Abstract This paper examines the learning process of users of English as a business lingua franca (BELF) from the users’ own perspective and proposes a working model as a framework to understand this process. The discussion is based on a qualitative analysis of interviews of Japanese business people who have been raised and educated in Japan and have used BELF for professional purposes. The interviews explore the linguistic challenges that they have faced in performing their work in English and how they have dealt with these challenges. The prime focus of the discussion in this paper is how BELF users transformed themselves from “learners of English in the classroom” into “BELF users” during the early stage of their professional career. With this focus, I develop a working model of BELF users’ learning process by taking inspiration from the “Experiential Learning Theory” (Kolb 1984. Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall). Experiential Learning: Experience as The Source of Learning and Development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall), a widely used theoretical model of the learning process of adults, along with other theories in the field of management. The proposed model of BELF users places “learning from experience” of using English at the centre of the development of their English competence, supplemented by “learning from others” and “learning from studying.” This article concludes with pedagogical implications for professional training and higher education and beyond, as well as theoretical contributions to the understanding of English as a lingua franca (ELF)/BELF. By drawing on the detailed stories of Japanese BELF users, I present a dynamic view of the competence of (B)ELF users by considering the significant changes of their competence over time and space throughout their careers rather than a snapshot of their competence at a particular time.

中文翻译：

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成为 BELF 用户：商务英语用户的学习过程及其概念化

摘要 本文从用户自己的角度考察了英语作为商业通用语（BELF）用户的学习过程，并提出了一个工作模型作为理解这一过程的框架。讨论基于对在日本长大和接受教育并将 BELF 用于专业目的的日本商人的访谈进行的定性分析。访谈探讨了他们在用英语开展工作时所面临的语言挑战以及他们如何应对这些挑战。本文讨论的主要焦点是 BELF 用户如何在其职业生涯的早期将自己从“课堂英语学习者”转变为“BELF 用户”。有了这个重点，我从“体验式学习理论”（Kolb 1984。体验式学习：体验作为学习和发展的源泉。新泽西州：Prentice Hall）中汲取灵感，开发了 BELF 用户学习过程的工作模型。体验式学习：体验作为学习和发展的源泉。新泽西州：Prentice Hall），一种广泛使用的成人学习过程理论模型，以及管理领域的其他理论。BELF 用户提出的模型将使用英语的“从经验中学习”置于他们英语能力发展的中心，辅以“向他人学习”和“从学习中学习”。本文的结论是对专业培训和高等教育及其他领域的教学意义，以及对理解英语作为通用语言 (ELF)/BELF 的理论贡献。通过借鉴日本 BELF 用户的详细故事，我通过考虑 (B)ELF 用户的能力在整个职业生涯中随时间和空间的显着变化，而不是他们在特定情况下的能力快照，呈现了 (B)ELF 用户能力的动态视图时间。