A STUDY ON ALBANIAN STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE ESP COURSES CONTRIBUTION TO THEIR ENGINEERING/ARCHITECTURE KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION AND COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE

Abstract

Currently, soft skills mainly communication skills of engineering/architecture graduates have been considered as essential as their hard skills for the 21^st century competitive global market. Given the cramped curricula of engineering/architecture programs, the research examines the beneficial impact that ESP undergraduate courses have on the tailored communication of engineering/architecture students at a case study analysis - EPOKA University in Tirana, Albania. In order to obtain feedback and unbiased perceptions on the tangible improvement in advanced English communication skills and disciplinary content knowledge acquisition, a questionnaire survey  was conducted with the undergraduate students of EPOKA University at the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering upon successful completion  of the two mandatory ESP courses at undergraduate level. A mixed method was utilized to collect the statistical data from questionnaires and the semi-structured interviews with students of engineering majors and architecture at the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering of EPOKA University who took English for Academic Purposes and Engineering English during 2018-2020 academic years. Research findings revealed the growing appreciation and high interest that students are placing into ESP courses as significant contributors to knowledge acquisition and soft skill betterment alongside the classic disciplinary courses of their disciplines.

Key words; engineering/architecture major, ESP courses, needs analysis survey, EPOKA University