Oral communication needs of Mechanical Engineering undergraduate students in UTM : as perceived by the learners

Abstract

At present, English is widely used in Malaysia. The used of the language is getting more important especially for workplace communication. However, there has been an issue that many graduates experience problems in communicating in English, thus leaving them unable to secure jobs despite graduating with excellent results. This problem arises due to several factors. This research seeks to identify the specific needs of the learners in learning oral communication skills in English. It investigated the Oral Communication Needs of Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Students in UTM, from their own perspectives. The purpose of this research is to report findings on these students’ needs in learning oral communication in English, both, for present and future needs. Apart from that, it also looks at the problematic areas in English oral communication faced by the students. Questionnaires were used as a means of data collection. The findings of this study showed that oral presentation is the most important skill needed by the students at present, due to their aim to graduate from UTM. The skill concerned with their future workplace communication is in making telephone conversation and finally more than half of the students felt that they do have problems with their communication skills in English.