Needs analysis of classroom communication skills in English among UiTM Pahang lecturers / Kamisah Ariffin and Norzie Diana Baharum

The language policy in UiTM has clearly stipulated that English should be used as the medium of instruction in all subjects taught (Surat Pekeliling TNC[100-UiTM (TNC(A) 1/1, 7 Mei 2003). With the university's aim at becoming a world-class university in the year 2006, thus, producing world-class graduates, it is imperative for the lecturers to be highly competent in English to foster high quality teaching and learning. However, with the lecturers' unbalanced competence in English, plus the fact that most of them have not received any formal training in the science of teaching, this objective seems to be far-fetched. These result in the non-adherence of the policy mentioned above. Evidence has also pointed that not all lecturers are able to deliver their lectures in English confidently and effectively. This paper, thus, discusses the needs analysis of the lecturers for a course in enhancing their classroom communication skills in English. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among UiTM lecturers from various faculties and frequency counts and percentage were applied for the analysis. The results show that most lecturers feel that such course is imperative and would be helpful in increasing the quality of their teaching.