Topic: Language Skills in on-the-Job Engineering

Question: Which are more valuable to an engineering graduate? Reading and writing skills or listening/speaking skills?

Answer: “In a survey of representatives from 100 companies, found that listening/speaking skills were rated more important for on-the-job performance of practicing engineers than reading/writing skills.” CL Selfe. 1983. 419.

Comment: I can understand the listening skills, and since engineering graduates have been trained in reading engineering textbooks, I would assume that they have the ability to read. But so far as writing is concerned, especially in formal presentations, organization in writing is an important preparation for speaking. And what about those interminable reports? I guess it is all in how one defines the terms listening, speaking, reading and writing. RayS.

Title: “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” RK Durst and JD Marshall. Research in the Teaching of English (December 1984), 417-438.