Requisite EFL Language Skills for Content - Based Courses and Employment: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

With the aim of identifying English language needs of students from a private university in a large city in Ecuador for success in English content-based courses and the workplace, the present study were students , faculty, administrator and companies. Findings indicated that speaking and listening are the most important requisite skills for content-based courses. Those same skills are also needed for the workplace, and organized writing skills are needed in both places. Student and faculty perceptions coincided that the students´greatest weaknesses were in speaking. The present placement and proficiency test for determining student readiness for the content based courses was seen as being inadequate. In order to help satisfy the English language learning needs of the students, this study offers recommendations about specific language-related goal setting, the inclusion of student needs in curriculum design, strategies for student motivation, and suggestions for improving the quality of assessment in the program.