

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The Communication Process Model ...........................................................5

Figure 2: Media richness levels...................................................................................7

Figure 3: Detail components of communicative competences .................................18

Figure 4: Steps for the thematic analysis..................................................................27