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Abstract

The present article describes a case study in which the author used domain analysis to create a backward-designed remedial listening comprehension course for global supply chain vendors employed with logistics-focused multinational corporations operating in Francophone Africa. The course is designed to address weaknesses in listening comprehension skills as exhibited by global supply chain vendors in Francophone Africa who work daily with South Asian customers. The weaknesses emanate, in large part, from the existence of World Englishes due to the rise of English as a lingua franca by multinational corporations. World Englishes refers to the existence of “emerging localized or indigenized varieties of English” worldwide (Oxford English Dictionary, 2023). In this case study, the author describes the struggles between two groups of nonnative speakers of English (NNSEs): supply chain vendors from Francophone Africa and their customers from Asian countries such as China and India. Both groups struggle with heavily accented utterances and indigenized syntactic structures while attempting to complete business transactions. To enhance comprehension or “intelligibility” (Nelson, 2011), the author will describe a customized course designed to acclimate Francophone African supply chain vendors to the World English spoken by their Asian customers. The course will feature 25 subtitled YouTube videos involving global supply chain presentations offered by accented English- speaking Asian experts. The YouTube presentations will be accompanied by comprehension checks, language-building activities, and phonetic tutorials with their American instructor.

Keywords: International and cross-cultural business communication and negotiations, Language and business communication

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