English for Occupational Purposes for Arts Students: Alumni Feedback

Abstract

Alumni feedback is an important means of determining whether a course is of relevance to the students’ needs. One of the courses that would benefit from their feedback is English for Occupational Purposes. Based on the practice at the workplace, graduates can provide information whether what was taught could be applied to their working environment. This study seeks to ascertain whether an EOP course is relevant to the needs of the graduates. A questionnaire survey was conducted, and a total of thirty alumni of an Arts Faculty responded to the survey. The findings indicate that the students benefited from the course, but a number of improvements can be made to make the course more effective. The study also highlighted the form of language used at work. The use of standard English, Malaysian English and Malay were found to be the highest in making small talks.