An interinstitutional multidisciplinary study of socio-communicative linguistic needs: towards a curricular proposal for agroindustrial engineering, 2014, CURVA-ELCE UNAH

Abstract

In the interest of responding to the demand of the Career of Engineering in Agribusiness of the Centro Universitario Regional del Valle de Aguan (CURVA) in the city of Olanchito, Honduras, a scientific study was conducted on a quantitative and qualititive based approach, at the Foreign Languages Department of the UNAH, late 2014; such research collected data from 4 appropriately selected populations, with the aim of designing and developing a curriculum for the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program of this regional center of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH).

This research project was aimed, first, to diagnosing and determining, through 5 instruments for data collection, the training needs in English (the needs of education in English) and then, after the analysis of these data, to establishing and technically validating a more intensive program that will respond to profession-orientated communicative and linguistic needs, subjective needs and intercultural needs of students and graduates of the Engineering in Agribusiness. The new program will eventually lead to acquire better language and communicative skills for optimal academic and professional achievement in this concrete area.

In short, this study determined the students´ insufficient level of English, the demand, motivation and actual study habits to learning the language, also the needed content, sociolinguistic competence, teaching strategies and assessment methodology. Moreover, the research determined how these students should read, listen, write and speak in English in a more profession-orientated way. In conclusion, the following question was answered: "Who needs what language, which operation to perform, according to what party, in what circumstances and for what purpose , with regard to which object , using what means and in what language forms? ", Cabré (2010).These components shaped the curriculum proposal that was formulated.

Consequently, the management of this new curriculum reform attempts to promote the socioeconomic development of the families in the community, and to respond to the demand of hiring skilled professionals because of the huge number of national and international companies in the area of Valle del Aguan, engaged in the field of agriculture and industry.