Abstract Foreign language needs at workplace have been considered to better prepare students for their future careers. This paper reported on the process of developing and validating an instrument to transversally assess foreign language communicative skills needs at workplace as perceived by employers and presented results to propose related formative proposals at university level. Its development was based upon five components and scales, and contained descriptors attached to the levels of language proficiency. After the questionnaire was developed, a pilot study was undertaken for 104 employers and the formal administration collected data from 119 employers, both samples included employers with internship agreements with two Spanish universities. Results indicated that this instrument has strong and justified construct validity and reliability. The further descriptive analysis revealed employers’ preference in the ability to debate and converse, to understand public announcements and work-related texts, to communicate using ICTs at the B2 and C1 levels, and to know differences between foreign and own’s cultures.
Díez-Arcón et al. (Tue,) studied this question.