Resumen de Towards a text typology for Spanish as a foreign language in business contexts

Lucía Gil de Montes Garín, Carmen López Ferrero , Lieve Vangehuchten

• This study proposes a didactic typology of discourse genres for teaching Spanish as a foreign language for specific purposes in business contexts, combining pedagogical and professional perspectives. Through a qualitative comparative analysis of 5 corporate communication manuals and 17 Business Spanish textbooks published between 2014 and 2024, 164 genres were identified and classified by four variables: communicative purpose, business domain, mode of communication, and CEFR proficiency level (A–C). Five genre families emerged: promotional, procedural, transactional, evaluative, and interpersonal. Results reveal that BS textbooks prioritize genres with immediate pedagogical application, often favouring written forms and omitting longer or more complex oral genres present in Spanish for Business materials. The typology reflects a progressive acquisition of genre competence: interpersonal and promotional genres dominate beginner levels (A), transactional and evaluative genres expand at intermediate levels (B), and procedural and evaluative genres appear more frequently at advanced levels (C). This typology aligns with the communicative demands of official certifications for designing curricula grounded in authentic business communication. It also supports a more informed, contextualized, and objective selection of contents for Business Spanish programs, and increases genre awareness.