Fostering 21st century skills: The impact of a communication skills class on National University of Singapore business students

Abstract

Given that the express goal of the Centre for English Language and Communication (CELC) is to prepare students for the communication needs of the National University of Singapore and the workplace, what exactly is the impact of CELC communication courses on our students today? One such course, namely ES2002, which is a business communication skills course designed for all first and second year students at NUS, includes the specific course outcome of equipping students with “both oral and written communication skills that demonstrate concepts of communication principles, interpersonal skills and intercultural skills” so as to be able to “communicate persuasively and effectively in business settings” (CELC ES2002, 2014). Since its inauguration there has yet to be a detailed study of the impact ES2002 has on its students. This paper reports on a recent impact study of one of the several professional communication skills courses that CELC offers to NUS students. The research questions were: What is the difference in knowledge, skills and attitudes between the overall control and experimental groups of students? And what is the difference in knowledge, skills and attitudes of the same students in the experimental group before and after ES2002? The quasi-experimental naturalistic study used a pre-post survey and control and experimental groups’ performances grades. Cronbach coefficients were used to establish reliability of the items and p value calculated for comparison of the mean for scores. The results revealed clear differences in the experimental group, showing a more positive self-perception with regard to the skills as well as higher grades.