Effects of English-mediated project work on soft-skills development and quality-of-life outcomes in early-career engineers: a mixed-methods evaluation

Abstract

Amid air-raid alerts and power cuts, early-career engineers in Ukraine must coordinate work in English while protecting well-being. This study tested an English-mediated project model using concise artefacts – role charters, risk registers, handover notes – plus pause-resume protocols across 54 triads. Compared with matched Ukrainian-language teams, soft-skill performance improved on a composite, with stronger gains in communication clarity and coordination, and a smaller but reliable effect in conflict resolution. Technical accuracy did not decline. Quality-of-life improved: career self-efficacy increased, perceived stress decreased, and WHO-5 rose. Cognitive load showed a small intrinsic increase but a larger extraneous decrease. Effects were assisted by documentation quality and strongest at B1-B2.