Enhancing Chemical Engineering Students' English Communication Skills through Think-Pair-Share Model

Abstract

The onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has emphasized the importance of four 21st century skills: collaboration skills, creativity skills, critical thinking skills and communication skills. From the literature, communication skills are important for Chemical Engineering students. However, a number of studies showed that students faced problem in using English language to communicate effectively with others. Hence, this research aims to implement the Think-Pair-Share strategy in the class to enhance students' English communication skills in order to prepare them to succeed in university and the workplace. This research has used quantitative research method, in which the questionnaires were distributed to Chemical Engineering students who enrolled in the English Communication Skills class. This research had examined the effects of Think-Pair-Share on Chemical Engineering students' willingness and confidence to communicate in English class, their academic result in English Communication Skills Class as well as their perceptions on Think-Pair-Share. The findings showed that Think-Pair-Share strategy is effective as perceived by students and they responded that they had moderately high willingness and confidence to communicate in English language in the class. Thus, the use of Think-Pair-Share model would be a great potential for enhancing Chemical Engineering students' English communication skills.