E-LEARNING PREREQUISITES, TASKS AND METHODOLOGY FOR PREPARING THE ENGINEERING STUDENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE IN FORMAL MEETINGS IN ENGLISH

Evincing the importance of preparing the engineering students for successful professional communication in formal meetings in a company in English, this paper enlarges upon the necessity of a series of communication tasks, methodological approaches and e-learning for addressing the students' learning needs and for accomplishing our teaching objectives. We argue that English language courses and seminars in a technical university should meet the students' learning needs in terms of effective communication and socializing skills for promising careers in our 21st century companies or multinationals. Teaching the students how to act and communicate in a formal meeting in a company or in a formal academic meeting, how to agree and to disagree with their interlocutors' views in a tactful, respectful manner, what communication strategies to use to convince their interlocutors of the importance of their proposals and encouraging the students to resort to e-learning represent key issues for preparing the students for promising careers in a company or in a multinational in our 21st century society. This paper will enlarge upon: 1) e-learning as a necessary condition for successful performance in formal meetings in a future career in a company; 2) the importance of communication activities, such as simulated meetings and videoconferences, for developing the students' formal speaking skills and self-confidence; 3) the engineering students' perspective on the role of e-learning in developing their communication competence in the English language courses for their future successful performance in formal meetings at work and 4) the necessary methodology. The most complex form of socializing and the most competitive and stimulating work environment for making decisions and solving problems in a company or in the real world, meetings for various purposes test the participants' communication and behavioural competence, their open-mindedness and flexibility, urging them to prepare their roles for having their objectives successfully accomplished. With a view to preparing the engineering students for professional communication in a future work environment in a company in our multicultural society, the English language courses and seminars in a technical university should approach the concept of meetings from a theoretical perspective, presenting the various manners of communication across different cultures, as well as from a practical perspective, taking meetings for interactive classroom activities meant to motivate the students to develop their English language competence, their manners of communication and behaviour, their ability to be flexible and tolerant. The blended learning approach will be presented as a necessary condition for meeting the students' learning needs and for accomplishing our teaching objectives.