Improving Communication Skills of Construction Students by Linking English Courses in an Integrated First-Year Curriculum

This paper presents the findings from a study of written communication skill development comparing first-year learning community students in linked-English classes to their peers who were not in linked-English classes. The findings suggest that written communication skill assessments were better in students participating in linked-English courses, but written communication skill development over the course of a semester did not improve as fast among students in linked-English classes compared to those not in linked English classes. The paper discusses possible reasons for the differences found. The benefits of students taking English classes with their peers from the same major include integration of departmental course offerings with English assignments centered on a common theme of interest to the students (e.g. “construction”) as well as increased student performance as defined by independently scored written communication assignments. However, the lack of disciplinary diversity in the linked English classes may not promote intellectual development and the corresponding improvement in critical analysis skills over the course of an academic program The implications of slower communication skill development in students participating in linked-English classes suggest the need for curricular innovations and increased collaboration among related disciplines such as those that would naturally occur in the construction industry such as design, engineering, finance, and construction.

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