Integrating soft skills development into English language class

Abstract

Many employers around the world express their concerns about recent graduates’ lack of necessary soft skills. They claim that new hires are inadequately prepared for handling some of the common challenges which have to be addressed at the workplace and the skills gap is widening with every passing year. Employers are looking for candidates who can understand and analyse ideas, tackle complex issues, actively contribute and take responsibility when working on projects, and are willing to develop their skills and acquire the new ones throughout their careers. Being aware of the problem, the authors undertook a study and propose some suggestions of integrating soft skills development into university English Language class.