Proceedings of the 5th Global Conference on Education and Teaching
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Indian Doctoral Researchers’ Perception on Influence of English Language on Employability Skills
Parul Pandey, Urvashi Kaushal
ABSTRACT:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perspective of Indian doctoral researchers towards English language as required employability skill for doctoral researchers who are English as second language learners. A qualitative research approach was used to conduct 21 semi-structured interviews for this Indian study. The study included the influence of English language on employability skills and the doctoral researcher’s perception of strategies that can be embedded in the curriculum to instill these language skills in doctoral researchers to make them employable. The significance of English language has been affirmed for Indian academics and how it directly influences other skills is directly proportional to the employability of doctoral researchers according to most Indian doctoral researchers. Most researchers face problems with English and have suggested writing groups, opportunities for informal communication, opportunities for collaboration etc. to be made mandatory for all researchers. This study will highlight the perception of the most important stakeholders in research by bringing to light their ideas and expectations from the existing research programme. These suggestions will help other stakeholders to develop a curriculum that will prepare researchers who are highly employable for a career in academia or industry. This is among the first few Indian studies on the doctoral researcher’s perception on whether English language influences other employability skills. Focusing on the Indian context establishes the need for proficiency in English for Indian researchers to effectively communicate their findings, collaborate with international peers, and access a broader pool of knowledge database.
keywords: Academia, communication, employable, PhD, proficiency