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© 2007 UICEEGlobal J. of Engng. Educ., Vol.11, No.1Published in Australia

INTRODUCTION

Engineering graduates require an ever-increasingrange of skills to maintain relevance with the globalenvironment of the new millennium. Communicationskills are a vital component of this, recognised byacademia and industry alike. It is one of 11 key outcomesrequired by an undergraduate engineering programmein the ABET Engineering Criteria 2000 [1]. Such skillsare essential for an engineer who aspires to carry outhis/her professional practice in the global arena. Multi-lingual skills are considered a salient element in themake-up of the new global engineer.

Yet there is ample evidence that graduate engi-neers lack the required standard of communicationskills, particularly when compared to the needs ofindustry internationally [2][3]. Communication skillsare a regular feature of an engineer’s job in industry;some graduates employed in industry have identifiedthat education in communication skills needs to beimproved given the demands encountered in industry[4]. Indeed, communication skills are considered tobe a valuable career enhancer [5].

Inadequate and ineffective communication skillsreflect badly on the individual and the profession. Aninsufficient level of communication skills instructionin engineering education generally only serves toundermine the whole profile of the professional engi-neer. This in turn affects recruitment and retention inengineering studies [6].

It has been stated that communication skills should

Communication Skills for the 21st Century Engineer

Marc J. RiemerUNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE)

Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia

Communication skills are an essential component in the education of engineering students to facili-tate not just students’ education but also to prepare them for their future careers. In this article, theauthor discusses various important communication skills required of modern engineers, such asforeign language skills. Also discussed are various elements of communication skills education, suchas oral, listening, written, visual, interdisciplinary and intercultural. The impact of emotional intelli-gence (EQ) is also presented. Suggestions for communication skills development are made, includ-ing the posit that communication skills be integrated across the curriculum, rather than include it asa stand-alone subject in already packed engineering curricula, so as to reinforce student learning.Various potential areas for further research are also made.

be fostered in engineering education ... becausethey are qualities that employers look for ... [and]should be part of any tertiary education [7].

Communication is multifaceted and incorporatesvarious elements, such as oral, written, listening, visual,intercultural, interdisciplinary, etc. These need to beconsidered when examining communication engineer-ing education.

ENGLISH GLOBALISATION ANDENGINEERING

In this age of globalisation, international projects areincreasing, and cross-cultural communication and col-laboration is rising; especially in the now internationalpractice of engineering. English is accepted as themost widespread language in the world (cf the mostwidely spoken) [8]. The number of people who speakEnglish with at least some degree of proficiency ex-ceeds any other language [9]. This is important forengineering students as this indicates that English maybe more useful internationally than almost any other lan-guage due to its spread. English is cited as the …major language of international business, diplo-macy, and science and the professions [8]. Englishis the prime means for communication, and can oftenserve as the global language between two peoplefrom two different cultures where English is not thenative tongue. For example, French engineers commu-nicated with Egyptian engineers in Englishduring the building of the Cairo subway [10].

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Some multinational firms with bases in continentalEurope use English as the prime form of communicationin the office. In this sense, multinational corporationscan be seen to indirectly influence the educationalpolicies in foreign lands by their value creation ofparticular languages through global economic power.This also delivers a strategic advantage to thoseinstitutions in non-English speaking countries witheffective English language instruction.

European students, when recently surveyed, statedthat they felt working in a foreign language was anecessary activity in an international career. Theimplications of this are apparent; the English languagemaintains extremely strong relevance now and in thefuture, particularly as a secondary language to facili-tate communication between two cultures.

Future engineers need also be aware of thepotential for so-called cultural imperialism, whichinvolves the systematic penetration and dominanceof other nation’s communication and informationalsystems, [and] educational institutions [11]. Thisgoes beyond language hegemony.

However, the importance of multilingualism for theglobal engineer is not confined to learning English.Multilingualism in an engineering course is increas-ingly focusing on regional communication skills, wherethe main languages from within that country’s regionare becoming just as important as learning English.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS

Jensen states that employers want: … a number ofnew competencies, with an emphasis on an increasedability to communicate … and good foreign lan-guage skills [2]. This is reinforced in Grünwald’s studyof competences required by the engineer of tomor-row, which includes hard skills like good foreignlanguage skills. He goes further to claim that cross-disciplinary language skills are not sufficiently taught[3]. This indicates a lack of a direct fit betweengraduate skills and those required by industry.

Engineers can relate the same theories of math-ematics, of mechanics and technology, but the mod-ern engineer must also be able to communicate effec-tively in a shared tongue. This is especially importantgiven that engineering projects are now planned andimplemented across national and cultural borders.

The USA has a resilient monolinguistic culture ofinstruction in English, which may well impact on thatnation’s future competitive capacity internationally.There seems to be a similar culture in Australia wheremultilingual education is somewhat of an advantage,but is not compulsory. This differs to the compulsoryeducation in the English language education established

in many mainland European schools. However, monolin-gual dominance is brought into question at a time whenemployers are demanding new competences, includingcommunication and foreign language skills, and not justfrom engineering candidates in European nations [2].

Graddol found that regional languages will becomeincreasingly important in the 21st Century. He identi-fied the big languages to be Chinese (Mandarin),Hindu/Urdu, English, Spanish and Arabic, with theregional languages being Arabic, Malay, Chinese,English, Russian and Spanish [12]. The futurescenario indicates the reduced prominence of Englishas an international language in favour of the regionalisedlanguage dominance of Chinese, Hindu/Urdu, Arabicand Spanish. Such a future would mean that students’and industry needs in English as a First Language(EFL) countries would be best served by fosteringadditional language skills so that engineering gradu-ates can operate across borders in an increasinglyglobalised and multinational industry and society. Assuch, this is an important issue that must be addressedin engineering curricula.

Possible areas for further research in this areainclude the following:

• Identifying where and how second language skillscan be fused in the already packed engineeringcurriculum;

• Fostering engineering students’ understanding ofinternational linguistic diversity and the need forbroader language skills given the increasing levelof globalisation;

• Identifying dominant regional second languagesand how many engineering projects are developedin these linguistic areas;

• Cataloguing instances of international engineeringprojects and how communication was facilitated;

• Developing cross-institutional opportunitiesregarding second language instruction, particularlywhere one institution has greater strengths in onelanguage instruction than another (eg Mandarinat one institution and Spanish at another);

• Encouraging student exchanges with countries thathave the dominant regional language as the mainform of communication;

• Facilitating increased opportunities for foreignlanguage immersion for students as a componentof the curriculum (eg during semester breaks);

• Recognising that those dominant regionallanguages identified by Graddol potentiallyprovide the most opportunities for expandedcommunication skills (an important considerationfor students and curriculum designers), but not tothe exclusion of less widely spoken languages.

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The prime language of Internet sites is becomingincreasingly regionalised. Although English remains thedominant language with regard to Web content, it isinteresting to note that the proportion of non-nativeEnglish speaking online population has steadilyincreased and surpassed that of native English speak-ers [13]. This has clear implications for engineeringeducation. Language will no longer be the primedeterminant for access to engineering education basedon traditional European structures because large,previously under-represented communities will gaingreater representation. Furthermore, this expandedaccess to the Internet builds a new dimension in theeducation process in this era of globalisation: bycombining language education with technology edu-cation. This also generates a greater element ofregionalisation as these large underrepresented groupsin Asia and Africa demand the skills required to operatecompetitively in the world. However, language stillremains a strong barrier.

English for Specific Purposes

There is a clear necessity for effective Englishcommunication skills for engineers in the currentglobalised environment. A course in English forSpecific Purposes (ESP) will enhance English languagetraining and an engineering student’s communicationskills. It will also aid in the globalisation of educationand the internationalisation of practicing engineers. Theconcept of ESP achieves more in the education ofengineering students by focusing the learner’sattention on the particular terminology and communi-cation skills required in the professional field. Variousexamples in the engineering field can be found,including computer science, maritime engineering’sseaspeak, aviation’s airspeak and the railway’srailspeak.

While English is currently a prime language infacilitating communication between internationalcultures, particularly intercontinental, the increasinggrowth of regional languages indicates that nativeEnglish speakers need to learn additional and commu-nication skills, preferably in at least one of the regionaltongues. In this case, monolingualism is likely to be animpediment for future graduate engineers in a worldwhere intraregional connections provide steppingstones to facilitating globalisation.

COMMUNICATION ISSUES

Four sources of weakness that can significantlyimpact on an engineer’s communication skills educationwere identified as:

• Students’ attitudes to communication;• Insufficient course content;• Deficient or inappropriate teaching methods;• Lack of opportunity for engineering students to

practise communication skills [14].

Gender Equality

Gender distribution in the engineering professioncontinues to be dominated by males. This is evidencedin recent statistics in Australia where EngineersAustralia identified the proportion of female engineersto be below 10%, which has been identified as one ofthe lowest participation rates of women across allprofessions [15].

However, female participation is increasing at amuch greater rate when engineering is coupled withanother discipline as part of a double degree [16]. Thebenefits of a double degree is that the student’s skillsbase is augmented in other areas, including communi-cation, as students are introduced to other subjects intandem with the engineering degree. Further studywould need to be undertaken to cover gender partici-pation in double degrees, with the possibility thatfemales may graduate with a greater range skills thatwould be more in line with industry demands.

Graduate Feedback

A Melbourne report found that most graduates feltthat they had gained analytical and problem-solvingskills, subject-specific knowledge, research and im-proved decision-making abilities through their degrees.Yet despite this, much fewer felt that their graduatedegree provided:

• Oral communication skills;• Awareness of the social implications of their

discipline’s developments;• Management skills;• Understanding of other points of view and other

cultures;• Confidence and competence to work in inter-

national environments [16].

Notably, oral communication skills were consideredvery important in the graduates’ new work environ-ments, but this was in the face of the low level of oralcommunication skills imparted during their studies.However, neglecting learning opportunities can engen-der a shallow level of understanding in the graduate ifhe/she does not see the broader picture. Communica-tion skills teaching needs to go beyond the standardelements described above and incorporate reasoning

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skills in the communication being sent/received. Thiswill contribute to students’ life-long learning skills.

ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

The burgeoning importance placed on oral communi-cation skills by employers has been echoed inter-nationally for a decade or more and across disciplines.Knowledge and technical know-how are clearlyimportant, but these must be presented with an excel-lent standard of communication skills, particularly oral.Indeed, oral communication and presentation skills areconsidered one of the best career enhancers and tobe the single biggest factor in determining astudent’s career success or failure [5]. Communi-cation skills development has been demonstratedthrough the use of various methods, such as classdiscussions and others.

Experiential methods have generally yielded betterresults than purely didactic means. Examples includepresentations, peer review, role-play, video of studentpresentations with individual feedback and up-to-datetraining in key software used in presentations bygraduates in industry (eg PowerPoint, Word, Excel,etc) [4].

Engaging learners will help facilitate and stimulateeffective and purposeful learning by students. Inparticular, involving learners directly will engender astronger sense of responsibility in future graduates thatthey can take beyond the university and into the workarena. This is especially important when engaginglearners of English as a Second Language (ESL) andEnglish for Specific Purposes (ESP) as it involves newvocabulary.

LISTENING SKILLS

Communication involves receiving as well as sendingsignals. As such, listening skills are just as importantand verbal and written communication skillscompetences. It has been asserted that we spend 70%of our time awake in some mode of communication,which is comprised of the following proportions:

• 10% writing;• 15% reading;• 30% talking;• 45% listening [17].

Kline further affirmed that listening is crucial inthe workplace [17]. As such, it is vital across theprofessions, including engineering. Listening entailsthe reception and correct understanding of verbalcommunication and without effective listening skills,

the verbal message can be distorted or ignored, therebycausing the communication process to fail.

Work-based activities provide a direct context toan engineer’s training. Such listening skills exercisescan be integrated into the study environment and aidstudents in team-based assignments, an increasinglystaple task in engineering.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Written communication skills involve a more active,rather than passive, learning method. Writing canenhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills, aswell as serve to identify and confront personalmisconceptions [18]. Graduate engineers have reportedan increasing written communication workload overtime [4]. Writing in this instance refers to composingmaterial that is to be read and includes typing.

One Polish study found that engineering studentsdisplayed greater difficulties in written communica-tion than with oral; this was despite the studentshaving completed various written tasks before (eglaboratory reports, projects, etc) [19]. In this case,students required help in organising and structuringreports and arguments.

Ineffective and poor written communication inengineering workplaces were found to lead to mis-interpretation, inefficiency and time wastage, therebyadversely affecting problem resolution. Suchmiscommunication was then found to contribute tomistrust and aggression, as well as appear unprofes-sional and be unproductive [4]. This indicates that poorcommunicators will have trouble in the workplace,potentially contributing to problems rather thansolving them.

Written communication needs to be relevant,properly implemented and of a quality standard thatcan be benchmarked; it should also generate feed-back and provide accurate assessment, as well as makea positive and permanent impact on student learning.Examples of written communication include: engineer-ing reports, technical writing, essays, reflective journals,peer review, and mock and student conferencepapers.

A networked digital library of theses and disserta-tions was recently launched in Lithuania, which servesto enhance graduate education by allowing studentsto produce electronic documents, utilise digital librariesand understand issues in publishing. This initiativesignificantly increases the availability of students’research for scholars, preserving it electronically. Thisalso makes it possible for students to convey a richermessage through the use of multimedia and hyper-media technologies [20].

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VISUAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Visual forms, such as drawings, diagrams, real andsymbolic pictures, etc, are of tremendous importancein the process of knowledge acquisition in general,especially information processing, storage andretrieval. They may also have important implicationsfor the quality of visual communication within aspecific profession. It is clear that every engineeringprofession relies heavily on the use of visual forms asa means of non-verbal communication [21].

Visual literacy entails being able to perceive visualimages, such as icons, and understand them. Com-prehending visual images tends to be faster than forthe written counterpart. Their pictographic naturefacilitates communication between people ofdifferent linguistic and cultural (or multidisciplinary)backgrounds, thereby helping to avoid the cultural andeconomic hegemony of text language only [22]. Visualliteracy also means being able to generate images thatcan be used for communication, much like verbalcommunication entails being able to listen and speak.This impacts on the training of future design engineersin particular, as this increasingly globalised world seesmore and more products designed in one country,before being manufactured in another country anddistributed around the world.

Visual literacy can be enhanced through cognitiveactivities, including freehand and grid drawing, and isre-emerging as a valuable tool, particularly withregard to fundamentals in industrial design. Visualliteracy has been defined by Anderson as involvingthe ability to perceive image-based information,processing and understanding it, and having the skillto communicate to others through drawing andmodelling [23].

Students, in particular, as future designers, computerprofessionals and international collaborators, need toconsider how to read, write and learn icons, as well ashow to design new ones [24]. One pertinent exampleis electrical engineering. As a rapidly developingprofession, this discipline experiences a rapid influxof new ideas and concepts. This demands frommodern electrical engineers a variety of intellectualcompetences and aptitudes that enable them to perceiveunderstand and process complex information throughgraphical means. The process to develop suchcapabilities relies heavily on psychological researchconcerning image formation, cognition and many othersymbolic activities.

Leading bodies should act as the caretakers andgatekeepers of new symbols, particularly in engineering,where such a process should lead to more efficientand safer product/service development. The Web

offers an excellent opportunity for this to become mani-fest. However, problems can arise when bureaucratsand designers generate new symbols/icons withoutproper scientific investigation. Research into thepsychological and cognitive nature of symbols andicons, as well as other visual means, used currentlyappears to be limited, which may lead to confusion ormisunderstanding on the part of the person beingcommunicated to. Should miscommunication occur,then the prime objective of communication has failed,and the symbol or icon effectively becomes meaning-less or misleading.

INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMUNICATION

Communication between disciplines is an importantaspect that also needs to be considered. Increasingglobalisation is not confined to engineers only dealingwith engineers from other cultures; it also involveseffective communication across disciplines, such asengineering and management. Indeed, engineers alsoneed a certain level of basic management and businessskills – including entrepreneurship skills – so that theycan interact with, and operate, business ventures.

Entrepreneurship skills are being increasingly rec-ognised as important skills for engineering graduates.Communication skills are integral to developing suchskills, not least of which because the engineer-entrepreneur has to communicate his/her idea to othersfrom concept to development to implementation anduse. An example of the growing importance of thiseducation can be found 7th Framework Programme(FP7) of the European Union [25].

Interdisciplinary projects at the university levelpromote the development of teamworking skills instudents. The integration of such projects are partlydue to industry needs for engineers who have moreexpanded skills. This includes effective writtencommunication skills for technical reports and oralcommunication skills for presentations. It has beenrecently asserted and recognised that team andproject-based methodologies facilitate the reinforce-ment and expansion of key skills, including communi-cation [26]. As such, incorporating these type of tasksand their appropriate assessment are a vital compo-nent for current and future engineering curriculaaround the world.

The social sciences and humanities also have muchto offer in the education of future engineers. However,Sjursen stated that this risks overburdening an alreadypacked engineering curriculum and requires mutualmulticultural norms to negate any imperialist mentality.Sjursen goes on to recommend increased discursivealliances based on mutual respect between engineering

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and humanities educators so as to enrich understandingand that engineers must be humanists to exercisetheir vocation responsibility [27]. His example of amultidisciplinary class at the Brooklyn Polytechnicrevealed that diverse student teams were assigned,encouraging discourse between team members thatprovided them with new perspectives through collabo-ration; he also comments on how engineers need tobe able take into consideration the target audiencewhen delivering presentations and communicatinginformation [27].

Further research into interdisciplinary collaborationthat facilitate communication include the following:

• Identifying opportunities between engineering andother disciplines, as well as between departments;

• Devising teamed projects once collaborations havebeen identified;

• Obtaining student feedback;• Identifying how to reinforce the skills learned;• Fostering opportunities for staff from different

disciplines (potentially including other campusesor institutions) to communicate with each other.

ALTERNATIVE TEXTS IN ENGINEERINGEDUCATION

Alternative texts can help in foster communicationskills in engineering, as well as broaden students’imagination and understanding of concepts and disciplinesbeyond the current engineering domain. Such alternativetexts include science fiction and so-called techno-thrillers, which can present topics and ideas outsidethe current scope of science and engineering. Suchtexts do not undermine the core knowledge requiredof practicing engineers, as students can question theviability of technological aspects within the recognisedframework of fiction [28][29]. Ward has utilisedvarious non-traditional texts to impart to studentsknowledge of engineering management and safety,among other subjects [30][31].

Indeed, literature can help in the formation oflanguage literacy, whether it be EFL or ESL. Spanoshas stated that literary texts are … at the heart oflanguage [32]. Educators need to keep up-to-datewith such current and past popular texts, and treatthem as credible opportunities for the further explora-tion of engineering and science topics.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIONSKILLS

New communication technologies (such as the Internet,e-mail, cable TV, satellites, etc), the increasing speed

and reduced costs of international transport, migrationflows and the internationalisation of business haveresulted in an ever-increasing number of people –including engineers – engaged in interculturalcommunication. Representatives of politics, universitiesand private industry emphasise that internationalisingcurricula is not only important to remain competitivein a global world economy, but even indispensable in aworld that can only survive through global cooperation.A prerequisite for successful global cooperation is thedevelopment of intercultural competence. In additionto linguistic skills, intercultural competence integratesa wide range of human relations skills [33]. It is also akey determinant influencing intercultural negotiations[34]. It includes aspects such as implicit language andcross-cultural idiosyncrasies.

The personal culture of a receiver of communicationacts as a filter through which he/she interprets themessage. This filter may colour the message so muchso that the message received may not match themessage sent. The source of the communication willmost often be within the context of the sender. Indeed,culture has been identified as influencing every facetof the communication experience [35]. The commu-nication actually received is ultimately more importantthan what the communicator thought was sent [34].Notably, verbal skill acquisition with regard to languagemust be accompanied with non-verbal language skillswithin key cultural context(s) of the language studied.Indeed, learning the non-verbal signals of certaincultures will serve to make the individual a morepowerful communicator [36].

Senge’s concept of personal mastery offersimportant lessons on enhancing intercultural commu-nication skills [37]. Senge comments that people, whoare engaged in personal mastery, which is a life-longlearning process, seek to perceive reality accuratelyand are inquisitive, as well as feel connected to othersand to life itself [38]. Such a process will contribute tolearning about intercultural communication and thedissonance that may initially be generated. Further-more, Senge affirms that organisations learn throughindividuals; as such, individual learning concerningintercultural communication will ultimately contributeto organisational learning as well.

Potential further research areas that could beexplored include the following:

• Investigating unsuccessful and successfulinstances of intercultural communication, notablybetween speakers of the world’s dominant languages,with particular emphasis on engineering;

• Investigating differences between communicatorswho learn a language as a native tongue to those

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who learn the same language as a secondarylanguage;

• Exploring Senge’s concept of personal masteryand how it relates to engineering education forboth students and educators;

• Facilitating communication between students fromdifferent backgrounds and incorporating trainingso that students provide feedback to each otherwithout conflict;

• Expanding empirical research on non-visual cuesfor communication (eg common emotional facialreactions are recognised across cultures, includingthose isolated from the progressively globalisedworld [39]).

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ANDCOMMUNICATION SKILLS

The term emotional intelligence (later dubbed EQ)was first defined in 1990 by Salovey and Meyer [40].Their work has since been considerably expanded byGoleman, who identified that IQ is actually lessimportant for success in life and work than EQ – a setof skills that are not directly related to academicability [41][42]. Goleman identified five domains ofemotional intelligence, namely: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Theseareas can be incorporated into student education andpreparation for professional working life.

Given that communication is ranked as one of theprime characteristics required by employers in theengineering industry, EQ has an important role to playin strengthening communication skills when certain EQelements are enhanced in the student. Similarly, it hasbeen shown that incorporating a greater emphasis oncommunication activities served to enhance EQaspects, including more active participation, greaterself-control and awareness, heightened motivation anda better understanding of course material [43].

Intellect, measured by IQ, can fall short withoutEQ. A detailed report from a very smart engineer maybe close to undecipherable to the manager who makesthe final decisions. EQ contributes to identifying theneeds of others and to identifying those projects thatare more important to the task at hand. Intellectualaccomplishments and social skills can be enhancedthrough EQ. It has been increasingly reinforced thatEQ skills are the key to organisational success,particularly with regard to leadership and the coop-eration of staff. Indeed, it has been asserted that thosewho can’t manage their anger and who blow up atpeople make those who work for them very anx-ious, with aggressive, coercive and overly assertivebehaviour potentially providing, at best, only short-term

benefits; this directly contrasts with the long-term andprofitable returns of leaders with strong EQ skills [39].Goleman also states that leaders need to be collabo-rative and make decisions by listening to what othersthink [39]. This has clear implications for engineeringeducation; engendering a collaborative study environ-ment and advancing communication skills betweenstudents, as well as within and across teams, is vitalfor the advancement of engineering graduates in theworkplace. Experiential over didactic means arerecognised as providing continual learningopportunities in EQ; notably the area of the brainassociated with reasoning skills is the same for EQskills [39].

EQ skills contribute to the learning potential offoreign language acquisition, particularly as it relatesto acknowledging the legitimacy of other cultures asbeing equally valid. Ultimately, this deters ethno-centrism as foreign cultures related to that languagebecome more relevant.

EQ directly impacts on communicationcompetences by targeting particular elements thatimprove and enhance the process of communication.In America, the biggest complaint of workers is poorcommunication with management, sometimes evenpreventing employees doing their best work. Further,the key to empathy is listening well. Being in controlof personal emotions also makes the worker moreaccessible to other people, both inside and outside theworkplace [42].

Also, EQ skills improve teamworking skills, espe-cially with regard to communication between teammembers. Furthermore, the context of the receiver ofthe communication, whether it be written, non-verbalor oral, is taken into account through empathy andself-awareness, whether the context be cultural,educational, professional, social or otherwise.

Empathy

Various authors have cited empathy as a key skill foreffective leadership and management [44]. Managersand leaders who displayed empathy skills were ableto communicate honestly and proactively and had verygood listening skills; this permitted them to success-fully steer their organisations in times of difficulttransitions [44]. This provides a lesson for engineers,particularly those in management roles, that empathyskills are required in managing interpersonal relation-ships in the workplace with colleagues, clients,customers and other stakeholders.

Goleman also highlights the connection betweenfluency in non-verbal skills and empathy [41]. Non-verbal cues and awareness are an important component

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of communication that is not restricted by language.Goleman goes on to state that mastering this empathicability smooths the way for classroom effective-ness [41].

Evidence indicates that listening skills directlycontribute to empathic skills [45]. Listening to anotherperson’s state helps the listener become more awareof the other person’s needs and wants. This isespecially important for engineers engaged in thedesign and construction process.

Empathy certainly has a key role to play for achiev-ing effective intercultural communication. Former USPresident Carter once asserted that the disseminationof information between nations will lead to improvedunderstanding between different cultures. However,his view differed markedly from prior and later con-servative US governments that promoted the conceptof (mostly Soviet) disinformation and countering itwith what Snow calls US propaganda [11].

Further Research in EQ

It has been commented that despite various publica-tions on EQ, there is still a lack of consistent empiricalevidence and clear definition [46]. This shows thatfurther opportunities for research into EQ and its impacton communication skills acquisition, such as:

• Comparing the two main approaches identified byZweig and Gruman with regard to engineeringeducation;

• Undertaking further research on the impact of EQon communication skills, especially as they relateto engineers;

• Identifying how EQ skills can be fostered in engi-neering students and treated as credible by them;

• Identifying how EQ can be incorporated into theengineering curriculum;

• Fostering collaboration between engineering educa-tors and the two disciplines most associated withEQ research, namely management and psychology.

COMMUNICATION SKILLSDEVELOPMENT

A review of literature indicates that oral communica-tion has been identified as a learnable skill and thatexperiential methods have generally yielded betterresults than purely didactic means [5].

Presentations

The student’s knowledge base is augmented byallocating class projects for presentations. However,

students will not place any great emphasis onpresentation, and with it oral communication skills, ifpresentation and communication is not allocated a sig-nificant share for the exercise’s marks. Furthermore,as much as many students dislike giving presentations,it is better that they experience a dry run in theireducation than to be suddenly confronted in theworkplace. An Irish study found that 78% of sampledpracticing engineering graduates were required to giveoral presentations as part of their work, often on aregular basis [4]. Group projects and presentationsencourage and enhance the interpersonal skills of thestudent members and should be emphasised early inthe education curricula. This should be considered asteamwork is recognised as a core skill in industry, andcommunication with team members needs to beeffective.

Peer Review

Advantages of peer assessment include gettingstudents to think about the exercise more deeply, recog-nise others’ viewpoints and how to give constructivecriticism to peers. Disadvantages include potential bias,reluctance to give low marks for poor work from theirpeers and the need for clearer guidelines, althoughthese can be countered by utilising group-basedmarking, rather than individual, increasing markingguideline specificity, and limiting the impact of the peerreview exercise on the overall unit grade.

Role-Play

As knowledge of communication theory does not neces-sarily parallel skills in practice, it is important to immersestudents in similar work environments. Context-specificenactments, or role-play, can focus the student’s atten-tion on the differing types of communication required withvarious groups in potential future work situations.

Video

Video/audio grading has been shown to dramaticallyimprove presentation skills in students, with one primeexample given where student presentations werefilmed and then graded with dubbing from the teacherand a feedback sheet [5]. Importantly, this providesrelevant educational feedback to the student that isnot transitory as the student’s performance can berevisited.

Technology

Current technology should be utilised, or at least

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demonstrated to the students, so that they are awareof what is in use beyond the university walls. The Irishstudy found that practising engineering graduatessuggested that greater content for communicationcourses in undergraduate engineering cover basic MSOffice applications (number 3 on the list, directlyafter oral presentations and keyboard skills), as wellas other technical elements including Web pagedesign, e-mail and graphic design [4]. This gives aclear indication of technological elements that needto be incorporated into fundamental communicationtraining for engineering students in preparation forindustry.

Active Involvement of the Learner

Littlewood suggested several elements that involve thelearner to reinforce learning:

• The classroom must be conducive to communi-cation and learning;

• Learning has to be relevant to learners’ interestsand needs;

• Processes and products are important in theclassroom;

• Learners must engage in active roles in theclassroom [47].

Engaging learners facilitates and stimulates effectiveand purposeful learning by students. Involving learnersdirectly engenders a stronger sense of responsibilityin the future graduates that they can take beyond theuniversity and into the work arena. It is especiallyimportant to engage learners of English as a SecondLanguage (ESL) and English for Specific Purposes(ESP) as it involves new vocabulary.

Team-Teaching Collaborations

Team-teaching collaboration between a subject expertand an English language teacher can benefit learners.Overseas experience already indicates that thesynergy from team-teaching can significantly improvethe written and communication skills of most students,particularly oral presentations and report writing.

COMMUNICATION SKILLSASSESSMENT

Communication skills have been identified asmultidimensional and so it becomes crucial to classifyhow they will be assessed in the students’ work.Furthermore, the particular communication skillsrequired in a profession are usually poorly defined.

One study identified that communication skills assess-ment must:

• Be formal so that it occurs at specific times andcontributes to a student’s marks;

• Provide feedback to be educational;• Involve active participation by students in actual

communication situations;• Tackle student insights so that skills are identified

and developed [48].

Individual feedback is important but there needsto be prudent identification and clear operationaldefinitions of the rating dimensions so that the samestandards are applied to all students: consistency andaccuracy [48].

INTEGRATION

Stand-alone subjects need to clearly identify thebenefits and relevance of utilising the methods learnedso that they can be incorporated in the rest of thestudent’s experience. For example, integratingcompulsory communications education, whether rep-resented wholly or in part by one or more units, shouldbe part of an engineering degree. However, this is notenough; those skills need to be utilised across thedegree to demonstrate application and reinforcebehaviour. This may involve a restructuring of certaincomponents of subjects, even the curriculum.

To maintain relevance in today’s world, universitiesneed to reflect industry (and social) demands byimparting to graduates the required skills. Integratingthese skills within subject modules, especially in themarking structure, can thereby achieve the right skillscombination.

Potential future research in this regard includes thefollowing:

• Identifying how communication can be integratedinto engineering subjects;

• Identifying which subjects/courses/disciplines willbe easier for such integration;

• Discerning the proportion of assessment thatshould be allocated to communication skills (egpresentations, reports, etc);

• Identifying where initial training in communica-tion should occur (eg at the first year level);

• Ascertaining the number and range of institutionsthat currently engage in such integration inengineering curricula (and to what extent);

• Collaborating with other faculties (eg management)to identify how communication education is incorpo-rated into the curriculum in different subjects;

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• Fostering international communication betweenacademics to facilitate information exchange.

CONCLUSIONS

Language and communication skills are recognised asimportant elements in the education of the modernengineer. Those institutions that have already imple-mented multilingual and communication elements willbe at the forefront of providing the demands of indus-try and society.

The already crowded engineering curriculum stillneeds to incorporate additional competences, notablyworkplace and international/intercultural skills, especiallycommunication. Fitting in a new subject will, in mostcases, be difficult, but also less enduring with regardto the competence being taught. The integration ofcommunication skills, as can be found in variousbusiness curricula, will serve to reinforce such skillslike communication across different contexts, particularlyif students recognise this as an important componentif part of the overall grade is attributed to it.

The incorporation of language and communicationimprovement courses is an important element ofcontinuous learning, and will ultimately contribute tothe process of life-long learning. This should facilitateadvancements in engineering and, indeed, engineer-ing education through streamlining fundamentalcommunication skills.

Ideally, students’ skills in communication and EQ,which reinforces these competences, should be initiatedand inculcated at least at the secondary school level.However, if this is lacking in the national school curricu-lum, then it needs to be fostered at the tertiary level,particularly as such skills can still be acquired as adultsand will contribute to the life-long learning process.

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BIOGRAPHY

Marc Jorrit Riemer com-pleted a Bachelor of Artsin 1989 at Chisholm Instituteof Technology, Melbourne,Australia, and finished hisHonours year in Englishat Monash Universityin Melbourne, in 1990.He later, he completed aBachelor of Business

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(Business Administration) in 1995, also at MonashUniversity.

He has worked for several years in the privatesector, including as a Sales Administration Managerfor an Australasian wholesale electrical cable/wire/insulation distribution firm, and has been the adminis-trative officer at the UNESCO International Centrefor Engineering Education (UICEE), based in theFaculty of Engineering at Monash University, sinceDecember 1999.

He is also the Assistant Editor of the UICEE’sGlobal Journal of Engineering Education and theWorld Transactions on Engineering and Technology

Education, plus various other UICEE publications,including numerous conference proceedings.

With his qualifications, he seeks to build a bridgewith other disciplines in the development of engineeringeducation, particularly in the field of communicationand English skills, and has published various papers inthis field. His research interests include English andcommunication skills development and emotionalintelligence (EQ) issues in relation to the education ofengineers.

He is currently finalising his Masters, whichfocuses on English and communication skills forengineering students.