ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ NEED OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS
ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ NEED OF COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
Dini Hadiani ([email protected])
Nia Nuryanti Permata ([email protected])
Unit Sosio Manufaktur, Politeknik Manufaktur Negeri Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract: This study presents the qualitative analysis of engineering students’
needs of communication skills. Communication skills are recognized as important
elements in workplace. However, many engineering students are reported to
encounter problems in communicating in English. Therefore, this study tries to
identify the engineering students’ needs of communication skills that will help
them to seek jobs after graduating. The purpose of this study is to explore the
communication skills needs of engineering students as a tool of determining the
appropriate teaching material and method. Data were obtained through
questionnaires and interviews. The findings revealed the engineering students
needs of communication skill and the employers’ view point related to the needs of
communication skills in students’ future workplace. It was concluded that
communication skills of delivering presentation, explaining tools/machines,
writing process paragraph, and reading manuals were important for engineering
students and should be brought into the ESP course.
Key words: ESP, needs analysis, communication skills
Introduction
The need of communication skills for engineering students has increased rapidly. Having
good communication skills is considered essential in workplace. They are required in
every field of work, including engineering field. For this reason, a course in English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) is addressed for teaching effective English communication skills
for engineers, since ESP which is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners and
centered not only on the language (grammar, lexis, and register) but also on the skills and
discourses is considered a good way to enhance English language training (Riabtseva and
Arestova, 2006; Maria, 2009).
Teaching ESP for engineering students is challenging. The learners need English
as a means of doing their work efficiently, but first of all they need it for being able to
communicate well. Therefore the teaching of ESP for engineering students will be more
beneficial if it emphasizes on communication skills required in the professional field.
However, many graduates still experience problems in English communication skills
(Stevens, 2005). It indicates that for engineering students who will directly look for jobs
after graduating, improving their communication skills must be paid more attention so as
to be hired by employers.
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To achieve the effective result of ESP course, there is a need to have suitable
information that supports the students’ professional career in the future especially to
improve their English communication skills. As an attempt to fill the gap, this study
seeks to identify the students’ communication skills needs that can be used to determine
ESP instructional materials and methods appropriate to them.
English for Specific Purposes
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is an approach to language teaching and learning
based on the learners’ reasons for learning (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987; Robinson,
1991; Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). In line with the idea, Richards and Schmidt in
Richards (2001) said that ESP is the role of English in a language course or program of
instruction in which the content and aims of the course are fixed by the specific needs of
a particular group of learners. Mackay and Mountford in Robinson (1980) also
mentioned that the purposes of ESP are occupational requirement, vocational training,
and academic or professional study. It can be inferred that ESP is a form of English
teaching given to special group of learners for special purposes, on the basis of what and
why the learners learn English.
There are a lot benefits can be reached by implementing an ESP approach. It
embraces students’ learning speed, learning efficiency, and learning effectiveness
(Wright, 1992). ESP embraces the students’ learning speed means that it can bring a
quicker acquisition of required language points. Learners, therefore, can learn English in
a content-based context. ESP also embraces the students learning efficiency because
learners use their learning resources optimally by having previous identification of
expected linguistic items and skills (Wright, 1992; Harmer, 2001). The identification is
done through needs analysis, so that it can allow teacher to determine the specific
requirements of the learners. Finally, ESP embraces the students learning effectiveness
since they are expected to be ready to use language appropriately and correctly in
specific purpose tasks. The tasks should also be determined by conducting needs
analysis, so the learners can develop their language skill effectively.
Based on the explanation stated previously, it is clear that before starting an ESP
course, needs analysis should be conducted to find out what is needed by learners in
learning English, the context related to it, and the current English level the students have.
Needs Analysis
In general, to prepare an ESP course needs several different stages. One of which is very
important is Needs Analysis (NA). Since the main purpose of ESP is to fulfill the needs
of the learners, NA is done to identify the specific needs of the students taking the
language program.
Needs analysis is the process of determining the needs for which a learner or group
of learners requires a language and arranging the needs according to priority (Richards
and Schmidt in Richards, 2001). It means that needs analysis plays an important role in
developing materials that meet the learners’ needs. Richards (2001) strongly stated that
an important concern in ESP is needs analysis.
Focusing on students’ needs in designing a language course becomes a demanding
task. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) have classified needs into necessities, wants and
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lacks. In their classification, necessities are concerned with the demands of target
situations, lacks refer to the gap between learner’s existing language proficiency and the
needed target situation language needs, and wants relate to learners’ view on what their
needs are.
In line with the idea, Robinson (1991) categorizes needs analysis into Target
Situation Analysis (TSA) and Present Situation Analysis (PSA). The former refers to the
learners’ needs and expectation after they finish the language course. The latter concerns
about things that the learners should know before taking a language learning and
knowing their strengths and weaknesses. It can be concluded that before starting any ESP
courses, NA should be done to investigate the students’ needs related to their necessities,
wants, and lacks and it also involves TSA and PSA.
Communication Skills
Communication skills refer to the ability to convey a message along with the feeling
behind it, for purpose of the desired effect. Thus, it includes various aspects of conveying
- verbal, nonverbal and interpersonal (Atre, et.al, 2013).
The importance of communication skills for engineering students and engineers
has been widely reported, with emphasis on non-native speakers of English. Batley
(1998) claims that many engineers may have strong quantitative skills while remaining
comparatively weak in verbal skills. This can be problems since employers are
demanding graduates who have excellent not only written but also oral and listening
skills.
As it was stated previously, communication skills of listening, speaking, reading,
and writing are essential for engineers to work well in their jobs. Reimer (2007) states
that communication skills are essential for an engineer who aspires to carry out his/her
professional practice in the global areas. Furthermore, Patil (2014) claims that getting the
work done in effective manner has become more important than having the most
knowledge. Effective communication reinforces positive impression of the engineer. It
means that having a good communication skill is very important for engineering students
to seek for their future jobs.
Riemer (2007) has classified communication skills in workplace into several
categories. They include oral communication skills, listening skills, written
communication skills, and visual communication skills. Oral communication skills refer
to the ability to deliver ideas orally. Oral communication and presentation skills are two
essential skills that should be mastered by engineering students (Cullen and Pudwill,
2002; Riemer, 2007). Knowledge and technical know-how are clearly important, but
these must be presented with an excellent standard of communication skills, particularly
oral. Communication involves receiving as well as sending signals. As such, listening
skills are just as important and verbal and written communication skills competences.
Not having a good listening skill would mean difficulty in communication (Riemer,
2007; Rubin-Pernia, 2013). Written communication skills involve a more active, rather
than passive, learning method. Writing can enhance critical thinking and problem-solving
skills. Writing in this instance refers to composing material that is to be read including
typing. Visual forms, such as drawings, diagrams, real pictures, and symbolic images are
of tremendous importance in the process of knowledge acquisition in general, especially
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information processing, storage and retrieval. This can be the ability to understand
manual books of a machine or tool. It is clear that every engineering profession relies
heavily on the use of visual forms as a means of non-verbal communication.
Methodology
This study employed a descriptive qualitative method. It was carried out at the
undergraduate mechanical engineering study program at one polytechnic in Bandung.
The participants of the study were forty students of Technical English subject, and two
employers from engineering field.
The data were collected through the questionnaires and interview. The
questionnaire was designed to find out the engineering students’ needs of communication
skills. There were several various types of questions including the close-ended, openended, and ranking questions. The questions were used to identify the students’ target
situations, the gap between learner’s existing language proficiency and the needed target
situation language needs, and the students’ needs of communication skills in English.
The other source of data was the interview with some students and employers.
There were twelve students who were willing to be interviewed. The employers were
from multinational companies. The interview was done to obtain more comprehensive
data on the students’ needs of communication skills and the view points from the
employer about the needs of communication skills in real workplace. These can be used
for determining the appropriate instructional material and method to teach Technical
English Subject in the research site.
As for data analysis, the students’ questionnaries are tabulated and made into
percentage. Then, the results are analyzed and triangulated with data obtained from
interview.
Findings and Discussions
The findings of the research provided valuable insights on the engineering students’
needs of communication skills. The findings are presented in two parts. Part one presents
the results from questionnaires, and Part 2 elaborates the data obtained from the
interviews.
Findings from Questionnaires
The followings present the findings from the questionnaires. The items asked in
questionnaires are described in forms of figures. Figure 1 below shows the students’
rating on their current language skills. The students were asked to rate each language
skill and English language element from weak, fair and good categories.
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70
60
50
40
Good, 20
Fair, 42
Weak, 38
Good, 12.5
Fair, 52.5
Weak, 35
Good, 10
Fair, 42
Weak, 48
Good, 10
Fair, 47.5
Weak, 42.5
Good, 20
Fair, 37.5
Weak, 42.5
10
Good, 30
Fair, 57.5
Weak, 12.5
20
Good, 15
Fair, 40
Weak, 45
30
0
Weak
Fair
Good
Figure 1. The Students rating on their current language skills
As it can be seen in figure 1, almost half of the students (48%) have rated
grammar skill as their weakest skill. They admitted that they still have problems in
mastering the grammar of English. This reveals that there is a need to improve the
students’ grammar skill to support their communication skills. It is therefore
recommended for the students to be given explicit teaching on grammar points that will
be useful for them. This idea is supported by Riabtseva and Arestova’s (2006) statement
on the importance of the teaching of basic language concepts. Apart from that, the result
shows that the students rated their current language skills as in ‘fair category’. Whereas
the students’ mastery of vocabulary and pronunciation 52.5% and 42% respectively that
can be categorized into “fair category’ as well. This shows that the students needed more
time allotted to develop not only their communication skills, but also the English
language elements. The process of learning ESP should focus on those categories of
language skills and English language elements of grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation.
Concerning the students’ opinion about the importance of English for their future
professional career can be seen in the following figure. The students were asked to rank
the language skills from very important to the least important in workplace.
The result shown in figure 2 above presents the percentage of students’ interest on
language skills needed by engineers in their job. The students thought that their ESP
courses should focus on the four language skills. They argued that they would need
English for their future professional jobs in different situations, and the needs of each
skill were various. However, they expressed that their needs for all the four skills were
not equal. Most of them (85%) preferred to have more speaking activities (85%). The rest
chose reading skill (75%), listening skill (70), and writing skill (65%). This indicates that
speaking skill is still categorized more important than the other skills considering they
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tended to work in multinational companies that require their employees to use English in
their daily work. Having good oral communication skills will make them easy to get jobs.
Very Important
Not Important
Not Very Important, 0
Not Important, 15
Important, 15
Very Important, 70
Speaking
Not Very Important
Not Very Important, 0
Not Important, 0
Important, 15
Very Important, 85
Writing
Not Very Important, 10
Not Important, 10
Important, 15
Very Important, 65
Not Very Important, 0
Not Important, 5
Important, 20
Very Important, 75
Reading
Important
Listening
Figure 2. The Language Skills needed by engineers in their job
In relation to the students’ responses to their language learning objectives, it was
found that the students wanted to improve their speaking skill. There are 85 percent of
the participants that represents 34 students said that they study English because they
wanted to become more fluent speaker. The other 80 percent that represents 32 students
preferred to improve their presentation skill. This confirms that the students would like to
improve their productive skill during oral communication. The detail result can be seen
in figure 3.
The data show that speaking skill is still considered the most used skill in their
future job that needs paying more attention. Being a good communicator will make them
easy to convey ideas related to engineering background. This is supported by Cullen and
Pudwill’s (2002) statement that engineers need to be able to communicate their technical
expertise effectively.
In terms of the topics of ESP that can be learned in ESP course, the students put
forward various answers. The students’ responses can be seen in figure 4. It describes the
students’ responses on the topics for ESP classes. The topic about describing processes
takes the top option for the students to be discussed in their ESP classroom (90%),
followed by the topic about shapes and dimensions (82.5%). The topic about describing
technical object takes the next option (80%), followed by the topics about engineering
materials and properties (75%), places of work (75%), numbers and quantity (62.5%),
and safety at work (57.5%). The students claimed that the topics were very useful for
them in relation to engineering field. It also confirms that the targeted topics should be
covered in the syllabus for Technical courses (see Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). They
argue that one variable characteristics of ESP is to be related to or designed for specific
disciplines.
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Percentage
80
85
80
70
75
65
75
62.5
Figure 3. The skills during oral communication
Percentage
90
82.5
80
75
75
62.5
Engineering Shapes and Number and Describing
materials dimensions quantities
technical
and
object
properties
57.5
Describing
processes
Safety at
Places of
work,
work
hazard,
(Workshop,
instruction laboratories)
Figure 4. Students’ Responses on Topics for ESP
The following figure shows the desirable activities chosen by engineering students
during learning ESP.
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Percentage
80
62.5
60
37.5
30
Individual
Group work
Whole Class
Out of Class work
Pair Work
Figure 5. The Students Preferences of Activities in Learning English
From Figure 5, it can be seen that students most likely to have group work (80%) in
learning ESP, pair work (62.5%) and whole class activities (60%). Students do not seem
to prefer individual activities in learning ESP (30%). It confirms that the students
preferred to have group work, so they can cooperate with their friends and share
problems if there is any. This is in line with the facts that group work encourages broader
skills of cooperation and negotiation that help the students’ social aspect and develop
their generic skill (Harmer, 2001).
Concerning the communication skills needs that are required by engineers,
especially in different language skills can be seen in the following figures. Figure 6
shows the students’ needs of communication skills in terms of listening skill. The
students needed the listening skills mostly during the presentations (80%), followed by
during lectures (70%), instructions (67.5%), explanations of their teacher (65%), and
reports (50%). The students stated that listening skill is important especially to
understand information during group presentation, during lectures, and to comprehend
subject explained by the teacher. Some students admitted that sometimes they
experienced problems in mastering this skill due to their lack of English skill. This is in
line with Rubin-Pernia (2013) that for students not being able to master the listening skill
would mean difficulty passing their subjects.
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90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Listening to
lectures
Listening to
instructions
Listening to
presentation
Listening to
reports
Listening to
explanation
of teacher
70
67.5
80
50
65
Figure 6. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Listening
In terms of speaking skills, students’ needs of communication skills is elaborated
in figure 7 below.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Delivering
presentation
Explaining
processes
Describing
tools,
machines
Speaking on
the phone
Giving
instructions
85
75
70
25
60
Figure 7. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Speaking
The students needed the speaking skill especially for delivering oral presentation
(85%), explaining the process (75%), describing the tools and machines (70%), in giving
instructions (60%), and when speaking to a client on the phone (25%). The students
mentioned in the interview that speaking is one of the most frequently used skills among
others. They needed to improve their speaking skills especially in expressing their ideas
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related to their expertise, i.e. engineering. This is line with Cullen and Pudwill’s (2002)
finding that the ability to give a presentation is a particularly important skill for
engineering students to acquire, since engineers are often asked to give technical
explanation on product design or manufacturing processes. This is also supported by
Riemer (2007) who states that oral communication and presentation skills are two
essential skills that should be mastered by engineering students. Knowledge and
technical know-how are clearly important, but these must be presented with an excellent
standard of communication skills, particularly oral.
On the other hand, related to the students’ needs of communication skills in terms of
reading skills, the result can be seen in Figure 8 below.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Reading
manual books
Reading
product
specification
Reading
descriptive
paragraph
Reading
process
paragraph
Reading text
book
70
60
70
75
80
Figure 8. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Reading
The reading skill is admitted to be used in understanding the text book (80%), the
process paragraph (75%), descriptive paragraph (70%), manuals (70%) and the product
specifications 60%). The machines or tools are usually presented with manual books with
pictures, symbols, and graphs. The ability to understand visual language which is
included in non-verbal communication will build the students to become qualified
engineers (Riemer, 2007). The students commented that reading skill is important to
know detail information about machine or tools related the engineering field. If not, they
thought they will face problems especially if they mistakes in understanding the detail
specification of machines or tools.
In terms of writing, the students needed this skill especially to write process
paragraph (85%), reports (80), descriptive paragraph (75%) and technical vocabularies
(70%). The detail can be seen in the following figure.
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90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Writing
technical
vocabularie
s
Writing
emails
Writing
reports
Writing
memo
70
57.5
80
30
Writing
Writing
descriptive process
paragraph paragraph
75
85
Figure 9. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Writing
The students admitted that writing is the least frequently used and the most difficult
skill. It needs much effort to master writing skill, since it requires the correct grammar
mastery and perseverance (Riemer, 2007). Hence, the students needed to improve this
skill because if they work in a multinational company they had to communicate in
written form including writing reports, writing descriptive and process paragraphs with
specific technical vocabularies, writing email, and writing memo.
Based on the findings from questionnaires, the engineering students needed all four
English language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in their future
workplace. The ESP course in the research site should cover the topics needed related to
the students’ field, which is engineering field. To be able to have good communication
skills, the students needed more allotted time to improve their language skills, and also
the English language components of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
Finding from Interview
The interview was done to two employers from multinational companies that run
machine spare parts and automotive business. The multinational company requires the
employees to use English in their daily work, such as in writing a weekly report, during
meeting, meeting clients, presenting new projects, etc.
Based on the result of interview, all employers agreed that English communication
skills were very important in workplace. The employers said that the engineers needed
these language skills to carry out the communication effectively. They added that
engineers needed English especially for daily communication and technical English to do
their work effectively.
On top of these skills, speaking was considered as one of the most frequently used
skills. The engineers needed this skill in everyday communication for example to discuss
their daily tasks and duties. In the context of their work in a multinational company, the
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engineers had to work with foreign bosses, managers, supervisors and experts. During
their work, they had to be able to express their ideas or present their solutions to technical
issues effectively; they also had to report their work progress or technical problems to
their foreign supervisors and managers. For these reasons, becoming a good speaker will
make them easy to communicate effectively and successfully.
In relation to using reading skill in daily work, all employers said that this skill was
important. It is not only used to understand the manual books of machines or tools, but
also to know the products’ specifications in details. The lack of reading skill will lead to
serious problems, for example they would make mistakes in ordering spare parts and
installing devices.
The students needed receptive communication skill i.e. listening skill which is used
in daily work especially to do their daily tasks. The engineers had to listen to the boss or
manager’s instructions. They also had to understand presentations and discussions in
meetings, seminars or conferences. Having a good listening skill will be beneficial to do
their daily tasks easily.
Concerning the function of writing skill in workplace, the employers claimed that
this skill was quite difficult because it requires grammar mastery. This skill was needed
mostly for email communication and writing technical reports.
The employers further suggested that undergraduate engineering students should
improve their English communication skills as these skills are very important in
workplace. They also stated that there is a need to include the communication skills into
the curriculum. The teaching of communication skills therefore can be given both in the
English instruction classroom and content specific subjects.
Conclusions
The findings of the study have revealed the real engineering students’ need of
communication skills. It is found that the results correspond to the identified needs of the
target group of learners. The results also show that the participants have different skills
and expectations related to their needs to use the target language in their future career.
Furthermore, the identification of the students’ needs of communication skills which was
carried out through needs analysis provides fruitful information to the preparation of ESP
course.
In conclusion, several important aspects can be drawn from the needs analysis
questionnaire, and interviews that help to identify the engineering students’ needs of
communication skills. The communication skills of delivering presentation, explaining
tools/machines, writing process paragraph, and reading manuals were important for
engineering students and needed to be emphasized in the ESP course. Based on the
findings needs analysis is very important to be performed before commencing an ESP
course, so that it can meet the students’ specific needs.
References
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Professional Effectiveness at the Top Level of Hierarchy’. Global Journal of
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http://www.ripublication.com/gjmbs.htm
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SKILLS
Dini Hadiani ([email protected])
Nia Nuryanti Permata ([email protected])
Unit Sosio Manufaktur, Politeknik Manufaktur Negeri Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract: This study presents the qualitative analysis of engineering students’
needs of communication skills. Communication skills are recognized as important
elements in workplace. However, many engineering students are reported to
encounter problems in communicating in English. Therefore, this study tries to
identify the engineering students’ needs of communication skills that will help
them to seek jobs after graduating. The purpose of this study is to explore the
communication skills needs of engineering students as a tool of determining the
appropriate teaching material and method. Data were obtained through
questionnaires and interviews. The findings revealed the engineering students
needs of communication skill and the employers’ view point related to the needs of
communication skills in students’ future workplace. It was concluded that
communication skills of delivering presentation, explaining tools/machines,
writing process paragraph, and reading manuals were important for engineering
students and should be brought into the ESP course.
Key words: ESP, needs analysis, communication skills
Introduction
The need of communication skills for engineering students has increased rapidly. Having
good communication skills is considered essential in workplace. They are required in
every field of work, including engineering field. For this reason, a course in English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) is addressed for teaching effective English communication skills
for engineers, since ESP which is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners and
centered not only on the language (grammar, lexis, and register) but also on the skills and
discourses is considered a good way to enhance English language training (Riabtseva and
Arestova, 2006; Maria, 2009).
Teaching ESP for engineering students is challenging. The learners need English
as a means of doing their work efficiently, but first of all they need it for being able to
communicate well. Therefore the teaching of ESP for engineering students will be more
beneficial if it emphasizes on communication skills required in the professional field.
However, many graduates still experience problems in English communication skills
(Stevens, 2005). It indicates that for engineering students who will directly look for jobs
after graduating, improving their communication skills must be paid more attention so as
to be hired by employers.
Journal of English in Academic and Professional Communication
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To achieve the effective result of ESP course, there is a need to have suitable
information that supports the students’ professional career in the future especially to
improve their English communication skills. As an attempt to fill the gap, this study
seeks to identify the students’ communication skills needs that can be used to determine
ESP instructional materials and methods appropriate to them.
English for Specific Purposes
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is an approach to language teaching and learning
based on the learners’ reasons for learning (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987; Robinson,
1991; Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). In line with the idea, Richards and Schmidt in
Richards (2001) said that ESP is the role of English in a language course or program of
instruction in which the content and aims of the course are fixed by the specific needs of
a particular group of learners. Mackay and Mountford in Robinson (1980) also
mentioned that the purposes of ESP are occupational requirement, vocational training,
and academic or professional study. It can be inferred that ESP is a form of English
teaching given to special group of learners for special purposes, on the basis of what and
why the learners learn English.
There are a lot benefits can be reached by implementing an ESP approach. It
embraces students’ learning speed, learning efficiency, and learning effectiveness
(Wright, 1992). ESP embraces the students’ learning speed means that it can bring a
quicker acquisition of required language points. Learners, therefore, can learn English in
a content-based context. ESP also embraces the students learning efficiency because
learners use their learning resources optimally by having previous identification of
expected linguistic items and skills (Wright, 1992; Harmer, 2001). The identification is
done through needs analysis, so that it can allow teacher to determine the specific
requirements of the learners. Finally, ESP embraces the students learning effectiveness
since they are expected to be ready to use language appropriately and correctly in
specific purpose tasks. The tasks should also be determined by conducting needs
analysis, so the learners can develop their language skill effectively.
Based on the explanation stated previously, it is clear that before starting an ESP
course, needs analysis should be conducted to find out what is needed by learners in
learning English, the context related to it, and the current English level the students have.
Needs Analysis
In general, to prepare an ESP course needs several different stages. One of which is very
important is Needs Analysis (NA). Since the main purpose of ESP is to fulfill the needs
of the learners, NA is done to identify the specific needs of the students taking the
language program.
Needs analysis is the process of determining the needs for which a learner or group
of learners requires a language and arranging the needs according to priority (Richards
and Schmidt in Richards, 2001). It means that needs analysis plays an important role in
developing materials that meet the learners’ needs. Richards (2001) strongly stated that
an important concern in ESP is needs analysis.
Focusing on students’ needs in designing a language course becomes a demanding
task. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) have classified needs into necessities, wants and
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lacks. In their classification, necessities are concerned with the demands of target
situations, lacks refer to the gap between learner’s existing language proficiency and the
needed target situation language needs, and wants relate to learners’ view on what their
needs are.
In line with the idea, Robinson (1991) categorizes needs analysis into Target
Situation Analysis (TSA) and Present Situation Analysis (PSA). The former refers to the
learners’ needs and expectation after they finish the language course. The latter concerns
about things that the learners should know before taking a language learning and
knowing their strengths and weaknesses. It can be concluded that before starting any ESP
courses, NA should be done to investigate the students’ needs related to their necessities,
wants, and lacks and it also involves TSA and PSA.
Communication Skills
Communication skills refer to the ability to convey a message along with the feeling
behind it, for purpose of the desired effect. Thus, it includes various aspects of conveying
- verbal, nonverbal and interpersonal (Atre, et.al, 2013).
The importance of communication skills for engineering students and engineers
has been widely reported, with emphasis on non-native speakers of English. Batley
(1998) claims that many engineers may have strong quantitative skills while remaining
comparatively weak in verbal skills. This can be problems since employers are
demanding graduates who have excellent not only written but also oral and listening
skills.
As it was stated previously, communication skills of listening, speaking, reading,
and writing are essential for engineers to work well in their jobs. Reimer (2007) states
that communication skills are essential for an engineer who aspires to carry out his/her
professional practice in the global areas. Furthermore, Patil (2014) claims that getting the
work done in effective manner has become more important than having the most
knowledge. Effective communication reinforces positive impression of the engineer. It
means that having a good communication skill is very important for engineering students
to seek for their future jobs.
Riemer (2007) has classified communication skills in workplace into several
categories. They include oral communication skills, listening skills, written
communication skills, and visual communication skills. Oral communication skills refer
to the ability to deliver ideas orally. Oral communication and presentation skills are two
essential skills that should be mastered by engineering students (Cullen and Pudwill,
2002; Riemer, 2007). Knowledge and technical know-how are clearly important, but
these must be presented with an excellent standard of communication skills, particularly
oral. Communication involves receiving as well as sending signals. As such, listening
skills are just as important and verbal and written communication skills competences.
Not having a good listening skill would mean difficulty in communication (Riemer,
2007; Rubin-Pernia, 2013). Written communication skills involve a more active, rather
than passive, learning method. Writing can enhance critical thinking and problem-solving
skills. Writing in this instance refers to composing material that is to be read including
typing. Visual forms, such as drawings, diagrams, real pictures, and symbolic images are
of tremendous importance in the process of knowledge acquisition in general, especially
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information processing, storage and retrieval. This can be the ability to understand
manual books of a machine or tool. It is clear that every engineering profession relies
heavily on the use of visual forms as a means of non-verbal communication.
Methodology
This study employed a descriptive qualitative method. It was carried out at the
undergraduate mechanical engineering study program at one polytechnic in Bandung.
The participants of the study were forty students of Technical English subject, and two
employers from engineering field.
The data were collected through the questionnaires and interview. The
questionnaire was designed to find out the engineering students’ needs of communication
skills. There were several various types of questions including the close-ended, openended, and ranking questions. The questions were used to identify the students’ target
situations, the gap between learner’s existing language proficiency and the needed target
situation language needs, and the students’ needs of communication skills in English.
The other source of data was the interview with some students and employers.
There were twelve students who were willing to be interviewed. The employers were
from multinational companies. The interview was done to obtain more comprehensive
data on the students’ needs of communication skills and the view points from the
employer about the needs of communication skills in real workplace. These can be used
for determining the appropriate instructional material and method to teach Technical
English Subject in the research site.
As for data analysis, the students’ questionnaries are tabulated and made into
percentage. Then, the results are analyzed and triangulated with data obtained from
interview.
Findings and Discussions
The findings of the research provided valuable insights on the engineering students’
needs of communication skills. The findings are presented in two parts. Part one presents
the results from questionnaires, and Part 2 elaborates the data obtained from the
interviews.
Findings from Questionnaires
The followings present the findings from the questionnaires. The items asked in
questionnaires are described in forms of figures. Figure 1 below shows the students’
rating on their current language skills. The students were asked to rate each language
skill and English language element from weak, fair and good categories.
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70
60
50
40
Good, 20
Fair, 42
Weak, 38
Good, 12.5
Fair, 52.5
Weak, 35
Good, 10
Fair, 42
Weak, 48
Good, 10
Fair, 47.5
Weak, 42.5
Good, 20
Fair, 37.5
Weak, 42.5
10
Good, 30
Fair, 57.5
Weak, 12.5
20
Good, 15
Fair, 40
Weak, 45
30
0
Weak
Fair
Good
Figure 1. The Students rating on their current language skills
As it can be seen in figure 1, almost half of the students (48%) have rated
grammar skill as their weakest skill. They admitted that they still have problems in
mastering the grammar of English. This reveals that there is a need to improve the
students’ grammar skill to support their communication skills. It is therefore
recommended for the students to be given explicit teaching on grammar points that will
be useful for them. This idea is supported by Riabtseva and Arestova’s (2006) statement
on the importance of the teaching of basic language concepts. Apart from that, the result
shows that the students rated their current language skills as in ‘fair category’. Whereas
the students’ mastery of vocabulary and pronunciation 52.5% and 42% respectively that
can be categorized into “fair category’ as well. This shows that the students needed more
time allotted to develop not only their communication skills, but also the English
language elements. The process of learning ESP should focus on those categories of
language skills and English language elements of grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation.
Concerning the students’ opinion about the importance of English for their future
professional career can be seen in the following figure. The students were asked to rank
the language skills from very important to the least important in workplace.
The result shown in figure 2 above presents the percentage of students’ interest on
language skills needed by engineers in their job. The students thought that their ESP
courses should focus on the four language skills. They argued that they would need
English for their future professional jobs in different situations, and the needs of each
skill were various. However, they expressed that their needs for all the four skills were
not equal. Most of them (85%) preferred to have more speaking activities (85%). The rest
chose reading skill (75%), listening skill (70), and writing skill (65%). This indicates that
speaking skill is still categorized more important than the other skills considering they
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tended to work in multinational companies that require their employees to use English in
their daily work. Having good oral communication skills will make them easy to get jobs.
Very Important
Not Important
Not Very Important, 0
Not Important, 15
Important, 15
Very Important, 70
Speaking
Not Very Important
Not Very Important, 0
Not Important, 0
Important, 15
Very Important, 85
Writing
Not Very Important, 10
Not Important, 10
Important, 15
Very Important, 65
Not Very Important, 0
Not Important, 5
Important, 20
Very Important, 75
Reading
Important
Listening
Figure 2. The Language Skills needed by engineers in their job
In relation to the students’ responses to their language learning objectives, it was
found that the students wanted to improve their speaking skill. There are 85 percent of
the participants that represents 34 students said that they study English because they
wanted to become more fluent speaker. The other 80 percent that represents 32 students
preferred to improve their presentation skill. This confirms that the students would like to
improve their productive skill during oral communication. The detail result can be seen
in figure 3.
The data show that speaking skill is still considered the most used skill in their
future job that needs paying more attention. Being a good communicator will make them
easy to convey ideas related to engineering background. This is supported by Cullen and
Pudwill’s (2002) statement that engineers need to be able to communicate their technical
expertise effectively.
In terms of the topics of ESP that can be learned in ESP course, the students put
forward various answers. The students’ responses can be seen in figure 4. It describes the
students’ responses on the topics for ESP classes. The topic about describing processes
takes the top option for the students to be discussed in their ESP classroom (90%),
followed by the topic about shapes and dimensions (82.5%). The topic about describing
technical object takes the next option (80%), followed by the topics about engineering
materials and properties (75%), places of work (75%), numbers and quantity (62.5%),
and safety at work (57.5%). The students claimed that the topics were very useful for
them in relation to engineering field. It also confirms that the targeted topics should be
covered in the syllabus for Technical courses (see Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). They
argue that one variable characteristics of ESP is to be related to or designed for specific
disciplines.
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Percentage
80
85
80
70
75
65
75
62.5
Figure 3. The skills during oral communication
Percentage
90
82.5
80
75
75
62.5
Engineering Shapes and Number and Describing
materials dimensions quantities
technical
and
object
properties
57.5
Describing
processes
Safety at
Places of
work,
work
hazard,
(Workshop,
instruction laboratories)
Figure 4. Students’ Responses on Topics for ESP
The following figure shows the desirable activities chosen by engineering students
during learning ESP.
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Percentage
80
62.5
60
37.5
30
Individual
Group work
Whole Class
Out of Class work
Pair Work
Figure 5. The Students Preferences of Activities in Learning English
From Figure 5, it can be seen that students most likely to have group work (80%) in
learning ESP, pair work (62.5%) and whole class activities (60%). Students do not seem
to prefer individual activities in learning ESP (30%). It confirms that the students
preferred to have group work, so they can cooperate with their friends and share
problems if there is any. This is in line with the facts that group work encourages broader
skills of cooperation and negotiation that help the students’ social aspect and develop
their generic skill (Harmer, 2001).
Concerning the communication skills needs that are required by engineers,
especially in different language skills can be seen in the following figures. Figure 6
shows the students’ needs of communication skills in terms of listening skill. The
students needed the listening skills mostly during the presentations (80%), followed by
during lectures (70%), instructions (67.5%), explanations of their teacher (65%), and
reports (50%). The students stated that listening skill is important especially to
understand information during group presentation, during lectures, and to comprehend
subject explained by the teacher. Some students admitted that sometimes they
experienced problems in mastering this skill due to their lack of English skill. This is in
line with Rubin-Pernia (2013) that for students not being able to master the listening skill
would mean difficulty passing their subjects.
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90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Listening to
lectures
Listening to
instructions
Listening to
presentation
Listening to
reports
Listening to
explanation
of teacher
70
67.5
80
50
65
Figure 6. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Listening
In terms of speaking skills, students’ needs of communication skills is elaborated
in figure 7 below.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Delivering
presentation
Explaining
processes
Describing
tools,
machines
Speaking on
the phone
Giving
instructions
85
75
70
25
60
Figure 7. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Speaking
The students needed the speaking skill especially for delivering oral presentation
(85%), explaining the process (75%), describing the tools and machines (70%), in giving
instructions (60%), and when speaking to a client on the phone (25%). The students
mentioned in the interview that speaking is one of the most frequently used skills among
others. They needed to improve their speaking skills especially in expressing their ideas
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related to their expertise, i.e. engineering. This is line with Cullen and Pudwill’s (2002)
finding that the ability to give a presentation is a particularly important skill for
engineering students to acquire, since engineers are often asked to give technical
explanation on product design or manufacturing processes. This is also supported by
Riemer (2007) who states that oral communication and presentation skills are two
essential skills that should be mastered by engineering students. Knowledge and
technical know-how are clearly important, but these must be presented with an excellent
standard of communication skills, particularly oral.
On the other hand, related to the students’ needs of communication skills in terms of
reading skills, the result can be seen in Figure 8 below.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Reading
manual books
Reading
product
specification
Reading
descriptive
paragraph
Reading
process
paragraph
Reading text
book
70
60
70
75
80
Figure 8. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Reading
The reading skill is admitted to be used in understanding the text book (80%), the
process paragraph (75%), descriptive paragraph (70%), manuals (70%) and the product
specifications 60%). The machines or tools are usually presented with manual books with
pictures, symbols, and graphs. The ability to understand visual language which is
included in non-verbal communication will build the students to become qualified
engineers (Riemer, 2007). The students commented that reading skill is important to
know detail information about machine or tools related the engineering field. If not, they
thought they will face problems especially if they mistakes in understanding the detail
specification of machines or tools.
In terms of writing, the students needed this skill especially to write process
paragraph (85%), reports (80), descriptive paragraph (75%) and technical vocabularies
(70%). The detail can be seen in the following figure.
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90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentage
Writing
technical
vocabularie
s
Writing
emails
Writing
reports
Writing
memo
70
57.5
80
30
Writing
Writing
descriptive process
paragraph paragraph
75
85
Figure 9. The Students Needs of Communication Skills in terms of Writing
The students admitted that writing is the least frequently used and the most difficult
skill. It needs much effort to master writing skill, since it requires the correct grammar
mastery and perseverance (Riemer, 2007). Hence, the students needed to improve this
skill because if they work in a multinational company they had to communicate in
written form including writing reports, writing descriptive and process paragraphs with
specific technical vocabularies, writing email, and writing memo.
Based on the findings from questionnaires, the engineering students needed all four
English language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in their future
workplace. The ESP course in the research site should cover the topics needed related to
the students’ field, which is engineering field. To be able to have good communication
skills, the students needed more allotted time to improve their language skills, and also
the English language components of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
Finding from Interview
The interview was done to two employers from multinational companies that run
machine spare parts and automotive business. The multinational company requires the
employees to use English in their daily work, such as in writing a weekly report, during
meeting, meeting clients, presenting new projects, etc.
Based on the result of interview, all employers agreed that English communication
skills were very important in workplace. The employers said that the engineers needed
these language skills to carry out the communication effectively. They added that
engineers needed English especially for daily communication and technical English to do
their work effectively.
On top of these skills, speaking was considered as one of the most frequently used
skills. The engineers needed this skill in everyday communication for example to discuss
their daily tasks and duties. In the context of their work in a multinational company, the
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engineers had to work with foreign bosses, managers, supervisors and experts. During
their work, they had to be able to express their ideas or present their solutions to technical
issues effectively; they also had to report their work progress or technical problems to
their foreign supervisors and managers. For these reasons, becoming a good speaker will
make them easy to communicate effectively and successfully.
In relation to using reading skill in daily work, all employers said that this skill was
important. It is not only used to understand the manual books of machines or tools, but
also to know the products’ specifications in details. The lack of reading skill will lead to
serious problems, for example they would make mistakes in ordering spare parts and
installing devices.
The students needed receptive communication skill i.e. listening skill which is used
in daily work especially to do their daily tasks. The engineers had to listen to the boss or
manager’s instructions. They also had to understand presentations and discussions in
meetings, seminars or conferences. Having a good listening skill will be beneficial to do
their daily tasks easily.
Concerning the function of writing skill in workplace, the employers claimed that
this skill was quite difficult because it requires grammar mastery. This skill was needed
mostly for email communication and writing technical reports.
The employers further suggested that undergraduate engineering students should
improve their English communication skills as these skills are very important in
workplace. They also stated that there is a need to include the communication skills into
the curriculum. The teaching of communication skills therefore can be given both in the
English instruction classroom and content specific subjects.
Conclusions
The findings of the study have revealed the real engineering students’ need of
communication skills. It is found that the results correspond to the identified needs of the
target group of learners. The results also show that the participants have different skills
and expectations related to their needs to use the target language in their future career.
Furthermore, the identification of the students’ needs of communication skills which was
carried out through needs analysis provides fruitful information to the preparation of ESP
course.
In conclusion, several important aspects can be drawn from the needs analysis
questionnaire, and interviews that help to identify the engineering students’ needs of
communication skills. The communication skills of delivering presentation, explaining
tools/machines, writing process paragraph, and reading manuals were important for
engineering students and needed to be emphasized in the ESP course. Based on the
findings needs analysis is very important to be performed before commencing an ESP
course, so that it can meet the students’ specific needs.
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