Relationship between Perceived Needs and Actual Use of English By Graduates of Qatar University in the Workplace
This paper summarizes a survey of the perceived needs and actual uses of English in workplace by graduates of Qatar University. It was carried out by the Documentation and Humanities Research Centre at Qatar University in 2004. A questionnaire was designed to elicit such information. It comprises three parts: 1) demographic information, 2) perceived needs of English in the workplace, 3) the actual use of the different English language skills in the workplace. The sample consists of 644 employees who finished their education at Qatar Universit. In this paper the emphasis is on the interaction between perceived needs and actual use of English by the graduates. The results showed that English is used extensively in civil surface in all its skills. It is also evident that these skills correlate with each other. In addition, English is used at a high frequency. Implications for future research and Pedagogical Implications are also addressed.
On the Significance of Students’ Appraisals of Their Language Learning Experiences at University: A Phenomenological Approach
This study focusses on students’ appraisals of their language learning experiences at university. Forty students in the third and final academic English course at a university in the UAE participated in the study. The participants completed a written survey which was developed based on Scherer’s (1987, 2001, 2011, 2013) framework of appraisals, i.e. pleasantness, novelty, goal-conduciveness, coping potential and self-compatibility checks. The analysis of the qualitative data indicates that almost all of the participants evaluate their language learning experiences positively and consider the programme to be of great value in enabling them to achieve their academic and professional goals. On the other hand, some participants do not see much novelty in terms of the materials presented to them and believe this reduces the level of challenge and motivation for them. Almost all of the participants feel strongly about the use of their first language, i.e. Arabic and the fact that learning English should not affect their use of the first language negatively. One important pedagogical implication of the study is that students’ positive appraisals of the course are largely attributed to the teacher’s method of teaching. Another important pedagogical implication of the study is that correct placement of the students in an academic programme can create the proper level of challenge and hence motivation for the students.
Teaching ESL Students to Read and Write Experimental-Research Papers
Reading and writing experimental-research papers is important to academic and processional success in the sciences and social sciences, and is becoming increasingly important in the humanities. Few ESL teachers, however, feel comfortable teaching ESL students to read and write such papers. This paper presents both a discussion of experimental-research paper organization and a method for teaching reading and writing of experimental-research articles to ESL students. ESL teachers are advised to teach students to analyze the reading purpose first, and then to select a reading strategy to meet that purpose. Activities must be structured so that students move from teacher-supplied data to student-collected data.