In this last blog entry, I am going to comment on the issue of whether English language competence is a significant aspect of an engineering student’s academic life and prospective career. I find the discussion of this issue is of great relevance to me as it allows me to see the importance of this course EG1471 in preparing me for my future engineering career.
English language is an important language during my undergraduate study in NUS because it is the main mode of communication used and most of the teaching contents are presented in English. Hence, I would face great difficulty in understanding certain concepts explained in English if I do not possess the necessary English proficiency level. This is probably the reason why NUS makes it compulsory for those engineering students who do not possess the necessary English proficiency level to undergo the module EG1471 so as to prepare them better for their engineering curriculum.
After graduation, English language is also an important language because it is the official language used in the workplace. For instance, when we apply a job through job interview, it is essential that in the job interview, we can express ourselves properly and efficiently in English within the very limited amount of time available in front of the interviewer so as to secure the job. It is also important to note that even if we possess the necessary technical knowledge for the job but cannot convey our ideas clearly to our higher management, our ideas might not be understood clearly by other people.
In addition, the criteria to be a successful engineer do not only depend on the ability to perform calculations or experiments, but also the ability to present an idea convincingly. An engineer may perform the most miraculous experiment in the laboratory but if he fails to present his discoveries in a language that can be easily understood by other people, it would be very difficult for the discoveries to be materialized for practical usage. Hence, it would be desirable if an engineer who has the technical background is able to interpret the technical facts upon which modern civilization is based (i.e. English Language) into language which everyone can understand.
Lastly, engineers always need to surf the Internet for ideas and information. In spite of the growth of Internet in various languages, English is still the mainstay of the Internet users. It is the language where most of the information and websites are available. It is also very difficult for each and every relevant web page to be translated into the language of various countries. Even if translation is possible, the accuracy of the content may not be guaranteed too.
In conclusion, I find that English language competence is a significant aspect in my academic life and prospective career. While some may argue that we should focus on learning and be competent in Chinese language so as to tap on the plethora of potential economic benefits that may come along with the rise of China in recent years, we should realize that English language is still likely to be the universal language for the next few years and hence maintaining competence in English language is still as important. Being bilingual and competent in both English and Chinese should be what we should be striving for if we were to become successful engineers.
Written by Teo Kian Siong
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As a Chinese, I feel quite impressed on what you said that we should learn both English and Mandarin well. And I really appreciate your great passion on learning Chinese language. But personally I believe that why we try to learn chinese is not because the skyrocketing development of China's economy,but the brilliant Chinese civilization behind the words. It is not wise to learn a language so purposely. And you'd better to notice the inner beauty and the time-honored history behind our language. And please try to read some Chinese classical literature and ancient philosophy when you are free; I believe you can learn more beyond the simple Chinese language.
ReplyDeleteAs, we know that English is very important in every field because it is spoken all around the world. In our academic life English play an important role. A strong command of Engineering English is also important to both an engineer’s working practice and his career.English for Engineering
ReplyDelete