Improving Communication Skills of Undergraduate Engineering Students: A Special Emphasis on Reading Skills

Abstract

This paper deals with the needs for improving reading skills among the second year undergraduate Engineering students of Velalar College of Engineering and Technology, Erode, South India. The paper explored the problems faced by the students who come from rural background and studied schooling in their mother tongue while reading text books for their engineering programme.

            The analysis was made based on basic fundamental components of seeking language learning. A target group of sixty students of Mechanical Engineering in the Third semester is considered for the analysis. A questionnaire survey type was given to them for this study. The outcome reveals that the reading skill is the major skill set which primarily helps them for understanding their academics through core engineering concepts. It also revealed majority of them facing difficulty while using English for academic purpose. Hence, it is suggested an implemented a course on ‘Effective English for Mechanical Engineers’ which is tailor-made for satisfying the needs of second year undergraduate students to improve their reading skills and sub skills for reading their core and specialized subjects.