Job seekers with a in spm english but can

Job seekers withA in SPM English but can’t speak a word of it
BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA
Published: 26 June 2014 6:58 AM
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Employers are becoming increasingly dismayed by Malaysian "generation Y" job seekers who generally have a
poor command of the English language and lack communication skills, are too spoiled to handle stress, and in a
hurry to climb the corporate ladder yet indifferent to the need for experience.
These Gen Y recruits, when compared with previous generations, are also less impressed with job benefits such
as medical insurance and bonuses, preferring instead immediate cash rewards for performance, surveys among
employers and trade groups have revealed.
This damning indictment of today’s 20-something job-seekers’ attitudes is in large part due to an education
policy in previous years that de-emphasised the importance of the English language, said a school education
group.
In fact, Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) believes that these policies have created a “lost generation”
of young adults whose command of the English language is weaker than previous generations and who will
miss the changes in schools that will benefit future generations.
Malaysian Employers Federation secretary Datuk Shamsudin Bardan said that a survey a few years ago among
its members found that 60% of them identified low English proficiency as the main problem with young
recruits.
While a similar survey in September last year by online recruitment agency JobStreet.com found that 55% of
senior managers and companies who took part said that poor command of the English language was the main
reason for unemployment among undergraduates.
School graduates might have SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) English grades of A and B but could not even hold
a conversation in English, Shamsudin said.
“Which is why we were excited when the government decided to teach mathematics and science in English
(PPSMI), as we felt this could boost their command of English.
“Unfortunately it was cancelled after seven years when we should have allowed it to continue for 14 to 15 years
to see the results.
“The inability to converse and understand English (among young school leavers) is a constant complaint among
our members,” said Shamsudin. The MEF has 4,800 direct members and 21 affiliated trade associations.
It is the largest grouping of employers who collectively employ two-thirds of the 2.2 million people in the
formal private sector.
Christopher Raj of the Association of Hotel Employers said that out of 10 job applicants in the hospitality
sector, eight or nine could not speak English.
“The problem is bad not only among school leavers but also graduates from our local universities. You ask
them in English and they answer in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Private college graduates tend to be better,” said Raj, who is also a council member of MEF.
As immigration laws do not allow hotels to hire English-proficient personnel to man front-line positions where
English is critical, major hotels have had to invest in English-language courses for their new employees.
The courses are designed to build confidence in trainees for restaurant and counter staff to converse in the
language, Raj said.
PAGE chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the secondary aim of PPSMI was to provide more
opportunities to students to practise English – a crucial step in increasing proficiency.
Its first aim was to help science-oriented students make the transition to university and colleges where almost
all science texts are in English.
“Proficiency in any language is about practising. PPSMI created more opportunities for students to practise,”
said Noor Azimah. PAGE has campaigned for the government to allow schools to continue the policy.
The government discontinued PPSMI in 2011, seven years after it was implemented in primary and secondary
schools. The reason given was that it resulted in only a marginal increase in English proficiency among
students.
However, Noor Azimah said a study showed that in mathematics and science examinations, where students
were given a choice of whether to answer in English or Bahasa Malaysia, more than 90% of Tamil primary
school students answered in English.
In national schools, the same studies showed that 60% of students chose to answer in English than in Bahasa
Malaysia.
As if weak English was not enough, employers such as Raj complained that young job seekers in their 20s don’t
seem able to handle stress well or work themselves up from the bottom.

My Bella TV interview: Malaysia’s falling
proficiency in English – Should we be worried?
by CHRISTOPHER TEH BOON SUNG
A recent survey by Education First, a Singapore-based English school, found that Malaysia’s
competency level in English was the highest in Asia (beating even Singapore), and Malaysia
was ranked an impressive 11th-position out of 60 countries. A similar excellent result for
Malaysia was also obtained in the first survey in 2011.
Prawn cock, anyone? Yet more evidence of poor command of English in Malaysia.
The problem is, few Malaysians believe it – and rightly so. This is because EF’s two surveys
contradict sharply with what we Malaysians experience everyday about our English
language command.
The main fault with EF’s survey is this survey is done via online with no random sampling
of participants. In Malaysia, most online users are urbanites with a higher command of
English than those in more rural areas. Moreover, those who voluntarily take the EF’s
survey are most probably those who already have a good command of English. Ask
ourselves this: would someone with a poor command of English voluntarily take EF’s
survey? I don’t think so.

Education First’s (EF) two surveys (2011 and 2013) show that Malaysia is ranked
impressively high in the world in English competency. Unfortunately, even Malaysians do
not believe these findings (photo from harimaucapitol.com).
I was recently invited for a second time to Bella ntv7 show (Nov, 26, 2013), hosted
by Elaine Daly. I came to this show willing to talk about the standard of English in Malaysia
and why our command of this language is so poor.
Below are the questions given to me prior to the show. Although I was not asked some of
these questions, I placed them here with my answers for my blog readers.
On Nov 26, 2013, I appeared on Bella ntv7 programme to speak on the falling standard of
English in Malaysia, my experience at my university, and what we can do Malaysia’s falling
competency level in English. Also invited were Haris Hussain (Assoc. Editor of NST
Production) and Chook Yuh Yng (Country Manager of Jobstreet). Seated far right is the
Bella host, Elaine Daly.
So we keep on hearing that the undergraduates are lacking on English proficiency. But
whose fault is that? Where does this problem start?
The underlying problem lies in the social element. Malaysians communicate with one
another in the language in which they are the strongest and most comfortable. And the
language Malaysians choose to use to communicate typically isn’t English but their mother
tongue: Chinese, Malay, or Tamil. According to a survey in 2001, only 2% of Malaysians
(less than 400,000 people) have English as their first language.

Malaysians are proud of their mother tongue and will defend it because their mother tongue
is a part of their culture. Malaysians in general have no problems of learning English as an
additional language, but they will put English in its place; that English is a foreign
language , that people who speak English frequently are the elite minorities, and that English
is typically useful only in international relations such as in international business or politics.
In other words, Malaysians learn their mother tongue and English in two different contexts:
one as part of their culture (their mother tongue) and another (English) as a foreign language
to be used only in official or formal occasions.
Another important problem or reason why English proficiency is low in Malaysia is the lack
of practice among Malaysians. The mastery of any language requires frequent and prolonged
practice. It is not enough just to learn English during English period at school. We need to
apply a language in our everyday lives by practising speaking and writing the language
outside school as well. This is what is lacking in this country.
However, we need to understand that Malaysia’s problem isn’t unique just to us. The same
worries about declining English proficiency exist also in Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines,
and India. The governments there have spent a lot of money and resources to increase
English proficiency among the people but with little success. I suspect the reason for this is
the same as in Malaysia: lack of practice in English and seeing English as a foreign language
to be used only in certain specific and narrow circumstances.
The falling standard of English in Malaysia. Only for the camera: you would learn better
reading a English-language book instead, ladies (photo from thestar.com.my).
It is agreeable that education starts at home. But there’s so many that the parents can do
especially when they have to work and maintain the household. Isn’t it the school’s
responsibility to
brush up our child’s English skills? Isn’t that why we send our kids to school in the first
place?
It is wrong to think that education only starts and ends at schools. The home and the parents
can have a large impact, sometimes an even bigger impact, on their children’s education

success. Yes, parents cannot always teach everything because some subject matter are out of
the expertise or know-how of the parents. But what is more important is the parents must be
aware of what is currently being taught at school and how their child is progressing in
school. That way the parents can remedy any shortcoming or conversely, encourage any key
learning strengths in their child.
Interestingly, studies have shown that the most important factor in the success of a child’s
learning isn’t the size of classroom but in how well the parents monitor their child’s
learning. In other words, the parents’ awareness and involvement of their child’s learning
progress is very important.
Parents may be busy working but that is no reason to neglect their children’s education or to
outsource all or a large part of their education to schools or someone else.
Three students were also interviewed about their experience on English competency levels
in their college.
Speaking on behalf of the parents watching, maybe the parents don’t have good
command in English as well. And that is why they don’t practice it at home and expect a
more professional education (school) to do that job. What is your opinion on this?
Yes, if the parents don’t speak English, their children are in a disadvantage because they
may not be able to practise English at home. But this isn’t a critical, unsolvable problem.
Again, as I mentioned earlier, the parents’ involvement in their children’s learning progress
is very important. Parents cannot teach everything; no one can. Parents don’t have to have
PhDs in mathematics to encourage the love of mathematics in their children. So why the
different standard for English language?
There are ways to ensure that their children’s weaknesses in learning can be overcome. To
increase English proficiency, the children can be enrolled in English classes or in social
activities where English is widely spoken among members or participants. Put the children
in an environment where English is spoken intensively. English-language reading materials
with genre which the children enjoy can be bought to strengthen reading and language skills.

Some young adults are embarrassed to speak in English, especially when they are not
sure on their grammar/pronunciation and afraid they might say the wrong thing. Can’t we
relate to that problem? How do we overcome this?
Yes, it is true that some – but not all – youngsters would feel embarrass to speak English for
fear of being evaluated by their teachers or by native speakers. But there is simply no
shortcut or some secret technique to a successful proficiency in English. It still takes hard
work and practice, practice, and more practice.
When I first started working as a university lecturer, I remember having one freshman (first
year undergraduate) telling me that he wouldn’t be able to speak to me any more. I was of
course surprised by his admission. When I asked him why, he replied that he wasn’t used to
speaking in English. Lo and behold, six months later when I met him again, he was
conversing with me with fluent English. I think some students underestimate their ability in
English. It sometimes takes some coercion to force them to speak and they will readily speak
in English. It might not be perfect English, but it is seldom as bad as they had initially
thought. Besides, their English would often improve after some practice.
As the three students were interviewed, the other guests and I were seated at one corner as
some questions were also directed at us.
That said, however, I had a Malay student many years ago who tried to speak to her other
Malay friends in English. But she was treated as an outcast because her friends felt it
uncomfortable and strange to speak in English among friends, outside class. Unfortunately,
it is similar to the Chinese who feel a Chinese who speaks English too much is like a
banana: yellow on the outside but white in the inside.
This again comes back to the social element on why English proficiency is declining in
Malaysia. Many Malaysians see English like a foreign language, not part of their culture, a
language used only in official or international activities, and a language used only by elite
minorities.
In your opinion, what is the biggest mistake that most young adults make when it comes to
mastering English? Are they unwilling to seek the extra help, are they unwilling to consult
the dictionary, are they embarrassed to make mistakes?

Most youngsters are not fully aware of the importance of English in their careers. Yes, they
understand the importance of English, but they fail to fully appreciate its importance of
English mastery in their career and learning. They might believe that English proficiency
can be achieved later or when they need later in their career. But English language mastery
takes years to achieve; it takes hard work and lots of practice.
This is a shame because youngsters are self sabotaging their careers.
Many young adults can relate to this. Since young, we are taught mostly from books. It is
not a surprise when we are stronger in writing than speaking. How do we overcome the
problem of stronger in writing than speaking?
I am always skeptical when people tell me that they are better in writing than speaking in
English. I think people often underestimate their verbal proficiency and overestimate their
writing proficiency in English. I have some students telling me the same thing, but when I
read their written work, I am often an English teacher first and a science teacher second.
I spent more time correcting their English grammar or rewriting their sentences than
checking their scientific facts, analysis, interpretation, and discussion of their work. I also
have students expressing their confidence in the written English but only to be found out
when they take international English exams such as TOEFL or IELTS. They can’t even meet
the basic competency level.
We need to understand the difference between spoken and written language. When we learn
a language, we often learn to speak the language first. Sometimes speaking comes naturally
especially after exposure for prolonged periods to the language. But writing (and reading)
needs to be taught. Writing is not speech written down on paper. Writing is harder because
spelling and grammar must be correct. Speaking uses more informal and simpler sentences
than writing. Speakers receive more immediate feedback and respond correspondingly in
case the spoken message is misunderstood or unclear. Writers, on the other hand, work in
solitary, receives no immediate feedback, and must consider the level of interest and
knowledge their readers needs to know about a given topic.
So, it is untrue that one can be more competent in written than in spoken English.
The show ended by having all three of us back to the hot seat to have our closing remarks.

In your opinion, what needs to be fixed quickly? What can the schools do? Or the parents
do?
Malaysians can be a pampered lot, always asking for things either to be free or as cheap as
possible. But Malaysians need some tough love: a kick, so to speak, to be coerced to master
the English language. A simple pass in English is not enough. Job promotions, civil service
jobs, university entrance, and scholarships should require mandatory and higher competency
level in English. Even salaries can differ depending on how proficient a person is in English.
There are some parents who has this mindset of “We live in Malaysia, we work in
Malaysia, so why English is THAT important?” How would you address this kind of
mindset?
Such parents are naïve because they fail to see the world today has evolved. It is no longer
like before. In the 1980s and 90s, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong were
favorite places for the manufacturing sector because goods produced here were cheaper with
lower costs and wages. However, such competitive advantage is never for long because
wage costs will inevitably rise. Today, it is China that offers the lowest cost of production.
Today Malaysia needs to focus on high value activities such as research and development
(R&D) activities. Consequently, it is very important that the educational level of the
country’s workforce increase to maintain Malaysia’s competitive advantage as we lose our
advantage in less skilled areas to countries in lower development chain. And it isn’t just
Malaysia thinking like this. Many countries like Norway, India, and Singapore are aiming to
enhance critical thinking and creativity in their respective citizens. This knowledge-based
economies require smarter people, and a handicap in English can be a stumbling block in
achieving this goal.
We talk about the importance of English proficiency in Malaysia, but our country also needs
to be proficient in science. Consequently, there is a close relationship between science and
English, at least for Malaysia. This is because English is the lingua franca of science. Books,
magazines, scientific articles, and documentaries are mostly in English. Malaysians
unfortunately do not write many books either in English or in another language, and
Malaysians do not also translate many books.
Consequently, low levels in English proficiency means Malaysians are missing out on
current and important issues. Malaysians will have to wait until the information gets
translated from English into our comfortable language, if it gets translated at all.
So, in many ways, Malaysia should worry. Low proficiency in English and coupled with low
reading levels and low science literacy are harming our nation’s future and growth. Two
international assessment on science literacy paint a disturbing trend for Malaysia. PISA
(Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS (Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study) separately showed that the science literacy among

Malaysian students have been declining steadily throughout the years, so much so that
Malaysia now ranks among the lowest in the world in science literacy.
So when you observe such a declining trend, it is no surprise then that the Malaysian
government has reverted back from using English to the Malay language as the medium of
instruction in schools. Malaysia have attempted to kill two birds with one stone. Instead of
teaching science and mathematics separately from English, it was hoped that the English
language could be taught simultaneously as science and mathematics are taught. While this
system worked in some European countries like Finland, this approach was not successful in
Malaysia.
So, while I understand the government’s decision to revert back to Malay as the medium of
instruction, we should also be aware that an outlet to increase English proficiency has been
sacrificed in the process.
Increasing globalization means it is not only important to learn and master the English
language but also to be multilingual as well. Parents need to understand and appreciate this
(photo from focis.wayne.edu).
In your opinion, what is the standard of English that the employers are looking for?
The higher we go up the corporate ladder into increasingly upper management levels, the
importance of English proficiency becomes increasingly more important. In fact, English
proficiency can be one of the criteria for job promotions. This is true in Malaysia and even
in Hong Kong. Employers expect not only high levels of knowledge and technical skills, but
also the ability to communicate, think, and learn; ability to work in teams; and the person’s
attitude and adaptability.
As I mentioned earlier, the world today has evolved. Globalisation is not some buzzword or
a theoretical idea, but it is already happening right now, whether we like it or not. Exchanges
of goods and services, transfer of knowledge, and mobility of people from one country to
another is today more rapid, seamless, and extensive. So while we talk a lot about mastery of
English, the challenge today is also the mastery of two or more languages.
It might be surprising to some to learn that English is only the fourth most widely spoken
language in the world. Mandarin is the most widely spoken language. But if we include the
number of speakers for the second language, English moves up the rung to the second most
widely spoken language with Mandarin still firmly anchored in the first spot.

Interestingly, the number of English native speakers are declining steadily over the years.
Likewise for Mandarin native speakers. Instead, the number of native speakers for languages
such as Arabic, Hindi, and Spanish see a steady increase. In the 1990s, more than 80% of the
web content is in English, in 2000, the proportion was 50%, and in 2005, 30%. Most
students who opt to study overseas still go to universities where English is widely spoken,
but the number of students opting to go to non-English universities are also rising. So while
English remains the most dominant language, it is a mistake to believe mastery of a single
language such as English is sufficient. Globalisation means multilingualism proficiency is
essential.
Many nations are looking to China. The country is fast growing into the world’s largest
economy. China is also pushing Mandarin as a foreign language to some countries, just as
English is a foreign language to other countries. But at the same time, China is also pushing
to increase the people’s proficiency in English. English is a compulsory language for
students beginning Year 3, and in some schools, Year 1. Job promotions for Chinese police
officers pre-requisite some basic level in English proficiency.
So at the end, globalisation means it is not enough just to learn English. We need another
language or two. We need to be multilingual. So, in this perspective, Malaysia, a multi-
cultural and multi-lingual nation, is in an advantageous position.
Malaysia is in an advantageous position, being a multi-cultural and multi-lingual nation.
However, Malaysia needs to be proficient in these languages and in English to compete in
the world (photo from theagora.blogspot.com).
My second Bella TV interview (Nov 26, 2013) on my thoughts on the standard of English in Malaysia in
particular among the students.
http://www.christopherteh.com/blog/2013/12/bella-english/

Analysing Workplace Oral Communication Needs in English among IT Graduates
Sarjit Kaur and Lee Siew Hua
Abstract
Since Information Technology (IT) is a field that covers all aspects of managing and processing information,
effective oral communication is vital to IT graduates as it is a significant challenge they face in their day-to-day
job, where they are expected to perform various communicative events (Dickson & DeSanctis, 2001). This
paper identifies the forms and skills of oral communication in English frequently used by IT graduates as
perceived by IT employees. It also discusses the significant differences between employers expectations and IT
graduates actual performance in English oral communication skills. 69 IT employees and 11 IT employers from
manufacturing companies in the Free Industrial Zone in Penang participated in this study. The findings reveal
that the three most frequently used forms of workplace oral communication are social interaction, participation
in meetings and telephone conversations. The findings also indicate that a skills gap exists between the IT
graduates actual oral communication performance in English and the IT employers expectations.
Introduction
The rapid changes and growth of Information Technology (IT hereafter) have forced organisations to consider
the use of IT in supporting their business goals. Every category of job is going to become more dependent on
technology in the next century (Smith, 2000). In Malaysia, it is projected that the demand for workers in the
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) occupations such as hardware engineers, software
engineers, system analysts, computer programmers and technical support personnel will increase from 108,000
in 2000 to 181, 600 in 2005 (Eight Malaysian Plan, 2001-2005). This shows that within a short period of time,
Malaysia needs to supply 76,000 IT specialists to meet the demand of the workforce. In catering to this change
in demographics, the Malaysian government aims to increase computer literacy among students and plans to
equip 8000 primary and secondary schools with computer facilities and internet access by the year 2005. The
plan also emphasizes changes in the Malaysian higher education sector where more ICT and engineering
courses will be introduced in public and private institutions.
Unfortunately, despite the professional and formal training that students and graduates receive, there is much
talk of a skills gap in the workplace (Smith, 2000). It is said there are significant gaps between what universities
offer and what industries demand. Schools and universities have been blamed and criticised for their failure to
adequately prepare students for employment (The Star, 3 September 2002). In 2003, the former Education
Minister, Tan Sri Musa Mohamad, called upon public universities to re-examine their training and university
programmes to see how they can overcome the perceived weakness of graduates in terms of low English
language proficiency and lack of communication and leadership skills (The Star, 6 November 2003). In a survey
carried out by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) involving 205 member companies, it was reported
that the major problem among local graduates is their inability to communicate well in English (Sunday Star, 9
June 2002).
Although technical knowledge is a requisite to IT employees to function effectively in their discipline-related
fields, they can enhance their job performance and chances of employability if they posses effective oral
communication ability. Besides the basic skills of reading and writing, effective oral communication skills are
additional skills needed by IT workers in their jobs and these skills have been identified by many researchers as
important criteria in recruiting personnel, fostering career success and enhancing the quality of ones life
(Dickson & DeSanctis, 2001; Smith, 2000; Lee, 2003).
Consequently, there is a need to prepare graduates with effective oral communication skills in English that
employers currently desire. Although developing real and virtual communication repertoires are not easy as

they involve time, patience and practice, researchers believe that oral communication skills required by the
employers are teachable skills (Smith, 2000; Kaur & Thiyagarajah, 2003).
Oral Communication in the Workplace
The emergence of innovative communication technologies, expanded team-based management and an
increasingly diverse workforce has caused business and industry employers to seek for multiple-skilled
knowledge workers who need to deal with words, figures and data. Due to the profound changes in the
workplace, employers are increasingly expecting workers to have effective oral communication skills. In this
paper, the term forms of oral communication refers to communicative events engaged in by IT graduates in the
workplace, such as telephone conversations, meetings, formal discussions, presentations, social interactions
and interviews. The term skills of oral communication refers to the entire knowledge and ability that enables
one to do something well and includes the following skills: listening skills, conversational skills, giving
feedback, meeting skills, presentation skills, handling customer complaints, conflict resolution skills,
negotiation skills, taking customers orders, training skills, interviewing skills, persuading skills and promoting
ones own strengths and abilities (Maes et.al., 1997).
In a survey conducted by Maes et.al (1997), oral communication skills have been identified as the most
important skills in the workplace. Their study conducted in the Greater Gulf Coast area, including the coastal
areas of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, revealed that oral communication in English is the
most important skill demanded by employers when it comes to recruiting new staff. In addition to being one of
the most essential skills for employment, oral communication skills are vital to job success and promotion (Lee,
2003; Crosling & Ward, 2001). Huckins & Olsen (1984) are of the view that employees who do not
demonstrate good oral communication skills are rarely given managerial responsibility. Effective oral
communication skills are vital to people who hold managerial positions because managers need to explain,
listen to, persuade, guide, coach, encourage, facilitate and direct group members to meet the goals of individuals
and their organisations. Effective oral communication enables individuals to be understood and helps create
understanding between people and fosters good relationship among workers in any business context (DiSanza &
Legge, 2000).
Communication Networks in Workplace Environments
According to Adler & Elmhorst (2002), the system of communication networks provides information on the
communication patterns among people in organisations of various status and situations that exist in the
workplace. They suggest that the two common networks are the formal communication network (comprising
three types of communication: downward, upward and horizontal communication) and the informal
communication network (arising from personal interest, friendships, physical proximity or shared office space).
Formal messages that flow from managers and supervisors to subordinates are called downward
communication. All organisations need downward communication as it is through this channel that the
management of an organisation will transfer their decisions, orders, rules, information and policies to their
subordinates who transform them into actions. If information must flow downwards to be transformed into
actions, information must also flow from the bottom to the top of an organisation to get good ideas and
solutions to difficult problems and enable rules, policies or ideas to be implemented and recognised (Morreal
et.al., 2001). In addition, there must also be a free flow of ideas and information between people and
departments at the same level in the organisation, which is called horizontal communication. In horizontal
communication, messages flow laterally between co-workers with the same or similar status. This form of
communication is said to be essential in an organisation for employees to coordinate tasks when they are
working on part of an important project to solve problems, to share information and to resolve conflicts such as
jealousy or disagreement between workers.

Forms and Skills of Workplace Oral Communication
An understanding of the communication patterns in the workplace will necessitate inquiry into various ways of
workplace communication to arrive at an understanding of the forms and skills used in an organisation.
Research shows that the three main types of communication are: verbal, non-verbal (e.g. gestures, body
language) and written communication (e.g. reports, memos, letters etc.). Between oral and written
communication in the workplace, oral communication is more extensively used and rated more important when
writing is compared with oral communication (Maes et. al.,1997). In another study conducted by Boyette (1995;
cited in Miller et.al., 1997), graduates enrolled in engineering curricula spent 26% of their work time involved
in written communication and spent almost 56% of their working time in oral communication. The study also
reveals that graduate employees spend most of their time communicating with people who are in the same
department with them, such as their peers and superiors, while half as much time is spent with people from
other companies, such as vendors, customers, regulators and the media. Among the communication events
performed most by the graduate employees were personal activities and status reports, group meetings, giving
instructions and formal presentations.
Adler & Elmhorst (2002) contend that when face-to-face communication is not possible (due to separation by
great distance which causes the charges of communication to be costly, time-consuming and impractical),
teleconferencing, telephone and voice mail may take place in the workplace. They also highlight the importance
of good listening skills as the relationship between listening and speaking needs to be emphasised as both skills
are interrelated. Peters (2002) suggests that effective communicators in the IT industry must possess good
listening skills because employers in the IT industry spend considerable time listening and communicating with
people in the workplace as technical professionals are fundamentally problem solvers (Huckin & Olsen, 1984).
Theoretical Framework
Within this ESP context, the researchers view the term needs as comprising not only the English oral
communication needs of the IT graduates at their workplace but also their employers needs and the industrys
needs at large. In identifying target needs of IT graduates in the workplace, the researchers subscribe to
Hutchinson & Waters (1987) definition of target needs in term of necessities, lacks and wants. To analyse the
workplace oral communication needs of the IT graduates, the researchers have to study necessities determined
by the demands of the IT graduates currently working in their workplace, that is, what the IT graduates need to
know in order to function effectively in the target situation. Hutchinson & Waters (1987) say that identifying
the necessities alone is not enough as one needs to know the areas of necessities of the graduates lack. Hence, it
is important to identify the lacks of the IT graduates because one needs to close the gap between what is
expected of the employers against the existing performance of the IT graduate employees.
The development of the model for needs analysis is based on aspects forwarded by Hutchinson & Waters
(1987:59) on the why, how, who, where questions in their target situation analysis (TSA) framework. These
questions were adhered to in the formulation of the questionnaires. The questions will be aimed at identifying
the following workplace oral communication needs in English among IT graduate employees:
How important are oral communication skills in English to IT graduates in the workplace?
How will the oral communication skills in English be used?
What are the forms of oral communication skills in English used in the workplace?
How frequently and with whom will the oral communication skills in English be used?
Who will the IT graduates communicate with in English?
Where will they use those skills in their workplace?

How competent are IT graduates in performing their oral communication skills in English at the
workplace?
The researchers considered workplace oral communication needs in English among IT graduate employees with
reference to the needs of the employers and IT graduates themselves. The contextual settings where the oral
communication takes place was also taken into consideration.
Method
Local IT graduates from the manufacturing sector in Penangs Free Industrial Zone were selected because this
sector recorded the highest utilisation and investments in ICT during the Seventh Plan Period (Eight Malaysia
Plan, 2001-2005). In addition, the highest job vacancies were concentrated in the manufacturing sector (50.4%),
particularly in the electrical and electronics subsectors (Economic Report 2002/2003). Penang was chosen as it
houses most of the manufacturing plants in Malaysia, besides Selangor. There are a total of 80 respondents,
comprising 69 IT graduates and 11 IT employers. The IT employees hold the following job positions in their
workplace: hardware engineers, software engineers, system analysts, computer programmers and technical
support personnel. The employer sample consists of personnel who hold managerial positions from various IT
departments in their organisations. Four IT employers were also interviewed.
The researchers used a variety of research procedures because researchers point out that a single approach to
analysing the needs of students in any context only yields limited data (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000).
Data were obtained through the use of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Two sets of
questionnaires were used: one for the IT employees and another set for the IT employers. The construction of
the questionnaires were adapted from questionnaires designed by Crosling & Ward (2001) and by
supplementing with a list of oral communication skills listed by Maes et. al. (1997). Furthermore, based on
some current literature and information gathered from informal talks and discussions with IT employees and
employers working in various IT departments during the pilot study, the researchers were able to construct the
questionnaire comprehensively. A pilot test was carried out among six IT employees and two IT employers
from two semiconductor manufacturing companies in Penang. Some pertinent improvements were made based
on findings from the pilot study (presentation aspects such as removing italicised instructions and improving
word choice for some items).
Both questionnaires and interviews were self-administered by the researchers as it posed less problems.
Electronic mail (e-mail) was used as the main channel in distributing and collecting the questionnaires because
it is generally reliable, convenient (for instance attachments can be sent within seconds to many recipients at the
same time), more effective and cost-saving. The questionnaires were distributed through e-mail to all IT
graduates and handled face-to-face or via e-mail to the IT managers. The researchers email addresses and
contact numbers were stated at the end of the questionnaires to ensure that the respondents sent the
questionnaires back to the researchers or contacted the researchers to pick them up once they were completed.
All respondents were given one week to complete the questionnaires. If the respondents did not return the
questionnaires after the first week, they were sent a copy of the questionnaire through e-mail again with a
friendly reminder. In this way, the non-respondents were given another three working days to complete the
questionnaires. Finally, telephone follow-up calls were made to request for IT managers cooperation and help if
respondents at their workplace still did not reply within the stipulated deadlines.
The researchers interviewed the four IT managers at their workplaces after office hours in order not to interfere
with their work during office hours. Some arranged appointments were cancelled because the IT employers
needed to attend to urgent work-related matters and new appointments had to be scheduled.
Findings and Discussion

A total of 69 IT graduates participated in this study. Table 1 below shows the profile of the respondents at a
glance:
Table 1: Profile of IT Graduates
Demographic
Factors
Total (n=69) Percentage
(100.0%)
Age 20-25 years old
26-30 years old
31-35 years old
36-40 years old
17
43
5
4
24.7
62.3
7.2
5.8
Gender Male
Female
42
27
60.9
39.1
Work Experience 1-3 years
4-6 years
7-9 years
36
29
4
52.2
42.0
5.8
Job Designation Systems Analyst
Programmer
Software Engineer
Project Engineer
Technical Support
IT Engineer
Network administrator
25
13
11
9
7
2
2
36.2
18.8
15.9
13.1
10.2
2.9
2.9
Education Level Basic Degree
Postgraduate
qualification
61
8
88.4
11.6
Major Area of Study Engineering and IT
Computer Science
Others
38
29
2
55.1
42.0
2.9
The findings reveal that 17 of the IT graduates are in the 20-25 age group. Most of them (62.3%) fall into the
26-30 age group. The remaining 13% of them are distributed among the other two age groups where five of
them are in the 31-35 age group and only four of them fall into the 36-40 age group. The IT graduate sample
comprises 42 males and 27 females, indicating that there are more male respondents in this study. In terms of
working experience, most respondents (52.2%) have worked for 1-3 years. 29 of them have worked for about 4-
6 years while the rest of them had been working for about 7-9 years. 25 (36.2%) of the IT graduates are systems

analysts while 13 are programmers and 11 are software engineers. Almost all of them (88.4%) have a basic
degree. In addition, more than half (55.1%) the respondents have engineering and IT-related degrees.
In analysing the IT employers sample (11 respondents), it was found that the majority of them are in the 36-40
age group and three of them belong to the 31-35 age group. The IT employers also have different job
designations and they comprise IT Hardware Communication Manager, IT Manager, IT Automation Manager
and Assistant Information Technology Systems (ITS) Manager. Seven of them possess first degrees while four
of them have postgraduate qualifications.
Frequent Use of Oral Communication in English
In the survey, IT graduates had to answer three questions (using a four-point Likert scale) about the frequency
of oral communication use at work. These questions were broadly divided into six forms and 14 skills of oral
communication in English. The results reveal that social interaction or informal work-related discussion is the
most frequently occurring form of oral communication in English (mean = 3.91). This figure indicates that in
the IT graduates working environment, it is evident that sharing of ideas and working experience happens
among them on a frequent basis. The second most important form of oral communication is telephone
conversation (mean = 3.59) and the third is interviewing skills (mean = 3.16). Other communication activities
include: one-to-one meeting (mean=2.75), short presentations (mean= 2.26) and longer presentations
(mean=2.30).
Table 2 below shows the frequency of oral communication use among IT graduates at the workplace:
Table 2: Frequency of IT Graduates English Oral Communication Use with
Different Groups of People
Groups of People Rarely
(%)
Seldom
(%)
Sometimes
(%)
Frequently
(%)
a. Same
Department
Colleagues
Superior/Supervisor
Staff of Lower
Status
-
-
-
-
-
-
2.9
7.2
20.3
97.1
92.8
79.7
b. Different
Department
Staff of Similar
Status
Staff of Higher
Status
Staff of Lower
Status
-
-
-
10.1
10.1
26.1
27.5
73.9
27.5
62.3
15.9
46.4
c. Other
Companies
Staff of Similar
Status
Staff of Higher
Status
69.9
75.4
50.7
15.9
24.6
30.4
14.5
-
18.8
-
-
-

Staff of Lower
Status
The table shows that among the people of various hierarchies within their company, IT graduates communicate
most frequently with staff of their similar status (97.1% of the respondents rated using English oral
communication frequently with co-workers). Results from the survey show that IT graduates always use the
following skills when communicating with their peers: listening (100.0%), conversing orally (91.3%),
participating in company meetings (60.9%), handling complaints (55.1%) and using oral presentation skills
(50.7%).
They also frequently communicate orally with their superiors (92.8%). Results from the survey show that the
following subskills are frequently utilised by IT graduates: following instructions (76.8%), having informal
discussions with superiors (73.9%), participating in meetings (63.8%) and using interviewing skills to get
feedback(58.0%). In addition to this, 79.7% of the respondents state that they frequently communicate orally
with staff of lower status within their company.
When communicating with staff from different departments in their companies, 62.3% of the respondents state
they frequently use oral communication in English to carry out the following communicative events: use
listening skills to gather information, have informal discussions, handle complaints, use interview skills to get
feedback or information. It is interesting to note that only 15.95 of the respondents communicate frequently
with staff of higher status but most of them (73.9%) do so sometimes.
In terms of using oral communication in English to interact with people from other companies, the findings
show that IT graduates rarely communicate with people from other companies. There is a small percentage of
respondents (13.0%) who state that they sometimes need to listen to people from other companies on work-
related matters. Although a reasonable percentage (33.3%) of the respondents communicate orally when taking
instructions/orders from their clients or customers from other companies, the findings show that this rarely
happens. The interview sessions with the IT employers reveal that most IT employees require minimal contact
with people from other companies as IT employees are actively involved in monitoring and improving the
network system of their own company as they need to ensure the database created by them is able to cater to the
needs of their organisation.
The Importance of Oral Communication Skills
The findings of this study support the view that oral communication skills in English are important to IT
graduates in the major aspects of their jobs in recruitment (getting a job in an interview), promotion and
professional development (e.g. being selected for attending training, courses, conventions). The surveys show
that about 45.5% of the employers perceived oral communication as the most important criteria for recruitment
than for job success (27.3%) and professional development (27.3%). This accords with the feedback from some
IT employers in the interview sessions who state that effective oral communication skills can help graduates to
get a job but in terms of promotion and professional development, other personal qualities are considered
desirable (positive attitude towards work, good interpersonal skills, leadership ability etc.).
Employers Perceptions
The findings reveal that IT employers rate the following skills highly: following instructions, giving feedback,
listening skills and effective oral presentation skills. This indicates that IT employees should perform well in
these skill areas as these are key skills that employers look for in employees. The semi-structured interviews
with the employers reveal similar results pertaining to their perceptions of skills valued by them.
To understand how competent IT graduates are in performing their workplace oral communication skills, this
study focuses on discovering the lacks of oral communication skills among IT graduates at their workplace. The

survey results show that the mean scores for the IT graduates actual oral communication performance in English
in all types of oral communication skills are lower than the mean scores perceived by the employers. This
indicates that IT graduates performance is lower than their employers expectations in all types of oral
communication skills in English.
During the interview sessions, the employers were asked four questions about their perceptions of local IT
graduates oral communication in English skills. The employers state that presentation skills, listening skills,
interviewing skills and conversational skills in English are vital for IT employees. The employers also state that
universities and organisations should jointly shoulder the responsibility for training and developing IT graduates
oral communication skills in an effort to further enhance graduates oral communication ability.
Conclusion
This study makes the claim that effective oral communication skills in English are important to IT graduates in
any workplace context as these skills can increase the chances of employees employability and enhance their
work performance. The skills gap that exist between the IT graduates actual oral communication performance
and the IT employers expectations necessitates that both universities and industry take steps to improve this
imbalance. Universities can re-structure and realign some of their IT course content and curriculum to suitably
meet the workplace demands imposed on IT graduates. Similarly IT employers can take heed of their
employees lacks (with regard to oral communication ability) and conduct on-site training to further develop and
enhance these communicative skills as they would pave the way towards adequately preparing IT graduates to
meet the rapid changes in information and communication technologies of the world. A strong human resource
base would greatly enhance an organisations ability to compete in the global market and in the k-economy
(Kaur & Thiyagarajah, 2003).

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