While crossing your arms and closing your eyes signifies
deep concentration in Japan, it's more likely to indicate a lack of interest
to North American business people. Cultural differences such as these have
led the University of Victoria's English Language Centre in the division
of continuing studies to produce two CD-ROMs that teach English-as-a-second-language
(ESL) learners about North American culture.
"'Money to burn,' like every idiom, has a literal meaning and a cultural meaning," says Dr. Wes Koczka, dean of continuing studies. "That's why we developed the CD-ROM, North American English Language Idioms, which gives users a literal meaning and a cultural meaning for idioms.
"Take the idiom 'He was green with envy'," continues Koczka. "It can mean his face turned green, which is the literal meaning, or that he really wanted something that somebody else had."
The CD-ROM uses a story about life at UVic to teach 192 idioms and is marketed to all individuals learning about English and cultural life in North America. It has just been released for distribution.
Sometimes fluency in the language used around the meeting table isn't enough to close a deal or make a good impression. That's why the English Language Centre has also designed the CD-ROM, Business English: Meetings. It gives users more than just the proper phrases needed to make presentations or persuade a client. For example, it offers tips on the protocol and customs involved in conducting North American business inside the boardroom or out on the golf course. This CD-ROM has been marketed around the globe for over a year.
A UVic grad and his brother are marketing the CDs in Japan. Hugh and Alastair Graham-Marr, co-founders of Abax Limited, began their overseas careers as English teachers. After developing their own learning assistance games and books for children and adult learners, they joined forces in 1994 to form a company to distribute their material.
"Doing business in Japan is terribly complicated," says Hugh. "There are a lot of face-to-face meetings." He discovered the centre's CD-ROM at a national fair at UVic for ESL teachers and was impressed with its content.
"Our initial market research indicates there's a big interest in the cultural element associated with business meetings among the 20-40 age group," says Alastair, who graduated from UVic in 1990 with a double major in economics and political science. He's currently completing a distance MA in applied linguistics through Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. (Brother Hugh graduated from the University of Toronto.)
The brothers anticipate wide acceptance of the CD-ROM in major education institutions and private language-training schools throughout Japan. "The advantage to UVic through this distribution agreement is Hugh and Alastair's knowledge," says Koczka. "We don't have the capacity or the capability to develop their expertise. We just want to make the product."
Victoria-based Advanced Technology Marketing (ATM) is distributing the Business English: Meetings CD-ROM in Europe. ATM Manager Lorraine Kecker says that at $100 per CD, sales are slow but steady.
"Pricing is the biggest hurdle," says Kecker. "We went in selling it as a high-end product and we found out that people weren't willing to buy it. Of course, the fall of the Asian market has impacted it as well."
The brothers plan to create an accompanying textbook and market it as a package in bookstores. They'll also take the CD-ROM to educational fairs. Despite the busy schedule demanded by their expanding business, both brothers still teach.
"I want to spend one day a week at least in the classroom," says Hugh. "I don't want to lose direct touch with the market." "I enjoy teaching," adds Alastair. "It's a particularly enjoyable thing to do. You get to see the positive side of human nature."
UVic has a three-year distribution agreement with Abax, which anticipates distributing a minimum of 1,500 units each year. A second deal is being developed with Abax to distribute the new idiom CD-ROM.
"We have a series of eight CD-ROMs planned," says Koczka. "The next one will be on North American culture and etiquette. But there are an awful lot of idioms in North America. Maybe we could do a second volume on idioms."
The CD-ROM, Business English: Meetings, can be sampled on-line at http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/bus-eng/.