Alumnae and Teachers’ Perceptions about English Communication Skills Courses for Engineering Undergraduates

Abstract

Language is a living phenomenon and its utility is best demonstrated and measured in practical life. This is especially so about language learned and taught for specific purposes. Those in the practical field know the demands and challenges that the graduates face in practical life regarding their English proficiency. This study presents the perceptions of university alumnae and ESP teachers about the usefulness of various ESP courses taught to engineering students at five universities. In the first phase of the study, we collected data from 100 alumnae and 25 teachers from these universities. We selected 20 graduates and 5 teachers from each university. In the second phase, 10 graduates were interviewed. It was found that while the teachers were generally satisfied with the courses taught at the universities, the graduates thought otherwise. The graduates reported that there was no focus on developing oral communication skills and this led to communication apprehension when the students joined practical fields. Moreover, they claimed that the courses emphasized on hackneyed styles of writing reports and letters that were no more in vogue. In the second phase, we conducted focus group interviews with five members of the alumnae to gain an in-depth knowledge of the phenomenon. The alumnae proposed that instead of going for traditional courses, the teachers needed to come up with such contents that help the students develop practical speaking and presentation skills.