English Language Education and University Students’ Development of Human Capital

Human capital refers to the knowledge and skills acquired by students or graduates, which are a foundation of their employability and employment outcomes. This chapter will examine how English language education contributes to students’ development of overall knowledge and skills necessary for their future employment and life. Two case studies with students and graduates of Hospitality and Tourism and students of Information Technology will illustrate the ways in which English language education impacts on the development of their discipline-specific skills. Data were collected from 16 student interviews and a survey with 200 students and graduates of the two disciplines. The results show that English language education enhances students’ access to learning resources written in English, on top of those written or presented in Vietnamese, which in turn contributes to advancing their professional knowledge and skills. English language education also provides them with the opportunity to strengthen communication skills, work-related and people skills which are perceived to benefit their current work effectiveness for graduates and future employability. All of these suggest that English language education can greatly help develop students’ human capital.