ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

This paper seeks to explore the multiple dimensions of teaching English for business and economics in the context of the knowledge-based global contemporary society, while taking into consideration the changing role of the language instructor in the learner-centred education system we are aiming to build and develop. The challenges of such an endeavour include institutional as well as systemic obstacles, together with a personal resistance to change of the teaching instructors. At the same dine, the opportunities are obvious and should not be neglected; they refer to the necessary alignment of Romanian higher education to European and world standards, and also to meeting the demands of its domestic and international stakeholders. As there is a permanent exchange of both students and professors with European and world universities, the desire to update and modernise becomes inescapable. Personal and professional development have to be taken into consideration, as a determining part of organizational medium-term and long-term programmes. The case study presented is English language instruction for business and economics within the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, its syllabi and methodology, as well as its impact upon learners and teachers.