BIODATA OF AUTHORS

Sains Malaysia followed by a Masters degree in Linguistics and English Language Studies from the same university. Currently, she is working as a Human Resource officer in Penang and has also been actively involved in training and development activities in conducting English language classes to employees in her company. Human resource (HR) personnel of multinational companies are expected to possess good English language skills. In today’s globalised workplaces, HR staff are often confronted with specific language demands in the course of performing their job functions at their workplaces. This study comprised 25 staff and three managers from the HR departments of two American multinational companies in Penang, Malaysia. The primary objective of the study was to identify the English language skills of the HR staff and to investigate the HR staff’s perceptions of their English language skills at the workplace. It also aimed to explore any possible differences between the expected English language skills and the actual performance of the HR staff at the workplace. Data were gathered by means of questionnaires and interviews. The findings showed tha