Development of a List of Can-do Statements for Global Communication in Engineering and its Applications

Global communication skills are essential so that engineers can function successfully in global settings. To properly evaluate the outcomes of global communication education for engineering students, we need a measurement tool that incorporates the global communication elements of engineers' professional practice. In this study, the authors developed a list of Can-do statements which measures foreign language communication competency in engineering settings. In the development, the authors adopted the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR), and then used the English scores of more than 1800 working engineers and university students to validate the level separation of the Can-do list, which has ten competency levels (from CEFR A1 to C2 with sub-scales) for reception, production, and interaction activities in communication. With the Can-do list, we surveyed 100 personnel managers at Japanese global engineering companies and identified the minimum communication competency levels from engineers. This list has also been used to compare the communication competency of students who participated in global PBL programs with students from different countries. The analysis of the student assessment outcomes suggests that Japanese engineering students need more opportunities or training to enhance their self-evaluations of global communication competency.