Language Communication Competencies in Engineering Education Revisited

Abstract

The ability to learn languages and adapt communication competencies to the changing needs and situations of a global knowledge society and the European Higher Education area is becoming a necessity for future engineers. This article first discusses the demand for communication skills in Engineering Education in general. Secondly, it describes the present state of the Bologna process in Spanish higher education, which calls for a change in focus from an input model to an output one, in which learning outcomes are central. Finally, it summarizes the proposal of developing a ªbankº of language learning outcomes for Engineering Education studies framed within the European Language Portfolio. This bank of learning outcomes, expressed as ªcan doº statements, will serve three purposes: curricula guidance for teachers, guidelines for student life-long learning and autonomous learning.