Re-conceptualizing engineering communication using agility and efficacy

Instruction in engineering communication, especially for students for whom English is an additional language, is often based on assumptions that the relationship between knowledge about language and the ability to use language is one of cause and effect. However, this perspective does not adequately encompass the complex, multidisciplinary nature of teaching, learning and practicing engineering communication. Partly in response to this dilemma I propose two concepts, agility and efficacy, for consideration in researching and teaching engineering communication. The concepts emerged from current conceptualizations of language as a distributed activity with a focus on the strategies, norms, perceptions, and material and symbolic means used to establish shared understanding and shared goals. Approaching this dilemma from an activity theory perspective provides an opportunity to take advantage of this multidisciplinary nature, especially with a consideration of shared objects. Activity theory is introduced through examples of engineering communication education and a multidisciplinary research project is proposed to identify the contradictions and conflicts that make teaching, learning and practicing engineering communication so challenging.