Beyond the Technical Barriers: Oral Communication Barriers of Engineering Students of Pakistan for Workplace Environment: Preliminary Results

Abstract

Engineering organizations demand soft skills of engineers to augment its business worldwide. Technical skills alone are never sufficient for engineers to perform workplace jobs efficiently in this age of industrial and commercial advancement. This study aims to investigate oral communication barriers of engineering students that can potentially influence their job performance at workplace. One hundred (100) engineering students were surveyed from an engineering university of Pakistan. Since respondents were drawn as only final year engineering students thus, purposive sampling method was employed. Data were analyzed statistically using computer based software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The gathered information was coded and percentages were determined for oral communication barrier variables included in the questionnaire. The results of the study indicated that poor English language, fear and anxiety, lack of motivation and overcrowded classroom were oral communication barriers of engineering students. The results are in line with other communication studies on oral communication barriers of engineering students available in literature review. These findings would assist engineering universities of Pakistan to prepare better engineers for the workplace.

Keywords: Oral Communication Barriers, Engineering Students, Workplace Environment