Hearing Voices of Local Graduates in a Malaysian Workplace on Their English Language Competency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/lspi.v3n2.39Keywords:
Value, value education, ESL, case studyAbstract
The call from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia to academics in tertiary institutions to collaborate with industry is pertinent where curriculum design is concerned. Far too often what we teach in the university does not match with real world needs. Hence this small scale study is one which aims to bridge that gap. Using a quasi-ethnographic approach, the researcher who was based at a manufacturing firm in Klang Valley, observed the company activities and carried out semi structured interviews with employees who have graduated from local universities. The aim of the study is to find out whether they have a need to improve their English language skills, and if so, in what areas would they want to be trained. In hearing their “voices”, various perspectives were obtained regarding their competence at the workplace. The findings revealed that work competency does not rely on language skills alone, but other factors come into play and these need to be given attention as well.References
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