Workplace English Language Needs and their Pedagogical Implications in ESP

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the language needs of employees in multinational companies. Results revealed that most of the employees have taken English courses or ESP training besides their formal education. Among the language skills, though speaking is most often used in the workplace but most of them believe that they need to improve all their skills -- speaking, listening, reading and writing to resolve issues. For speaking, they encounter problems like inability to speak with correct grammar and structure; lack of confidence when speaking; and inability to pronounce accurately. The listening problems include unfamiliarity with accents and pronunciation; inability to understand slang, idiomatic expressions or colloquialisms; and inability to comprehend the entire information. The top reading problems are inability to understand due to grammatical weakness; inability to understand words, technical terms, slangs, and idiomatic expressions; and inadequacy of vocabulary in reading. For writing, the problems are inability to use correct grammar and structure; errors in spelling, punctuation, and other technicalities; and difficulty to write messages according to intention. The perceived effects of limited language proficiency of employees in the workplace are: it limits employees’ growth potential in the workplace; it causes communication difficulties amongst staff; and it negatively impacts worker safety. Majority of the employees are not provided with any English language course/s or trainings by their companies. The top areas of English language course/training that the employees need are: grammar and structure; basic oral communication skills and writing reports; and filling out workplace forms.