English language communicative competence of university interns for employability
List of Authors
  • Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh

Keyword
  • Employability, English Language Communicative Competence, higher education provider, university interns

Abstract
  • This study discusses English Language Communicative Competence (ELCC) of university interns during their eight-week internship. The aim of the study is to identify the importance of workplace oral and written communicative tasks from the lens of university interns. Quantitative methodology using an adopted questionnaire was employed among sixty-eight participants selected purposively. The instrument examined the university interns’ written and oral language skills in internal and external workplace communication. It also examined the adequacy of university’s preparation for the future graduates to manoeuvre their ELCC ability at workplace. Findings obtained from university interns revealed high frequency engagement with written and oral communicative tasks in internal and external workplace contexts in terms of emails, team-based discussion, telephone communication and general workplace writing. Further, tasks such as handling the writing of proposals, manuals and business letters were found to be challenging. The findings also revealed inadequacy of university’s training in equipping future graduates with ELCC for improved graduate employability. The issues highlighted require attention of higher education providers to enhance university interns’ ELCC. In addition, collaborative input from the industry is also highly encouraged to improve ELCC training of university interns for future employment.

Reference
  • 1. Amare, N. & Brammer, C. (2005). Perceptions of Memo Quality: A Case Study of Engineering Practitioners, Professors, and Students. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 35(2), 179-190.
    2. Ambrose, S.A. & Poklop, L. (2015). Do students really learn from experience? Change, No. January/February, 54-61.
    3. Archer, W. & Davison, J. (2008). Graduate employability: What do employers think and want? The Council for Industry and Higher Education. Retrieved June 1, 2020 from http://www.cihe-uk.com
    4. Arkoudis, S., Baik, C., Bexley, E., & Doughney, L. (2014). English Language Proficiency and Employability Framework for Australian Higher Education. Melbourne Centre for Study of Higher Education.
    5. Arkoudis, S., Hawthorne, L., Baik, C., O'Loughlin, K., Hawthorne, G., Leach, D. & Bexley, E. (2009). The Impact of English Language Proficiency and Workplace Readiness on the Employment Outcomes of Tertiary International Students. Canberra: DEEWR.
    6. Artemeva, N. (2008). Toward a Unified Social Theory of Genre Learning. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 22(2), 160-185.
    7. Bharathi, A. V. (2016). Communication Skills–Core of Employability Skills: Issues & Concerns. Higher Learning Research Communications, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.18870/hlrc.v6i4.359
    8. Bhattacharyya, E., Nordin, S., & Salleh, R. (2009, Feb. 4-6). Internship Students' Workplace Communication Skills: Workplace Practices and University Preparation. Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration, Orlando, Florida.
    9. Branine, M. (2008). Graduate recruitment and selection in the UK. A study of recent changes in methods and expectations. Career Development International, 13(6), 497-513.
    10. Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied linguistics, 1(1), 1-47.
    11. Chen, T.L., Shen, C.C. & Gosling, M. (2018). Does employability increase with internship satisfaction? Enhanced employability and internship satisfaction in a hospitality program. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 22, 88-99.
    12. Clarke, M. (2018). Rethinking graduate employability: The role of capital, individual attributes and context. Studies in Higher Education, 43(11), 1923–1937.
    13. Cole, D. & Tibby, M. (2013). Defining and developing your approach to employability: A framework for higher education institutions. Heslington: The Higher Education Academy.
    14. Cumming, J. (2010). Contextualised performance: Reframing the skills debate in Research education. Studies in Higher Education, 35(4), 405-419.
    15. Dickson, D. A. & Hargie Owen, D. W. (1999). Cross-Community in the Northern Ireland Workplace: A Scoping Study. A Report on Research Funded by the Central Community Relations Unit, 1-32.
    16. Guile, D., & Lahiff, A. (2013). Internship: Conventional wisdom, models & recommendations. London: Institute of Education, University of London.
    17. Gupta, V. S., & Ervin E. T. (1997). Assessment of Workplace Writing and Incorporation into Curriculum. Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, 13(2), 1-12.
    18. Heaton, N., McCracken, M., & Harrison, J. (2008). Graduate recruitment and development: Sector influence on a local market/regional economy. Education +Training, 50(4), 276–288. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910810880524.
    19. Hee, S, C, & Zainal, A. Z. (2018). Analysing the English Communication Needs of Service Technicians in the Pest Control Industry. PERTANIKA Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 26(2), 1079-1096.
    20. Herbert, I., Rothwell, A., Glover, J.L., & Lambert, S.A. (2020). Graduate Employability, Employment Prospects and Work-Readiness in the Changing Field of Professional Work. The International Journal of Management Education, 18(2).
    21. Holmes, A. & Miller, S. (2000). A Case for Advanced Skills and Employability in HE. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 52(4), 653-664.
    22. Hovde, M. R. (2005). Preparing Students for Global Engineering Workplace Communication. American Society for Engineering Education. IL/IN Sectional Conference, Session C-T-3-1, 1-8.
    23. Jackson, D., & Collings, D. (2018). The influence of Work-Integrated Learning and paid work during studies on graduate employment and underemployment. Higher Education, 76(3), 403–425.
    24. Keane A., & Gibson, I. (1999). Communication Trends in Engineering Firms: Implications for Undergraduate Engineering Course. International Journal Engineering Education, 15(2), 115-121.
    25. Knight, P. T. & Yorke, M. (2002). Employability through the curriculum. Tertiary Education and Management, 8(4), 261-276.
    26. Koo, Y.L. (2006). Exploring Reflexive Puriliteracy as theory and practice in multilingual/cultural contexts. 3L Journal of Language Teaching, Linguistics and Literature, 11, 79-98.
    27. Koo, Y.L. (2007a). Mindful PluriLiteracy (PL) For Multilingual Learners: Sustaining Diverse Cultures in Language and Literacy Education. In Ambigapathy Pandian, Koo Yew Lie & Peter Kell. (Eds.), Innovation and Intervention in ELT: Pathways and Practices (pp. 26 – 45). Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.
    28. Koo, Y.L. (2007b). The pluralist literacies of Malaysian Chinese learners in Higher Education. In P. Kell & G. Vogl. (Eds.), Higher Education in the Asia Pacific: Challenges for the future (pp. 178 –201. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press.
    29. Kubler, B., & Forbes, P. (2004). Student Employability Profiles Engineering. Enhancing Student Employability. Coordination Team (ESECT), the Higher Education Academy.
    30. Levitt, S. R. (2001). Communication Literacy for 21st Century Engineering Education in Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual & Exposition, (pp.1-8).
    31. McKay, J. (2007). Business News: Employers complain about communication skills. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from http://www.post-gazette.com.
    32. Moreau, M. P. & Leathwood, C. (2006). Graduates' employment and the discourse employability: A critical analysis. Journal of Education and Work, 19(4), 305- 324.
    33. Muhammad Sabri, S., Taufik, I., & Saiful, A. (2016). An Insight into Internship Program for Undergraduate Arabic Language Learners in Malaysia. The Online Journal of IslamicStudy, 4(1), 28-37.
    34. Nelson, S. (2003). Engineering and Technology Student Perceptions of Collaborative Writing Practices. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 46(4), 265-275.
    35. Norback, J. S. & Hardin, J.R. (2005). Integrating Workforce Communication into Senior Design. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 48(4), 413-426.
    36. Norcahyo, R., Della, P., Irawan, D.A., & Ronaldy, J. (2018). How Organisational Culture, Transformational Leadership, and Job Characteristics Affect Employee Engagement at PT XYZ. PERTANIKA Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 26(T), 1-12.
    37. O'Leary, S. (2017). Graduates' experiences of, and attitudes towards, the inclusion of employability-related support in undergraduate degree programmes: trends and variations by subject discipline and gender. Journal of Education and Work, 30 No. 1, 84-105, doi: 10.1080/13639080.2015.1122181.
    38. Pardo-Garcia, C., & Barac, M. (2020). Promoting employability in higher education: A case study on boosting entrepreneurship skills. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(10), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/SU12104004
    39. Paretti, M. C. & Burgoyne, C. B. (2005). Work in Progress – An Integrated Engineering Communications Curriculum for the 21st Century. IEEE Xplore, F3F, 5-6.
    40. Patil, A.S. (2005). Global Engineering Criteria for the Development of the Global Engineering Profession. World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education, UICEE, 1-4.
    41. Perinpasingam, P.T., Arumugam, N., Thayalan, X. & Maniam, M. (2015). Needs Analysis on the Importance of English Language Skills for Workplace: Trainee Architects. International Review of Basic and Applied Sciences, 10, 129-137.
    42. Pinto, L. H., & Pereira, P. C. (2018). I wish to do an internship (abroad)’: investigating the perceived employability of domestic and international business internships. Higher Education, 78(3), 443–461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0351-1
    43. Rameez, A. (2019). English Language Proficiency and Employability of University Students: A Sociological Study of Undergraduates at the Faculty of Arts and Culture South Eastern University of Sri Lanka (SEUSL). International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(2), 199. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v9n2p199
    44. Raybould, J., & Sheedy, V. (2005). Are graduates equipped with the right skills in the employability stakes? Industrial and Commercial Training, 37(5), 259–263.
    45. Renganathan, S., Karim, Z. A. B. A., & Li, C. S. (2012). Students’ perception of industrial internship programme. Education and Training, 54(23), 180-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911211210288
    46. Schnell, L. M. (2006), “Work in Progress: Impacting Global Engineering Education For New College Graduates”, IEEE, S1C, 18-19.
    47. Schworm, S. K., Cadin, L., Carbone, V., Festing, M., Leon, E., & Muratbekova-Touron, M. (2017). The impact of international business education on career success - Evidence from Europe. European Management Journal, 35(4), 493-504.
    48. Shukla, D. (2012). Employability Skill among Professionals–Chagrin of HR Executives in Indian Labor Market: A Study on Engineering Graduates of Bhopal City. VSRD International Journal of Business and Management Research, 2.
    49. Sides, C. & Mrvica, A. (2017). Internships: Theory and Practice, Routledge, New York, NY. Silva, P., Lopes, B., Costa, M., Seabra, D., Melo, A. I., Brito, E., & Dias, G. P. (2016). Stairway to employment? Internships in higher education” Higher Education, 72(6), 703 - 721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9903-9
    50. Skovholt, K. (2006). Email Copies in Workplace Interaction. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 12(1), pp. 1-25.
    51. Teichler, U. (2009). Higher education and the world of work: Conceptual frameworks, comparative perspectives and empirical findings. The Netherlands: Sense.
    52. Tholen, G. (2014). Graduate employability and educational context: a comparison between Great Britain and the Netherlands. British Educational Research Journal, 40(1), 1-17.
    53. Thomas, G. F. (2007). How Can We Make Our Research More Relevant? Bridging the Gap between Workplace Changes and Business Communication Research. Journal of Business Communication, 44(3), 1-15.
    54. To, W.M. & Lung, J.W.Y. (2020). Factors influencing internship satisfaction among Chinese students. Education + Training, 62 (No. 5) 543-558. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-01-2020-0023
    55. Valo, M. (2000). Experiencing work as a communications professional: Students' reflections on their off-campus work practice. Higher Education, 39(2), 151-179.
    56. Vest, D., Long, M., Thomas, L., & Palmquist, P. (1995). Relating Communication Training to Workplace Requirements: The Perspective of New Engineers. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 38(1), 11-17.
    57. Wharton, C. Y., & Horrocks, J. (2015). Students’ perceptions of employability within their degree programme: Highlighting the disparity between what academics believe is included and the student experience. International Conference on Enhancement and Innovation in Higher Education, March, 10. Retrieved Octber 1, 2020, from http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/pages/docdetail/docs/paper/students-perceptions-of employability-within-their-degree-programme-highlighting-the-disparity-between-what-academics-believe-is-included-and-the-student-experience
    58. Wilton, N. (2012). The impact of work placements on skills development and career outcomes for business and management graduates. Studies in Higher Education, 37(5), 603–620.
    59. Zainuddin, S.Z.B., Pillai, S., Dumanig, F.P. & Phillip, A. (2019). English language and graduate employability. Education + Training, 61(No. 1) 79-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2017-0089.
    60. Zehr, S.M. & Korte, R. (2020). Student internship experiences: learning about the Workplace. Education + Training, 62(3), 311-324.
    61. Ziegler, R. (2007). Student Perception of “soft” skills in Mechanical Engineering. ICEE, 1-4.