Analysing Industry Needs in Orientation to Developing Vocational Students’ Workplace English Communicative Competence for Globalization

Abstract

This study aimed at examining how English was used at work and what industries actually needed in terms of their staff’s English communicative competence for the current globalization. For these purposes, the research methodology was constructed with the main use of questionnaires survey and interviews with 126 employees and managers from 11 corporates in central Vietnam. The triangulation of data collection instruments, sources of information and various investigated locations helped to sort out important factors in order to enhance the vocational undergraduates’ English communicative competence at work. The findings reveal actual workplace communication needs of English as required by the employees majoring in business administration (BusiAdmin) and yield valid contents significant to developing the BusiAdmin students’ English communicative competence in orientation to the widespread globalization: (i) industries identified English as one of the prioritized recruitment standards; (ii) language skills for job purposes namely telephoning, reading and writing emails, business letters, contracts, memos and minutes, speaking and listening in social situations with business partners and job interviewing were recommended; and (iii) and the suggestions put forth by all the participants were catered for.