Abstract

To a great extent, the knowledge and skills to be imparted are carried by the textbooks, especially for the textbooks of language, which need to keep pace with the ever-updating speech people created and used in everyday life. The textbooks of Business English, blending the use of English and the grasp of business knowledge, require comprehensiveness and equilibrium in both English and business.The market of the textbooks of Business English in China is experiencing a spur in number while more uncertainty are left in quality. The knowledge and skills in textbooks are not what are needed and expected, leaving the learners much worry. For Chinese learners, the textbooks of Business English are more inclined to be applied to learning language points about writing business correspondence, losing the balance between business and English.As many Chinese textbooks of Business English carry many defectswhile the outstanding foreign textbooks have evolved to a more advanced stage of both practicality and interest, this paper, based on ESP theory and Need analysis, focuses on comparing three Chinese textbooks of business communication with one foreign textbook, analyzing the proportion of language knowledge and communication skills, the application scope and the compiling pattern respectively through comparison, in order to improve the textbooks Chinese learner are to adopt.

Key words:Textbooks of Business English; ESP theory; Need analysis

摘 要

很大程度上，教材是所需教授知识的载体，特别是对语言类教材而言，更是如此，语言类教材需要与人们在日常生活中创造和使用的语言同步发展。商务英语教材，融合了英语的使用和对商业知识的掌握，需要对英语与商务两方面的综合性与平衡性。中国商务英语教材市场迅速发展，商务英语教材数量激增，而质量却留有很大的不确定性。教材中的知识与技能并不是实际所需要和期望的，这给教材学习使用者带来了困扰。对于中国学习者而言，商务英语教材更倾向于被用来学习商务函电中的语言点，无法在商务与英语之间保持一个平衡的状态。鉴于我国的商务英语教材存在许多问题与缺陷，而国外的杰出商务英语教材已经发展到了一个更加进步的状态，兼具实用性与趣味性，因此，本文以ESP理论与需求分析为理论基础，通过将三本国内商务沟通教材与一本国外权威商务沟通教材进行对比，以国外权威教材为优秀范本，从对于语言知识及沟通技巧的比例分配、适用范围、编写模式方面，分析我国商务英语教材的不足之处,以此推动中国学习者即将使用的商务英语教材的发展与改进。

关键词：商务英语教材；ESP理论；需求分析

I. Introduction
1.1 Background of the Research
The textbooks of Business English, with the function of enhancing the efficiency of business communication, are supposed to mirror new trends and advancements of the society. The teaching of Business English in China, launched from the Late Qing Dynasty, has witnessed a large amount of updates in its textbook. However, the textbooks of Business English in market now, face the dilemma in both number and quality: thousands of unqualified kinds. Emphasizing on language rather than business communication itself, Chinese textbooks of Business English lack necessary business essentials learners conform to in reality, depriving learners of the ability to negotiate on business issues in decent manner with abound knowledge; even worse, language points in some textbooks are outdated. Only the textbook provides content both pragmatic and suitable in language and business can learners enrich their knowledge and improve their skills. Currently, although many evaluation papers and reports on the textbooks of Business English popular in China have been released, it is necessary to analyze the defects existing in those textbooks in comparison with the foreign classic textbooks.