Business English Between Perceptions And Use In Algerian Import/Export Companies

As English continues to expand its role as the global lingua franca of business, understanding its use in linguistically complex settings becomes increasingly vital. Despite growing attention to Business English (BE) in Western contexts, its adoption in multilingual, non-Western environments such as Algeria has received limited focus. This gap is particularly relevant given the Algerian government's recent promotion of English and the growing preference for it in professional domains. This study investigates how Algerian import-export professionals perceive and use English within a business environment. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight participants from International Business (IB) firms and analyzed thematically using NVivo software. Findings indicate that English is used primarily for external communication with non-Francophone clients, while Arabic and French remain dominant internally. Participants recognized the strategic value of English but reported uneven use due to limited training, language anxiety, and accent-related barriers. Regular users described greater confidence, wider market access, and higher participation in IB events, whereas infrequent users cited missed opportunities. Emotional associations with English ranged from pride and ambition to fear and frustration. Further, some professionals admitted relying on ChatGPT for drafting and improving written communication in the absence of formal BE instruction. The study contributes to research on BE in IB by offering insights from an underrepresented multilingual context and recommends practice-oriented BE training, AI-assisted writing tools, and policy support to align language skills with Algeria's global aspirations.