Analysis Of Engineering Students Problems In Speaking English Language Essay

Analysis Of Engineering Students Problems In Speaking position Language EssayThe objective of the study was to investigate the English language problems in terms of public speak and composing skills of engineering students at a skilful university in Malaysia based on the perceptions of students and English language lecturers. The study was conducted within the poser of needs analysis as part of the larger curriculum review exercise in the effort to redesign English language courses that meet the needs of the stakeholders. A 15-item questionnaire was formulated and distributed to 612 engineering students and 36 English language lecturers of the technical university. The findings of the survey indicated that at that place is a difference between students and lecturers perceptions of students problems in speaking and authorship. ground on the findings of the study relevant recommendations were made to assist in the decision make process of the curriculum review exercise.KEYW ORDSLanguage problems, Speaking, Writing, Curriculum review, English for particularized Purposes, Needs analysisINTRODUCTIONOne of the recommendations mentioned consistently in look for projects commissioned by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education is the need for a across-the-board review of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) programmes of Malaysian universities (Morshidi et al., 2008 Isarji et al., 2008). The recommendation is in direct response to the nations concern for the declining standard of English among Malaysian university students and graduates and the need to meet the expectations of the stakeholders. The research project report that based on scores in the English Proficiency Test (EPT) and perceptions of business leaders, government officials and academic staff, Malaysian university students, in general, were considered special users of English in the productive skills namely, writing and speaking (Isarji et al., 2008).The literature on ESP, college graduates , and employability reveals a list of problems faced by university students in terms of writing and speaking such as writing reports, memos, proposals, formal letters, instructions, manuals, summaries, technical jargons, and utilize grammatically correct sentences, participating in discussions, communicating with people, telephone conversations, everyday conversation, oral presentation, and negotiations (Horowitz, 1986 Basturkmen and Al-Huneidi, 1996 Ferris and Tagg, 1996 Hyland, 1997 Sullivan and Girginer, 2002 Abdul Aziz, 2004 Siti Hanim and Ismie Roha, 2005 Isarji et al., 2008) and stableman et al., 2008).This study was conducted within the framework of needs assessment as part of the larger curriculum review exercise in the effort to redesign English language courses, especially in terms of speaking and writing skills of engineering students that meet the needs of the stakeholders. The research questions were as follows1. What are the problems of engineering students in writin g and speaking?2. What are the problems of engineering students in writing and speaking from the lecturers point of view?3. Is there a difference between the perceptions of students and lecturers?METHODOLOGYThis study utilized a survey based on a four-point Likert scale. The items in the survey were developed based on sub-skills in the productive skills. Six items were included in the survey in aim to capture the perceptions of students writing sub-skills while ten items were to capture the perceptions of students speaking sub-skills. The survey was distributed to engineering students and English language lecturers of a technical university in Malaysia. A total of 612 students and 36 English language lecturers responded to the survey. Responses to the survey were subjected to descriptive analysis using the SPSS software version 12. In the analysis, the responses based on Agree and Strongly Agree categories were combined in order to capture the agreement to each statement.FINDINGST he findings are presented based on the three research questions. A summary of the findings based on students and lecturers performance are reported separately for both skills (speaking and writing skills). The summary of results is based on percentages of responses according to agreement to the statements in the questionnaires.The first research question is as followsRQ1 What are the problems of engineering students in writing and speaking?According to prefigure 1, on the average, more than than half of the students reported that they had difficulties in writing. The most problematic writing sub-skill was writing grammatically correct sentences (71%), followed by choosing suitable speech communication (66%), as well as developing and organizing their writing (56.5%). The writing sub-skill with the least problem as reported by the students was linking sentences in a paragraph (46.8%), followed by spelling correctly (47.7%), and combining paragraphs in an try out (47.7%).Figure 1 Engineering students perceptions of their problems in writingFigure 2 Engineering students perceptions of their problems in speakingIn terms of engineering students perceptions of their problems in speaking, the selective information tabulated in Figure 2 shows that they had problems using grammatically correct language (73.3%), speaking fluently (72%), using varied expression and expressions (67.8%) as well as speaking confidently in English (60.5%). The students, on the other hand, perceived to have fewer problems with participating in discussion (44.3%). communicating with people (44.6%), making suggestions and supporting their views (49.5), and speaking clearly and loudly (49.8%).The second research question asked,RQ2 What are the problems of engineering students in writing and speaking from the lecturers point of view?Figure 3 Lecturers perceptions of engineering students problems in writingFigure 4 Lecturers perceptions of engineering students problems in speakingThe lecturer s reported that the students had problems with all the sub-skills of speaking (Figure 3). The biggest problem was choosing suitable words (94.5%), followed by writing grammatically correct sentences (94.4%), and combining paragraphs in an essay (80.6%).As far as speaking is concerned, the lecturers reported that the students had problems with all speaking sub-skills (Figure 4). The pass three problems reported were using grammatically correct language (94.4%), using varied vocabulary and expressions (91.6%) and speaking fluently (86.1%).The third research question is as followsRQ3 Is there a difference between the perceptions of students and lecturers?The independent sample t-test conducted indicates that there is a significant difference (p0.05) between the perceptions of students and lecturers of students problems in writing and speaking in all the items (see Appendix 1). This shows that overall, the way the students perceive their problems in writing and speaking differ from the way their English language lecturers perceive the students problems. The results also show that the represent of the lecturers ratings on all the items were consistently higher than of the students ratings of their own speaking and writing problems. In a separate analysis, on the average, 56.2% of the students perceived writing as a problem as compared to the views of the lecturers on the same issue, which is 82.4%. Similarly, 58% of the students perceived speaking as a problem in contrast to the views of the lecturers, which is 80.2%.DISCUSSIONSThis study is a broken component of a larger curriculum review exercise. The findings of the study, in general, suggest that both students and English language lecturers were in agreement that the students hadproblems in writing and speakingspecific writing problems in choosing suitable words and writing grammatically correct sentences andspecific speaking problems in using grammatically correct language, using varied vocabulary and expre ssions, and speaking fluently.Not only that both lecturers and students concurred that students had problems in writing and speaking, there is a significant difference between how students and lecturers perceived students problems. The lecturers tended to be more critical of the students problems in writing and speaking than the students themselves. One may not be far fetch to conjecture that the reason for the perceptions to be importantly different perhaps is due to the tenacity of most English language lecturers to accentuate the importance of attaining a minimum threshold level in order to succeed in an English medium university in contrast to the lackadaisical attitude of many Malaysian students towards English. The findings of this study are consistent with the literature on the perceptions Malaysian university lecturers and students of students attitudes towards English in general (Isarji et al., 2008).The findings of the study also provide realistic recommendations pertainin g to curriculum review exercise. Firstly, in addition to the teaching of listening, speaking, reading and writing, there is a need to include grammar as an important core competence of language learning. The grammar component, however, needs to be taught in context instead of in isolation not only to ensure that language learning activities relate to the real world but also to enhance students motivation. It needs to be emphasized however, for English language teaching and learning to solely focus on grammar is to ignore the importance of communicative competence as the ultimate goal. Secondly, students need to be provided with more opportunities to be involved in activities that promote rich vocabulary acquisition. Finally, in a curriculum review exercise, it is imperative to include the opinions of the stakeholders particularly the students and teaching staff. The concomitant that both students and lecturers acknowledged the same language problems, even though there is a signifi cant difference between their perceptions make it less demanding for the programme provider to design a language programme that meets the needs of the stakeholders including the students and university.CONCLUSIONEven though Malaysian university students have the benefit of at least 11 old age of exposure to English language learning as a subject in a school setting, the findings of the study indicate that both students and lecturers perceived grammar and vocabulary to be problematic to students. On this account, 3 hours of exposure to English a week for 14 weeks, which is a normal duration of an English course in a university will not produce a miracle. Notwithstanding, with a proper needs analysis, the programme provider will be able to formulate assume learning outcomes, adapt, adopt or develop relevant materials and design suitable learning activities to ensure university students are better prepared not only to attempt rigorous credit bearing faculty courses in English but als o to enter the employment world.