Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the English proficiency of civil engineering students of a Malaysian polytechnic. A questionnaire, modeled after the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) approach and The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills report was developed and administered to 171 civil engineering students. These students had completed a mandatory one-semester industrial training programme with various organizations. This post industrial training survey, through the use of a self-report questionnaire, provided an important opportunity to capture crucial data from students regarding their English language skills. Findings of this study revealed that the students frequency or ability of using the English language was low, irrespective of the type of workplace or level of study. Analyses of skill deficiencies revealed wide learning gaps between the acquired and required English skill attributes. Analysis of the survey data had also identified a list of important skill attributes in the workplace, and the four most highly valued English skill attributes were a combination of academic and specific job-related tasks: understanding technical documents, correct grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure, writing test/investigation report and questioning for clarification. The results of this study implied the need for curriculum changes (such as content and mode of delivery) so that polytechnic graduates could meet the workplace expectations. Key words : Employability Skills, English Proficiency, Skills Gaps
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundEmployability skills of fresh graduates have constantly received considerable attention in the local media
The objectives of the study were as follows: (1) to assess the English proficiency of civil engineering (CE) students of a Malaysian polytechnic; (2) to determine the importance of different English skill attributes needed on the job for CE students; and (3) to determine the gaps between the acquired and required skill attributes as perceived by the CE students
Demographic data collected on student participations included gender, race, English language achievement at Malaysian Certificate Education (SPM) level, study level, type of training provider, and industrial classification of training provider
Summary
Introduction and BackgroundEmployability skills of fresh graduates have constantly received considerable attention in the local media. Various surveys have been carried out on employers in relevant industries to gauge whether graduates are meeting industry needs and the recurring theme that emerged from these surveys has been the lack of English language skills among fresh graduates and workers (MoHE, 2008; Tneh, 2008; The World Bank, 2005; Ambigaphaty & Aniswal, 2005; Sibat, 2005). In generally, these studies implied that the majority of graduates and workers were limited users of English especially in writing and speaking. Findings from studies conducted by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education MoHE (2006) and Pawanchik (2006) revealed that more that 50 % of MUET scores were either in Band 1 (extremely limited user), 2 (limited user) or 3 (modest user)
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