Issues in Language Training: an Australian Study of the Language Needs of Engineers

SOMMAIRE

Combined courses in engineering and languages were recently established at Monash University, Australia. Academics, translators, and practising engineers were consulted about the nature of the courses, the requirements of industry, and likely demand for graduates. Their attitudes and opinions are discussed below with resulting questions concerning policy. Topics raised included: the place of English as a lingua franca; the relative importance to Australia of Asian and European languages; the importance of a knowledge of the culture of other countries; whether it is necessary (or possible usefully) to study technical vocabulary at undergraduate level; and whether language teaching should occur before or after entering practice.

Des cours de génie et de langues combinés ont ete recemment crees a l'université de Monash, en Australie. Une enquéte a été menée auprès d'universitaires, traducteurs, et ingénieurs exercants, sur I'essence de ces cours, les exigences de I'industrie et la demande probable de licenciés. Leurs positions et opinions sont examinées ci-dessous ainsi que les questions soulevées quant a la ligne d'action. Les traits suivants sont mis en question: la position de I'anglais en tant que lingua franca'; l'importance relative des langues asiatiques et européennespour l'Australie; l'importance de la connaissance d'autres cultures; la nécessité (et peut-etre le success) d'apprendre le vocabulaire technique avant la licence; l'enseignment de la langue avant ou aprés l'entree en exercice.     

INCREASING TEST RELIABILITY THROUGH SELF-SCORING PROCEDURES

Fifty-four graduate students were administered a 66 item four-response multiple choice test on self-scoring tests forms. Each test was scored by the traditional right-wrong method of scoring tests and was also scored by the self-scoring method of counting the number of responses necessary to respond to all items correctly. Results indicate that scoring tests by the self-scoring method can result in a higher split half reliability than tests scored by the traditional right-wrong method.