scholarly journals Spoken and Written Communication Needs of Aviation Management Trainees

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-547
Author(s):  
Reshminder Kaur Satvindar Singh ◽  
Cecilia Yin Mei Cheong ◽  
Nor Aida Abdul Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Professional Communication ◽  
Aviation Industry ◽  
Written Communication ◽  
Aviation Management ◽  
Program Content ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
English Program

The need to investigate the communication skills of specific participants usually arises upon demand from the stakeholders, including the employers, passengers, clients and others. The common reasons for stakeholders to consult course developers or language practitioners regarding developing a specific purpose course include poor language proficiency and lack of professional communication skills amongst personnel whose jobs require efficient communication. The needs analysis (NA) method is often used to explore the necessary communication skills at the workplace, including business, medical and aviation. In aviation, the aviation English program content is based on the stakeholders’ communication requirements. Having said that, there are two main objectives of this study. Firstly, this study aims to investigate the importance of English as a medium for communication amongst AVM personnel serving in local and foreign-based companies within Malaysia. Secondly, it aims to determine the spoken and written communication activities that aviation management personnel are frequently involved in the aviation industry. Based on the findings, the NA revealed that the English language is vital in developing professional communication skills among AVM trainees as they require English proficiency for speaking and writing activities.

Communication Needs of Science Graduate Students

RELC Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujata S. Kathpalia ◽  
Kenneth K.W. Ong ◽  
Alvin P. Leong
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Educational Backgrounds ◽  
International Graduate ◽  
Order Language ◽  
Academic Genres ◽  
Communication Needs

Graduate programmes in most universities are typically oriented towards training students to master their disciplinary studies and communication skills courses are often offered as add-on courses that rarely take into consideration students’ needs. The needs of graduate students can vary depending on their educational backgrounds and English language proficiency and as such, it is important to conduct a needs analysis to ensure that these courses cater to the needs of both proficient and less-proficient speakers of English. Using focus-group interviews, this study was conducted to examine the communication needs of local and international graduate students at a university in Singapore. More specifically, the objectives were to investigate the communication tasks prioritized by science graduate students, their communication needs and difficulties, as well as the help they would need through communication skills courses at the university. The findings suggest that the needs of the students vary depending on their proficiency in English. Those with higher proficiency aspire to master a repertoire of academic genres and higher-order language skills whereas those with lower proficiency require more help with lower-order language skills as well as more peer and professor support.

Addressing the Content Vocabulary With Core: Theory and Practice for Nonliterate or Emerging Literate Students

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 74-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Witkowski ◽  
Bruce Baker
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Written Communication ◽  
Academic Tasks ◽  
Meaningful Participation ◽  
Core Theory ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
Core Vocabulary ◽  
Personal Success

Abstract In the early elementary grades, the primary emphasis is on developing skills crucial to future academic and personal success—specifically oral and written communication skills. These skills are vital to student success as well as to meaningful participation in the classroom and interaction with peers. Children with complex communication needs (CCN) may require the use of high-performance speech generating devices (SGDs). The challenges for these students are further complicated by the task of learning language at a time when they are expected to apply their linguistic skills to academic tasks. However, by focusing on core vocabulary as a primary vehicle for instruction, educators can equip students who use SGDs to develop language skills and be competitive in the classroom. In this article, we will define core vocabulary and provide theoretical and practical insights into integrating it into the classroom routine for developing oral and written communication skills.

scholarly journals Technical communication pedagogical model (TCPM) for Malaysian vocational colleges

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Jamaludin ◽  
N. Alias ◽  
D. DeWitt ◽  
M. M. Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Mediation Analysis ◽  
Technical Communication ◽  
English Language ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Learning Method ◽  
Perceived Importance

Abstract Poor mastery of technical communication skills has affected the employability of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates. This has arisen from the lack of communication between TVET institutions and the industry when designing a curriculum for technical communication skills development. In Malaysia, little emphasis is given to developing this skill. Therefore, the current study seeks to develop a technical communication pedagogical model (TCPM) by identifying the pertinent objective, content of learning, method of delivery and assessment method of TCPM, and the effect of the perceived importance of English language proficiency on the relationships of the pertinent curriculum components of TCPM. A survey questionnaire was developed and validated for content validation by seven experts from local industry and TVET institutions. A total of 205 English language instructors in Malaysian vocational colleges (MVC) were selected using a stratified random sampling method and responded to the questionnaire. Their responses were analyzed using the partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Analysis of reliability, discriminant and convergent validity, significance of relationship, predictive accuracy (R2), predictive relevance (Q2), effect size (f2), and mediation analysis was conducted to test the model. The overall findings indicated that all constructs have a positive and significant effect on perceived importance of TCPM (Objective: p = 0.012, t = 2.249, content of learning: p = 0.032, t = 1.852, assessment method: p = 0.000, t = 4.196), except for method of delivery (p = 0.301, t = 0.522). The coefficient of determination level is moderate (R2 = 0.526). Analysis of effect size (f2) indicates a small effect size for all constructs (objective: f2 = 0.032, content of learning: f2 = 0.027, assessment method: f2 = 0.116), except for method of delivery with an effect size of 0.002. In addition, this model achieved acceptable predictive relevance (Q2 = 0.316). On the other hand, the mediation analysis indicates that the perceived importance of English language proficiency only functions as a complementary partial mediator for content of learning and assessment method construct. In short, the TCPM model includes having the relevant objectives, content of learning, method of delivery and assessment method for implementing technical communication in MVC, components which are less emphasized in the current curriculum. It is hoped that, with its implementation in the MVC, graduate employability can be enhanced.

scholarly journals The ability to speak English of the local tour guides for promoting tourism at the Aceh Tsunami Museum

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-278
Author(s):  
Sofyan Abdul Gani ◽  
Cut Intan Damayanti
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Proficiency Test ◽  
English Education ◽  
Instructional Systems ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Tour Guides ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive

This research aimed to find out the English language proficiency of the local tour guides at the Aceh Tsunami Museum, Aceh, Indonesia, and the difficulties that they faced in communicating with foreign tourists in English. A quantitative and qualitative descriptive research design was utilized to collect data in which an English proficiency test and an interview were used as instruments. The research subjects were 13 local guides working in the Aceh Tsunami Museum. Based on the results from this research, it was found that virtually all the participating tour guides were in the categories of very good, good and average.  However, they still experienced problems with several aspects of speaking EFL, such as expressing ideas verbally, poor collocations i.e. incorrect or inappropriate word choices, poor pronunciation, and lack of confidence when speaking English. It is expected that the results from this research will become a useful input for the management of English Education institutions for improving their instructional systems and for tour guides to continue learning and developing their communication skills, especially their oral English communication skills. 

scholarly journals Project Based Learning in Teaching Communication Skills in English as a Foreign Language to Engineering Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulia Yurievna Kovalyova ◽  
Alexandra Vladimirovna Soboleva ◽  
Argen Kerimkulov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Written Communication

The aim of this paper is to consider project based learning as one of the most efficient and productive methods used in teaching English as a foreign language to engineering students of Russian technical universities. Special emphasis is put on communication skills to be mastered by future engineers through project based learning. It is of great importance to note that highly developed oral and written communication skills are valuable for engineering students wishing to become successful and competitive in the international arena. Hence, engineering students must be trained well to develop their communication skills in English in the field of professional activity, mainly in the science research area. An inter-disciplinary project designed on the basis of project based learning for the second year students of Tomsk Polytechnic University is reviewed in this work. The authors come to the conclusion that project based learning is an ideal teaching method since it allows engineering students to improve significantly their oral and written communication skills as well as apply the content knowledge in the field of their professional activity within the English language course.

The role and place of English language textbook in development of students’ communication competence skills

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
N.V. Maklakova ◽  
◽  
E.I. Besedina ◽  
I.A. Maklakov ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Correct Choice ◽  
Written Communication ◽  
Training Aids ◽  
Training Materials ◽  
In Series ◽  
English Textbooks

Presented is the analysis of correct choice of EFL Textbooks in the context of developing students’ effective communicative writing skills. Despite the needs of society for specialists, able to write in foreign language, most school graduates are not ready for written intercultural communication. Today, we should change the strategy of developing written communication skills and consider them as a goal, rather than as a means of teaching and learning. The paradigm shift is supposed to be reflected in training materials that should be appropriately selected in accordance with the goal. To be effective, the choice of training aids ought to be based on appropriate criteria. Our research was aimed to determine criteria for selecting EFL textbooks for effective developing written communication skills of students. The proposed criteria were verified in series of modern English textbooks.

scholarly journals Multilingualism as a Tool of Marginalization or Empowerment in Pakistan: A Classroom Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Musarrat Azher ◽  
Riffat-un-Nisa Awan ◽  
Ghazala Noureen
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
University Education ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
Public Schooling ◽  
Economic Background ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
University Classrooms ◽  
Different Levels

Pakistani educational system is dominated by multilingual phenomenon at all stages. The students with different levels of language proficiency enter university education where classrooms are dominated by multilingual phenomenon with the main adherence to English language. The major concerns of this study are: does multilingualism in Pakistani university classrooms transfer or inculcate any sense of marginalization or empowerment amongst the students at BS level; whether this sense of marginalization or empowerment can be related to their socioeconomic background and to their private and public schooling. The data were collected through a self-developed questionnaire from BS 3rd semester students enrolled in University of Sargodha. The questionnaire included close ended as well as open ended items which were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The results revealed that students with low socio-economic background and public schooling were on the verge of marginalization and demotion which have developed a sense of low confidence in them. Students from private sector English medium schools were more confident, interactive, and participative in the classroom, hence empowered. The study concluded with some suggestion that universities may organize a zero semester for students to teach them a deficiency course of communication skills in English. Keywords: Multilingualism, Marginalization. Empowerment, University students  

scholarly journals Standardised English Language Proficiency Testing for Seafarers

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154
Author(s):  
Bernd Mönnigmann ◽  
Adelija Čulić-Viskota
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Professional Communication ◽  
Testing System ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Maritime Education ◽  
Global Language ◽  
Maritime English ◽  
Maritime Education And Training ◽  
Aircraft Accident

This paper aims at pointing out the necessity of raising the levels of both communicative competence and Maritime English knowledge of seafarers, as well as of introducing a common language testing system into maritime education and training. It provides insight into the process of implementation of improvements in a different, but related practice of Aviation English and the relative regulations. Also, the paper presents the accounts of one aircraft accident, and two ship accidents due to the participants’ misunderstanding, or deficiency in English. This is followed by the results of an investigation into the reports published by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) about the sea accidents due to inadequate English language competence, or inadequate professional communication. Although there are commonly more than one cause which combine in each accident, these are usually fuelled by inadequate language competence. It is of utmost importance, especially in emergencies, that all the participants in the maritime venture are adequately competent in Maritime English to handle the emergencies to the benefit of all the persons involved. Therefore, the compulsory introduction of a uniform global language certification is suggested.

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