Omani Graduates’ English-language Communication Skills in the Workforce: Employees’ Perspectives
Year: 2016
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This paper reports an exploratory investigation into the importance that employed Omani school and college graduates believe English-language communication skills have for their workplaces and the difficulties they face when using these skills in a work environment. The study involved the administration of a 4-part questionnaire to 321 participants who had graduated from Omani schools and colleges and who were employed in organizations around the country. Results indicate that participants identified almost all skills and skill areas featured in the questionnaire as either vital or essential for their jobs, even though they claimed that they largely lacked the English language skills, or linguistic competencies, necessary to successfully use these in work situations. They also reported struggling with dealing with customers and colleagues from different sociocultural backgrounds in English. Implications of these findings for education and employment in Oman are discussed.
Institution: Sultan Qaboos University
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2406879274