Analysis of Technical and Vocational Education Training Institute Learners’ English Language Skills Needs and the Instructional Modes Employed: Academic and Career Contexts

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the level of importance of the four English language macro skills needed by the undergraduate trainees at the Ethiopian Federal Technical and Vocational Education Training Institute. It also aimed to assess whether or not the instructional modes the trainers employed in teaching English suits the needs of trainees’ specific academic fields. The study employed descriptive design and two data collection tools, namely close-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interview. By using simple random sampling technique, 80 trainees among second and third year trainees were selected and four Communicative English Language Skills course teachers took part. Moreover, 30 former graduates and 30 major course trainers were included using simple random sampling technique. The data collected through the questionnaire was analyzed quantitatively using SPSS version 20 and qualitative data was analyzed using thematic approach. The study showed that receptive skills were slightly found to be more important than productive skills in academic contexts. Specifically, though all macro skills are important, reading becomes the most needed skill by the trainees in both academic and occupational contexts. The study also revealed that there is a mismatch among the prescribed instructional approach, trainees’ preferred learning modes and instructional modes employed by the English trainers in the Federal TVET Institute (FTI).