A need analysis for a communicative English mobile learning module for healthcare professionals
Nawal Mustafa1, Norazah Mohd Nordin2, Mohamed Amin Embi3.
The ability to communicate efficiently in English is a highly sought after
skill for healthcare professionals. Training for this skill is usually done in a
traditional classroom setting and requires time and a venue to be allocated
for the learners to participate in the training sessions. Working adults in
the healthcare industry find this a constraint due to their hectic scheduling
in the hospital. This study aims to identify the most suitable content for an
English language communication course that caters to the specific language
functions in the hospital, and to determine the feasibility of offering the
course on a mobile platform. A total of 38 questionnaires were administered
and a focus group discussion was conducted with 5 representatives of each
healthcare profession in a private hospital namely nurses, radiographers,
physiotherapists, pharmacists and hospital administrators. Descriptive
statistics were used to analyse the survey data and a thematic analysis was
performed to derive the themes emerging from the interview. The results
demonstrated that the adult learners were able to identify their preferred
content based on their own work experiences. Moreover, the preference of
using a mobile device for a language course appealed to them. According
to the results obtained from this needs analysis, it can be concluded that an
English language communication course conducted on a mobile learning
platform could be the answer to these working adults’ need for English
language training at the workplace.
Affiliation:
- KPJ Healthcare University College, Malaysia
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
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