applying english language needs of students of computer engineering in developing a technical english course: a case study

Language-directed proficiency (besides content-directed proficiency) is an important aspect of technology and hence all english for science and technology (estp) courses. the present study aims to report on an evolving, synthetic needs-oriented course of technical english for students of computer engineering. for this purpose, 42 computer engineering students’ needs were explored at the beginning of the term using a survey, interviews, and in-class questioning and then their perceived needs were taken into account in developing the syllabus and weekly lesson plans of their technical english course. in addition, the students’ satisfaction with the fulfillment of their needs was measured at the end of the term using a survey. the results of the first phase of the study showed three sets of english needs for this group of engineering students, namely, getting familiar with different aspects of technical words (pronunciation, usage, collocations, meaning), developing skills for reading technical texts and general proficiency skills needed for successful communication in their technical and specialized networks. in addition, it was found that students’ satisfaction when the practices were based on their particular needs was significantly high. accordingly, this may have affected their overall achievement in the course too (measured according to their midterm and final exam scores).