ASSIGNMENT

__________________________________________________________________________________
OUMH2203

ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

JANUARY 2016 SEMESTER
__________________________________________________________________________________
INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS
1. This assignment contains only ONE (1) question that is set in the language of the printed module
for the course.
2. Answer in English.
3. Learners are to submit assignment only in MS-WORD format unless specified otherwise. Please
refrain from converting text/phrases into picture format such as .gif / .jpeg / print screen / etc.
4. Download the language version of the assignment template concerned from the myVLE for
preparation and submission of your assignment. Your assignment should be typed using 12 point
Times New Roman font and 1.5 line spacing.
5. Your assignment should be between 2000 to 2500 words excluding references. Do not copy the
assignment question and instructions to your answer. Only assignment answer developed within
the approximate word limit will be assessed. The number of words should be shown at the end of
your assignment.
6. You must submit your assignment ONLINE via the myVLE. Refer to the portal for instructions
on the procedures to submit your assignment online. You are advised to keep a copy of your
submitted assignment and proof of the submission for personal reference.
7. You can submit your assignment ONCE only in a SINGLE file.
8. Your assignment must be submitted between 7th 20th March 2016. Submission after 20th March
2016 will NOT be accepted.
9. Your assignment should be prepared individually. You should not copy another persons
assignment. You should also not plagiarise another persons work as your own.
10. Please take note that PENALTY will be imposed on late submission of assignment as specified in
the Registrars Office circular 6/2012 (Refer to Registrars Announcement in myVLE).
11. Please ensure that you keep the RECEIPT issued upon submisson of your assignment as proof of
submission. Your assignment is considered as NOT submitted if you fail to produce the
submission receipt in any dispute arises concerning assignment submission.

EVALUATION
This assignment accounts for 40% of the total marks for the course and shall be assessed
based on the Rubrics or Answer Scheme attached.
You would be given feedback on the assignment before the Final Semester Examination
commences.
PLAGIARISM: MARKS DEDUCTION
Warning: The submitted assignment will automatically undergo a similarity check. If
plagiarism is detected, marks would be deducted as follows:
No.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Similarity Percentage (%)

0 30
30.01 50
50.01 70
70.01 - 100

Marks Deduction (%)

0
120
5
122
10
124
100
126

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION
PURPOSE
The purpose of this assignment is to develop the learners ability to organize information and
write a good report.
QUESTION
Many Malaysians have difficulty communicating in English in the
workplace, especially when it comes to business-related matters.
Do you agree or disagree with the above statement? Does this apply to both oral and written
communication? What are some possible causes of this situation?
TASKS:
1.

Give reasons for the stand you take, and substantiate your responses with examples from
experiences in your workplace or at offices that you have visited.

2.

Your answers must be written in a report form maximum of 2000-2500 words, excluding title
page and appendices. Where relevant and appropriate, cite references to material that you
have read.
Note: In writing your report, try to be as detailed as you can, by giving in-depth descriptions
of the problems and recommendations.

[Total: 40 marks]

INTRODUCTION
The role of English language is important for communication between people especially in
higher institutions and businesses in Malaysia. Since English is the second language in
Malaysia, the concentration is on generating learners with the ability to communicate
effectively in different social and professional contexts. Currently in Malaysia,
communication skills play the fundamental role at workplace situations. The importance of
communication skills is significant in the management sector as stated in different job
advertisements. Wilson (2005) in his study found out that without efficient communication
skills in the management sector, a manager would never achieve success
One of the major problem among the Malaysian employers is many Malaysians have
difficulty communicating in English in the workplace, especially when it comes to businessrelated matters. This alarming problem applies to both oral and written communication. I am
of the same view when it comes this dilemma. Due to some prevailing causes, most
Malaysians are said to have difficulty communicating in English in their workplace, orally or
in written.
Oral or written?
According to Clagett (1997) in his research, in communication, the most important area is
oral communication skills in English language which all graduates should possess to
guarantee that they can function efficiently at the workplace.
In the context of workplace communication, having good communication skills is the way to
success and that good communication skills are seen as fundamental and an additional
advantage. In the perspective of Stivers (200), oral communication skill in English is an
important skill for managers to possess in order to carry out tasks efficiently at the workplace.
In a study by Kasim and Ali (2010), the significant role of oral communication skills in
multinational companies was reported by between 71 to 80 percent of the respondents. They
ranked the usage of oral communication skills in multinational companies as follows;
telephone conversation, informal work related discussions, meetings, giving oral
presentations, explaining and demonstrating to subordinates and other colleagues. Higher
Institutions in Malaysia are seeking to generate creative managers in different fields to meet
4

the needs of thriving resources in various situations. Rajadurai (2004) of the view that, one of
the key objectives in Malaysian higher institutions is to generate large number of graduates
with high ability to communicate effectively at the workplace. To achieve this goal, higher
institutions are attempting to design language programs with a focus on communicative
skills.
In recent years, the importance of equipping employers with good oral communication skills
in English has grown with the demanding nature of current workplace communication.
Stevens (2005) reported that employers believed that a low proficiency language skill was a
difficult factor for employment. In the workplace contexts, employees need oral
communication skills in English language to be successful in their jobs as they must carry out
different communicative tasks such as presentations, meetings and negotiations. According to
Blair and Jeanson (1995), a high proficiency in English language, especially in oral
communication skills would be valuable to solve different problems that take place in
workplace situations. Unfortunately, according to Smith (2000), despite the professional and
formal training given to students and graduates, there is still a skill gap in workplace
situations. It is mentioned that there are significant gaps between the expectations of
industries and what the universities offer to the students.
Oral communication among the Malaysians is a dominant problem among the employers.
They have difficulty to communicate in English language so they prefer use Bahasa Malaysia
as their mode of communication in the workplace. Sometimes they use broken English or
Manglish (Malaysian Englsih).
Apart from having problem in an oral communication, most Malaysian workers are fighting
to combat their written English communication problem. Although certain jobs require less
writing, such as those in retail and blue-collar manufacturing, it is nonetheless a skill that is
fundamental to the performance of most positions (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996). In a more
recent study, Hafizoah Kassim & Fatimah Ali (2010) found writing to be of
equal importance to speaking and was rated the most important skill by a
group of 65 engineers from 10 multinational chemical companies across
Malaysia.

In the information and Internet age, writing is becoming more important to entrepreneurs than
ever. As the world is increasingly globalized with the introduction and advance of the
Internet, companies depend on information to keep their competitive edge, which inevitably
requires the task of writing. In addition, the extensive use of computers and the Internet has
considerably raised the profile of writing (Siti Hamin Stapa & Ismie Roha Mohd Jais, (2005)
as employees not only have to write, but must do so effectively. Despite writing being an
important and frequent task, the writing problems are rather alarming. Many new hires suffer
from deficiencies in writing, and graduates are often unprepared technically to enter the work
world. Despite the many reference books available on the market to coach writers toward
better writing skills in Business English, mistakes in workplace writing texts are evident and
are continually recurring.
Malaysian studies have recorded similar findings with regard to such
writing deficiencies. Prospective young executives were found to face
many problems in accomplishing writing tasks, even when writing a
simple application letter (Tg Nor Rizan Tg Mohd Maasum et al., 2007). In a
2008 study, Siti Hamin Stapa et al. found that 118 out of 205 applicants
for a post in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ranged between the levels of
very weak and fair in their writing.
Surprisingly, the problem in written communication in English language does not only occur
among the Malaysians. Even the native speakers of English language do not escape this
problem. This disturbing writing dilemma includes even native writers of
English in the US (National Commission on Writing for Americas Families,
Schools, and Colleges, 2004). In a survey of human resource directors in
businesses across the US, many new hires were considered to be
incompetent

with

regard

to

successfully

handling

the

writing

responsibilities of their positions (Vaughn, 1985). Employers were reported

to have found that, one of the shortcomings shown among job applicants
was serious grammatical deficiencies as well as a lack of practical
business writing skills (Murphy & Jenks, 1982).

English is not only use as an official language in many countries, but has influence on many
different cultures in a large number of countries as it is the central language of
communication around the world (Susanna, 2007). The role of English language is important
for communication between people especially in higher institutions and businesses in
Malaysia. According to Clagett (1997), the most important area in communication is oral
communication skills in English language which all employees should acquire to make sure
that they can efficiently be useful at the workplace. In fact, English proficiency can be one of
the criteria for job promotions. According to Azian and Mun (2011), a survey conducted by
the Malaysian Employers Federation showed that 68% of employers named communication
skills as being the most needed skill in a job application. In Malaysia, employers expect not
only high levels of knowledge and technical skills, but also the ability to communicate, think,
and learn; ability to work in teams; and the persons attitude and adaptability.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
The main factor that causes the Malaysians to have experienced difficulty in communicating
in English is family background. Family influences has a major impact on the English
language proficiency among Malaysians. Thiyagarajah (2003) in his research found that
students in rural schools did not use English outside the classrooms and adopted very limited
learning strategies may be due to the unawareness of the learners different styles of learning.
Mother tongue such as Bahasa Melayu, Tamil or Chinese has a strong influence over the
learning of English. Martin (2005) in his research says interference of mother tongue
language system in some ways contributes to wrong use of English grammatical rules,
morphology and syntax. Speakers tend to refer to their first language system when writing in
English, use direct translation and constantly referred to English and bilingual dictionaries
meanings to comprehend English text (Nambiar, 2007).
English language is not the native language for Malaysians. Malaysia comprises of three
main races namely Malays, Chinese and Indians. They were raised using their mother tongue
languages and hardly have they communicated among themselves using English language at
school. Most Chinese and Indians would prefer communicating with Malays using Bahasa
Malaysia. It is right to say that Malaysians communicate with one another in the language in
which they are the most familiar that is Bahasa Malaysia. This is true especially in rural
7

areas. Vast discrepancy in the mastery of English language between urban and rural students
still be regarded as a main problem faced by the Ministry of Education eventhough they
government has introduced many plans and programs to close the gap.
Various short and long term measures have been introduced, such as the teaching of English
in Science and Mathematics in schools and making English courses core courses to be
attended and passed in higher education institutions, but despite this, employers have
continued to voice their disappointment concerning the English competency among their
employees especially the fresh graduates.
Mindset and attitude towards English language also pose a great factors to the problem. Lack
of confidence and negative mindset among the working Malaysians to communicate in
English is becoming a dominant situation. Some can be said well in written English but when
it comes to oral communication, they are lacking tremendously. They have spent eleven years
studying English language at primary and secondary school level but they cant even
pronounce an English word correctly. The lack of confidence arises as early as in school days.
They were reluctant to speak in English in front of their class and of course in the public. This
root problem continues when they were at the university. They tend to avoid speaking in
English language and usually prefer to use broken English. This leads them to have low
confidence in using the language resulting them not to get involved in the discussions during
conversation.
In the study by Shamsudin and Nesi (2006) revealed that people are often declined to use
English because they are embarrassed about their lack of fluency. They are unsure of meaning
of certain words which made them reluctant to respond or reply to the speakers. This is
because they always feel worry and shy to make grammatical mistakes and feel embarrass of
their lack of proficiency. They are afraid of the negative physical response, such as smirk that
they received from other more proficient speakers when the speak incorrectly, therefore they
will try to avoid communicating in English in front of others and not fully involved in
conversation.
Most of people experienced performance anxiety when they need to perform in front of a
crowd. When they have no confident they may hesitate or look uncomfortable and become
silent. In other words, anxious people feel a deep self-consciousness when asked to risk
8

revealing themselves by speaking the second language in the presence of other people. It can
be more stressful when they are expected to speak in the second language before the fluency
is achieved and this will downgrade their motivation to master English fluently. In Malaysia,
people who came from small towns or rural areas are usually grown up in environment where
English is not a crucial language in their daily life. They are not exposed to the language and
have limited opportunity to use English outside the classrooms. Consequently, those people
always express unwillingness and high anxiety to use English to communicate despite
acknowledging that English is important for their future. There is a lack of support to use
English in the home environment and the community itself in Malaysia where people
speaking in English is viewed as language for elite society and this make them feel not
confident when communicating in English.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the government through the Ministry of Education and Ministry of
Higher Education put greater emphasis on the importance of English language particularly
communication skills for the students to master. This is to ensure they will be ready when
they join their working environment. The Ministry of Education is recommended to introduce
a stand-alone syllabus or subject to cater for English communication, and the Ministry of
Higher Education is entrusted to enhance and improve the current English for Occupational
Purposes offered at the universities.
The government have an important role in transformation of higher education and
restructuring of the educational system in terms of its effectiveness in producing employable
graduates to meet the demand of the job market and to compete in the international
environment. (Uda Nagu, 2006). As a result, Malaysian institutions of higher learning are not
only need to intensify their efforts to enhance students English competency, but also to
ensure that graduates English competency are compatible with the needs of the industry by
developing plans to improve their programs and services, particularly with respect to the
balance between theory and practice and to match educational content to industrial needs and
English language competencies.
For the employers too, they must play an important role in ensuring their employees have
good communication skills in workplace. The employers must not only look at the excellent
9

academic results but also their proficiency in the second language among their employees.
They can enroll their employees for a course specially tailored to tackle their communication
skills especially the use of English language. It is a great move and drive if the employers
make it mandatory for their employees to achieve and score certain level of English language
proficiency in order for them to be promoted or appraised for better positions. For public
sector, the government must ensure the civil servants attend continuous communication
course and English language proficiency class for them to compete with current demands
globalization. The Public Service Department (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam) can conduct an
interview for their future staff in English in order to determine their level of English language
proficiency.
CONCLUSION
Most Malaysians especially fresh graduates have difficulty in communicating in English in
their workplace, especially when it comes to business-related matters. Their problem is
mainly because they are not able to cope with the rapid changes of the way our world is
connected and communicated now. The mastery of English language requires frequent and
prolonged practice and extra effort by the Malaysians. It is not enough to depend solely on
what they have learnt at school or universities. They must put extra mile in improving their
language proficiency either by lots of reading and speaking or by registering themselves to
any language courses offered by universities specially tailored for working people. OUM for
example has been offering lots of programs for the working executives who wants to further
their study and/or to put some value-added points on their career. Most importantly, they have
to apply English language in their daily lives by practicing speaking and writing the
language. A change of mindset and perception towards English language as a communication
language is crucial and becomes a priority if they want to master the language because the
world has changed rapidly and we must be ready to cope with the progress in order to
compete globally.
(2,144 word)

10

REFERENCE
Wilson, J. P. Human resource development: Learning and training for individuals and
organizations (2nd ed.). London: Kogan Page; 2005.
Clagett, C. A. . Largo,MD: Prince of Institutional Research and Analysis. Clark; 1997. [4]
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E. How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education
Mehta, D., Mehta, N. K. Communication Skills for Engineering Professionals; 2007,
Retrieved on 10th

November 2009 from http://www.adit.ac.in.

Stivers, G., J. Campbell, and Hermanson, H., An Assessment Program for Accounting:
Design,
Implementation, and Reflection, Issues in Accounting Education; 2000, 15, (4).
Kassim, H., and Ali, F. English communicative events and skills needed at the workplace:
feedback from the industry. English for Specific Purposes; 2010, 29, 168-182.
Rajadurai, J. The faces and facets of English in Malaysia. English Today; 2004, 20 (4), 54-58.

Azian, H., & Mun, L. Y. (2011, April 10). English work: top jobs only for those who know
the language well. The Star.
11

Clagett, A. (1997) Workforce needed by todays Employers. Market Analysis. Largo, MD:
Prince George Community College, Office of Institutional Research and Analysis.
Kassim, H., and Ali, F. English communicative events and skills needed at the workplace:
feedback from the industry. English for Specific Purposes; 2010, 29, 168-182.
Radha M. K. Nambiar. (2007) Enhancing academic literacy among tertiary learners: A
Malaysian experience. 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies.
Susanna, A. (2007). The weak language learner: a study of ways of taking weak language
learners into consideration in class. Sweden: Vaxjo University,School of Humanities English,
GIX115.
Stivers, G., J. Campbell, and Hermanson, H., An Assessment Program for Accounting:
Design, Implementation, and Reflection, Issues in Accounting Education; 2000, 15, (4).
Stevens, B. What Communication Skills Do Employers Want? Silicon Valley Recruiters
Respond. Journal of Employment Counseling; 2005, 42(1).

Blair, D., Jeanson, S. Workplace Oral Communication Curriculum. Winnipeg, MB:

Workplace Education Manitoba Steering Committee, Manitoba Department of Education and
Training, Continuing Education Division; 1995.
Smith, M. C. What will be the demands of literacy in the workplace in the next millennium?
Reading Research Quartery; 2000, 35(3) :378-380.

Uda Nagu, S. (2006, August 10) Final touches. (New Straits Times), p. 2. Retrieved 25
January, 2016 www.nst.com

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Assignment Rubrics
OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION
JANUARY 2016 SEMESTER

Criteria

Weight

INTRODUCTION

CONTENT

Missing
Item
0
No introduction.

The main idea is

not mentioned.

Low

Fair

Above average

Excellent

1
There is no clear
introduction to the
main topic or structure
of the paper.

2
The introduction
states the main topic,
but does not
adequately preview
the structure of the
paper nor is it
particularly inviting to
the reader.
The main idea is
somewhat clear, but
there is a need for
more supporting
information.

3
The introduction
clearly states the
main topic and
previews the
structure of the
paper, but is not
particularly inviting
to the reader.
The main idea is
clear but the
supporting
information is
general.

4
The introduction is
inviting, states the
main topic and
previews the
structure of the
paper.

The main idea is not

clear. There is a
seemingly random
collection of
information.

There is one clear,

well-focused topic.
Main idea stands out
and is supported by
detailed information.

Max
Marks
8

16

Criteria
CONCLUSION

ORGANISATION

LANGUAGE/
GRAMMAR

Weight
1.5

1.5

Missing
Item
0
No conclusion.

Low

Fair

Above average

Excellent

1
There is no clear
conclusion, the paper
just ends.

2
The conclusion is
recognizable, but does
not tie up several
loose ends.

3
The conclusion is
recognizable and
ties up almost all the
loose ends.

4
The conclusion is
strong and leaves the
reader with a feeling
that they understand
what the writer is
"getting at."

No details.

Many details are not

in a logical or
expected order. There
is little sense that the
writing is organised.

Some details are not

in a logical or
expected order, and
this distracts the
reader.

Details are placed in

a logical order, but
the way in which
they are presented/
introduced
sometimes makes
the writing less
interesting.

Details are placed in

a logical order and
the way they are
presented effectively
keeps the interest of
the reader.

Writer makes
more than 5
errors in grammar
or spelling that
distracts the
reader from the
content.

Writer makes more

than 4 errors in
grammar or spelling
that distract the reader
from the content.

Writer makes 3-4

errors in grammar or
spelling that distract
the reader from the
content.

Writer makes 1-2

errors in grammar or
spelling that distract
the reader from the
content.

Writer makes no
errors in grammar or
spelling that
distracts the reader
from the content.

TOTAL MARKS

40

Max
Marks
6