Investigating the english language proficiency and communication skills of first-year education students at the khomasdal campus of the university of Namibia

Abstract

This research investigates proficiency in English and communication skills among first-year education students at the Khomasdal Campus of the University of Namibia. Drawing on the Interactionist Theory and the Constructivist Theory, the study prospects and analyses the relative causes and effects of any discrepancy found as well as the perceptions of specific stakeholders. The study draws from the expressed sentiment of first-year English lecturers that their students lack sufficient communication skills. This deficiency is attributed to poor English proficiency. English is a second language for many students at the University of Namibia. The Namibian Constitution stipulates that the language policy must promote the use of English in schools. Even though English has been the primary language of instruction in schools and institutions of higher learning for more than three decades, some students' proficiency in the language is still relatively low, especially in terms of their ability to communicate in writing and speaking. Understanding the English proficiency of the first-year students and their communication skills has enabled to develop a strategy targeting the improvement of the communication skills of these students. Twenty-six respondents took part in the research, including four key informants, two lecturers and twenty students. Students were deliberately selected for the questionnaire to illustrate the difficulties they face when writing and speaking English as a second language. The lecturers were also deliberately selected because they were the ones teaching these students. This study used qualitative research perspectives to gather information through methods such as observation, interviews, open-response questionnaire items and document analysis. The data were gathered in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of the administration of an assignment and the collection of twenty assignment scripts as the first set of data. Phase 2 consisted of the second set of data that was gathered through unstructured interviews, class observations and a questionnaire. The two sets of data were then integrated into one dataset for qualitative analysis. The findings of the study are valuable for understanding the students’ English proficiency and communication skills. The findings can also be useful to develop a model characterizing the English proficiency and communication skills of first-year students. Communication skills are essential among university students.