Improving Spoken English in Engineering Students: A  Study of Struggling Students in Engineering Colleges in Odisha

INTRODUCTION

English language competence is a significant aspect of an engineering student’s academic life and prospective career. It is because the main mode of communication used and most of the teaching contents and the sources for information are in English. After graduation too, English takes its predominance because it is the official language used in work places global wide. The criteria to be a successful engineer depends not only on the ability to perform calculations and experiments, as in most other jobs, but mainly based on the ability to present his innovative, creative ideas convincingly. Hence proficiency in communicative English is very essential for an efficient engineer who has sound technical background to interpret the technical facts in the universal language which everyone in any corner of the world can understand. The present paper deals with the importance of English language competence in every walk of the professional life of an engineer for his bright insisting that the engineering students should primarily focus on English learning and be competent with English communication skills so as to tap on the plethora of potential economic benefits that may be the ultimate result when English is taken over by them.

 English has been in India since the early 17th century, with the arrival of East India Company. Though its forceful entry was not welcomed earlier by Indians, with the passage of time, it became indispensable by the early 20th century, taking its enormous emergence as the official language and had its indomitable influence and governance over academics. No doubt, today English is the lingua franca of professional education, especially in engineering education where the need for it is more manifold than it used to be. English for engineers is not just for his occupational purposes but it is the basic tool in the hands of an efficient engineer. That too, in this global arena, English Communication skills are essential for anyone who aspires to carry out his/her professional practice. Engineering communication skills basically represent the fluency in the English language which is the key factor for effective communication.

 SPECIFIC NEED OF ENGLISH FOR EMERGING ENGINEERS

 In the world of engineers, English has become the predominant language for communication. Almost all engineers need to work with technical drawings, discuss dimensions and tolerances, talk about different materials and their properties, describe the shapes of components and how they fit together, describe causes and effects, explain technical problems etc. The language used in these common technical contexts is English. Moreover, Technical writing is the much needed skill to be inherited by the emerging engineers of today. In the recent years, Spoken English also gained an unprecedented predominance in the engineering curriculum. Most of all, the medium of instruction and the sources of information are in English. So acquiring English fluency gradually is very essential for emerging engineers. In their career too, Engineers have to use English on a larger extent, to co ordinate with their colleagues and to cope up with the emerging trends.

 CHALLENGES IN THE ATTAINMENT OF LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH

In India which is highly noted for its cultural and linguistic diversity, the engineering students coming from varied backgrounds are facing great challenges, while taking up this professional course of their dream. With their entry into engineering colleges, most of the Indian students who had their education so far in their regional languages, start digesting the bitter truth that they have to keep pace with the others of better linguistic competence in English in a common set up in which there is no special consideration for their pre knowledge on English, the way in which English is ‘practiced’ by them or their linguistic competence in English. Unfortunately, even in this fast paced technological era, majority of students have not got the opportunity of learning English in a better way because of obsolete methodologies followed in most of the engineering institutions.

  REASONS FOR LACK OF LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH AMONG ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Learner’s personality traits, their learning strengths, styles and preferences are not taken into serious consideration before getting into a way to teach English as a communicative language for blooming engineers. Also, prior preference is given to specialized subjects by the students even at their very entry level in the engineering Communicative English. To Emerging Engineers in the later years of learning too, English is almost brushed aside both by the curriculum and by the students until the time of placement when it has to be reincarnated in the name of communicative English after a long phase. The main finding is that the majority of students use little English outside their program because they are mainly dependent on their peer group for their social-life and activities outside the academic context. Hence opportunities to use English are negligible. Another consequence is that the persistent lack of confidence in speaking English outside campus inhibits the students from developing social independence and it is greatly reflected in the interview, where they have to prove themselves chiefly with their English speaking skills. Their reluctance in acquiring the most needed English language skill generally results in lack of confidence in writing skills during their. The linguistic competence in English among engineering students needs a positive guidance and high motivation to channelize the students from vernacular background towards successful professional life is much needed from the side of educators of English for blooming engineers. This is because English builds in an engineer a great confidence to face his highly competitive, most challenging professional field. It also requires remedial measures in the form of unconventional methods like e-learning which can be adopted for effective teaching of communicative and technical English. Further student-friendly or learner- centric environment will facilitate the learners of English at the crucial period of their professional education.  What is preferred today is a more holistic, dynamic approach that arouses the real interest and awareness in learning the universal language which will greatly support their engineering professional growth.

Purpose of the study

Every engineering college student in Odisha seems to be studying English, listening to radio programs on their dormitory bed, studying the dictionary in the back of the classroom, and completing grammar exercises in the cafeteria. But still, these same students come and ask the same question on very poor spoken English and the way to improve spoken English. This paper contains information that will benefit English teachers, but it is not a book for teachers. This is a book the student. Much of the literature concerning language acquisition theory and research are designed for teachers but the researcher is sure that many students will be benefited from this if their teachers have read them. However, the researcher believes that students should not be dependent solely on the ability of the teacher as the study desires to give knowledge to the students themselves so that you will be empowered to take charge of your own learning. This knowledge is not given so that the students can criticize their teachers but to learn eagerly from whatever type of instruction the student receives in the classroom, and then use this knowledge to guide his self-study efforts outside of the classroom.

Motivation

 Researchers describe numerous subtleties, two types of motivation reoccur throughout the literature: instrumental and integrative motivation. Instrumental motivation one in which the learner desires to use the language as a tool to achieve some desirable ends. In contrast, an integrative motivation is one in which learners may choose to learn a particular L2 because they are interested in the people and culture represented by the target-language group. In various contexts, both motivations have proved important. Of course, students can have both types of motivation at the same time. Many engineering students in Odisha have a weak-instrumental motivation for studying English. They just want to pass the semesters so they can get their bachelor’s degree. Others have a strong-instrumental motivation. They study because they want to acquire a good job or study abroad. Some study English for integrative reasons. They simply enjoy it and want to make new friends. The researcher conducted a survey among 45successful and 345 non-successful English language learners  Engineering colleges  in Odisha. It produced the following results:

 Table 1

Question	Strong- Instrumental	Weak- Instrumental	Integrative
motivation for learning English	get job, study abroad	pass test	make new friends, enjoyment
Successful Learners	10.63%	27,81%	52.16%
Non-Successful Learners	48.25%	32.51%	7.13%

10.4%successful and12.11% non-successful learners claimed they studied for “no reason”.

Analysis

There is no magic formula to become a fluent speaker of any language. One of the reasons this is so is that each individual is unique. Students learn differently. One’s natural ability to learn another language is called language aptitude. The higher your language aptitude; the easier it will be for you to learn a foreign language. The lower your language aptitude; the harder it will be. However, no matter what your language aptitude, everyone is able to make progress.

Debate surrounds the question of whether success is the result of one’s motivation or one’s motivation is the result of success. Nevertheless, these results are suggestive. Students who study only for the sake of passing a test are highly unlikely to be successful. Strong instrumental motivations are better. In this study, however, it appears that students with an integrative motivation are most likely to be successful. As one student responded that If one does learn English but cannot speak it fluently, it is like a blind being on the street so will lose many precious opportunities to enjoy the beauty of this world. One is kept inside a dark box. But speaking English well, one will learn about culture, people and life feel life colorful and meaningful and one is not isolated. Of the successful learners 52.16%were in interrogative motivation and 7.13% un-successful learners were in interrogative motivation. Before the student finishes the rest of this book, he ought to ask himself as to, why is he learning English? If the student is only learning so that he can pass some test, the earnings might as well be stop there. Of the successful learners 27.81%were in favor of passing the test and 32.51%% un-successful learners were in favor of passing the test which is not a sound attitude to gain a linguistic competence. First the student must realize that English is a key that unlocks doors to opportunities. Opportunities for jobs, travel, new friends, and much more to which only 10.63% successful learners have the attitude 48.25% front he un-successful learners.

More Than Diligence

Everyone believes that one must be diligent to learn English well. However, in the research it is  found that the diligence of the student is not as great factor as one would expect. In fact, there was little difference between the diligence (according to their own perceptions) of successful and non-successful English students, as shown in the following chart.

Diligence in studying English

Table 2

Question	Extremely diligent	Very Diligent	Sometimes diligent	Not Diligent
How would you describe your diligence in studying English?	followed my study plan all of the time.	followed my study plan all of the time.	followed my study plan sometimes, but often I was too busy with other things.	only studied when I wanted to and wasn’t busy with something else
Successful Learners	8.34%	31,96%	53.27%	13.07&
Non-successful Learners	7,1%	38,15%	49.41%	15.38%

:

Possibly many of the successful learners actually were more diligent than  un-successful learners. But this at least shows that whether or not learners feel they are diligent or not is of little consequence to the success of their English study. 38.15 % of the non-successful learners feel they have studied extremely or very diligently for two years or more but still speak English poorly. In contrast, 53.27 % of successful learners described themselves as only sometimes diligent or not diligent at all, yet they speak English very well. Why do some very diligent students speak English poorly, while other un-diligent students speak English well? Perhaps they possessed diligence, but lacked wisdom. It is not sufficient simply to study alot, one must study the right way. If one wants to learn English well, he must have the Foolish Man’s spirit, but the Wise Man’s method. The rest of this book will help you develop a wise man’s method. The researcher suggests that you will acquire language best when you study in such a way that you will have to listen to large amounts of comprehensible input and have opportunities to use the target language to communicate with others to support your learning with some grammatical learning focused on making input comprehensible and developing awareness.

Listening

Stephen Krashen (1985) proposed the Input Hypothesis. The Input Hypothesis claims that learners make progress in English acquisition through exposure to comprehensible input. Comprehensible input is defined as “understanding input that contains structures at our next ‘stage’ –structures that are a bit beyond our current level of competence” Accordingly, input that is either too simple or complex will not help a learner make progress in spoken English. To explore this, the investigator asked the following questions with the following results:

Table 3

Howmuchtimedoyouspend onlistening spokenenglish	Less thanone hour	morethanonehour
Successful learners	31.79%	68,21%
Un-successful learners	82.87%	27.13%

The results are clear. The great majority of successful English language learners in this study , listening to English for 1 hour or more and  listening to the right kind of input, input where they can understand the main idea but not some parts. There are many aspects of the full Input Hypothesis that are seriously questionable. Nevertheless, it is safe to claim that exposure to comprehensible input greatly benefits the language learner. On the other hand, 82.87 % of non-successful learners are listening to this same type of input. Why are they still poor speakers is presented in the table below.

Table4

Question: How well did you understand MOST of the English you listened to while learning English?	A I understood all of it easily.	B I understood the main message but didn’t understand some parts.	C I understood only some of it with great difficulty.	D I could not understand what was said except for a few words.
Successful Learners	16,02%	72.25%	10.68%	1.05%
Non-successful Learners	0%	57.58%	36.38%	6.04%

It is found from the above study that most likely, the amount of time spent listening to this kind of input is insufficient to achieve a higher-level of proficiency, as indicated by the previous question. Finally, 57.58% of non-successful students are not only spending too little time listening, but also the time they do spend is not much use because the input is too difficult for them to comprehend. Gaining Access to Comprehensible Input is convinced to be important.

The researcher thinks the following are the ways to gain access to comprehensible input.

The internet can be a rich source of free input and the learner can  acquire language best when listens to large amounts of comprehensible input,  have opportunities to use the target language to communicate with others, and support his learning with some grammatical learning, focused on making input comprehensible and developing awareness. Listening to English will help everything. Listening will build the vocabulary, improve  grammar, and even help speaking. In fact, there are some who believe that listening to comprehensible input alone insufficient to develop complete oral proficiency, as mentioned before. However, though that may be possible, the investigator does not think it is likely. On the contrary,  using the target language (English) to communicate with another person greatly helps students acquire the English language. This belief is confirmed by the results of  survey.

Table 5

Question: In an average WEEK of study, how much time did you spend using English to communicate with a NATIVE SPEAKER OF ENGLISH	1 hour or less	More than 1 hour
Successful Learners	36.71%	62.02%
Non-successful Learners	87,12%	12.14%

The results of the survey show that a student is more likely to be successful if he or she spends at least 1 hour or more each week using English to communicate with a native speaker of English. However, this information is not new for most  EFL learners. They are aware that communicating with a native English speaker will benefit their English acquisition. The problem with most students is that they either do not have opportunities to communicate with a native English speaker or do not have the confidence to do so. Many scholars believe that interaction, the act of communicating with another person, plays a significant part in second language learning. First, Michael Long believes comprehensible input is of great value, but believes itis best received through interaction. This is because when a fluent speaker and a less fluent speaker interact, they enter into a negotiation of meaning. As they use the situational context, repetitions, and clarifications to maximize comprehension, the more likely the learner will receive input just beyond his present competency. This process is also described in terms of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. The learner collaborates with the fluent speaker to utilize discourse, context, or comprehension checks to produce utterances he would not be able to produce on his own. Thus, learning  takes place at the Zone of Proximal Development, the place in between what the learner could do independently and what he could not do even with help(Ellis 1997, p48).While Long focuses on the value of the input gained through interaction, Merrill Swain (Ellis 1997) points out several benefits of learner output(speaking) in interaction. First, with comprehensible input, meaning can often be attained without paying attention to the grammar of the input. She maintains output can help students notice a gap between what they say and what they hear; thereby raising their consciousness that some of their grammar is not correct. Second, output provides learners with incentive to formulate and opportunities to test hypotheses. They can apply a rule to an utterance to see if it leads to successful communication or elicits negative feedback. Finally, learners often reflect on their own output, discussing problems and potential solutions. Many scholars agree that interaction, using the target language to communicate with another person, is beneficial for a variety of reasons.

The researcher also asked the students how much time they spent each week using English to communicate with highly fluent non-native speakers or their classmates.

Table 6

Question: In an average WEEK of study, how much time did you spend using English to communicate with a HIGHLY FLUENT SPEAKER OF ENGLISH though he/she is NOT a native speaker of English? (For example: An English Teacher of Odisha with great spoken English)	A 0 hours	B 1 hour or less	C More than 1 hour but less than 3 hours	D More than 3hours but less than 6 hours	E More than 6 hours
Successful Learners	54.23%	12.18%	27,14%	2.18%	0%
Non-successful Learners	43.37%	56.27%	8.02%	0%	0%

Table 7

Question: In an average WEEK of study, how much time did you spend using English to communicate with FELLOW STUDENTS who are learning English? (For example: a classmate or an older student)	A 0 hours	B 1 hour or less	C More than 1 hour but less than 3 hours	D More than 3 hours but less than 6 hours	E More than 6 hours
Successful Learners	24.24%	42.42%	21.21 %	12.12 %	0%
Non-successful Learners	20.21%	49.53%	28.26%	0%	0%

It seems there are more opportunities to use English than just with native speakers. Yet Odisha students do not seem to be taking advantage of them. This is a shame because most students cannot afford to be silent while waiting for opportunities to communicate with a native speaker. There simply are not enough foreigners in Odisha to give every student such chances. Students, instead, must do what they can.

Suggestions

 Speak with Fellow English Language Learners – I do not know why so many students do not speak English with their classmates. Most foreign teachers have students practice with each other in class. So why would one not speak with a classmate because he would rather wait for a foreigner? For when he does get a foreign teacher, the teacher will instruct him to speak with his classmates. I understand students are afraid of listening to poor English and acquiring bad habits. But remember, if you are listening to comprehensible input diligently on cassettes or TV programs, you will still be hearing native speakers every day. In this case, the benefits surely outweigh the dangers. In China, I knew of a class of students that would often have an “English Day.” A day when they would only speak to each other in English. This type of activity can be fun and helpful.• Speak with Non-Native Speakers Who Speak English Well –There are many Chinese, Japanese, and Korean teachers and

business people who speak English well. Perhaps they can speak with you. Besides, if you get a job which requires you to conduct international business, you will not just be speaking with native English speakers. Many business deals all over the world are conducted in English, even though English may not be the mother tongue of any person at the meeting. Therefore, speaking

English with non-native speakers will not only help you acquire English, but also will prepare you for international business communication.

• Speak Over the Phone – Many Chinese friends I know have relatives living in English speaking countries that speak English very well. Perhaps you can speak with them in English over the phone. Speaking a foreign language over the phone is not easy, but can be very helpful. My sister speaks Spanish very well. I called her on the phone 2-3 times a week to practice my Spanish with her. I improved a lot from this.

• Read Out loud – This is not nearly as helpful as true communication with another person. However, it can help you develop oral fluency and confidence. Apparently, successful learners claim to spend more time each day listening to English than studying grammar. Therefore, a reasonable inference is that the majority of successful language learners in this study use grammar in a subordinate role; their primary focus is on communication, using English as a tool to receive and send messages. Accordingly, if the goal is to improve your spoken English, you would do well not to let the memorization of grammatical rules and such activities dominate your English study. Rather, make listening and using the target language the focus of your study. I recommend studying grammar for the following reasons: 1) to make input comprehensible and 2) to develop awareness to help the learner notice the form of input and their own output. This may help you eventually internalize these grammatical rules rather than storing them up in your short-term memory where they will be quickly forgotten after the test. Remember, the advice for studying grammar here is designed to help you improve the accuracy of your spoken English. You may need to study grammar in additional ways to prepare for certain exams or writing projects.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the researcher confesses that his knowledge of SLA theory is incomplete and the scope of his study is limited. He does not claim to have a magic formula for language learning. Nevertheless, based on theory and data from real successful language learners, the researcher suggests that one will improve your English skills if one does the following:

• Move beyond a motivation that simply desires to pass a test to one that views language as a key that unlocks opportunities.• Listen to comprehensible input on a daily basis.

• Overcome fear of losing face. Find and take advantage of opportunities to use English to communicate with both native and proficient nonnative speaker

• Study grammar in a way that supports the purpose of language, communication, not as an end in itself. Do not fear losing face. Fear poor English skills! Do not complain about your environment! Do the best you can in the environment you are in

REFERENCES

Batstone, Rob. (1996). Key Concepts in ELT: Noticing. ELT Journal, Volume50/3, 8 paragraphs.

Brown, James Dean. (2001). Using Surveys in Language Programs. UK:Cambridge University Press.

Cross, Jeremy. (December 2002) ‘Noticing’ in SLA: Is it a Valid Concept?TESL-EJ. Vol. 6, No.3.

Ellis, Rod. (2001). Second Language Acquisition: The Role of Consciousness.Lecture given at National Chengchi University, Taiwan.

Ellis, Rod. (2002). The Place of Grammar Instruction in the Second/ForeignLanguage Curriculum. In Fotos, Sandra and Eli Hinkel (Eds.), NewPerspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms (pp. 17-34). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Ellis, Rod. (1997). Second Language Acquisition. New York:Oxford University Press.

Gan, Zhengdong, Gillian Humphreys, and Liz Hampton-Lyons. (2004).“Understanding Successful and Unsuccessful EFL Students in ChineseUniversities.” The Modern Language Journal. Vol 88, no 2.

Hadley, Alice Omaggio. (1993). Teaching Language in Context. USA: Heinle& Heinle Publishers.

Krashen, Stephen. (2002). “The Comprehension Hypothesis and Its Rivals.”Selected papers from the International Symposium on English LanguageTeaching/Fourth Pan-Asian Conference. Taipei: Crane Publishing Company.

Krashen, Stephen. (1985). The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications.

New York: Longman Press.

Krashen, Stephen. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and SecondLanguage Learning.

Pergamon Press.

Mitchell, Rosamond and Florence Myles. (1998). Second Language LearningTheories. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.

Norris-Holt, Jacqueline. (2001). Motivation as a Contributing Factor inSecond Language Acquisition. The Internet TESL Journal. Vol. VII, No. 6.

Richard-Amato, Patricia. (1996). Making It Happen: Interaction in theSecond Language Classroom. White Plains, NY: Addison-Wesley PublishingGroup.

Sysoyev, Pavel V. (1999). Integrative L2 Grammar Teaching: Exploration,Explanation and Expression. The Internet TESL Journal. Vol. V, No. 6.