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ABSTRACT
This paper reports on the needs and skills of technicians in the usage of the
English Language in their working environment. This was done with a group
of technicians at a factory manufacturing microchips and other electronic
parts located at the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, Penang, Malaysia.
The purpose of this research was twofold - to enable course designers to
formulate an appropriate “English for Technicians” course in order to meet
their job requirements and to obtain feedback from the technicians regarding
their expectations of the course. The findings of this study revealed that all
the four critical language skills are frequently used at the workplace,
especially listening and speaking. It was also found that the technicians
perceived themselves as ineffective users of the English language at the
workplace. They believed that some level of training would be beneficial to
improving their communication skills at work. It was also noted that
technicians had some special needs with respect to the usage of the English
Language which may not be covered in General English courses. This study
will aid the researcher in developing English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
Course. Based on the needs analysis from this study, a tailor-made course on
“English for Technicians” is possible.
KEYWORDS: Course Designers, General English, English for Specific Purpose (ESP),
Needs Analysis
Introduction
In developing an English course for technicians, it is of paramount importance to carry out a
needs analysis. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) assert that the approach to ESP should be
based on the learner's needs in their respective specialized subjects. ESP teaching should be
based on the principles of effective learning and teaching language for general purposes.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) further state that in the past, the teaching of ESP was
primarily concerned with the linguistic aspects of the language. Now, it has shifted towards
developing communication skills and learning is very much directed by specific learner's
needs for mastering the language (pp.18-19).
Thus, it will be futile for course designers to design an ESP course without first studying the
needs of learners. The information for needs analysis must be collected from the learners.
It is common knowledge that even though students spent 11 years studying English as a
school subject in Malaysia, this does not equip them to use the language at the workplace
because the English they have learnt in schools is General English and not English for
Specific Purposes (ESP). Therefore, an ESP course may come in handy or rather timely,
introducing the kind of English language used at the workplace. From this study, technicians
related that they have to master terms specific to their requirements, and must be able to
communicate with subordinates, peers and superiors at the workplace. They described
themselves as ineffective users of the English language at the workplace.
Conceptual Framework
Robinson (1991) identifies ESP course design as the product of a dynamic interaction
between a number of elements: the results of the needs analysis, the course designers‟
approach to syllabus and methodology, and existing materials (if any). She further adopts the
conceptual framework of White (1988: 325):ovals, Breen (1987: 270): rectangles, Allen
(1984: 256) in her book, “ESP TODAY: A practitioner‟s Guide”(1991) as below:
In view of these, course designers do not have to strictly adopt one particular syllabus type,
but should try to integrate them in order to mount a sensible teaching programme.
“It is generally agreed upon the fact that E.S.P. is an approach meant to teach
adult learners who need a strictly limited range of lexis, expressions and
functions to use only in their specific professional or vocational environment.”
(http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/u5/cc/esp.html)
The statement above differentiates General English language from English for Specific
Purposes (ESP). No doubt, employees in any organizations may have already learnt the
English language earlier during their school days, the words and sentences learned in ESP
courses are specific to a particular field or discipline. For this research, the course to be
designed is intended for the language training of technicians. Hence, employers are
encouraged to employ ESP courses for their employees. This would help employees who
may face problems with the English language in their specific field, to work more efficiently
and effectively in their organizations. Furthermore, an ESP course is only needed for short
term purposes, for example, 3 months or 6 months. The syllabus is designed and shaped to
satisfy learners‟ needs, meaning to say, it is student-centred.
As such,
ESP is clearly a magic tool that teachers can manipulate effectively to
eventually bring up the sharing of views through rational discussions.
It fosters expertise and specialized curricula among ESP practitioners
especially if they adopt English for Specific Purposes Interest Section.
(http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/u5/cc/esp.html)
Definition of Terms
II. Technician:
A person who is trained or skilled in the technicalities of a subject
(http://www.dictionary.reference.com)
Needs Analysis
One of the key concepts in teaching ESP is need analysis which is very important in
designing an ESP curriculum. This is evident when Hutchinson & Waters (1987) look at
target needs in terms of necessities, lacks and wants. They further explain that “necessities”
is a type of need determined by the demands of the target situation, that is, what the learner
has to know in order to function effectively in the target situation. To determine “lacks”, the
course designer must know what the learner knows already, so as to decide what the learner
lacks, while “wants” deals with subjective and cognitive factors. In fact, Marija Potocar
(2004) is also convinced that not only students, but also teachers and people already
employed in different professions would have interesting things to say about students’
needs. Potocar states, “When viewed from different perspectives, needs can better be
recognized and defined, and thus provide a more objective data base.” Not going far from
Hutchinson & Waters and Potocar, Widdowson (1981) clarifies that,
The first point to be noted, perhaps is that the expression “learner needs” is open to
two interpretations. On the one hand, it can refer to what the learner needs to do
with the language once he or she has learned it. This is a goal oriented definition of
needs and relates to terminal behavior, the ends of learning. On the other hand, the
expression can refer to what the learner needs to do to actually acquire the language.
This is a process-oriented definition of needs and relates to transitional behaviour,
the means of learning. (Widdowson H.G., 1981)
As such, it is definitely necessary to identify the learners‟ needs before course designers are
able to devise a teaching course with confidence and certainty.
Moving on from the concept above, Wright (1992) is of the opinion that in order for training
in ESP to achieve optimal success, there must be a much closer relationship between the
company and its ESP supplier. Therefore, neither the company nor the ESP supplier should
stand alone in the whole business of ESP. Wright (1992) adds that,
In general, in order to allow the greatest possible scope in using the course in
training specific groups, the courses should be modular. This means that they should
contain a general course syllabus plus many isolated practice activities for different
skills, which trainers can use or not, depending upon the needs of particular groups
of trainee.
Therefore, before designing an ESP course, much detailed investigation and research needs to
be carried out in consultation with the target group/customer. This paper reports on the
findings of a research that set out to identify the needs of a group of technicians, based on the
basic four skills of the English Language which could then be used to design an “English For
Technicians” course.
The methodology employed in this research was to obtain information regarding the
following two research questions:
1. Which English Language skills are frequently used by technicians at the
workplace?
2. What are the perceptions of technicians of their English Language ability?
The data from the questionnaire also provides information of the respondents‟ academic
qualifications. 35% of the respondents are SPM holders, 15% are STPM holders, while 50%
are diploma holders from various colleges. This shows that all the respondents have
completed their secondary education, and it is assumed that they have quite a good base of
the English Language. However, the data collected reveals that they still need to further
improve the English Language for work purposes. As such, they are receptive to the
“English for Technician” course.
B. English language use At The Workplace and The Users’ Perception of Efficiency
LISTENING SKILLS
From the survey, it is gathered that all of the respondents need to listen frequently to
technical problems as well as take instructions given by their superiors. This implies that
listening skills are frequently used, and it is mandatory that this skill must be acquired at the
workplace especially in specific technical areas. Listening to work updates as well as
listening to instructions on skill upgrades (training) is also needed at the workplace although
it occurs at a relatively lower frequency.
Assessing the technicians‟ perception on their own skill level with regards to listening, almost
all of them indicate that they are quite effective in this respect with only 5% indicating that
they are not efficient at all.
SPEAKING SKILLS
From the research, the technicians are often required to use their speaking skills in
discussions of work related problems and to communicate to the production operators. They
are also required to conduct technical training to operators as well as explain technical faults
to their superiors though on a less frequent basis. It is noted that they seldom or never need to
speak to visitors to the plant, this role being mainly taken up by their managers.
Unfortunately, 90% of the respondents indicated that they are not efficient at all in this
respect, i.e. they do not perceive themselves as being able to speak effectively in the
situations mentioned above.
READING SKILLS
The first two activities are often carried out by the technicians as part of their job functions
and are quite specific to their needs in terms of terminology used. Reading of manuals
although not done as frequently is also a required function performed by 100% of the
technicians. Most of the technicians indicate that they are quite efficient in this skill area
with 20% indicating that they are not efficient in activity i and only 10% not effective in
activity ii and iii.
WRITING SKILLS
With respect to writing skills, 80% of the technicians revealed that they “sometimes” need to
write reports on equipment status and “seldom” write memos, but they “always” need to
write communication logs.
In their own perception, 85% of the respondents indicate that they can write communication
logs reasonably well whereas 80% have problems with report writing on equipment status
with 90% not being able to write memos effectively.
A survey was done on the technicians‟ need for training in the above four skills. The majority
indicates that they need training in most of the areas except:
In an attempt to correlate the training needs, the researcher compared the frequency of use of
the specific skill (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with the effectiveness as perceived
by the technicians to prioritize the training required. The data was normalized and ranked.
This was then compared to the technicians own perceived needs. Discrepancies will be
investigated and rationalized. From the data, a training strategy can then be formalized.
The feedback from the technicians was then analyzed. From the data, the ranked list for the
top seven events is as follows:
Table 3 Ranking of the top seven events based on feedback of the respondents
1 Listening to instructions given by superiors.
2 Listening to instructions on skill upgrades.
2 Communicating to visitors visiting the plant.
2 Reading manuals.
5 Explaining technical faults to superiors.
Discussion on how to solve work-related
6 problems
7 Listening to technical problems.
From the above, events common to both was tabulated. Events which did not occur in either
list are separately tabulated.
It can be noted from the last table that the common events were on listening and speaking
skills. Thus, for this group of technicians, training on speaking and listening skills would be
of higher priority compared to reading and writing skills. The ESP training would need to
emphasize speaking and listening skills. Appropriate training techniques would be workshop
There are some events which the technicians did not list as high on their training needs. There
are also some events which the technicians list high on their training needs, but are events
which occur infrequently, or where the technicians are relatively more efficient. This does not
imply these events are not important, just that in terms of need prioritization, these training
can be safely put off to a later time.
Summary findings
The above findings disclose that the English language is indeed a tool for interacting with
superiors and colleagues at work. On that account, English language does play an important
role at their workplace. From the survey, it can be concluded that the technicians are quite
involved with the English Language though there is still room for improvement. Therefore,
an “English for Technicians” course specially designed with regards to their needs, lacks and
wants, would be an added advantage.
To sum the above, the respondents possess a positive outlook towards the language as a
whole based on the high score of the respondents‟ perceived training needs. They are willing
to follow the ESP program for technicians as a big part of their work involves interacting in
English with their superiors and colleagues. The data that concerns the respondents‟
background enables the teacher to identify their “wants” more specifically. For example,
from the answers given by the respondents, the teacher knows that their activities at work are
mainly involved with using the language in discussions, interaction, communication, reading
and some formal writing. Thus, it is obvious that they need to improve proficiency in all the
four skills. This should be a good indicator to the course designer to include and expose the
variety of reading comprehension abilities such as extracting information, and eliciting data
to the learners. Innovative teaching strategies must be thought up and exposed to this specific
group. This is a set of students who have attained some level of English proficiency but still
need to further improve their performance level.
Although there is considerable ambivalence on the degree of reliability and validity of the
results as an effective measurement of the respondents‟ actual proficiency, nevertheless the
analysis will be of help to the course designer in ascertaining the weaknesses and strengths of
the respondents in related language skills and attitude towards the language and the
appropriate training methodology.
Based on this conclusion, there is a need for an intermediate program for the employees of
this organisation to broaden their horizons, and increase their power of communication. The
content will be based on all four language skills, with prioritization identified by the mini
survey. Yet, the course development should be viewed as an on-going process, whereby the
teacher can make necessary changes to suit students‟ interests and needs, even as the course
is in progress.
1. Allen, J.P.B. (1984) „Functional-analytic Course Design and the Variable Focus
Curriculum‟, in Brumfit, C.J. (ed.) The Practice of Communicative Teaching, ELT
Document 124, Oxford: Pergamon Press in association with the British Council.
2. Breen, M.P. (1987) Contemporary Paradigms in Syllabus Design. Parts 1 and II
[State of the art articles]. Language Teaching. Vol.20
3. Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learning-
centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. Marija Potocar (2005). ESP In Slovenian Secondary Technical And Vocational
Education. Available from (http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_1/esp.html)
5. Md. Momtazur Rahman et al (2009). Need Analysis for Developing an ESP Writing
Course for Foreign Postgraduates in Science and Technology at National University
of Malaysia. The Asian ESP Journal – Volume 5, Issue 2.
Available from (http://www.ukm.my/smthang/pdf/2009_3.pdf)
6. Robinson, P. (1991). ESP Today: A Practitioner’s Guide. Prentice Hall Int. (U.K.)
Ltd.
7. Widdowson, H.G. (1981). “English for Specific Purposes: Criteria for Course
Design”
8. in English for Academic and Technical Purposes: Studies in Honor of Louis Trimble,
9. Selinker, L.‟ Tarone, E. and Hanzel, V. (eds.), Newbury House.
10. Abdessalami Mubarak (2005). E.S.P. In Moroccan Schools, What For?!
11. Available from (http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/u5/cc/esp.html)