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More so, the employers also observe the thinking and ability of the employees solve and handle problems in group in critical situations and fund productive ideas that would be benefiting the industries. Workers of today should feel cool and relaxed when under pressure and adapt technology in a quick pace [10]. Many employers believe the relevance of “fitting in”. Day, a Penn Stage psychologist, stated that there are practical implications for fitting in: “If there are mismatches, productivity suffers.” To solve an existing problem, all members in a group should work effectively in the sol ution using their interpersonal communication skills to finish the task. Applicants and candidates for whatever positions they apply for will have to undergo varied tests and exams before they are employed [11, 12]. Simple conversational skills and abilit y to interview to get information are necessary skills too in the workplace. Workers should deliver and receive messages exactly and accurately.

Misinformation of any matter would be affecting the productivity and credibility of the industry. The e mergence of innovative communication technologies, expanded team -based management and an increasingly diverse workforce has caused business and industry employers Research and Publication Office 7 to seek for multiple -skilled knowledge workers who need to deal with words, figures and data. Because of these changes, the employers expect oral communication skills among the workers.

In this paper, the term oral communications refers to communicative events engaged in by business, engineering and computer student trainees in the workplace, suc h as telephone conversations, meetings, formal discussions, presentations, social interactions and interviews . The term skills of oral communication refers to the entire knowledge and ability that enables one to do something well and includes the following skills: listening skills, conversational skills, giving feedback, meeting skills, presentation skills, handling customer complaints, conflict resolution skills, negotiation skills, taking customers orders, training skills, interviewing skills, persuading skills and promoting ones’ own strengths and abilities [13]. In a survey conducted by Maes et.al (1997), oral communication skills have been identified as the most important skills in the workplace [1 4]. Their study conducted in the Greater Gulf Coast area, including the coastal areas of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, revealed that oral communication in English is the most important skill demanded by employers when it comes to recruiting new staff. In addition to being one of the most essential skills for employment, oral communication skills are vital to job success and promotion [15 , 16 ]. Huckins & Olsen (1984) are of the view that employees who do not demonstrate good oral communication skills are rarely given managerial respons ibility. Effective oral communication skills are vital to people who hold managerial positions because managers need to explain, listen to, persuade, guide, coach, encourage, facilitate and direct group members to meet the goals of individuals and their or ganizations [17 ]. Effective oral communication enables individuals to be Research and Publication Office 8 understood and helps create understanding between people and fosters good relationship among workers in any business context [18 ]. Chapter 3 3. Research Methodology Research Design This is a quant itative research based from English Language Oral Communication needs of student trainees from the ir perspective . Respondents of the Study The respondents of the study were the student trainees of AMA In ternational University Bahrain from the College of Engineering, College of Computer Studies, and College of Administrative and Financial Sciences, who had recently undergone their practical training at different multinational and local companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Research Instr ument This study adopt ed the questionnaire used by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in their study of the student trainees on the oral communication skills in English which focused on matching the skills developed at the university with the need and demand of the Industry. A. “Impor tance of the oral communication skills at the workplace ” Research and Publication Office 9 Indicators Very Important Important Somewhat Important Not Important “Importance of the oral communication skills at the workplace in general perspective. ” “Importance of confidence during communications and presentations ” “Importance of oral communication to recruitment ” “Importance of oral communication to job success ” “Importance of oral communication to professional development ” B. “Importance of different activities in English language ” Indicators Very Important Important Somewhat Important Not Important “Discussing projects, proposalsI plans, designs, etc ” “Reporting problems ” “Making formal oral presentations on projects, proposals, plansI designs, etc ” “Making and arguing for an issue before superiors or colleagues ” “Giving face -to-face instructions to subordinates ” Research and Publication Office 10 “Speaking on the telephone with colleagues about job related matters ” “Speaking on the telephone with clients about job related matters ” “Establishing social relationships with colleagues (including subordinates and superior) ” “Establishing social relationships with clients ” “Providing training through discussions, workshops, etc ” C. “Problems Encountered in Oral Communication Skills ” Indicators Always Frequently Sometimes Seldom Never “Arguing persuasively ” “Explaining logically ” “Speaking fluently ” “Supporting opinions ” “Asking for clarifications ” “Giving clarifications ” “Paraphrasing ” “Facilitating discussions/negotiations ” “Organizing ideas during oral presentations ” “Lack of confidence ” a. “Overall Emphasis on Oral Communication Skills for Future Trainees ” Indicators Strong Minor “Oral presentation skills ” “Discussion skills ” “Negotiation skills ” Research and Publication Office 11 “Briefing skills ” “Meetings ” “Telephone skills ” “Conversation skills ” “Pronunciations ” “Oral presentation ” “Confidence ” Gathering Procedure The questionnaire was distributed to the student trainees of AMA International Universit y Bahrain from the College of Engineering, College of Computer Studies, and College of Administrative and Financial Sciences, who had recently undergone their practical training at different multinational an d local companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Statistical Treatment of Data The questionnaire was analyzed quantitatively for frequency scores and percentages to obtain the information on the English Language Oral Communication needs of student trainees from their perspective. Chapter 4 4. Results and Discussions 1. To identify the importance of the communications skills at the workplace. Research and Publication Office 12 Fig. 1 Figure 1 presents the graph on the Importance of Oral Communication Skills at the workplace. It could be seen from th e graph that majority of the CCS student trainees considered English oral communication skills at the workplace very important. Of the very important rating, the students ranked the importance of oral communication to professional development first and the importance of oral communication to recruitment last. In the same manner, the students also considered importance of oral communication to recruitment only important. This simply implies 31 6 12 2 8 2 32 5 11 3 8 2 28 9 11 3 7 3 30 7 10 4 8 2 26 11 10 4 9 1 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Very Important Important Very Important Important Very Important Important CAFS COE CCS Importance of oral communication to professional development Importance of oral communication to job success Importance of oral communication to recruitment Importance of confidence during communications and presentations Importance of the oral communication skills at the workplace in general perspective Importance of the Oral Communication Skills at the Workplace Research and Publication Office 13 that the use of oral communication to professional development was m ore important and more needed than the other indicators mentioned in Figure 1. On the other hand, viewing the same Figure 1, the majority of the COE student trainees similarly perceived the English oral communication skills at the workplace very important. But unlike the CCS, the COE students perceived the importance of the oral communication skills at the workplace in general perspective in rank one (1) while indicators 1 and 2 the last rank.

Indicators 1 and 2 were also considered only important. This imp lies that oral communication at the workplace has equal importance on the utilization and the development of all the indicators given in Figure 1. Obviously, the graph clearly shows that majority of the CAFS student trainees had also shown consistent respo nse on the importance of oral communication skills at the workplace as the other two colleges, that is, very important. The CAFS students ranked the importance of confidence during communications and presentations first and the importance of oral communica tion to professional development last. To some, importance of communication to professional development was considered only important. This could imply that confidence during communications and presentations is the most important indicator in creating good impression and trust from among the fellow workers at workplace. 2. To determine the i mportance of different activities in English language . Research and Publication Office 14 Fig. 2 (CAFS student trainees) Figure 2 presents the graph of the CAFS ’ perception on the Importance of Different Activities in English Language. The graph shows that, of the ten (10) indicators given, 1 and 5 got 23 students of CAFS who considered the indicators very important whi le 21 students did consider also indicators 2 and 10 very important. Of the same indicators, the 8th was considered by most of the students (23) to only important and the 9th indicator to only somewhat important for some 12 students. Generally, the figures in the graph reveal that each respondent has his/her own choice of which is very important, important and somewhat important indicators. This implies that the differences of choice among the respondents are clear manifestations of diversity and probable conflicts to emerge among employees in the workplace. The employer should design a program or an activity that could possibly resolve the would be existing issue on individu al differences. Importance of Different Activities in English Language 0 5 10 15 20 25 Discussing projects, proposals, Reporting problems Making formal oral presentations Making and arguing for an issue before Giving face-to- face instructions to Speaking on the telephone with Speaking on the telephone with clients on Establishing social relationships Establishing social relationships Providing training through Very Im portant Im portant Som ewhat Im portant Research and Publication Office 15 Fig. 3 (COE student trainees) Figure 3 presents the graph of the COE’s perception on the Importance of Different Activities in English Language. It could be glean ed from the graph that a number of engineering students seem to have similar choices of indicators which they considered very important. They were 1, 2 and 3 indicators. Except for one, the 10 th indicator was considered to have received the most number of engineering students who evaluated it very important but also got few (3) who considered it only somewhat important. For half of the students, indicator 9, establishing social relationship with clients, is something they considered only important, though 6 students said that speaking on the telephone with colleagues about job related matters is also important. The result implies that providing trainings through discussions and workshops; discussing projects, proposals, plans, designs, etc; reporting problem s; and making formal oral presentations on projects, proposals, Importance of Different Activities in English Language 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Discussing projects, proposals, Reporting problems Making formal oral presentations Making and arguing for an issue before Giving face-to- face instructions to Speaking on the telephone with Speaking on the telephone with clients on Establishing social relationships Establishing social relationships Providing training through Very Im portant Im portant Som ewhat Im portant Research and Publication Office 16 plans, designs and more are the activities the respondents believed to be very important and effective in the English language considering the nature of the people in the workplace. Fig. 4 (CCS student trainees) Figure 4 presents the graph of the CCS’ perception on the Importance of Different Activities in English Language. The graph vividly show that majority o f the computer science students perceived the second indicator, reporting problems, to be very important, while a group of 6 students have indicators first, fourth and tenth the ones very important and another group of 5 who said 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th an d 9th to be very important indicators. Five (5) out of ten (10) students on the other hand had perceived 3rd, 6 th, 7 th, 8 th and 9th indicators as only important and only one (1) considered indicators 4th and 5th to be somewhat important. This is a clear in dication that all Importance of Different Activities in English Language 0 2 4 6 8 10 Discussing projects, proposals, Reporting problems Making formal oral presentations Making and arguing for an issue before Giving face-to- face instructions to Speaking on the telephone with Speaking on the telephone with clients on Establishing social relationships Establishing social relationships Providing training through Very Im portant Im portant Som ewhat Im portant Research and Publication Office 17 problems in the workplace should immediately be settled by reporting them upon their existence.

The closeness of the difference in the number of students who perceived the indicators very important also implies that all the indicators see m to have equal importance and must be attended to by the employer. 3. To determine the problems encountered during the practical training Table 1. Problems Encountered in Oral Communication Skills Indicators CAFS (37) COE (14) CCS (10) A % F % S % A % F % S % A % F % S % Arguing persuasively 54.1 29.7 16.2 21.4 42.9 35.7 40 30 30 Explaining logically 56.8 32.4 10.8 14.3 57.1 28.6 30 50 20 Speaking fluently 70.3 24.3 5.4 21.4 50.0 28.6 10 70 20 Supporting opinions 45.9 48.6 5.4 21.4 35.7 42.9 40 50 10 Asking for clarifications 54.1 27.0 18.9 21.4 42.9 35.7 40 30 30 Giving clarifications 48.6 24.3 27.0 28.6 28.6 42.9 20 70 10 Paraphrasing 45.9 32.4 21.6 28.6 28.6 42.9 20 30 50 Facilitating discussions/negotiations 54.1 29.7 16.2 14.3 42.9 42.9 10 40 50 Organizing ideas during oral presentations 51.4 21.6 27.0 21.4 35.7 42.9 30 40 30 Lack of confidence 48.6 27.0 24.3 57.1 21.4 21.4 80 10 10 Legend: A – always F – frequently S – sometimes Table 1 presents the Problems Encountered in Oral Communication Skills. The table shows the 10 indicators considered to be the problems encountered in oral communication skills while the students are in the practical training. It could be observed that the 3rd indicator, speaking fluently was always the problem encountered in the workplace as perceived by the CAFS students while frequently they encounter indicator 4 to be the problem and sometimes the 6th and 9th indicators were also considered the problems encountered by the respondents. For the perception of the CAFS, this is an implication that in the workplace, hardly Research and Publication Office 18 they had workers who really spoke English fluently though supporting opinions, giving clarifications and org anizing ideas during presentations were frequently and sometimes observed. From the same table 1, the COE students perceived the 10 th indicator, lack of confidence, as always seen to be the problem and with the highest percentage rating of 57.1. on the ot her hand, they observed that explaining logically, with the same percentage rating of 57.1, as frequently the problem also encountered in the workplace. Sometimes, the students of COE had also considered indicators 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 to be the problems they also encountered while in the training. This is an indication that the workers most of the time or always did not have confidence, a factor that would affect their job and the production of the company. This factor could also be associated to the failure of getting instructions if frequently things cannot be explained logically. Similar to the perception of the COE, the students of CCS gave a percentage rating 80 to the 10 th indicator, lack of confidence, which seemed to be always the problem encountered by the employees at the workplace while the students considered speaking fluently, the 3 rd indicator, as only frequently to be the problem in the practicum training. It only implies that all the respondents had common problems and common needs in the workp lace and while in the training. Generally, all the indicators mentioned under the problems encountered were experienced and observed by every student trainee while in the workplace. Their responses only differ in how each and every one of them perceived a nd experienced things in daily varied situations. Research and Publication Office 19 4. To investigate the overall emphasis on oral communication skills that should be given in future English language courses for engineering, computer studies and business sectors. Table 2. Overall Emphasis on Oral Communication Skills for Future Trainees Indicators CAFS (37) COE (14) CCS (10) Strong (%) Minor (%) Strong (%) Minor (%) Strong (%) Minor (%) Oral presentation skills 89.2 10.8 85.7 14.3 90 10 Discussion skills 67.6 32.4 85.7 14.3 80 20 Negotiation skills 83.8 16.2 71.4 28.6 60 40 Briefing skills 62.2 37.8 71.4 28.6 60 40 Meetings 78.4 21.6 78.6 21.4 70 30 Telephone skills 56.8 43.2 71.4 28.6 80 20 Conversation skills 70.3 29.7 78.6 21.4 90 10 Pronunciations 67.6 32.4 71.4 28.6 90 10 Oral presentation 73.0 27.0 85.7 14.3 80 20 Confidence 78.4 21.6 92.9 7.1 90 10 Table 2 presents the Overall Emphasis on Oral Communication Skills for Future Trainees The above table reveals that the CAFS students had perceived the oral presentation skills, negotiation skills and meetings and confidence with strong emphasis and with the ratings of 89.2%, 83.8% and 78.4% respectively while telephone skills, briefing skills, discussion and pronunciations were considered only with minor emphasis on the percentages of 43.2, 37.8, and 32.4. This implies that there is good practice on exercising the oral presentation skills, negotiation skills, meetings and confidence while the students are in their practicum training. The COE had exhibite d strong emphasis on Confidence, oral presentation and discussion skills with the ratings of 92.9% and 85.7% respectively while negotiation skills, briefing skills, telephone skills and pronunciation with minor emphasis only as shown by their ratings of 28 .6%. This indicates that confidence in each of the worker in the workplace was strongly observed and Research and Publication Office 20 was very influential among many. Oral presentation skills and discussion skills were somehow the outcomes of the strong confidence of the presenters. In t he case of the CCS, the students gave a strong perception on oral presentation skills, conversation skills, pronunciations and confidence with the percentage rating of 90% while 40% rating was given to indicators negotiation skills and briefing skills resp ectively. It could be seen that there were similarities in the indicators that were perceived with strong emphasis. This simply implies that the CCS students could have felt to be more relaxed and comfortable and confident in the oral presentation skills, conversation skills and pronunciations in the workplace during their practicum training. The overall emphasis on oral presentation and confidences were generally the most perceived to have strong emphasis on oral communication skills for the future traine es. Chapter 5 5. Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusions From the results and discussions of the study, the following conclusions were drawn according to the specific objectives posed. Research and Publication Office 21 1. To identify the importance of the communications skills at the workplace. The CSS students perceived oral communication to professional development very important and importance of oral communication to recruitment only important while the COE students considered oral communica tion skills at the workplace in general perspective the one very important and the importance of oral communication skills at the workplace in general perspective and the importance of confidence during communications and presentations only important. For the CAFS, confidence during communications and presentations was the considered very important and the importance of oral communication to professional development only important. 2. To determine the i mportance of different activities in English langu age. In determining the importance of different activities, the CAFS perceived discussing projects, proposals, plans, designs, etc and giving face -to-face instructions to subordinates very important; while establishing social relationships with colleague s was considered only important and establishing social relationships with clients somewhat important. The COE evaluated the providing training through discussions and workshops very important and for half of the students, establishing social relationships with the clients only important. For the CCS, reporting problems was perceived very important and making formal oral presentations on projects, proposals, plans, designs, etc, speaking on the telephone with colleagues about job related matters, speaking on the telephone with clients about job related matters, establishing social Research and Publication Office 22 relationships with colleagues, and establishing social relationships with clients were the indicators considered only important. 3. To determine the problems encountered duri ng the practical training Among the problems, speaking fluently was perceived always the problem encountered in the workplace for the CAFS and frequently, supporting opinions was also a problem.

Sometimes, giving clarifications and organizing ideas during oral presentations were problems too. The COE students perceived lack of confidence always the problem; explaining logically as the frequent problem and sometimes supporting opinions, giving clarifications, paraphrasing, facilitating discussions and organ izing ideas during oral presentations were also problems. Similar to the COE, the CCS students perceived lack of confidence also as always the problem; speaking fluently as the frequent problem. 4. To investigate the overall emphasis on oral communication skills that should be given in future English language courses for engineering, computer studies and business sectors. CAFS students perceived oral presentation skills, negotiation skills and meetings and confidence with strong emphasis on oral communication skills for future trainees while telephone skills, briefing skills, discussion and pronunciations with minor emphasis only. The COE students perceived with strong emphasis the confidence and the oral presentation and discussion skills while only minor emphasis on negotiation skills, briefing skills, telephone skills Research and Publication Office 23 and pronunciation. CCS students considered oral presentation skills, conversation skills, pronunciations and confidence with strong emphasis and minor emphasis on negotiation and briefing skills. 5.2. Recommendations The following recommendations were drawn from the conclusions presented. 1. The company or the employers should design a program for professional development where oral communicatio n skills and developing confidence need to be strengthened and the focus. 2. There should be regular trainings, seminars and workshops on oral communication, technical writing and public speaking as part of the program to get the desired output from the workers . 3. Affiliate the company to schools and universities in terms of practicum and on the job training. 4. Create activities where everyone will be involved like “team building” to lessen the differences because of diversity and to develop trust, c onfidence and good social relationship in the community. 5. Regular verbal communication with the employees is necessary. 6. Schools and universities should have a very close and tight monitoring on the needs and problems of the companies to be integrated in their program and bridge the skill gap between the expectations of the industries and what the universities offer for the students . References [1] Wilson, J. P. Human resource development: Learning and training for individuals and organizations (2nd ed.).London: Kogan Page; 2005. [2] Clagett, C. A. Largo,MD: Prince of Institutional Research and Analysis. Clark; 1997. [3 ] Stivers, G., J. Campbell, and Hermanson, H., An Assessment Program for Accounting: Design, Implementation, and Reflection, Issues in Accounting Education; 2000, 15, (4). [4 ] Kassim, H., and Ali, F. 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