English for Placement Purposes: Developing a Needs Based Course for Meeting the Employment Demands of IT Industries

Abstract

The instrumentality for conducting a specific needs based placement course in an engineering

programme is to develop relevant employability skills of the technical students to cater to the

communicative demands of the industry. This paper is concerned on understanding tertiary level

students’ language and communication problems while they face job interviews. This article is treated

with triangulated multiple sources and methods to analyze the learning needs of the final year

Information Technology students and the target demands of the HR Managers. It is found that the

technical students need to adopt relevant job related oral and written communication skills to

competently perform in on-campus recruitments. With the due emphasis given on examining present and

target situational needs, a specific needs based intensive communicative course is designed and

developed to satisfy the learners’ learning needs and their target situational demands. It reports on how the technical students are able to satisfy the recruiters in their job interviews.

Keywords

• English for Placement Purposes (EPP); English Proficiency Course (EPC); on-campus recruitment drive; needs analysis; productive skills; syllabus design

Kaynakça

1. Atai, M.R. & Nazari, O. (2011). Exploring reading comprehension needs of Iranian EAP students of health information management (HIM): A triangulated approach. System, 39, 30-43.
2. Bacha, N. N. & Bahous, R. (2008). Contrasting views of business students’ writing needs in an EFL environment. English for Specific Purposes, 27, 74–93.
3. Basturkmen, H. (2012). Languages for specific purposes curriculum creation and implementation in Australasia and Europe. The Modern Language Journal, 96, Focus Issue, 59-70.
4. Berwick, R. (1989). Needs assessment in language programming: from theory to practice. In R. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum (pp. 48–62). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5. Bosuwon, T. & Woodrow, L. (2009). Developing a problem-based course based on needs analysis to enhance English reading ability of Thai undergraduate students. RELC Journal, 40, 42-64.
6. Brindley, G. (1989). The role of needs analysis in adult ESL programme design. In R. K. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum (pp. 63–78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7. Bruce, I. (2005). Syllabus design for general EAP writing courses: A cognitive approach. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4, 239-256.
8. Cowling, J. D. (2007). Needs analysis: Planning a syllabus for a series of intensive workplace courses at a leading Japanese company. English for Specific Purposes, 26, 426-442.

9. Crosling, G. & Ward, I. (2002). Oral communication: the workplace needs and uses of business graduate employees. English for Specific Purposes, 21(1), 41–57.
10. Dolton, P. J., & Vignoles, A. (2002). Is a broader curriculum better? Economics of Education Review, 21, 415–429.
11. Dovey, T. (2006). What purposes, specifically? Re-thinking purposes and specificity in the context of the ‘new vocationalism’. English for Specific Purposes, 25(4), 387–402.
12. Dovey, T. (2010). Facilitating writing from sources: A focus on both process and product. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9, 45-60.
13. Edwards, N. (2000). Language for business: effective needs assessment, syllabus design and materials preparation in a practical ESP case study. English for Specific Purposes, 19, 291–296.
14. Esteban, A. A., & Canado, M. L. P. (2004). Making the case method work in teaching business English: A case study. English for Specific Purposes, 23, 137–161.
15. Eyring, J. L. (1998). What’s an objective anyway? TESL Canada Journal, 15(2), 24-35.
16. Flowerdew, L. (2005). Integrating traditional and critical approaches to syllabus design: The ‘what’, the ‘how’ and the ‘why?’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4, 135-147.
17. Ho, B. (1997). Reactions of students to reflective learning in a technical report-writing course. English for Specific Purposes, 16(3), 211-227.
18. Holme, R. & Chalauisaeng, B. (2006). The learner as needs analyst: The use of participatory appraisal in the EAP reading classroom. English for Specific Purposes, 25, 403-419.
19. Huh, S. (2006). A task-based needs analysis for a business English course. Second Language Studies, 24(2), 1-64.
20. Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: a learning centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
21. Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
22. Jackson, J. (1998). Reality-based decision cases in ESP teacher education: windows on practice. English for Specific Purposes, 17(2), 151–167.
23. Jassem & Jassem. (2002). English curriculum design: The case of Riyadh college of technology in Saudi Arabia. Issues in Education, 25, 175-194.
24. Jasso-Aguilar, R. (1999). Sources, methods and triangulation in needs analysis: A critical perspective in a case study of Waikiki Hotel maids. English for Specific Purposes, 18, 27- 46.
25. Kamimura, T. (2000). Integration of process and product orientations in EFL writing insruction. RELC Journal, 31(1), 1-28.
26. Kayi, H. (2008). Developing an ESL curriculum based on needs and situation analyses: a case study. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 4(1), 29-49.
27. Kim, S. (2006). Academic oral communication needs of East Asian international graduate students in non-science and non-engineering fields. English for Specific Purposes, 25, 479–489.
28. Li So-mui, F., & Mead, K. (2000). An analysis of English in the workplace: the communication needs of textile and clothing merchandisers. English for Specific Purposes, 19(4), 351–368.
29. Lockwood, J. (2012). Developing an English for specific purpose curriculum for Asian call centres: How theory can inform practice. English for Specific Purposes, 31, 14–24.
30. Manakul, W. (2007). English in Engineering Education for Japanese Graduate Students. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 13 (2), 53-63.
31. Munby, J. (1978). Communicative Syllabus Design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
32. Myhill, D. & Jones, S. (2007). More than just error correction: students' perspectives on their revision processes during writing. Written Communication, 24, 323-343.
33. Nickerson, C. (1998). Corporate culture and the use of written English within British subsidiaries in the Netherlands. English for Specific Purposes, 17(3), 281–294.
34. Nkosana, N. (2008). Attitudinal obstacles to curriculum and assessment reform. Language Teaching Research, 12, 287-312.
35. Nunan, D. (1996). Syllabus design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
36. Nunan, D. (1988). The Learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
37. Oanh, D. T. H. (2007). Meeting Students’ Needs in the two EAP programmes in Vietnam and New Zealand: a Comparative Study. RELC Journal, 38(3), 324-349.
38. Petric, B. (2005). Contrastive rhetoric in the writing classroom: a case study. English for Specific Purposes, 24(2), 213–228.
39. Radzuan, N. R. M. & Kaur, S. (2010). A survey of oral communication apprehension in English among ESP learners in an engineering course. English for Specific Purposes World, 31(10), 1-14.
40. Rizvi, M. A. (2005). Using students’ analysis in teaching public speaking for business. Profile: Issues in Teacher’s Professional Development, 6, 107-118.
41. Spratt, M. (1999). How good are we at knowing what learners like? System, 27(2), 141-155.
42. St. John, M. J. (1996). Business is booming: Business English in the 1990’s. English for Specific Purposes, 15(1), 3–18.
43. Taillefer, G. F. (2007). The professional language needs of Economics graduates: assessment and perspectives in the French context. English for Specific Purposes, 26 135–155.
44. Ting, S. (2002). Is English needed in a Malay workplace? RELC Journal, 33, 137-153.
45. Toh, G. & Hocking, D. (2010). EAP writing: reflections on divergent perceptions and expectations among tutors and students. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 20, 161-183.
46. West, R. (1994). Needs analysis in language teaching. Language Teaching, 27, 1–19.
47. White, R. V. (1988). The ELT curriculum, design, innovation and management. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
48. Widdowson, H. G. (1983). Learning purpose and language use. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
49. Widdowson, H. G. (1990). Aspects of language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
50. Wongsothorn, A. (2002). Curriculum development research using amplified objectives. RELC Journal, 33, 85-98.
51. Xu yun-Zhu. (1999). A new ESP course in the present Chinese context. English for Specific Purposes, 18, S57-S74.
52. Yalden, J. (1983). The communicative syllabus: evolution, design and implementation. Oxford: Pergamon.
53. Yogman, J & Kalyani, C. (1996). ESP program design for mixed level students. English for Specific Purposes, 15, 311-324.
54. Zhu, W. (2004). Writing in business courses: an analysis of assignment types, their characteristics, and required skills. English for Specific Purposes, 23, 111-135.