This study investigates the knowledge of English language of a sample group consisting of 344 science-biased students from nine selected schools in the country. The research findings reflect the proficiency level of the respondents so as to determine whether they are able to cope with the English Language programmes at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Previous UTM undergraduates are found to have limited vocabulary and face difficulties in handling not only materials for the Engliah language course but also the core subjects in the respected fields of studies. The instruments used in the study are in the form of questionaires consisting of two sections. One is on attitudes of students towards the teaching and learning of English as a secong language. The other consists of the usual language activities such as Reading Comprehension, Grammar and Vocabulary. A likert five-rating scale was used to categorize the students responses with the higher number (5) as negative and the lower number (1) as positive. The findings in this study will show factors affecting the learning of English as a second language. the language policy and motivation account for the variation in the level of achievement. Both teachers and parents play a significant role towards the attitudes of the respondents. It is hoped that the problem areas in the learning of language will be overcome by several strategies put forward.