Stakeholders’ Perceptions of an English for Occupational Purposes Course
As the business world is becoming increasingly global and competitive, most business organizations require employees to have good employability skills. In order to ensure employees are equipped with relevant employability skills, the industry turns to higher education for assistance. One initiativ...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
© IDOSI Publications, 2013
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/30065/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30065/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30065/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30065/1/4_Isarji_EOP_73_to_87.pdf |
| Summary: | As the business world is becoming increasingly global and competitive, most business organizations
require employees to have good employability skills. In order to ensure employees are equipped with relevant
employability skills, the industry turns to higher education for assistance. One initiative of higher education
institutions is to offer English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) courses. This study was undertaken to
investigate the strengths and weaknesses of English for Occupational Purposes course for students of
Economics and Management Science based on internal stakeholders’ perceptions. A multi-method approach
was adopted and triangulation of methods comprising survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews
were employed. A total of 177 respondents consisted of undergraduate students, instructors and academic
administrators of the EOP course participated in the study. The findings of this study revealed that the
students, instructors and academic administrators, in general were satisfied with the EOP course.
However, there were shortcomings that need to be addressed, particularly related to methods of teaching and
oral and written communication skills related to job application.
Key words: English language proficiency Employability English for Occupational Purposes Higher
education institutions |
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