Learners’ Needs for Practical English Courses in General Education

This study aims to investigate the alignment of university practical English education with the demands of the actual workplace by comparatively analyzing the perceptual differences between its key consumers: current university students and graduates (workers). To this end, a survey was conducted on 200 participants in the Seoul metropolitan area, comprising univeristiy students and graduates in the workforce. The questionnaire examined their experiences, satisfaction levels, and specific needs regarding the goals and content of practical English education. The findings revealed that while both groups strongly agreed on the necessity of practical English, a significant ‘needs gap’ existed in their perceptions of its specific educational objectives and content. Students placed a high priority on general communicative competence, such as improving daily conversation skills. In contrast, workers emphasized instrumental English skills directly related to their jobs, such as writing business emails and reports, and giving work-related presentations. These results suggest that the current one-size-fits-all practical English curriculum at universities does not sufficiently reflect the specific and specialized demands of the professional world. Based on these findings, this study proposes practical curricular improvements aimed at closing the gap between university English education and workplace needs, ultimately enhancing students' practical English proficiency.