Jordanian University students’ English for specific purposes needs as perceived by employees, faculty members, and employers

Other Title(s)

حاجات طلبة الجامعات الأردنية في مجال اللغة الإنجليزية لأغراض محددة من وجهة نظر الموظفين و أعضاء هيئة التدريس و أرباب العمل

Dissertant

Masadah, Dhuqan Salim Yaqub

Thesis advisor

Husayn, Riyad Fayiz Isa

Comitee Members

Mubayyidin, Husam al-Din Z.
al-Abd al-Haqq, Fawwaz
al-Jadri, Adnan Husayn

University

Amman Arab University

Faculty

Faculty of Educational Sciences and psychological

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

University Country

Jordan

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Date

2006

English Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the Jordanian university students’ English for specific needs as perceived by employees, employers, and faculty members.

Moreover, it aimed to examine the impact of university preparation programmes on enabling university student to fulfill their ESP needs.

More specifically, it tried to answer the following questions: 1.

What are the university students’ EAP needs as perceived by employees and faculty members? 2.

What are the EOP needs that university students should fulfill to succeed at work from the perspective of employees and faculty members? 3.

To what extent are ESP students at university aware of their EOP needs that are stated by the employers in different workplaces from the perspective of employees and faculty members? 4.

To what extent do the preparation programs provided by the university fulfill the ESP learners’ needs from the perspective of employees and faculty members? The convenient sample of the study consisted of (561) respondents.

It involved (265) employees who were studying at Jordanian state universities within the last five years, (184) faculty members who were using English as a medium of instruction while teaching major courses, in addition to (112) employers of varied qualifications and experience.

In order to survey the perceptions of these respondents, two instruments were developed, namely a two- version questionnaire of Likert’s scale and a structured interview form.

One version of the questionnaire was administered to faculty members; the other version was administered to employees.

The interview form was used to register data delivered by employers. To answer the questions of the study, mean scores of participants' responses to the questionnaire’s items and interview forms were calculated.

Percentages and frequencies of these responses were worked out, too.

ANOVA and T.

test were used to examine the differences between the responses of the three groups of participants.

Comparisons were made in light of these types of analyses. The data analysis revealed the following results: A.

There were significant differences between the perceptions of employees and faculty members with respect to the importance of university students’ EAP needs.

Faculty members’ mean scores were higher than the mean scores of employees.

Despite these differences participants in both groups agreed on the importance of fulfilling the following needs: 1.

Expressing one’s opinion and convincing classmates of this opinion. 2.

Making presentations and doing demonstrations related to one’s field of study. 3.

Participating in pair and group work activities in order to complete an assigned task. 4.

Asking the instructor some questions during lectures. 5.

Answering the instructor’s questions. 6.

Reading a text and evaluating the author’s idea. 7.

Reading a text and expressing the author’s idea using one’s own words. B.

There were significant differences between the perceptions of employees and faculty members with respect to the importance of university students’ EOP needs.

Employees’ mean scores were higher than the mean scores of faculty members.

Despite these differences participants in both groups agreed on the importance of fulfilling the following needs: 1.

Using tactful language and efficient communication strategies to handle customer’s needs and questions 2.

Using a variety of information sources in English for a variety of tasks. 3.

Reading reports related to one’s work. 4.

Taking part in internal meetings regarding one’s work. 5.

Writing a summary of an article. 6.

Reading technical journals, magazines, and newspapers. 7.

Writing a paper on a topic incorporating ideas from a variety of sources and documenting them appropriately. 8.

Using appropriate strategies to improve weaknesses. 9.

Taking notes related to one’s work during a workshop given in English. 10.

Giving presentations related to one’s work. 11.

Negotiating with others about topics related to one’s work. 12.

Revising materials to decide the information relevancy to one’s work. 13.

Communicating with foreigners inside and outside work areas. C.

Responses of employees and faculty members indicated that university students were not, to a far extent, aware of the exact EOP needs whose fulfillment would make them succeed in their future jobs.

Partial agreement was found between employees and employers, on the one hand, and faculty members and employers, on the other hand. D.

There were significant differences between the perceptions of employees and faculty members with respect to the effectiveness of university preparation programmes.

Faculty members’ mean scores were higher than the mean scores of employees.

Responses of participants in both groups revealed a moderate role of these programmes in making students capable of fulfilling their ESP needs. In light of the above findings, the researcher stated two sets of recommendations.

The first set was directed to ESP practitioners; the second was for other researchers.

Main Subjects

Educational Sciences
Languages & Comparative Literature

Topics

• Education
• Higher education
• Learning
• Second language learning
• Jordan
• English language

No. of Pages

172

Table of Contents

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-436181