Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lorica, Patricia S.
Dr. Arsenia S. Allam
Introduction
English has been the most widely used language in terms of communication
by different countries and also in the field of business, trade and commerce. English
is also referred to as global English, for in each country it has various
pronunciations, accents and even spelling. English language is unique in every
ethnicity or race yet as long as it is understood, it is valid.
Due to the demands of the post- Second World War, United States which has
been the most notably leading economy that time was the reason why the role as a
medium of transaction and agreement fell to the English language. As this language
was utilized for mostly technology and commerce, people such as doctors, students,
businessmen and women geared the focus on how the language should be used for
various and specific reasons. Thus, ESP pr English for Specific Purposes was born.
According to Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998), ESP meets the learners
specific needs; it is also designed for specific disciplines and in specific teaching
situations. The significance of ESP in K to 12 is that the learners are able to learn
English in specific disciplines such as the kind of English they use. It will help the
students to learn English in a much easier way with the focus on a specific field.
This report attempted to analyze the students responses as to their selfassessed level of importance in terms of the following: level of language importance
(purposes, uses, acquisition, availability of learning reasons); and language skills
(speaking, reading, writing, listening).
the survey. Approximately, there were 23 female students and 9 male students.
Their ages range from 18 to 25.
The questionnaire consists of three parts: objective, learners profile and
assessment. The survey questionnaire used was validated by the use of pilot testing
in which five randomly selected biotechnology students were used as respondents.
After the survey questionnaire was administered, the researchers tallied and
analyzed the result. The frequency and percentage and the weighted arithmetic
mean was used as the statistical treatment of the data.
The formula/s used in the survey were:
F
N
100 = %
Where:
F = frequency
N = total
% = percentage
This scale will be used to describe the weighted mean of the gathered data.
The 3 point Scale
3 Very Important
2 Important
Scale Value
3
Mean Range
2.40 2.79
1.60 2.39
Descriptive Scale
Very Important
Important
1.00 1.59
Results
A. Level of Language Importance
The table below shows why English language is needed in Biotechnology course.
Table 1.1
Percentage
12
37.5
b. For questions,
explanation and
justification
purposes
18.75
14
48.75
Total
32
100%
The table above shows that for future work got 48.75% or 14 respondents
while for exam, academic writing and research purposes got 37.5% or 12. This
means that the students agreed that the reason they use English is mostly for
future work then for exam, academic and research purposes.
The table below shows percentage with whom do the respondents use the language
Table 1.2
Frequency
Percentage
3.12
b. To your professors,
colleagues who prefer
to speak English
27
84.38
12.5
32
100%
Total
The table above shows that professors, colleagues who prefer to speak
English got 84.38 % which is equivalent to 27 respondents out of 32. These 27
respondents stated that they indeed use English in communicating with professors
and colleagues who prefer to speak English with them rather than with their
English-speaking friends or a salesman.
This answers to the third question on how the students learn English in
Biotechnology
Table 1.3
role
c. Through
Frequency
Percentage
27
84.38
15.62
32
100%
The table below shows the result to the fourth question on which resources are
available to the students in learning English
Table 1.4
a. Bilingual/ monolingual
Frequency
Percentage
6.25
18.75
24
75
32
100%
dictionaries
b. Internet resources,
c. Books, newspapers,
magazines, journals,
business materials,
company
Total
B. Language Skills
The table below shows the students preference on the most important among the
speaking skills
Table 2.1
Speaking Skills
3
Item
mean
DS
10
19
2.22
19
1.84
Speaking to customers
20
2.06
15
16
2.44
Communicating with
colleagues superiors
10
19
2.22
It can be gleaned from the table above that dealing with client objections got
the highest mean of 2.44 while making and receiving telephone calls got the lowest
mean of 1.84. It means that its very important for them to use English in dealing
with client objections than making and receiving telephone calls primarily because
they make products which use the natural resources and they sell or endorse them
to clients which may be interested in the products.
The table below shows the students preference on the most important among the
reading skills
Table 2.2
Reading Skills
Do you need to use
English when:
Item
mean
DS
21
2.56
18
12
2.5
16
13
2.41
Reading memos
11
16
2.19
19
12
2.56
2.44
The table above shows that reading business letters (letters for inquiry, bank,
letters soliciting information, letters from head office to branches) got the highest
mean of 2.56 along with reading reference materials for professional exam. It can
be inferred that the students found that its very important for them to use English
in reading business letters and reading references for professional exam because
first they make and sell products and second, they take tests and/or examinations in
their course.
The table below shows the students preference on the most important among the
writing skills
Table 2.3
Writing Skills
Do you need to use
English when:
Item
mean
DS
Filling in forms
18
14
2.56
Writing brochures /
letters
18
13
2.53
Writing effective
proposals
24
2.75
Writing faxes/
complaint letters
20
10
2.56
10
17
2.16
The table above shows that writing effective proposals got the highest mean
of 2.75 while taking notes and messages got the lowest mean of 2.16. It can be
asserted from the result that its very important for the students to use English in
writing effective proposals because they also do proposals and researches for new
methods or products which are relevant to their course.
The table below shows the students preference on the most important among the
listening skills
Table 2.4
Listening Skills
Do you need to use
English when:
Item
mean
DS
Telephone messages
15
11
1.84
Oral instructions
18
13
2.53
Handling inquiries
12
17
2.28
Understanding
lectures at seminars
and training programs
22
2.66
The table above shows that understanding lectures at seminars and training
programs got the highest mean of 2.66 while telephone messages got the lowest
which is only 1.84. it can be affirmed that its very important for the students to
use English in understanding lectures at seminars and training programs basically
because these lectures and seminars are essential for them in writing their
researches and proposal which is required in their course.
Conclusion
It can be affirmed from the results above that the students use English in
school-related circumstances such as for future work and for exam, academic
writing and research purposes. They prefer to talk English with professors,
colleagues who also speak English with them. They learn English through
discussions/lectures, group/individual written and oral presentations and they get
their resources from books, newspapers, magazines, journals, and business
materials.
Another is they found it very important for them to use English in situations
such as dealing with client objections, reading business letters (letters for inquiry,
bank, letters soliciting information, letters from head office to branches), reading
reference materials for professional exam, writing effective proposals, and
understanding lectures at seminars and training programs. They prioritize these
choices as relevant ones and are much related to what they learn and do in the
Biotechnology course.