English for Academic Purposes: An Investigation of Students' Proficiency

Malaysia in its effort to become a centre for excellence in Education, has always realised the importance of English language. English has a Second Language status in this nation. With the recent establishment of private universities, where the medium of instruction is English, the role of English language among Malaysian students is becoming more important. This study aims to look at the English language proficiency level of students who will further their studies in private universities within Malaysia. It is vital to know the English language proficiency level of the students who will be studying in these private universities, to enable the language teachers to design courses that will help these students attain the appropriate proficiency level for effective communication in an academic environment. This study was carried out in one of the three, recently established private universities in Malaysia. The students entering the university have both the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) English grade accredited by The Malaysian Examination Syndicate and the 1119 English grade accredited by the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate (UCLES). This paper aims to compare the grades awarded by these two accreditation bodies, and find out which gives a better indicator of the students’ proficiency
in English language in order to be effective communicators in the academic environment. Students were also given an English Language Placement Test, which tests students’ competence in various areas of language especially grammar, reading comprehension, vocabulary and the structure of writing. The data obtained from this study will provide valuable information as to what should be incorporated and emphasised in the English language courses offered by the universities for effective communication.