Use of English by Graduates of Qatar University in the Workplace: A Quantitative Analysis

Abstract:

This paper summarizes a study carried by the Documentation and Humanities Research Centre at Qatar University in 2004. It is a field study of the perceived needs and actual uses of English in the workplace by graduates of the university in different fields. A questionnaire was designed to elicit such information. The sample of population was randomly selected from different state and private institutions. The common independent variable here is that they all are graduates of the University of Qatar. The questionnaire comprises three parts: the first pertains to demographic information (such as sex, age, and years of experience), the second part is for perceived needs of English in the workplace, and the third part is for the actual use of the different English language skills in the workplace. In this paper we discuss the quantitative analysis of the use of English in the workplace by the graduates of Qatar university.