Career-focused ESP learning through mechanical engineering Android app and FE prep flashcards

The ever-growing shortage of engineers in the world job market makes education institutions more responsive to engineering labour needs. Engineering students graduate from the university with the expectation of being able to compete in a global business environment. Foreign language fluency is important for future engineers to excel in their careers and pursue their qualifications in English-speaking countries. The present study sought to examine the efficacy of the Mechanical engineering multiple-choice questions android application and FE engineering exam flashcards as tools for improving the vocabulary size on technical terms and developing the FE test-taking skills. To address these challenges, we used a one-group pretest-posttest design. Fifty college graduates studying ESP in their first year at Higher Education Institution Podillia State University, Ukraine, participated in the study. Pretest and posttest were comprised of two components: Quizlet engineering flashcards (25 terms) and 50 engineering multiple-choice questions. The participants were tested first under the control condition and then under the treatment condition. The technical vocabulary acquisition was measured on a scale from 0 to 12.5. The initial baseline shows an average technical vocabulary acquisition score increased from 4.9 to 8.6. To compare students’ results in engineering multiple-choice questions before and after using the Mechanical engineering application we used Wilcoxon signed rank-sum test. The findings of the study indicate that the empirical value obtained is in the zone of significance. Consequently, the first hypothesis (the group’s academic performance has increased significantly) is accepted. The study offers pedagogical implications for EFL instructors concerning the integration of the Mechanical engineering application and FE engineering exam flashcards to improve the engineering vocabulary size and develop test-taking skills in the FE engineering qualification exam.