Analytical tools of written tests for assessment of language competences of engineering degree students at the Faculty of Engineering of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra

Abstract

The interest of university students to study foreign languages is associated with the opportunities to travel and work abroad or in multinational companies established in Slovakia. The study and professional internships require not only the acquisition of general communication in a foreign language but also the attainment of professional terminology in a particular specialization. The principal objective of the paper is the analysis of the language competences of the students at Engineering Degree of the Faculty of Engineering at the Slovak University of Agriculture (SUA) in Nitra in the subject of Business Communication. Via the analytic tools of the didactic written tests, the achieved level was evaluated in vocabulary, word formation, grammar, and reading comprehension in the English language. The collected data were evaluated by the selected methods for the quantitative research in pedagogy. The results indicated that the above-average score was achieved in the tasks of vocabulary and word formation (93%, 92%). The students reached the average score (72%, 81%) in the tasks of grammar and reading. The correlation relations between the individual types of tasks proved only a slight dependence. The development of language competences, including the reading of professional literature in English, constitutes the professional knowledge of the modern university graduate and it extends the opportunities for career growth.