Presentations
Language Standards for Global Business©
Barcelona, Spain
May 29-30, 2006

Sue Ellen Wright, (Moderator), Kent State University Institute for Applied Linguistics, USA

What Standards Bodies Need from Their Constituencies
Some standards bodies are exclusive in their membership and very restrictive when it comes to publication of drafts for public comments. Others post their drafts on the Web, invite comment, and make their finished standards available to all. Viewed against this background:

• What do you see as the role of the standardizing bodies in communicating with the potential users of a future standard?
• What do standardizers need to know about the needs of their "customers"?
• How can parties to the standards process best set up lines of communication with their public?

Standards are also often criticized as being dry, academic, difficult to understand.

Do you envision novel ways of delivering standards content in ways that are user-friendly for potential users of standards? (For instance, in the form of simple worksheets or even downloadable computer apps that allow users to follow simple directions or templates in order to implement the standard.)

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