ERIC Number: EJ1264120
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Aug
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0033-6882
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Communication Needs of Science Graduate Students
Kathpalia, Sujata S.; Ong, Kenneth K. W.; Leong, Alvin P.
RELC Journal: A Journal of Language Teaching and Research, v51 n2 p227-243 Aug 2020
Graduate programmes in most universities are typically oriented towards training students to master their disciplinary studies and communication skills courses are often offered as add-on courses that rarely take into consideration students' needs. The needs of graduate students can vary depending on their educational backgrounds and English language proficiency and as such, it is important to conduct a needs analysis to ensure that these courses cater to the needs of both proficient and less-proficient speakers of English. Using focus-group interviews, this study was conducted to examine the communication needs of local and international graduate students at a university in Singapore. More specifically, the objectives were to investigate the communication tasks prioritized by science graduate students, their communication needs and difficulties, as well as the help they would need through communication skills courses at the university. The findings suggest that the needs of the students vary depending on their proficiency in English. Those with higher proficiency aspire to master a repertoire of academic genres and higher-order language skills whereas those with lower proficiency require more help with lower-order language skills as well as more peer and professor support.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Graduate Students, Science Education, Communication Skills, Language Proficiency, Student Needs, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Singapore
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A