A Triangulated Study of Academic Language Needs of Iranian Students of Computer Engineering: Are the Courses on Track?

Autor/inn/en	Atai, Mahmood Reza; Shoja, Leila
Titel	A Triangulated Study of Academic Language Needs of Iranian Students of Computer Engineering: Are the Courses on Track?
Quelle	In: RELC Journal: A Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 42 (2011) 3, S.305-323 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0033-6882
DOI	10.1177/0033688211419392
Schlagwörter	Academic Discourse; Undergraduate Students; Student Attitudes; Self Evaluation (Individuals); Needs Assessment; Achievement Tests; Interviews; Program Effectiveness; Engineering; Data Analysis; English for Academic Purposes; Intuition; Language Teachers; Questionnaires; Participant Observation; Language Proficiency; Guidelines; Second Language Instruction; English (Second Language); Curriculum Development; Iran + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Discourse; Diskurs; Schülerverhalten; Bedarfsermittlung; Achievement test; Achievement; Testing; Test; Tests; Leistungsbeurteilung; Leistungsüberprüfung; Leistung; Testdurchführung; Testen; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Maschinenbau; Auswertung; Language teacher; Sprachunterricht; Fragebogen; Teilnehmende Beobachtung; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Richtlinien; Fremdsprachenunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung
Abstract	Even though English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) courses constitute a significant part of the Iranian university curriculum, curriculum developers have generally developed the programs based on intuition. This study assessed the present and target situation academic language needs of undergraduate students of computer engineering. To this end, data were elicited from 231 undergraduates, 30 graduate students, 20 computer engineering instructors and 15 ESP instructors at three major Iranian universities. Instrumentation included needs analysis and self-assessment questionnaires, a general English proficiency test, semi-structured interviews, and non-participant observations. Despite some inconsistencies in participants' perceptions of target situation needs, the findings indicate that written skills and language components are important. The undergraduates perceived difficulties with some sub-skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Moreover, General English Proficiency (GEP) level of the students, as probed by a GEP test and confirmed by self assessment results and teacher assessment data, was generally low. The undergraduates held that they need more general English than highly specific academic English. Finally, participants commented on several major problematic areas. The findings may promise implications for renewing the ESAP course under study and suggest a model framework for needs assessment to other ESAP researchers worldwide. (Contains 5 tables.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10