Analysis of communication functions of Japanese engineers working at manufacturing sites in English-speaking countries

The author conducted a survey on English communication among 86 Japanese and 15 English-speaking engineers working at manufacturing sites in English-speaking countries. The subjects were asked to evaluate their own performance for different communication functions using different tools or methods in various situations. They were also asked to answer a questionnaire to rate the frequency, importance and performance of their communication activities at work. Results of the survey showed that the Japanese subjects had less tendency than the native English-speaking subjects to use the functions of "praising", "complaining", and "disagreeing" but both groups considered technical instruction and informal meetings, as well as interviews, to be very important tasks. Analysis of the results indicates that the Japanese subjects were less satisfied with communication activities that require indirect or elaborate expressions compared to tasks directly related to their technical duties. This suggests that more and better training in English communication, based on real communication situations, is needed for Japanese engineers to perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively at manufacturing sites abroad.