Congruence between Language Proficiency and Communicative Abilities

AbstractReports in mass media and narratives of people in authority as well as the lay person in the street attribute unemployment of graduates to their poor communicative abilities and, in the same breath, poor proficiency in English. This raises questions for applied linguistics to address through empirical studies. This paper reports students’ views of the congruence between language proficiency and communicative abilities. The specific aspects examined are whether students conceptualise these two constructs as the same, overlapping or different; and whether students think their language proficiency and communicative ability affect their chances of employability. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with university students with different English proficiency levels. The preliminary results indicate that students see both English proficiency and communicative ability as important factors affecting their employability but they can tease apart the two constructs. The students view communicative ability as going beyond language proficiency to encompass ability to take account of other viewpoints and clarity in thought patterns during communication. The findings suggest that strategies to improve undergraduate communicative abilities cannot target English proficiency alone

The ‘credibility paradox’ in China’s science communication: Views from scientific practitioners

In contrast to increasing debates on China’s rising status as a global scientific power, issues of China’s science communication remain under-explored. Based on 21 in-depth interviews in three cities, this article examines Chinese scientists’ accounts of the entangled web of influence which conditions the process of how scientific knowledge achieves (or fails to achieve) its civic authority. A main finding of this study is a ‘credibility paradox’ as a result of the over-politicisation of science and science communication in China. Respondents report that an absence of visible institutional endorsements renders them more public credibility and better communication outcomes. Thus, instead of exploiting formal channels of science communication, scientists interviewed were more keen to act as ‘informal risk communicators’ in grassroots and private events. Chinese scientists’ perspectives on how to earn public support of their research sheds light on the nature and impact of a ‘civic epistemology’ in an authoritarian state

English Language Education Students Perceptions of Self Efficacy in Public Speaking Class

Self-efficacy is one of the most pivotal springboards determining EFL learners’ success in acquiring the target language in the communicative classroom contexts. Therefore, well-planned learning strategies and enjoyable learning environments should be provided continuously in order to breed proficient communicators in the target language. To do so, English language teachers need to shift their roles from instructors as facilitators facilitators to nurture EFL learners’ self-efficacy development continuously. This study aimed to investigate the students’ perceived self-efficacy in public speaking class. One research problem was proposed in this study namely, what are the significant factors that can heighten learners’ self-efficacy in public speaking class? This study employed a qualitative method utilizing three research instruments i.e., classroom survey, students’ speaking learning reflections, and interview to collect data from public speaking class of the English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta. Qualitative content analysis was employed to draw meanings out of the data gathered. Findings from this study revealed that EFL learners will be able to be proficient target language communicators when they believe in their speaking competencies and obtain meaningful feedback from the teachers

Understanding Industry’s Expectations of Engineering Communication Skills

The importance of communication in the engineering profession is widely acknowledged by various stakeholders, including industry, academia, professional engineers, and engineering students. Even though alternative strategies to help students improve their ability to communicate professionally have been approached by many engineering programs across the country, research indicates a continued dissatisfaction of employers when it comes to the performance of engineers as communicators in the workplace. This perspective suggests efforts to improve students’ communication skills in universities may be inconsistent with workplace needs, revealing an apparent gap between what is taught and what is expected from engineering professionals. This gap provides an opportunity for additional research to identify the specific communication competencies required for engineers to succeed in the workplace. Particularly, the requirements of industry concerning engineers’ communication skills need to be understood more deeply, so that new educational interventions may be carefully tailored according to employers’ expectations and that both communication and engineering faculty can revisit their strategies to teach students to become better communicators. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of industry’s expectations concerning engineering communication skills, a qualitative research study was implemented to provide a detailed description of the communication skills practicing engineers need while working in industry. The exclusive focus on industry was pursued through the development of case studies. Four industrial segments (High-Tech, Automotive, Aerospace, and Manufacturing) that employ a significant percentage of engineers in the U.S. were selected. Engineers in leadership positions from each of the selected industrial segments participated in in-depth interviews and discussed about the expected engineering communication skills in industry. The results revealed that: 1) oral communication is prevalent in the engineering profession; 2) engineers need to tailor their messages to multiple audiences and to select the most appropriate type of communication medium; 3) written communication is expected to be clear, concise, and precise; 4) global communication is an increasingly demanded requirement in industry

Proposed: Technical Communicators Collaborating with Educators to Develop a Better EFL Curriculum for Ecuadorian Universities

This policy and action research in the form of a case study of language policy in Ecuador posits, with a pragmatic view, that students’ backgrounds, prior knowledge, and learning objectives should significantly impact curriculum development. Applying principles of information development, such as conducting usability studies and generating appropriate user profiles, technical communicators produce user-friendly documentation. Pairing technical communicators with educators to collaborate in the parallel processes of information development and curriculum development may yield instructional materials more useful to students than currently available materials are. An etic perspective is appropriate for this study for it does not presuppose what the students’ learning objectives are. Two hundred seventy-nine students taking classes in English as a foreign language (EFL) at three Ecuadorian higher education institutions voluntarily responded to a convenience sample survey designed to learn what benefits the students hoped to obtain from their university-level study of the English language. If this knowledge of student needs was used, in part, to form user profiles prior to course design, it may likely result in a different iteration of EFL instruction than the one currently being shaped by publishers and the national government as well as previous iterations shaped by higher education institutions and instructors

A Preliminary Investigation into Eye Gaze Data in a First Person Shooter Game

This paper describes a study carried out in which the eye gaze data of several users playing a simple First Person Shooter (FPS) game has been recorded. This work shows the design and implementation of a simple game and how the execution of the game can be synchronized with an eye tracking system. The motivation behind this work is to determine the existence of visual psycho-perceptual phenomena, which may be of some use in developing appropriate information limits for distributed interactie media compression algorithms. Only 2 degrees of the 140 degrees of human vision has a high level of detail. It may be possible to determine the areas of the screen that a user is focusing on and render it in high details or pay perticular attention to its contents so as to set appropriate dead reckoning limits. Our experiment show that eye tracking may allow for improvements in rendering and new compression algorithms to be created for an online FPS game

Audience Perception and Use of the New Media in Christian Pastoral Communication in Southern Nigeria

This study examined the use of the new media in Christian pastoral communication. The explanatory mixed method formed the design of the study, while the population was on adults between 18 years and above, from the southern part of Nigeria. Using Australian calculator, a sample size of 453 respondents was arrived at. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select respondents from the three existing geopolitical zones in the south. The study used two instruments namely: questionnaire and interview. It was revealed that, to a large extent, 68.9% of the sampled population uses the new media in assessing Christian pastoral messages. Key words: New media, Christian pastoral communication

A Preliminary Investigation into Eye Gaze Data in a First Person Shooter Game

This paper describes a study carried out in which the eye gaze data of several users playing a simple First Person Shooter (FPS) game has been recorded. This work shows the design and implementation of a simple game and how the execution of the game can be synchronized with an eye tracking system. The motivation behind this work is to determine the existence of visual psycho-perceptual phenomena, which may be of some use in developing appropriate information limits for distributed interactie media compression algorithms. Only 2 degrees of the 140 degrees of human vision has a high level of detail. It may be possible to determine the areas of the screen that a user is focusing on and render it in high details or pay perticular attention to its contents so as to set appropriate dead reckoning limits. Our experiment show that eye tracking may allow for improvements in rendering and new compression algorithms to be created for an online FPS game

THE ACADEMIC WRITING CHALLENGES FACED BY INDONESIAN UNDERGRADUATE EFL LEARNERS AT UNIVERSITY OF ISLAM MALANG

This study aimed to describe the academic writing challenges faced by students and how students can overcome their challenges. This study used a descriptive qualitative research design. This research was conducted on 55 English Education students in the 6th semester at University of Islam Malang. There were 5 out of 55 students who were interviewed. The purposive sampling was used in this study. In collecting data, the instrument used was the questionnaire and interview. The results showed that the students agreed that they had challenges in all the items of the questionnaire except for the part of writing conclusion which stated that it was neutral. Based on the results of interview, the students’ strategies to overcome their challenges using seven strategies such as brainstorming, reading many articles, using online applications, receiving feedback, writing practice, using the dictionary, editing their work by themselves. In conclusion, they faced challenges in terms of structure, developing ideas, vocabulary, and grammar