After Mandarin, English is spoken by more people than any other language in this world and it is widely known as the international language of business, diplomacy, science, technology and many more. Therefore the importance of English cannot be ever neglected especially for engineering students like us. We have to master this art and not only we do have to know how to write and read it, but as well speak it fluently. This is because I believe English language competence is a significant aspect of an engineering student’s life and prospective career.
English proficiency is essential for an engineering student because nowadays lectures are all conducted in English. Therefore inadequate English language competency will cause student to suffer understanding lecturer’s explanation especially in certain technical subjects such as physics and mechanics. In addition, assignments are all passed on in English and because of this if we do not posses good English we will have to take longer time to finish the woks as we have to waste our time finding the meaning of all the words from dictionary where others do not have to. Moreover as an engineering student, we have to conduct many experiments and eventually we have to write it down in report format. Therefore if we do not learn English how can we expect tutor to assess our experiment report?
English language is as important when we go out for work after graduation. Boss does not want workers with poor communication skill. English skill is essential for workers to deal with external and internal customers. Also at times we have to do presentation and fluent English skill is crucial to convince people about the works we have done. Even if our work is good, but our presentation is bad, people will eventually doubt your ability after all.
In conclusion, I think that as engineering student we have to master English language if we want to success, whether we like it or not.
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I also share the opinion as you that English is an important language in our academic lives and future engineering careers. Here, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts regarding the level of competency in English language that we are looking at and the motivations behind attaining competency in English language.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, when we are talking about being competent in English language, what level of competency we are striving for? How do we gauge the appropriate level of competency required for an engineer? Is it sufficient just to be able to write laboratory reports and make oral presentations fluently and confidently?
In my opinion, it is very difficult to gauge the appropriate level of competency required for an engineer. Some may even unable to see the importance and relevance of English language when the engineering curriculum revolves mainly around mathematical calculations and scientific principles. While I believe that it is important to possess certain level of English proficiency so as to understand the teaching contents and convey our ideas clearly, I think that it would be too ambitious and unrealistic to expect engineers to attain the same level of English language proficiency as our Arts counterparts.
Next, we find that our main motivation for learning English language is more for pragmatic reasons than for the appreciation of the language itself. In school, we learn English and strive to do well in English because it is a compulsory and examinable subject. We want to be competent in English because it is the official working language in Singapore and a universal language. While I cannot deny the practical importance of English language as the tool for communication between people across the globe, I start to wonder if this is the only value that the English language possesses. Is it possible that the English language will slowly decline in importance as Chinese language begins to gain popularity among people who foresee the economic benefits that come along with the rise of China? Can we therefore conclude that the existence of a language lies on its practical usage by the society at large? I am afraid that with increasing number of people learning a language with pragmatic reasons as their main motivations, they are less likely to see and appreciate the beauty of the language itself. Language just becomes a tool for economic survival and loses its usage when it has outlived its usefulness.
Written by Teo Kian Siong