Introductory engineering corpus: a needs analysis approach

Abstract

Engineering students at the tertiary level are required to read specialised textbooks which contain a substantial amount of technical vocabulary or terminology that are necessary in their field of study. Engineering dictionaries are available in the market, but unfortunately they may not carry all the engineering terminology found in engineering textbooks. A list of corpus-based engineering vocabulary or glossary obtained from recommended introductory engineering textbooks that meet the needs of first year engineering students may assist them to better understand engineering terminology found in the textbooks. In order to develop this specialist glossary, a survey was carried out on a group of 45 engineering lecturers in a tertiary institution. The survey aims to find out the needs of first year engineering students for a glossary of introductory engineering terminology. In order to develop the glossary, favourite engineering topics from recommended textbooks should first be obtained. This paper will therefore present the results of the needs analysis.