Comparative assessment of senior year student’s confidence in discipline-specific English bridging course

Abstract

Senior year students of BSc (Hons) in Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health (EOSH) are trained to be future environmental and safety practitioners. However, they usually show relatively weak English ability when proceeding with their study in articulation degree programmes. Their ability to communicate fluently in English is pivotal to the advancement of their career, particularly for numerous international opportunities. All the EOSH students are Chinese and are expected to communicate in English at work, which indicates the importance of English proficiency. Therefore, a trial course perfectly tailored to meet the professional needs of senior year students with job-related examples was developed to improve their confidence level in communication, particularly the syntax, semantics and lexis of English language. The intended objectives were assessed by reviewing students’ performance and feedback. A pre-test and a post-test were conducted to ascertain the English language proficiencies of the students before and after the English bridging course respectively. Further, a pre-designed questionnaire survey was distributed to the senior year students before and after the English bridging course to collect information about their confidence level with four identified areas, including overall language proficiency, specific writing skills, specific listening skills and specific speaking skills. The results showed that the confidence level of senior year students was low before the English bridging course, while the confidence level was moderate after the English bridging course. There was also significant improvement in their confidence level after the English course for all the identified areas. The results suggest that an English bridging course should be conducted in English by native speakers and supplemented with Cantonese from non-native speakers to enhance the understanding and confidence level of the senior year students.