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English Proficiency of Undergraduate Engineering Students: Assessment and Influencing Factors

English Proficiency of Undergraduate Engineering Students: Assessment and Influencing Factors. 2011 ThaiPOD Annual Conference 28-29 July 2011, Bangkok Kuntinee Maneeratana, Ratchatin Chanchareon Nopdanai Ajavakom, Naebboon Hoonchareon Saowaluk Rungsup and Angkee Sripakagorn.

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English Proficiency of Undergraduate Engineering Students: Assessment and Influencing Factors

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  1. English Proficiency of Undergraduate Engineering Students: Assessment and Influencing Factors 2011 ThaiPOD Annual Conference 28-29 July 2011, Bangkok Kuntinee Maneeratana, Ratchatin Chanchareon Nopdanai Ajavakom, Naebboon Hoonchareon Saowaluk Rungsup and Angkee Sripakagorn

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering • 3 B.Eng., 1 M.Eng. & 1 D.Eng. Programs • Bachelor Degrees • B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering (since 1933) • Admit 75 Students annually • B.Eng. in Automotive Engineering (since 1994) • Admit 15 Students annually • B.Eng. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (since 1990) • Admit 10 Students annually

  3. Previous Work on English Language Skills: ThaiPOD2010 Importance • Required outcome • Crucial for employability Exposure • Two 3-credit English courses in the first year • English textbooks, exercises, exams and other media Assessment • Two 3-credit English courses in the first year • CU-TEP in the fourth years • (CATME teamwork assessment in the senior project) “Indicators of English Proficiency for Undergraduate Engineering Students” K. Maneeratana and A. Sripakagorn

  4. Previous Work on English Language Skills: ThaiPOD2010 CU-TEP • The Test of English Proficiency of Chulalongkorn University • measures the ability to use English for academic purposes • measures in listening, reading and writing. • offers TOEFL-equated score. • offered, free-of-charge, to all 1st and 4th year students. “Indicators of English Proficiency for Undergraduate Engineering Students” K. Maneeratana and A. Sripakagorn

  5. Conclusions No significant differences between the three programs. English grades do not significantly affect grades in other courses. Medium to high values of correlation coefficient between first-year English grades and fourth-year CU-TEP results. CATME: lacks of required skill, confidence or both in reading complicate texts in general contexts. The class averaged TOEFL-equated score is 500. Measures to improve English skills should be investigated and implemented. Previous Work on English Language Skills: ThaiPOD2010

  6. Research Problem To explore the English proficiency of students entering and leaving the three bachelor programs ...as well as ... motivation and practice of English in-between. Motivation & Practices 2 English courses ME program 1st yr 3rd yr 4th yr 2nd yr Entering Leaving CU-TEP CU-TEP Previous work Present work

  7. Class of 2006 Studied in ThaiPOD 2010 inquired about motivation and practices by a questionnaire (email). Class of 2007: encouraged in the senior project course to submit the following information: CU-TEP in the first year CU-TEP or other standard tests in the fourth year Questionnaire on motivation and practices Population & Procedure

  8. English Grades Foundation English (FE) I & II Experiential English (EE) I & II

  9. Change from Foundation English (FE) courses to Experiential English (EE) courses between the classes of 2006 and 2007 students Flatter grade distribution for the first courses The Pearson correlation coefficients r between x and y, A slightly higher r = 0.664 between FE I & II as compared to r = 0.575 between EE I & II English Grades

  10. Grades should be a very good indicator of the proficiency. Specified outcomes, assessment methods, and grading standards are not readily available. Very rough information Grades only, no raw scores No details on different skills English Grades BUT English grades:= Indicator of overall level of proficiency for entering students only

  11. CU-TEP: From 1st to 4th Year correlationr = 0.782 No significant & systematic improvements during the three years !

  12. CU-TEP: From 1st to 4th Year - by Skills In the proficiency monitoring, individual skills must be considered separately.

  13. CU-TEP: career requirement • 1st year • 62 Students • Average 477 • 4th year • 62 Students • Average 487 • 4th yr inc. other tests • 87 Students • Average499 2010 Graduates

  14. Situation • improvement is needed. • without tangible incentives from the curriculum? • rely motivation and (to be recommended) practices. 2 English courses Motivation & Practices 1st yr 3rd yr 4th yr 2nd yr Entering Leaving CU-TEP CU-TEP Previous work Present work

  15. Motivation & Practice Questionnaire • Population • 2009 Graduates: After graduation, 27 answers • 2010 Graduates: Before graduation, 80 answers • Questions • What are the main activities that affect your CU-TEP results? • What are the main motivations for improvement? • Method • Find frequent answers from the high, average and low CU-TEP groups (25, 50 and 25% classification). • Identify the effective practices for improvements.

  16. Motivation • Top motivations • Graduate studies • Employment in multi national company in Thailand • Entertainment • Employment abroad • No appreciable differences between groups

  17. Practice of English • Top practices • Tuition in English institutes • Movies/Entertainment (Free screening available) • Textbooks (most important curriculum-related) • Self-Study (online tuition program) • Internet Media • Tuitions and entertainment are popular in all groups. • Low-score groups favor textbooks more than others. • High-score groups study on their own more than others.

  18. Popular third languages Japanese, Chinese, German for employment and study in 70-90% of students Actual proficiency (very loosely defined) 20-35% have some basic knowledge No functional proficiency, except for daily uses at home A nice edges for students with extra drives. In general, seem not to put real efforts into the skills The department should concentrate on English only. Third Languages

  19. How To Motivate Student: Attention & Relevance Know Yourself: 2nd yr students in particular (Orientation) • CU-TEP Results announcements to both students and lecturers. • Specific Requirements for graduate studies and employments • Successful strategy and practices, i.e. Petroleum Engineering program • Opportunities in the Faculty, i.e. free movie screening, free online course & certificate. Know Your ‘Enemy’ • APEC Engineers • ASEAN Co-Operation

  20. How To Motivate Student: Confidence & Satisfaction Know Yourself: • Opportunities in the Faculty, e.g. attend seminar/lecture by English-speaking guests. • Join international club/activities (Inter. Program)

  21. CU-TEP result provides the most convenient indicator for the department-level monitoring and assessment. At present, English proficiency level must be improved. Students must be motivated to improved their skills by continuous exposure and utilization of English. Awareness (Attention+Relevance) is the first-line action. Improvements required extra and concerted efforts from the Department. Conclusions

  22. Acknowledgement • This work is supported by • 2103499 Mechanical Engineering Project, • Department of Mechanical Engineering • Knowledge Management (KM) Activities of the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University.

  23. Q & A KuntineeManeeratana, RatchatinChanchareon, NopdanaiAjavakom, NaebboonHoonchareon*, SaowalukRungsup and AngkeeSripakagorn Department of Mechanical Engineering, *Department of Electrical Engineering, Chulalongkorn University Bangkok, Thailand kuntinee.m@chula.ac.th angkee.s@gmail.com

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