Managing the complexities of English Language teaching in engineering

In this 21st century, engineering employers seek professional engineers who have excellent scientific knowledge and are able to demonstrate good communication and problem solving skills. With this focus on job demands, engineering education has been restructured, balancing the emphasis between scientific knowledge and soft skills. This shift in focus has not only affected the teaching and learning in engineering education, but also English Language (EL) educators who are involved in teaching non-technical components within an engineering education curriculum. This shift in focus has raised the demand for ESP which include teaching communication skills in English language discourse used in engineering, and teaching problem solving skills in English language teaching. With this demand, challenges are inevitable among EL educators who are generally prepared for teaching English for generic purposes in school settings and who bring with them pedagogical knowledge and beliefs in English language teaching, as well as identities they have developed from their previous to their new workplace. This shift also raises questions about the ways in which English language teaching is positioned, the role of English language courses within an engineering-specific context and the implications of this positioning on the design of the English language courses. The main aim of this study was to investigate how EL educators managed the complexities in teaching English at one technical university in Malaysia. In addressing the research questions, a case study design was developed to highlight the complexities within that context and the ways in \ud which EL educators managed these complexities. The data for this study were collected through qualitative and quantitative methods to unpack the complex process of teaching English for engineering which included teaching problem solving and communication skills. These methods obtained insights into the ways in which EL educators conceptualised English language teaching, positioned themselves and framed their teaching in an engineering context. The quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire involving 12 EL educators. The data from the questionnaire were used to profile the EL educators at the English Language Department of this university. Based on the profiling, four EL educators teaching undergraduate engineering students were selected for the main study. The qualitative data were collected through document study, individual semi�structured interviews, classroom observations, video recording of classroom observations and stimulated recall protocols. This study found that there were disconnections between English language teaching and the engineering discipline at this university. These disconnections were due to the dissemination process of the engineering accreditation requirements whereby these requirements went through ii multiple layers of interpretation, adaptation and translation before they reached the EL educators, causing ambiguities in positioning English language teaching and misalignments in the role of the English language courses within the engineering academic curriculum. As a result, tensions occurred in determining the emphasis of English language teaching. The ambiguities in positioning English language teaching and the misalignments of the English language courses presented the EL educators with challenges in managing their pedagogies and framing their teaching within the context of an engineering university. The study found that the strategies that the EL educators exercised in their agency resulted from the interplay between how they positioned English language teaching and the professional identities they developed in their university context. The demand for ESP required these EL educators to teach beyond their expertise, creating challenges for them to establish their professional identities. Complexities emerged when English language teaching involved integration among English language, communication skills, engineering knowledge, and problem solving skills. This study contributed to the field of English language teaching, specifically to English for Specific Purposes (ESP) by providing knowledge and understanding of the complexities of teaching English for the engineering discipline in higher education. It also contributed to research on professional identities by highlighting the tensions, struggles and negotiations that EL educators faced in positioning themselves within this context to determine their professional identities. The findings of this study deepen our knowledge and understanding of professional identities and agency among EL educators in the Malaysian context, particularly in the discipline-specific context of engineering

Ambiguities in english language teaching: designing english for specific purposes courses for a discipline-specific context

The need for English language teaching to address specific language needs for a discipline has instigated growing demands for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses in higher education institutions in Malaysia. In the context of a university which focuses on engineering programmes, monitored by an engineering professional body, ESP courses designed and developed for higher education are expected to include learning outcomes which reflect integration between English language and engineering fields. In other words, these English language courses need to address the language needs in the engineering field. Thus, English language educators within this context need to have relevant knowledge and skills to enable them to design and develop appropriate ESP courses. Questions arise in relation to how English language courses developed have addressed this expectation. This paper examines the extent to which this expectation is translated into the ESP courses at one technical university in Malaysia. The findings showcase how this expectation is disseminated to the English language educators. This paper provides insight into the complex process of designing English language courses that could address the language needs of the engineering field. In addition, this paper highlights aspects to consider when designing an ESP course for a specific discipline

A Systematic Literature Review on Graduates’ Social Intelligence

Social intelligence is becoming more important in the workplace as it helps people to be aware of their interactions which creates a harmonious working environment. As such, human resource officers are starting to prioritise this element as one of the criteria that they seek in a candidate during an interview. This paper is a systematic literature review on the current criteria that human resource officers look for during job interviews and their perceptions of graduates’ values in relation to social intelligence. This systematic literature review employed the four procedures by Gessler & Siemmer (2020) to clearly review previous literature. The review has highlighted that human resource officers have shifted their emphasis from academic performance to social intelligence when interviewing candidates during a job interview. However, graduates seem to have difficulties in showcasing social intelligence. Thus, further investigation is required in relation to how graduates perceive social intelligence and how they demonstrate social intelligence, either in oral or written communication. Apart from that, the review has also highlighted the inconsistencies in requirements between private and public sectors, as well as the size of the company. Thus, further investigation is needed to investigate these inconsistencies

English Language Learning Beyond the Borders: Constructing E-Collaborative Learning between Students of Different Regions

The continuous claim about the unsatisfactory performance of Malaysian graduates during interviews and at workplace in relation to their communication skills in English is alarming. This raises questions about the extent to which future workforce is prepared for this globalised world which requires them to interact and collaborate with individuals not only from their own country but also from other countries. At higher learning institutions, many English language educators face challenges in creating language learning environment that supports intercultural communication. In preparing future workforce for international communication, English language teaching and learning needs to go beyond the four walls of a classroom, over to other regions. An alternative to provide such language learning environment is by designing e-collaborative learning that provides opportunities for language learners to learn the language with students from other countries in a meaningful way. This paper showcases the impacts of e-collaborative English language learning conducted between engineering students of one technical university in Malaysia and one higher learning institution in Bordeaux, France for about one semester. At the end of the semester, the students from both countries wrote a reflection of their experience. The data from the reflective writing were analysed using thematic analysis to highlight the impacts of the e-collaborative learning on students' intercultural communicative competence. This study highlights key considerations to structure e-collaborative language teaching and learning among students of different regions

Scaffolding the Development of English Language and Communication Skills of Engineering Students

Teaching English in higher institutions is becoming more challenging in this globalised era. With the demand for communication skills in English as one of the important recruitment criteria, future graduates need to be equipped with sufficient English language and communication abilities relevant for their respective fields. This suggests that English language educators need to teach specialised English language such as engineering which may be beyond their expertise. Having trained as English as a second language educators, most of them may have limited knowledge in engineering. This paper is part of a larger research that explores the development of cross-disciplinary curriculum. This study examined the extent to which English language educators addressed the language needs of engineering students academically and professionally. A total of ten language educators from two Malaysian public universities participated in a focus group where they discussed their teaching practices and experiences in teaching engineering students. In addition, six English for Specific Purposes (ESP) practitioners from European universities were also interviewed to obtain information regarding the practices in teaching ESP at their universities. The results show that there is a gap between the development of engineering students' English language abilities in English language classrooms and its maintenance in engineering classrooms in Malaysia. The study highlights the key considerations to develop a framework that scaffolds the development of English language abilities and communication skills among engineering students within engineering education

Examining the presence of social intelligence in job interviews through multimodal social semiotic analysis

Graduates with high level of social intelligence are in high demand. Those who can demonstrate having good attitude and social flexibility, able to build good relationships with others, and able to use appropriate language during their interviews have higher chances of being employed. However, reports show that graduates of higher learning institutions lack social intelligence. Failure to address this issue can affect future graduates’ employability. This paper examined the extent to which students in higher learning institutions had developed social intelligence. The participants were the final year students of one technical university in Malaysia. These participants underwent a job interview session as one of their course assessments. In this paper, the responses by three participants were selected to be analysed. The mock job interview sessions, which were conducted online, were recorded and transcribed.The data were analysed using multimodal social semantic discourse analysis to determine the candidates’ intention and then, using the five dimensions of social intelligence which included social awareness, presence, authenticity, clarity, and empathy to examine the presence (absence) of social intelligence. It was found that social awareness and empathy to build relationships and develop trust with the interviewer were taken for granted by the participants. In addition, the participants’ focused more on the qualification and skills that they had rather than how they could use their skills for the benefit of a company or organisation. The findings provided invaluable input on ways in designing courses that promote the development of social intelligence among students of higher learning institutions

Analysing the language used in resumes through discourse analysis for social intelligence

A resume is a tool for individuals to showcase their professional background and values to market themselves for employment. It is a technical written discourse that requires specific terms and language to convey specific information about job applicants. Recent trends show that recruiters have started looking for candidates with a high level of social intelligence. In order to get through the screening process, job applicants not only need to showcase their values, but also high level of social intelligence through their resume. Nevertheless, fresh graduates do not seem to be concerned about producing good and effective resumes. In many cases, graduates are found to simply copy paste the required information into a standard template. Within this context, it is vital for future graduates to produce effective resumes that provide clear information about them and at the same time demonstrate social intelligence to capture the attention of recruiters. This study examined the presence of social intelligence in written discourse, focusing on the career goal section of four resumes produced by four final year students of one technical university in Malaysia. The resumes were also examined by four human resource officers to obtain their opinions. The career goal section was examined through transactional and interactional functions of language. The findings generated from this analysis were then mapped against Albrecht’s of social intelligence dimensions, SPACE. Based on the mapping and the opinions of the human resource officers, it could be concluded that the language used to achieve transactional function of language can be associated with Clarity while language used to achieve interactional function of language can be associated with Situational Awareness. The study also highlighted that social intelligence can be identified in written discourse

A Case Study of English Language Learning Strategies used by Engineering Students in Malaysia

The aim of this paper is to investigate the language learning strategies employed by 22 technical university undergraduates in Malaysia, particularly in oral presentation skills. The study employed focus group interviews and the data gathered were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically based on O'Malley and Chamot's (1990) taxonomy. The findings showed that the participants used more metacognitive and cognitive strategies compared to the social and affective strategies. The study highlights that students' preferred language learning strategies may not always be effective. Hence, educators have to identify effective language learning strategies for their students and scaffold students' learning into using appropriate strategies