Assessing the ESP Needs of Saudi Engineering Undergraduates: A Diagnostic View

Muhammad, Iftikhar; Raof, Abdul Halim Abdul

doi:10.24093/awej/vol10no4.16

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…In Saudi Arabia, several studies have examined the English skills and communicative use of English by Saudi students in ESP contexts. Notable contributions in this area include the works of Khalil & Semono-Eke (2020), Fadel & Elyas (2015, Almathkuri (2022), Muhammad & Abdul Raof (2019), Gaffas (2019), Hashmi, Rajab, and Sendi (2019), Alshayban (2022), Alsamadani (2017), andAl-Malki, Javid, Farooq, Algethami, andAl-Harthi (2022). These aforementioned studies used different tools and sample sizes concluding that EFL students face challenges in speaking English.…”

Section: Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other research findings suggest communicative tasks and materials to improve the course content and materials, such as reading and listening to authentic materials (Hashmi, Rajab, and Sendi, 2019;Muhammad & Abdul Raof, 2019), practicing English through films and games (Fadel & Elyas, 2015;Manulang & Susilowaty, 2022), watching videos, delivering presentations, role-playing and class discussions. The results of these studies indicate that students seem to be aware of their needs.…”

Section: Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is reflected in the suggested solutions perceived by both students and teachers that generally enhance communicative tasks. For example, Muhammad & Abdul Raof (2019) found that more than 70% of the participating students perceived that listening to lectures, taking notes while listening, watching videos, delivering presentations, and describing the content of tables and graphs were the most important tasks they wanted to have in their course. Cooze (2017) and Lennon (2021) point out that speaking tasks should be communicative and provide a valuable platform for learners to engage in simulated real-life conversations, where students can use their English in an interactive environment.…”

Section: Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors Contributing to the English Speaking Challenges Encountered by Saudi EFL Health Institution Security Guards

E. Alharthi

2023

RJOE

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The aim of this study was to investigate the perceived factors contributing to the English speaking challenges facing Saudi EFL security guards in health institutions. The data were gathered via questionnaires completed by 258 security guard students (132 males and 126 females) and interviews with 6 English teachers (3 males and 3 females). The findings indicated that course content and materials, as well as teaching methodologies, contribute to the speaking problems encountered by Saudi EFL security guards in health institutions. Concerns with course content and resources include insufficient content time, inadequate tasks for English language practice, and a lack of relevance to students' language learning needs. In terms of teaching methods, students are taught using the Grammar Translation Method (GTM), which emphasises memorising vocabulary in isolation rather than fostering communication in different meaningful situations. The study's implications and limitations were addressed.

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Section: Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors Contributing to the English Speaking Challenges Encountered by Saudi EFL Health Institution Security Guards

E. Alharthi

2023

RJOE

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“…Brown's framework for needs analysis is relatively recent (2016), but there have been some empirical studies published that are using this model. Two researchers who adopted Brown's perspective directly to investigate language needs were Muhammad and Raof (2019).…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

“…number of studies which have investigated teachers' perceptions of the language needs for professional purposes of their students (Alibakhshi, Javaheri & Labbafi, 2020;Alghamdi, 2019;Alsamadani, 2017;Ghany & Latif , 2012;Javid et al, 2020;Liton, 2015;Mazdayasna & Tahririan, 2008;Moslemi, Moinzadeh & Dabaghi, 2011). However, the majority of these focused on exploring teachers' perceptions of language needs in the academic context (Ghany & Latif, 2012;Muhammad & Raof, 2019,). Very few studies explored teachers' attitudes towards language needs as perceived by graduates.…”

Section: Teachers' Perceptions Of Language Learning Needs In Espmentioning

confidence: 99%

English for Crop Science in Vietnam: Taking Perceptions from the Workplace to University Teachers

Thi¹

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The English language needs of students in their future work domains is an issue of major concern in the design and development of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). There has been little empirical research on how English is used in workplaces employing crop science graduates, as well as the responses of educators to the result of the needs analysis. Some research also suggests that the effectiveness of ESP courses in tertiary institutions in Vietnam has been relatively limited (Do & Cai, 2010; Dong; 2011; Nguyen, 2013). This qualitative case study research adapted the needs analysis framework of Brown (2016) to: (1) explore the language needed in workplaces by the former students of an English course for Crops Science at an agricultural university in North Vietnam, (2) determine the learning strategies used by these alumni to bridge the gap between what they were taught at the university and workplace use of English and (3) investigate the responses of the university’s teachers to the feedback from the work domain. Accordingly, the combination of Brown’s three conceptualizations of needs, namely democratic, discrepancy and diagnostic were used to examine the necessities, lacks and wants of stakeholders in the ESP program. To establish the language needs at their current work places, 20 former undergraduate students of the Crops Science major, three of their employers, five ESP teachers and five subject specific teachers from the agricultural university participated in this research. The data were collected in two phases. The alumni and their employers were firstly interviewed to examine the common purposes of using English in crop science professional contexts, as well as the significant language demands the new graduates encountered and their strategies to improve their language. In the second phase, the findings from the interviews with the graduates and their seniors were presented to the language and subject instructors to capture their views and the perceived implications of these workplace findings for teaching and course design. All the interviews were semi-structured and conducted on Zoom. The transcribed texts were imported in Nvivo-12 for coding and thematically analysis. The findings confirmed the necessity of English for the employability of graduates. English was needed most for reading technical documents and written communication such as writing emails, reports and memos. The alumni also relied on informal and independent learning to meet the language needs of their professions. Despite of a number of constraints mainly in terms of the course length, teaching materials and students’ learning motivation, most of the teachers said that this feedback informed potential pedagogic changes such as the integration of oral and written communication activities. Closer cooperation with subject teachers was also recommended. This study established a strong and on-going connection between the work domain and the educational institution. Diagnostic, discrepancy and democratic views of needs analysis were used to, firstly, gain an understanding of the kinds of language needs in actual workplaces. In response to these needs, teachers reflected on possible pedagogical responses, taking into account the perceived needs of the target groups of students in Vietnamese Medium of Instruction (VMI) or English as Medium of Instruction programs (EMI), and stakeholders such as employers and subject teachers – experts in the field. The practice of autonomy in ESP courses may serve as an effective way to improve learner outcomes and facilitate the learning of graduates in their later career. Theoretically, this dynamic and on-going process of NA and teacher reflectivity can be applied to similar contexts to capture ever-changing needs in workplaces across EFL countries. This study develops a model to encapsulate the potentially dynamic relationship between the expertise of the work domain and the expertise of the educational institution. However, implementing this model is constrained by institutional processes including the lack of a current mechanism to achieve the stakeholder sharing of knowledge, in this case, achieved through independent research.

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Developing an Outcome-Based Learning Curriculum in Esp

Raikhanova,

Bakić-Mirić

2023

ESPEAP

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The aim of this research is to develop an outcome-based ESP curriculum for undergraduate chemistry and biology majors utilising the CBL paradigm. The current study aims to explore the effective application of an ESP curriculum linked with outcome-based learning methodologies in scientific education. A mixed-methods design was employed, consisting of a case study scenario in a higher education institution for chemistry and biology students as well as a Likert scale questionnaire to assess their perception of the alignment between the case study activity and learning outcomes. Finally, a factor analysis was conducted to gain insights into the correlation between the case study activity and skill-based outcomes and identify areas where case studies may be particularly effective in promoting ESP learning. The findings suggest that the inclusion of subject-specific scenarios in the ESP curriculum, particularly through case study-based learning, is crucial for chemistry and biology students. Finally, the study recommends that the ESP curriculum for science students should be designed in alignment with outcome-based learning approaches, where case study-based learning is considered an effective approach to acquiring academic and professional skills.

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Assessing the ESP Needs of Saudi Engineering Undergraduates: A Diagnostic View

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Factors Contributing to the English Speaking Challenges Encountered by Saudi EFL Health Institution Security Guards

Factors Contributing to the English Speaking Challenges Encountered by Saudi EFL Health Institution Security Guards

English for Crop Science in Vietnam: Taking Perceptions from the Workplace to University Teachers

Developing an Outcome-Based Learning Curriculum in Esp

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