International communication in a technology services call centre in India

The data for this study was gathered from a US multinational company information technology enabled services (ITES) worksite offshored to India. The focus of the study is the exploration of the nature of English communication between professional support engineers across 'Inner, Outer and Expanding Circles,' and in particular the use of accommodation strategies used by the support engineers in the process of getting their professional work done on the phones with colleagues from all over the world. To date, little research into the needs and nature of English communication has been completed in this important industry in offshored destinations such as the Philippines and India. Such Outer Circle destinations are increasingly being selected by multinationals for offshoring and outsourcing due to the perception that these societies speak good English. But what does good English mean in globalized settings?