Assessing proficiency in engineering English

The largest professional engineering organizations use English as their primary language; most of the world\´s engineering publications are written in English; and nearly all cooperative ventures with multinational participation choose English for their common language of communication. Unfortunately, most of the world\´s engineers are not native speakers of English. There are almost no reliable instruments for measuring competence in engineering English. Applying Douglas\´s Language for Specific Purposes test (2000) to engineering, gives not only a clearer overview of what kind of English and related content might be covered in an engineering English program, but also a clearer view of the knowledge that helps define what it means to be "professional" and this suggests what ought to be tested when evaluating an engineer\´s ability to use the English of his or her profession successfully