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The paper presents a genre-based approach to the study of negotiation within EAP classes and reports on results obtained using a negotiation model meant to increase students' awareness concerning the generic features of this communicative activity. The presented model is based on the Pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation, which offers a double perspective on the argumentation discourse analysed, namely a descriptive and normative perspective. The paper, based on desk and field research, aims to help business language students improve their abilities in argumentation and negotiation by developing discourse skills beyond a simple stage by stage negotiation strategy. In order to do so it examines the advantages and disadvantages of traditional teaching of negotiation skills and introduces the Pragma-dialectical theory of negotiation developed by van Eemeren and Grootendorst (1992) at the University of Amsterdam. The author demonstrates how the practical application of this approach has improved the performance of MA students in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the problems that translators and Arab learners of English encounter in translating Arabic sentences containing the Arabic discourse marker 'fa' into English. Several types of texts were surveyed in order to identify the salient functions that this marker has in Arabic discourse. Five major functions were identified: Explanatory, Consequential, Causal, Sequential and Adversative. A translation task was designed to find out how this marker translates into English. The subjects were 50 English-major Arab students studying at the University of Sharjah. The difficulties that Arab learners encounter in translating Arabic 'fa' into English were identified and rank ordered in terms of difficulty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]