__________________________________________________________________

OUMH2203
ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION
JANUARY 2016 SEMESTER
___________________________________________________________________

NAMA

: MOHD ZAHIRUDDIN BIN AZMAN

NO. MATRIKULASI

: 750909016913001

NO. KAD PENGENALAN

: 750909016913

NO. TELEFON

: 017 522 2973

E-MEL

: zahirmuc@yahoo.com

NAMA PENSYARAH

: YASHWANORA BINTI YAHAYA

PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN

: PERAK LEARNING CENTRE

CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction

2.0 English language in a Malaysian workplace

3
3.0 English as Business Communication
4
4.0 The Importance of Needs Analysis
5
5.0 The workplace Communication Needs of Business
7
6.0 Conclusion

7.0 References

1.0 Introduction
Communication is a key to success. Most of the successful figures in
the world are the heroes in communicating of their respective fields. But,
why it is said that many Malaysians have difficulty in communicating in
English especially in business-related matters whereas there are many
successful entrepreneurs in Malaysia? It is true or it is just a saying
without fact. Lets figure it out.
In 2006, the government of Malaysia revealed that 45,000 college
graduates were unemployed, and this was mainly caused by a poor
command of the English language (Phang, 2006). In addition, the
Malaysian Employers Federation [MEF] (2004) stated that engineering
and science graduates were the most sought after graduates due to the
proliferation of these industries both in Malaysia and globally. However,
many employers were hesitant to hire these graduates due to their poor
proficiency in the language, although they were highly qualified
academically.
The aim of producing world class graduates to meet and exceed the
demands of the ever changing and competitive world of business and the
realization of the status of English as an International language and its
importance as a communication tool brought about our effort to
investigate ways to help and develop communication skills among
Malaysians students. Thus, the need to understand the communication
requirements in multinational companies is indeed essential to ensure
that graduates would be able to communicate orally and in written thus
would enhance their capabilities in business industry.
Thus, this report is prepared to identify the oral communication
skills needed by the Malaysians businessman and the communicative
3

events where English would be required by the industry. This investigation

has contributed to both syllabus design and module development which
could mould and cater for the needs of engineering students as future
global businessmen, and hence, ensure their language development and
enhance their competitive advantage in the job market.
2.0 English language in a Malaysian workplace
Malaysia is a kaleidoscopic society which is comprised of a
multitude of ethnic groups, regions, languages, religions, customs and
cultures. Each ethnic group has its own language; however, Bahasa
Malaysia or the Malay language is the official language of the country,
while English is the second language. Yet, how important is the English
language in a Malaysian workplace? Karim (1987) states that: Malay faces
stiff competition in English language. While the policy is to use the
national language in all official instances, in many important domains of
language. However, English is still the preferred language. (as cited in
Mohd Jan, 2003)
A few studies have investigated the languages used and patterns of
interactions in the government and private sectors in Malaysia. Ting
(2002) examined the support staffs need to use English in a principally
Malay organisation, and how they dealt with the English language
demands of the workplace. The results showed that the support staff
faced difficulties when communicating in English with the public because
the nature of their work did not require them to use English either in
reading or writing. As a result, Ting (2002) highlighted the necessity to
emphasize of teaching English as oral communication skills in schools for
students who wish to join the workforce as support staff, so that they
have adequate knowledge for basic communication in the language.
3.0 English as Business Communication
As Malay is the official language of the country, all official functions
and written communication of the government offices are carried out in
Malay.

However,

since

most

Malaysians
4

are

either

bilingual

or

multilingual, conversations between them are often characterised by

code-switching. Kaur and Singh (1994), in their study on turn-taking,
observed that there was a tendency for Malaysians to code-switch when
speaking to a person from a different ethnic group (as cited in Mohd Jan,
2003).
On the use of language in the government sector, Mohd Jan (2003)
investigated several extracts of formal talk exchange where instances of
code-switching between Malay and the English language occur between
working adults in one of the government offices. The analyses of talk
included examining the existence of linguistic power-wielding among
male and female participants, and how they manipulated issues during
interactions by using code-switching to negotiate personal rights and
obligations and to take control of situations.
Another study that demonstrated the use of English and its patterns
of interactions in the work place was conducted by Briguglio (2003). The
researcher examined the use of English as a global language in two
multinational companies in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. In the
preliminary findings, it was found that in the case of Seacargo
International in Kuala Lumpur, both spoken and written English were seen
as important, especially for surveyors, to perform their work effectively.
Although face to face communication was regarded as highly important,
high priority was given to written communication, particularly in the
context of an investigation.
4.0 The Importance of Needs Analysis
The impetus to ensure that our business study students are
equipped

with

the

necessary

communication

skills

to

face

their

challenging professional environment is consistent with the seventh

element, of a set of required elements, outlined by the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) (Engineering Accreditation
Commission,

2007).

The

university

has

adopted

ABETs

set

of

requirements in designing its curriculum. Felder and Brent (2003) state

5

that in order to comply with ABET requirements the formulation of

program educational objectives and a set of program outcomes which
include knowledge, skills and attitudes that will address the educational
objectives is essential. It is in this context that the soliciting of necessary
information from industry is deemed significant in designing the
curriculum and courses and in preparing our students for the workplace
(Barchilon, 1993). Therefore, a needs analysis to investigate what is
required for students is essential. There are a number of studies of
language needs analysis, as well as communication patterns analysis, in
the workplace. In a study of various communication purposes in different
types of Brazilian business organizations,
Barbara, Antonieta, Celani, Collins, and Scott (1996) found that
apart from Portuguese, a great majority of the organizations used English
for internal and external communications. They also reported that large
organizations and industries involved in the study put great emphasis on
English and utilized it in a wide range of document-types such as
proposals, prospectuses, reports and projects. Chews (2005) study of
new graduate employees in four banks in Hong Kong, on the other hand,
revealed a clear divide between spoken and written discourses, in which
Cantonese is used in spoken communication, whilst English is preferred
for the latter.
Another study conducted in Hong Kong workplaces was by Li and
Mead (2000). They investigated the communication needs of the
personnel of textile and clothing merchandisers who communicated in
international business settings. The in-depth study identified and
revealed how communication demands were different from those
provided in traditional English courses.
Besides input from workplaces, it is worthwhile for English for Specific
Purposes (ESP) practitioners to collaborate with subject matter experts
from specific faculties such as business or engineering lecturers to better
comprehend the complexity and range of the communication tasks
expected

from

students,

as

highlighted
6

by

Jackson

(2005).

She

emphasized

the

need

for

comprehensive

needs

analysis

and

collaboration with content specialists in order to avoid or minimise the

mismatch between the requirements of faculties and the ESP courses
offered.
In the Malaysian ESP context, a few studies have been conducted to
analyse the language needs of students by going to workplace
environments.

Ibrahim

(1993)

focused

her

study

on

Japanese

multinational manufacturing company, Goh and Chan (1993) obtained

data from the commercial sector whilst Leong (2001) looked at small and
medium size business industries. While Goh and Chan administered
questionnaires to university undergraduates (potential employees) and
companies (potential employers), Ibrahim and Leong on the other hand,
employed an ethnographic approach which provided researchers with
access to the targeted community so that they could gather insider
information

(Leong,

2001)

and

collect

firsthand

data

that

are

uncontaminated (Ibrahim, 1993). Goh and Chan reported that based on

the responses from the companies, English was important for both
recruitment and promotion, with speaking and writing as the first and
second most important language skills to possess respectively.
Meanwhile,

in

his

study,

Ibrahim

found

that

real

world

communication is determined by purpose and dependent on time

constraints. He also discovered brainstorming sessions and meetings
were most prevalent in the Japanese organization. Thus, he proposed the
implementation of a project-oriented, task-based syllabus which provides
opportunities for students to practice actual communication and to
inculcate team work.
In small and medium industries, Leong found out that the success
of sales executives depends on their ability to display a variety of
communication skills in any communicative event in the sales process.
All the data collected from industry, either via questionnaire or the
ethnographic approach, have given us valuable insights into the actual
7

target community. This firsthand information can be the basis for setting
up ESP programs, pedagogical changes or developing a new syllabus,
materials or tasks (Leong, 2001).
Although the number of ESP studies conducted in Malaysia is small,
and the focus is on different disciplines and professions, these studies
have helped us to realize the need to conduct constant and up-dated
survey analyses to help prepare our students for the ever-changing world
of professionals.
5.0 The workplace Communication Needs of Business
In todays most competitive world, businessmen are not only
required to effectively convey technical information, but they also need to
have acceptable social and communication skills in order to excel in the
workplace. Unfortunately, there is significant evidence that shows an
inadequacy among graduates to meet these requirements. This was
reported by the Society for Manufacturing Engineers which found that,
among the top competency gaps in engineering education, the lack of
communication skills was one of the most prominent (Sageev &
Romanowski, 2001). This scenario has resulted in a collaboration between
engineering education, the industry and communication educators. Over
the past decade, communication educators have been invited to impart
their knowledge of, and assistance in, integrating speaking and writing in
education (Darling & Dannels, 2003). They also reported the results of
practicing

businessmen

descriptions

of

the

importance

of

oral

communication and formal presentations in their daily work. However,

more time was spent on interpersonal and small group experiences. The
practicing businessmen also considered communication skills such as
translation, clarity, negotiation and listening as vital.
Business communication is the sending and receiving of verbal and
non verbal messages within the organizational context (Roebuck, 2001;
Ober, 2001; Murphy, Hildebrandt, & Thomas, 1997). Hanna and Wilson
(1998) expanded on this definition, indicating business communication is
8

a process of generating, transmitting, receiving, and interpreting

messages in interpersonal, group, public, and mass communication
contexts through written and verbal formats. Hynes (2005) stated
effective business communication is the key to planning, leading,
organizing, and controlling the resources of the organizations to achieve
objectives, and may be formal or informal in nature. Argenti (2007)
discussed business communication functional aspects and found that
over half of the heads of corporate communication departments oversee
business communications functions that include media relations, online
communications,

marketing,

special

events,

product/brand

communications, crisis management, employee/internal communications,

community relations, and product/brand advertising. The expanse and
importance of business communication underscores the need for
business education and business to collaborate in preparing business
majors for the workplace.
English is widely used for communication in business sectors and
the term language needs is used by researchers to describe studies
which investigate in detail the nature of language needed by certain
employees in workplaces (Kaewpet, 2009; Kassim & Ali, 2010). English
language needs for engineers can be
engineers

studied

and

analyses

from

involvement in communicative events in engineering

workplaces (Kawpet, 2009; Bhattacharyya, Nordin & Salleh, 2009; Kassim

& Ali, 2010; Moslehifar & Ibrahim, 2012). Language and workplace
communication researchers began to analyze communicative events
where engineers need to use English language in order to execute their
workplace responsibilities. For instance, Kassim and Ali (2010) distributed
questionnaires to engineers working in 10 Malaysian multinational
companies to investigate the types of communicative events where
engineers need to have sound English oral communication skills. Events
such as teleconferencing, formal discussion of work related matters,
giving

oral

presentations,

networking,

instructing,

explaining

and

demonstrating were rated with highest frequency mean. They speculated

that in most of these communicative events, the engineers will need to

sell ideas and to convince another person of their own ideas (p. 177).
Like Kassim and Ali (2010), Kaewpet (2009) in an attempt to link
classroom syllabus to English language needs in target situations in
Thailands context, studied the communicative events as stated in the
course description of Technical English 1 subject and questioned
whether such communicative events listed in the course description
continued to be significant in the current situations of engineering
workplace communication (p. 267). Based on an extensive review of
literature on engineering reading articles which were published in
international journals such as English for Specific Purposes, IEEE
transactions on professional communication and research reports in
Thailand, Kaewpet drew 33 communicative events in which engineers
(civil engineers) and engineering students might be involved in. Table 1
shows a summary of communicative events where engineers need to use
English language in engineering workplaces as reported by researchers in
Thailand (Kaewpet, 2009), Malaysia (Kassim & Ali, 2010) and Taiwan
(Spence & Liu, 2013).
The findings are unequivocal signals for communication and
language educators to adapt new approaches to teaching English for
Specific Purposes (ESP). These findings also corroborate the view
proposed by Splitt (1993), that the challenge is to provide better ways for
faculty to work with students and to help them enhance their peoplerelated skills as the industry needs people who can work with other
people, communicate, be inventive, creative, and have ideas and the
courage to see them through. Talking from the same perspective, Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the previous Prime Minister of Malaysia,
also raised the importance of industrys involvement in the development
of the curriculum.
The curriculum needs to be more relevant to industry because this
will help enhance human-capital development in the country. It is also
seek recommendations from the private sector on what to include in the
10

curriculum, so that it can equip students with the knowledge and skills
that are needed. (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, The Star, May 21,
2007)
6.0 Conclusion
As per conclusion, I must say that oral and written communication
in English are really important to ensure our businessmen are the fighters
who would be able to converse well and win the game of business. If our
businessmen could not converse in English well, their chances to dash
with better opportunities would be seen as out of date and they may fail
in business battle. However, Malay Language should not be portrayed as
conventional

language

which

supposingly

businessmen in global market too.

able

to

draw

future

Cooperation between responsible

parties, namely the engineering employers, the universities and the

technical English language trainers must be established at a more
meaningful and reciprocal level. The existence of such a level of
cooperation will establish an effective flow of the changing nature of
industry needs and the review of the existing English language
curriculum. The reciprocal nature of the cooperation can guarantee the
needs of the industry is met and followed by the universities.
7.0 References
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workplace communication skills: Workplace practices and university
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Berhanuddin, Mohd. Salleh., Othman, Hussain., Esa, Ahmad., Sulaiman,
Abdullah & Othman, Hasyamudin. (2007). Adopting problem-based
learning in the teaching of engineering undergraduates: A Malaysian
experience.

Paper

presented

at

the

International

conference

on

engineering education (ICEE 2007), Coimbra Portugal 3-7 Sept 2007.

Bolton, K. (2008). English in Asia, Asian Englishes, and the issue of
proficiency. English Today, 24, 3-12.
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Crosling, G., & Ward, I. (2002). Oral communication: the workplace needs
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