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© 2002 UICEEGlobal J. of Engng. Educ., Vol.6, No.1Published in Australia

INTRODUCTION

Communication skills are essential for an engineer whoaspires to carry out his/her professional practice inthe global arena. Engineering communication skillsbasically constitute several core elements such as thefluency in the English language and the fundamentalsof visual communication.

Evidence indicates that communication skills arewhat helped Homo sapiens evolve beyond ourrelated ancestors, and that these skills have helpedhumankind develop into the advanced societies onEarth today [1]. However, these skills have becomestifled in the very discipline that has brought so manyadvancements, and that is engineering.

There is ample evidence that graduate engineerslack the required standard of communication skills,particularly when compared to the needs of industryinternationally [2][3]. This can also be determinedwhen considering related disciplines offered atuniversities (eg business). This is so much so that theDean of Engineering at Duke University stated that…engineers who are adept at communications havea considerable advantage over those who are not[4]. Furthermore, this lack of communication skills only

English and Communication Skills for the GlobalEngineer

Marc J. RiemerUNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE)

Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia

Engineering graduates require an ever-increasing range of skills to maintain relevance with theglobal environment of the new millennium. Communication skills are an vital component of this,recognised by academia and industry alike. English language skills are also important given itswidespread status across the globe as a lingua franca. Indeed, multilingual skills are considered a salientelement in the make-up of the new global engineer. English for specific purposes focuses the learner’sattention on the particular terminology and communication skills required in the internationalprofessional field. Communication skills development is discussed in the paper, with examples givenof different methods of teaching and assessment. The impacts on communication skills developmentinclude various elements, including gender equality. A lack of sufficient communication skills servesonly to undermine the image of the engineer, but this can be tackled by engaging features ofemotional intelligence (EQ) in the education of engineers. EQ offers various components that canimprove communication skills and emphasise a more experiential approach to learning.

serves to undermine the whole profile of the profes-sional engineer.

THE GLOBAL ENGINEER

Globalisation directly influences industry’s needs; aglobal engineer must be able to easily cross nationaland cultural boundaries. This in turn directly affectsengineering education. A common code for commu-nication is required. Those education institutions, whichmeet the language requirements for the new globalengineer, will be ready to face the new millennium.H.P. Jensen states that employers want:

…a number of new competencies, with anemphasis on an increased ability tocommunicate…and good foreign languageskills [2].

This is reinforced in N. Grünwald’s study ofcompetencies required by the engineer of tomorrow,which includes hard skills like good foreign languageskills. He goes further to claim that cross-disciplinarylanguage skills are not sufficiently taught [3]. Thisindicates a lack of a direct fit between graduate skillsand those required by industry.

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Engineers can relate the same theories of math-ematics, of mechanics and technology, but the mod-ern engineer must also be able to communicate effec-tively in a shared tongue. This is especially importantgiven that engineering projects are now planned andimplemented across national and cultural borders.

ENGLISH AND ENGINEERING

English has become the ascendant language inter-nationally, being the most widespread. This willinfluence the language of communication betweenprofessionals internationally. In this age of globalisation,the number of international projects is increasing, andcross-cultural communication and collaboration is onthe rise; this is particularly so for the now inter-national practice of engineering.

The Globalisation of English

English has been widely accepted as the most wide-spread language in the world [5]. It is the firstlanguage for many countries around the planet: fromthe United Kingdom and Ireland to the USA, fromCanada to Australia and New Zealand, from Guyanato Jamaica, plus others. As a second language, it isalso very widespread. For instance, now after the fallof communism, it has become the second language incountries in Central and Eastern Europe, and Englishis taught as part of multilingual education in India, SouthAfrica, Singapore and others.

The distinction here lies between the most wide-spread versus the most widely spoken. However,the number of people who speak English with at leastsome degree of proficiency exceeds any otherlanguage, and its phenomenal advance around thisplanet is unparalleled in the history of language [6].This is particularly important for the engineeringstudent, as this indicates that English will be of moreuse internationally than virtually any other languagedue to its spread.

English is cited as the …major language ofinternational business, diplomacy, and science andthe professions [5]. It is through this method thatEnglish appears to be spreading the most, comparedto past centuries that were dominated by immigrationand settlement, such as Canada, the USA andAustralia.

English is the prime means for communication, andcan often serve as the global language between twopeople from two different cultures, wherein English isnot the native tongue. For example, French engineerscommunicated with Egyptian engineers in Englishduring the recent building of the Cairo subway [7].

Also, a collaboration at Airbus industries betweenEnglish, French, German and Spanish companiesutilised English as the communication medium betweenworkers. An unusual example comes from the Swed-ish transport manufacturer Volvo, which has madeEnglish the language for managers at its new plant inSouth Korea, with English lessons being taken by someemployees during production breaks.

Some multinational firms with bases in continentalEurope use English as the prime form of communica-tion in the office. In this sense, multinational corpora-tions can be seen to indirectly influence the educa-tional policies in foreign lands by their value creationof particular languages through global economic power.This also delivers a strategic advantage to thoseinstitutions in non-English countries with effectiveEnglish language instruction.

English Language Instruction

Integrating relevant technical jargon and documenta-tion in foreign language tuition courses in engineeringis essential. The cultural history of prime English-speaking nations, as well as the history of majorengineering feats, can be used in the instruction ofengineering students to maintain relevance.

There are quite a few institutions in non-Englishspeaking nations that offer in engineering courses inEnglish, or at least subjects in English. These includethe Technical University of Denmark, the TechnicalUniversity of Lodz in Poland, the Technical Univer-sity of Budapest in Hungary, several German univer-sities, plus other academic institutions in Europe, Asia,and other regions. These institutions are meeting thedemands of industry internationally by contributing tothe educational needs of the global engineer.

University level education in emerging economiesis set to see an increase in English-medium distancelearning programmes that are supplied by westerncountries. This includes online education links beingrecently sought by Malaysia and Singapore. This isdespite rumblings about the cultural impact of Englishon these two cultures.

In a study on the future of the English language,Graddol found that English, Spanish and Mandarinwould continue to rise as the dominant language blocs.This may well lead to an increasing level of languageregionalisation where geographical areas becomedominated by one language [8].

English for Specific Purposes

There is a clear necessity for effective English com-munication skills for engineers in the current globalised

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environment. A course in English for Specific Pur-poses (ESP) will enhance English language trainingand an engineering student’s communication skills. Itwill also aid in the globalisation of education and theinternationalisation of practicing engineers.

The English language has become a major mediumfor communication across borders globally; a defi-ciency in this area may result in barriers for gradu-ates’ personal and professional development. Oneprime example may be found at the Tomsk Polytech-nic University (TPU), in Tomsk, Russia, which hasdesigned a course for engineers preliminarily titledEnglish for Specific Purposes (ESP) in EngineeringEducation. ESP focuses the learner’s attention onthe language and communication requirements in aparticular professional field. The TPU’s ESP course ispart of an extended Multilevel Intensive Foreign Lan-guage-Training (MILFT) programme, which has beendesigned for the students and faculty of the TPU [9].

The concept of ESP achieves more in the educa-tion of engineering students by focusing the learner’sattention on the particular terminology and communi-cation skills required in the professional field. Variousexamples in the engineering field can be found,including computer science, maritime engineering’sseaspeak, aviation’s airspeak and the railway’srailspeak.

Teaching English to engineers is a delicate anddemanding matter in terms of content, methods andtechniques, and deciding which are appropriate for thisparticular area of engineering and English. That is,the aim in such an interdisciplinary course is todevelop and master relevant communication andprofessional skills, using English as a means and a kindof mediator in shaping future engineers.

To achieve this goal, ESP teachers have to planthe course they teach and provide the materials for it.Rarely is it possible to use a particular textbook with-out the need for supplementary material, and some-times no really suitable published materials exist forcertain learners’ needs. The role of ESP teachers thusinvolves choosing suitable published materials from avariety of reliable and valid sources, adapting materi-als when published ones are not suitable, and evenwriting new materials if nothing suitable exists.

THE INTERNET AND MULTILINGUALISM

The Internet has become increasingly a crucible forworld languages. This has direct implications on engi-neering education, as the Internet is central to variouselements of engineering education. It also increasesthe global access to engineering education informa-tion, as under-served languages come online.

Statistics indicate that the prime language of Internetsites is becoming increasingly regionalised, with thelocal dominant language being the first choice inlanguage options (see Figure 1). English is still strong,but it is becoming the second choice in an increasinglymultilingual international community. The Internet,as an instrument of globalisation, contributes to thisprocess of recognising diversity.

This has clear implications for engineering educa-tion. Language will no longer be the prime determi-nant for access to engineering education based ontraditional European structures because large, previ-ously under-represented communities will gain greaterrepresentation. Furthermore, this expanded access tothe Internet builds a new dimension in the educationprocess in this era of globalisation: by combininglanguage education with technology education.

This also generates a greater element of regional-isation as these large under-represented groups in Asiaand Africa demand the skills required to operatecompetitively in the world. However, language stillremains a strong barrier.

Figure 1: Evolution of the online language population[10].

Global Language

The process of globalisation, powered through tech-nology, initially enabled English to become the globallanguage. Prime growth in Internet usage is comingfrom China and India, and while there is good Englishlanguage proficiency in the latter, the preference isgenerally more for navigating in the user’s nativetongue. The Internet seems to be the new millennium’sTower of Babel, with increasingly more languagesconcentrated in the one type of technology.

In this new millennium, people who speak Englishalongside other languages will outnumber those whospeak it as a first language [8]. There is also expectedto be a language shift from those who speak Englishas foreign language (where there is no local modelfor English) to those who speak English as a second

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language. This will occur as English begins topenetrate new domains, such as China, where it doesnot already exist as part of the speaker’s community.This has clear implications for education regardingdecisions on the language of instruction, language train-ing as well as Internet courses.

This monolingual dominance of English instructionin some nations is brought into question at a time whenemployers are demanding new competencies, includingcommunication and foreign language skills, and notjust from engineering candidates in European nations.

Although the focus will be decreasing on theEnglish language, it will still maintain strong relevanceas a secondary language for many people aroundthe world. To this extent, English will be the linguisticbridge in international engineering projects.

The importance of multilingualism for the globalengineer is not confined to learning English.Multilingualism in an engineering course is increas-ingly focusing on regional communication skills, wherethe main languages from within that country’s regionare becoming just as important as learning English.

European students, when recently surveyed, statedthat they felt working in a foreign language was anecessary activity in an international career. Theimplications of this are apparent; the English languagemaintains extremely strong relevance now and in thefuture, particularly in acting as a connection forcommunication between two cultures. The Englishlanguage’s strengths will lie not in acting as a firstlanguage, but as a secondary language in inter-national multilingual education.

This also has clear implications for engineeringeducation. As the profession of engineering becomesincreasingly international, English language skillsbecome very important to facilitate communicationbetween cultures, emphasising the necessity for Eng-lish language and communication skills in engineeringcurricula.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

A recent report from Melbourne, Australia, stated thatemployers now seek graduates with skills beyond thestandard paper degree; this includes an excellent levelof skills in:

• Communication• Decision-making• Teamwork

Other areas identified in the report includedcompetencies in business acumen, marketing andpublic relations. Having the most knowledge was notas important as getting the work done in the most

effective manner. Employers gave considerable valueon graduates acquiring a diverse set of skills in differ-ing work environments [11].

However, the report also found that most gradu-ates felt that they had gained analytical and problem-solving skills, subject-specific knowledge, research andimproved decision-making abilities through theirdegrees. Yet despite this, much fewer felt that theirgraduate degree provided:

• Oral communication skills.• Awareness of the social implications of their

discipline’s developments.• Management skills.• Understanding of other points of view and other

cultures.• Confidence and competence to work in inter-

national environments [11].

Notably, oral communication skills were consideredvery important in the graduates’ new work environ-ments, but this was in the face of the low level of oralcommunication skills imparted during their studies.However, neglecting learning opportunities can engen-der a shallow level of understanding in the graduate ifhe/she does not see the broader picture.

The burgeoning importance placed on oralcommunication skills by employers has been echoedinternationally for a decade or more and across disci-plines. Knowledge and technical know-how are clearlyimportant, but these must be presented with an excel-lent standard of communication skills, particularly oral.Indeed, oral communication and presentation skills areconsidered one of the best career enhancers andto be the single biggest factor in determining astudent’s career success or failure [12].

Their relevance was emphasised recently with thestatement that:

Skills such as problem solving, communica-tions, interpersonal skills and critical andindependent thinking should be fostered inengineering education, not just because theyare qualities that employers look for butbecause they should be part of any tertiaryeducation [13].

COMMUNICATION SKILLSDEVELOPMENT

A review of literature indicates that oral communica-tion has been identified as a learnable skill [12].Furthermore, communication skills development hasbeen demonstrated through the use of various meth-ods, such as class discussions and others.

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While the study of famous speeches, learning oralcommunication theories and techniques from textbookswill still be beneficial, it should be noted that the litera-ture has indicated that experiential methods havegenerally yielded better results than purely didacticmeans.

Presentations

The student’s knowledge base is augmented byallocating class projects for presentations. However,students will not place any great emphasis on presen-tation, and with it oral communication skills, if presen-tation and communication is not allocated a significantshare for the exercise’s marks. Furthermore, as muchas many students dislike giving presentations, it isbetter that they experience a dry run in their educa-tion than to be suddenly confronted in the workplace.It should be noted that a recent Irish study found that78% of a sample of practicing engineering graduatesstated that were required to give oral presentations aspart of their work, and quite often this was on aregular basis [14].

Group projects and presentations encourage andenhance the interpersonal skills of the studentmembers and should be emphasised early in theeducation curricula. This should be considered inparticular as teamwork is recognised as a core skill inindustry, and communication with team membersneeds to be effective.

Peer Review

Peer assessment has been shown to provide manyadvantages and disadvantages. Advantages includegetting students to think about the exercise moredeeply, recognise others’ viewpoints and how to giveconstructive criticism to peers. Disadvantages includepotential bias, reluctance to give low marks for poorwork from their peers and the need for clearer guide-lines.

However, such disadvantages can be countered byutilising group-based marking, rather than individual,increasing marking guideline specificity, and limitingthe impact of the peer review exercise with regard tothe overall unit grade.

Role-play

As knowledge of communication theory does notnecessarily parallel skills in practice, it is important toimmerse students in similar work environments.Context-specific enactments, or role-play, can focusthe student’s attention on the differing types of

communication required with various groups in poten-tial future work situations. By engaging the studentsdirectly in active learning, they learn by doing.

It is important to utilise pseudo environments tosimulate meetings with clients/developers/peers/etc,as this will also allow students to interact with differ-ent levels of technical intensity, as well as engaging innon-technical communications. Oral communicationskills are needed not just for internal companymatters, but also when dealing with external issues.

Video

Video/audio grading has been shown to dramaticallyimprove presentation skills in students, with one primeexample given where student presentations were filmedand then graded with dubbing from the teacher and afeedback sheet [12]. Importantly, this provides relevanteducational feedback to the student so that he/she canactually see and hear the positives and negatives ofhis/her presentation. Additionally, it is not transitoryas the student’s performance can be revisited.

Technology

Current technology should be utilised, or at leastdemonstrated to the students, so that they are awareof what is in use beyond the university walls. The Irishstudy cited earlier found that instructors in communi-cations need to review and update methods due to therapid advances in communications technology [14].

Furthermore, this Irish study found that practisingengineering graduates suggested that greater contentfor communication courses in undergraduate engineer-ing cover basic MS Office applications (number 3 onthe list, directly after oral presentations and keyboardskills), as well as other technical elements includingWeb page design, e-mail and graphic design. The MSOffice suite includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint,and these were the three prime tools utilised in oralpresentations by the graduates in industry [14]. Thisgives a clear indication of technological elements thatneed to be incorporated into fundamental communi-cation training for engineering students in preparationfor industry.

International Elements

Communication skills training, while focused on thedominant culture of the host university’s country, shouldalso be mindful of variations in intercultural communi-cation. With globalisation becoming commonplace alsowith engineering work, graduates need to have anunderstanding of international communications. This

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includes aspects such as implicit language and cross-cultural idiosyncrasies, or risk being isolated, and isparticularly relevant in dealings between nativeEnglish speakers and non-native English speakers.

Active Involvement of the Learner

Littlewood put forward several elements that, impor-tantly, involve the learner in order to reinforce learning.These four parts are:

• The classroom must be conducive to communi-cation and learning.

• Learning has to be relevant to learners’ interestsand needs.

• Both processes and products are important in theclassroom.

• Learners must engage in active roles in the class-room [15].

Engaging learners will help facilitate and stimulateeffective and purposeful learning by the students.Involving the learners directly, in particular, willengender a stronger sense of responsibility in the futuregraduates that they can take beyond the universityand into the work arena. This is especially importantin engaging learners of English as a Second Language(ESL) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) as itinvolves new vocabulary.

The Fun Factor in Education

There is not much fun but rather a great deal of stressin engineering education. Many students fail to turnup to classes because they ultimately become dissat-isfied with the style of the lectures, strongly suggest-ing that the students fail to see the relevance ofattendance and, at times, the relevance of the topicbeing taught. Many engineering students are not espe-cially motivated to learn certain subjects, primarilybecause they have no real idea why they may need allthis information. They also do not know whether all ofthe material is actually required for their career.

Team-teaching Collaborations

Team-teaching collaboration between a subject expertand an English language teacher can be employed forthe benefit of learners who will make the most of thisintegration. Overseas experience already indicates thatthe synergy from team-teaching can significantlyimprove the written and communication skills of moststudents, particularly oral presentations and reportwriting, and that it generated a positive experiencefor all with a focus on students’ needs and interests.

COMMUNICATION SKILLSASSESSMENT

Communication skills have been identified as multi-dimensional and so it becomes crucial to classify howthey will be assessed in the students’ work. Further-more, the particular communication skills required ina profession are usually poorly defined. One studyidentified that communication skills assessment must:

• Be formal so that it occurs at specific times andcontributes to a student’s marks.

• Provide feedback to be educational.• Involve active participation by students in actual

communication situations.• Tackle student insights so that skills are identified

and developed [16].

Individual feedback is important for improving theeducation of students. However, there needs to beprudent identification and clear operational definitionsof the rating dimensions so that the same standardsare applied to all students: consistency and accuracy.It is vital that the student understands what is expectedand what will be assessed ahead of time to facilitateeducation, learning and the generation of desirablecharacteristics, thereby delivering formative (feed-back) and summative (evaluation) assessment [16].The oral communication element also needs to fit inwell with the subject at hand.

Student self-assessment was utilised in the studyat Monash University, allowing for students to displayinsight into what was expected of them and their ownstrengths and weaknesses. The assessor would alsoprovide feedback to this self-assessment [16]. This wouldalso give students the opportunity for reflection.

ISSUES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Three sources of weakness that can significantly im-pact on an engineer’s communication skills educationwere identified as:

• Students’ attitudes to communication.• Insufficient course content.• Deficient or inappropriate teaching methods [17].

Another significant element included the lack ofopportunity for engineering students to be able topractise communication skills, particularly the oralcomponent [17].

Gender Equality

Gender distribution in the engineering professioncontinues to be dominated by males. This is evidenced

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in recent statistics in Australia where male participa-tion stands at 85%, despite a (slowing) increase infemale student numbers over the past decades [18].

However, female participation is increasing at amuch greater rate when engineering is coupled withanother discipline as part of a double degree [17]. Thebenefits of a double degree is that the student’s skillsbase is augmented in other areas, including communi-cation, as students are introduced to other subjects intandem with the engineering degree. Further studywould need to be undertaken to cover gender partici-pation in double degrees, with the possibility thatfemales may graduate with a greater range skills thatwould be more in line with industry demands.

Refresher Courses for Educators

The TPU in Russia has instituted a new extendedlanguage-learning programme, which targets TPUacademics who provide, organise and manage engi-neering educational programmes taught in English. Theinterconnected course components cover a wide rangeof settings to effectively train learners to communi-cate in English.

The TPU’s initiative provides an excellent exampleof the importance of providing refresher courses foreducators, in this case, in English communication skills.Such refresher courses contribute to life-long learn-ing and the updating of skills for educators and,ultimately, students. Furthermore, by focusing oneducators, these courses help to minimise any errorsor bad habits that may, in turn, have been handed onto students.

Life-long Learning

Tasks involving oral communication skills within thesubject framework can contribute to life-long learningby aiding in the development of those skills necessaryfor life-long learning. Similarly, it was felt that self-assessment of communication tasks would alsoencourage future learning [16].

Integration

Adding social science subjects into the engineeringcurriculum mix will encourage oral and writtencommunication skills, as well as critical analysis. How-ever, stand-alone subjects need to clearly identify thebenefits and relevance of utilising the methods learnedso that they can be transferred into the rest of thestudent’s experience. For example, integrating compul-sory communications education, whether representedwholly or in part by one or more units, should be part

of an engineering degree. However, this is not enough;those skills need to be utilised across the degree todemonstrate application and reinforce behaviour.

Engineering exercises need to incorporate oral andwritten communication skills throughout the curricu-lum and include presentation and communication aspart of the marking process, rather than generate aspecific subject that stands in isolation to the rest ofthe curriculum. Some level of consistency across thedegree will serve to reinforce what has been learnt inprevious subjects and build on previous knowledge, asalready suggested by constructivist theory.

To maintain relevance in today’s world, universitiesneed to reflect industry (and social) demands byimparting to graduates the required skills. Isolating intoseparate subjects those particular skills recognised asnecessary, such as oral communication skills, will notfacilitate reinforcing the desired behaviour unless theyare incorporated into engineering subjects. Integratingthese skills within subject modules, especially in themarking structure, can thereby achieve the right skillscombination.

Several areas of communication skills required forengineers have been already examined. The first grouparea of research was English language proficiency.These included the following attributes:

• Spoken language fluency• Written language fluency• Regional/national dialects• Technical terminology• Professional jargon

IMAGE OF THE ENGINEER

This insufficient level of communication skills instruc-tion in engineering education generally only serves toundermine the whole profile of the professional engi-neer. This in turn affects recruitment and retention inengineering studies [19]. Indeed, the image of the engi-neer may be directly associated with the quality of theengineer. Lack of leadership amongst engineers willlead to a low profile. Increased public standing caneventuate through professional activities, as well asthe ability to communicate to the general public.

Ineffective communication skills only reinforcenegative stereotypes of the engineer. Furthermore, thislack of serviceable communication skills contributesto the low profile of engineering in the general public.However, the lack of standardised and accessibleengineering language tools encountered by engineer-ing students in their university courses may wellbe responsible, at least to some degree, for the levelof bad communication skills. A more proactive and

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accessible style of communication can be moreengaging for the people whom the engineer must dealwith.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

The theory of emotional intelligence (EQ) states thatIQ is actually less important for success in life andwork than EQ – a set of skills that are not directlyrelated to academic ability [20].

Communication may be inhibited depending on thelevel of self-actualisation of the communicator. Thisties in with the EQ elements of self-awareness andself-regulation. Given that communication is rankedas one of the prime characteristics required byemployers in the engineering industry, EQ has animportant role to play in strengthening communicationskills when certain EQ elements are enhanced in thestudent.

EQ and Communication Skills in Engineering

It should be noted that EQ is not the opposite of IQ.In industry, IQ gets you hired, but EQ gets youpromoted [21]. For example, a manager at AT&TBell Labs was asked to rank his top performing engi-neers. High IQ was not the deciding factor, butinstead how the person performed regarding answeringe-mails, how good they were at collaborating and net-working with colleagues (rather than lone wolf), andtheir popularity with others (rather than sociallyawkward) in order to achieve the cooperation requiredto attain the goals [21].

This example highlights the benefits of high EQregarding communication skills, time management,teamwork, leadership skills and business acumen.These important skills flow on from emotional intelli-gence, such as the skilful recognition of others’emotional reactions and empathy to come across asgenuine and warm, which will achieve greatercooperation from others, rather than coming acrossas oblivious and boorish.

The engineer’s stereotypical negative image of thesocially inept genius can inhibit student recruitmentand retention. This may be countered through gradu-ates employing EQ tactics in the workplace, therebygenerating an improved image for engineers throughinteraction. However, these skills must be educed inthe engineering students in the first place.

Incorporating elements of EQ learning in studies,rather than as a separate study unit or module, willlink learning and work attitudes, including motivation,creativity and interpersonal skills, with the tasks athand, such as project work. Learning EQ skills seems

to be in line with experiential learning and aconstructivist approach to studies, as EQ by natureimplies an experiential approach. Encouraging studentsto learn these new skills through project work activi-ties and in student-centred learning will succeed morethan would a stand-alone lecture on EQ; theory with-out practice does not run very far.

The heavy traditionalism of many courses have theperspective of teaching only real engineering, iedefining and isolating problems and achieving techni-cal solutions. Exposure to this culture of traditionalistengineering education not only discourages reflection,but also generates future engineers who both lackand do not appreciate the value of the skills ofreflection [22]. As such, do engineering studiesactively discourage the EQ factor by the very natureof the traditionalist style of teaching in this field? Suchtraditionalist teaching imparts engineering as a disci-pline rather than as a career.

Enhancing communication skills across the curricula,again rather than in a stand-alone subject, willcontribute to higher EQ by targeting certain elements.This includes delivery of oral presentations in engi-neering studies and incorporating communication andpresentation skills in the marking structure of reportsso that the students treat them more seriously. Thismay involve a restructuring of certain components ofsubjects and, indeed, the curriculum.

Experiential approaches, which involve the studentin the actual experience of communication, withopportunities for debriefing and re-application, provideopportunities for the development of self-awareness.Videotape playbacks of oral presentations also stimu-late reflection in the student. Constructivist approachesbuild on past learning and should be utilised to build onstudents’ positive learning experiences to enhancelearning and skills development.

Role-play will encourage self-awareness, while rolereversal will contribute to the student’s understandingof empathy, of knowing how the other side perceivesengineers. Indeed, this need not be confined tospecifically engineering concerns. However, suchcontext-specific role-play will help to cement thoseskills within the engineering framework.

Building opportunities for reflection will also con-tribute to greater EQ understanding as the studentsbecome more self aware. Another study in softwareengineering found that reflective essay tasks gener-ated gains in student development activity, the studentssaw the impact of their practices and began to con-nect practices with potential improvement strategies.Furthermore, the students could also articulate theinfluence of their own work and motivation on thequality of output, thereby engendering a deeper under-

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standing of the subject [23]. In this example, incorpo-rating a greater emphasis on communication activitiesserved to enhance EQ aspects, including more activeparticipation, greater self-control and awareness,heightened motivation and a better understanding ofcourse material.

Teamwork and cooperation will help engender EQqualities and are particularly important skills given thehigh level team-based environments in industry.This will include negotiation skills between teamworkers.

CONCLUSIONS

Language and communication skills are recognised asimportant elements in the education of the modernengineer, including English for specific purposes. Yet,there seems to be limited implementation of Englishcourses globally, despite its current lingua francastatus. Those institutions that have already imple-mented multilingual and communication elements willbe at the forefront of providing the demands of indus-try and society.

The incorporation of several components of thefundamentals of emotional intelligence in education willfacilitate advanced communication skills. However,given the traditionalist nature of many engineeringcurricula, this may take some time before change isevidenced.

The incorporation of language and communicationimprovement courses is an important element ofcontinuous learning, and will ultimately contribute tothe process of life-long learning. This should in turnfacilitate advancements in engineering and, indeed,engineering education through streamlining fundamentalcommunication skills.

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BIOGRAPHY

Marc Jorrit Riemer gradu-ated with a Bachelor of Arts(Hons) in English in 1990,and a Bachelor of Business(Business Administration) in1995, both from MonashUniversity, Melbourne,Australia. He has workedfor several years in theprivate sector, including as a

Sales Administration Manager for an Australasianwholesale electrical distribution firm, and has been theAdministration Officer at the UNESCO InternationalCentre for Engineering Education (UICEE), based inthe Faculty of Engineering at Monash University, sinceDecember 1999. He is also the Assistant Editorof the UICEE’s Global Journal of EngineeringEducation, as well as several other publications ofthe UICEE.

With his qualifications, he seeks to build a bridgewith other disciplines in the development of engineer-ing education, particularly in the field of communica-tion and English skills, and has presented severalpapers in this field. His research interests includeEnglish and communication skills development andemotional intelligence (EQ) issues in relation to theeducation of engineers.