English Reading Skills of Automotive Engineers

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to examine and automotive engineers’ English reading skills as well as their reading skills problems. Research participants are 30 engineers who work in automotive industries. The research tools used for data collection are the questionnaires and interview. The findings of this study reveal that most of engineers who work in automotive industries obtain bachelor and master’s degree. They have more than 10 years working experiences. Some of them are the managers and the rest are assistant managers. The average of the participants’ English reading frequency is 6-10 times per day and the time length is about 15-20 minutes more each. The participants could access English reading through the following mediums, respectively: 1) emails 2) English instruction manuals and 3) internet information. The purposes of English reading are to 1) respond the participants’ other needs 2) increase their knowledge and 3) develop thinking. The problem in English reading is lack of understanding in reading within each paragraph.