THE NEED TO PROVIDE ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO THE ENGINEERS AND THE QUANTITY SURVEYORS

Huma Adnan
Ms., MSB Dubai, The United Arab Emirates, humaadnan87@hotmail.com

Abstract

This study examined the need to provide English communication training to engineers and quantity surveyors (QS) in the United Arab Emirates. Engineers and quantity surveyors working in Dubai need communication skills training to use English effectively in their workplace. Moreover, to plan effective English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons for trainees, there is a need to conduct an Error Analysis from their written reports, which are submitted to UK based professional certification exam centre.  Therefore, there is a global need for using English at engineering and quantity surveying workplace as English is a lingua franca. This research has identified the tasks that require English and common mistakes made by QS and engineers. The research has also discussed the existing curricula for engineers and their barriers. After collecting the results from survey and Error Analysis, a collaborative ESL program is developed. The findings indicate that there is a strong need to provide customized ESL training programs to the QS and engineers in UAE.  It is also found that English is of great importance for the working professionals in listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. These findings are significant because they show that fluency in English is an essential requirement in today’s world. The findings of the intervention also show that there is a need to provide ESL training integrated with Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory. Moreover, the results also show that the Error Analysis can help in designing a useful course for corporate trainees. The paper recommends that such training programs should be provided to all types of profession for their career growth. 

Keywords: Error Analysis, Engineers, ESL, Social Constructivism, etc.