A Systematic Review of Empirical Research on Business English in China (2013–2022)

Abstract

This paper reviews empirical studies in Chinese and English on BE in Chinese higher education published from 2013 to 2022. By analyzing and synthesizing empirical data, this review significantly contributes to the area of BE in China. Empirical articles in both Chinese and English were included to provide a comprehensive overview for both domestic and global readers. All Chinese empirical articles were searched and selected in the Core Journals and Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI) indexed by China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and English empirical articles were selected from Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases. 113 empirical articles were selected for the thorough review after eliminating all literature reviews, book reviews, theoretical studies, policy papers, and duplicates. The comprehensive review found that the main themes of these empirical studies were teaching innovation, teacher professional development, student ability, and curriculum development in BE. The review concluded that there is inadequate empirical evidence on BE students’ psychological states, BE teachers’ voices on BE professional construction, and the implementation of communicative approaches. Recommendations and suggestions for future studies were provided based on the findings of the current review.