Presentation Abstract at JALT2004 Nara

English after University

Hajime Umeda
Suzuka International University

　The purpose of this research is two fold; (1) to determine the extent to which university graduates use English in their workplaces, and (2) if so, in what manner they do so.
　Japanese university students are frequently told to acquire English skills before they go job-hunting. As a matter of course, the human resource staff of many companies expects the prospective employees to have some knowledge of English. This trend, however, is not applicable to all of Japanese university students who are about to be employed.
　In this research, the presenter would like to investigate if the university graduates use English while working, and if so, to what extent. The data will be drawn from a questionnaire to be sent to about 1,000 Suzuka International University alumni. They will be asked (1) if they have opportunities to use English at work, (2) if so, on what occasions they do so, (3) the frequency of English use, (4) which of the four skills they use the most, and (5) if they believe that the English education they received from junior high school through university has been useful in the workplace.
　At present, the presenter predicts that the results of the questionnaire will show that use of English in the workplace is not widespread. Using the results, the presenter hopes to suggest that curricular needs of those students who will use English in the workplace and of those who do not should be given greater consideration.

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