Dealing with linguistic competences at university: the Erasmus case

Abstract

In this paper we present the preliminary results of a study carried out in the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in which several linguistic competences related to English language learning of students from Industrial and Aeronautics Engineering have been analysed. The quantitative and qualitative results obtained in English for International Stage subject on the one hand, and the marks of written and oral tests from student candidates for Socrates-Erasmus scholarships, on the other, are the basis for data comparison with a similar research in the European University of Madrid (EUM) from which some conclusions about the competences profile of University students nowadays have been drawn. In addition, we analysed and compared the evolution of secondary students’ oral and written English skills, as previous to University studies. Therefore, the main focus in this paper will be students’ linguistic competences and the variety of pedagogical tools teachers/researchers may use to enhance them.