Abstract
Whilst English remains the language of global commerce, the role and outcomes of English language provision in English-medium higher education institutions in the Arab Gulf countries remains central to any discussion on graduate profile and the employability of graduates in the global marketplace. This paper describes the findings of research into English workplace communication skills amongst a sample of Bahrain employers and students at Bahrain Polytechnic. Using a mixed methods approach, data was gathered through telephone interviews, student workplace simulations and employer focus groups. Findings show that generic employability skills, channelled through English as a second or additional language, are highly valued by Bahrain’s employers. In particular, students need to market themselves as confident, knowledgeable individuals during the recruitment process and after recruitment, continuing to operate successfully in the sociolinguistic culture of their company. Consequently, it is concluded that English language training in higher education programmes needs to move from purely linguistic and degree-related content areas to a broader remit of English for communication purposes that covers both specialised discourse fields and broader generic employability skills and competencies.
Citation
Thomas, A., Piquette, C. and McMaster, D. (2016), "English communication skills for employability: the perspectives of employers in Bahrain", Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 36-52. https://doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v13.n1.227
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016 Andrew Thomas, Casey Piquette and David McMaster
License
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Acknowledgements
Publisher's note: The Publisher would like to inform the reader that the article “English communication skills for employability: the perspectives of employers in Bahrain” has changed pagination. Previous pagination was pp. 1-17. The updated pagination for the article is now pp. 36-52. The Publisher apologises for any inconvenience caused.