THE USE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE FOR FUTURE ENGINEERS

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to look at the perception of students in their first year of study regarding the use of knowing a foreign language for their field of activity, engineering, which they will be practising in the future. The paper will take into account the tests meant for making up groups of foreign languages at the beginning of the academic year 2021-2022, for a group of students in their first year at the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest, Faculty of Industrial and Agricultural Buildings. The test was meant to test their English language level in order to form two groups of study based on their needs. The paper will look into reasons they believe knowing a foreign language and, especially, English, will help them in their future field of activity. Reasons may include communication with collaborators, getting involved in projects, communicating for the purpose of research, studying abroad, etc. Afterwards, the paper will try to find reasons why students believe that foreign languages knowledge will help them in their future domain of activity. Are these ideas circulating in mass-media or in the education field? Are students receiving various promises of achieving certain skills and possibilities using foreign languages? How realistic are, in fact, these possibilities