Disciplinary Differences in the Language Needs of Engineering Students in Iran: A Cross-Disciplinary Analysis

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Autor/in	Gholaminejad, Razieh
Titel	Disciplinary Differences in the Language Needs of Engineering Students in Iran: A Cross-Disciplinary Analysis
Quelle	In: Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14 (2022) 1, S.159-170 (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2050-7003
DOI	10.1108/JARHE-05-2020-0118
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Engineering Education; English for Academic Purposes; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Intellectual Disciplines; Comparative Analysis; Teaching Methods; Student Attitudes; Graduate Students; Undergraduate Students; College Credits; Language Proficiency; Language Skills; English (Second Language); Student Needs; Iran + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Ingenieurausbildung; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Geisteswissenschaften; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Schülerverhalten; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; College; Colleges; Achievement; Performance; Anrechnung; Hochschule; Fachhochschule; Leistung; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache
Abstract	Purpose: Although English for academic purposes (EAP) courses are vital components of engineering disciplines in the universities of Iran, studies investigating engineering students' English language needs are infrequent, and even more infrequent are studies comparing how the students of different engineering disciplines vary in their English language needs. Research demonstrates that students of different disciplines have different language needs, which requires competency in different language skills (Soruç "et al.," 2018). However, in the majority of Iranian universities, students of different engineering disciplines are taught similar subskills, through similar teaching methodologies and textbooks. With the twofold purpose of identification and comparison of the students' language needs and weaknesses, this study focuses on the perceptions of Iranian students of electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels of their present language abilities and target-situation language needs. Design/methodology/approach: Online surveys regarding language needs and self-assessments were completed by 194 undergraduate students and 189 postgraduate students studying at Sharif University. Findings: While only educational level was found to have a significant effect on the perceptions of the respondents of their target needs, both educational level and discipline had a significant effect on the perceptions of the students of their present level of language proficiency. Furthermore, almost equal attention to the four language skills were considered necessary by the respondents, who also held that the number of credits devoted to the EAP courses was insufficient. A further finding was that the majority of the undergraduates required that the EAP courses be oriented toward English for specific purposes (ESP), whereas almost half of the postgraduates preferred that the EAP classes be geared toward general English. Originality/value: Researchers have so far analyzed the language needs of students of a number of academic disciplines. This study adds to the existing literature of needs-analysis by comparing the engineering students' present abilities and target language needs. This study is different from the existing publications on language needs-analysis in two ways. First, through a comparative perspective, a profile of engineering students' language needs is obtained, which can serve as a new database for curriculum developers and material designers of engineering programs. Second, investigating whether the students' perceptions of their language needs are affected by their educational levels and disciplines is a topic for which there is little information at present. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01