3) To what types of teaching/learning situation is a needs analysis most relevant? Explain how such an analysis can be made and usefully applied assuming that the learners will need a grasp of English to function in their careers or occupations and that

University Degree Education and Teaching

To what types of teaching/learning situation is a needs analysis most relevant? Explain how such an analysis can be made and usefully applied assuming that the learners will need a grasp of English to function in their careers or occupations and that these are known.

Introduction

Needs analysis is the formal process during which the students’ needs, wants and desires are analysed and understood, in order for their level of competence in appropriate skills, based on available evidence, to be assessed, along with determining the best way to develop such skills in accordance with their expectations and objectives. The information gleaned from this process can be used to help define program goals, which can then be stated as specific teaching objectives, which, in turn, will form the basis on which lesson plans, materials, tests, assignments and activities will be developed. In other words, needs analysis helps clarify the purposes of a language program.

Needs analysis and Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) sets its goals the teaching of communicative competence, which, among others, involves knowledge of how to use language for a range of different purposes and functions and across various settings. Since these may vary according to the purpose each student wants to learn the language for, advocates of CLT have strongly favoured the importance of needs analysis. What is more, it has been recognised that many learners need English in order to use it in specific occupational or educational settings. Therefore, teaching them the specific kinds of language and communicative skills needed for particular roles rather than to just concentrate on General English is considered more efficient. This is how the discipline of needs analysis became closely associated with the teaching of English for Specific Purposes. ESP courses usually address the language needs of University students, nurses, engineers, restaurant staff, doctors, hotel staff, airline pilots or hostesses, company administrative staff and so on.

How is needs analysis completed?

A needs analysis is basically composed of two parts: the Present Situation Analysis (PSA), which tells you about where the student is now (with his/her language skills) and the Target Situation Analysis (TSA), which is where the students hope to be in the future. There are several factors that are to be taken into account when planning a needs analysis and this is because they all affect learning to one degree or another. Let’s examine them one by one, bearing in mind our case of study, where learners will need a grasp ...

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How is needs analysis completed?

Personal details, such as age, sex and nationality.

The age of a learner can be a key factor in how much language he or she acquires. Normally, younger age groups seem more likely to be successful in second-language learning than the rest. Sex, now, is believed to be another important factor, since differences in men’s and women’s brains have an impact on how they hear and memorise language, and, consequently, on how they understand and process it. Perhaps we should mention here that women are said to be better language learners than men. Nationality plays a key part as well, since attitude to learning may depend on the particular status that English has in the country of the student’s origin.

Linguistic and education background.

This refers to whether the learner has any experience in foreign or second language learning, which would probably make it easier for him, since the process would be familiar. Moreover, it is helpful for the teacher to know what education the student has received in his mother tongue, as the higher the level of it, the more the possibilities to achieve an equal level in L2 as well. Education certainly develops intelligence and the teacher needs to be aware of the student’s abilities and limits.

Professional background.

ESP teachers teach academic skills to future or real professionals. They encourage their students to use their background knowledge along with the academic skills in dealing with all sorts of authentic information in the profession, thus, it is vital for the teacher to know the professional background of the student, so as to know what to ask for and expect.

Current levels of competence.

It is vital for the teacher to be aware of where the student currently stands in all the four skills of the language (speaking, listening, writing, reading), in order for appropriate tasks to be designed and any potential deficiencies in an area to be spotted and later be dealt with in particular.

Motivation.

Motivation is perhaps the most important factor influencing second language learning, since it is what leads students to achieve a goal. There are two types of motivation: Integrative Motivation (Crookes & Schmidt, 1991), which means that the learner is urged to learn the language out of a positive attitude towards it or a desire to immerse into the target language community. Instrumental Motivation (Hudson, 2000), on the other hand, implies the learner’s wish to obtain something practical or concrete out of his study of a second language, such as a certificate or better career prospects, which is the case with ESP, where motivation is certainly stated by the student from the beginning.

Learning strategies.

This refers to the very different behaviours or strategies that students use to learn a new language. For example, shy, introverted learners usually prefer grammar drilling and sentence analysis, as they are uncomfortable with spontaneous speech. Sociable and extroverted students, however, seek out social conversation, even if their knowledge of vocabulary is not enough. Other learning styles involve listening or noticing abilities, which, thus have to be promoted and put forward so that the best outcome can be achieved out of them.

Priorities, objectives and expectations.

This brings us to the second part of the division we drew earlier, the Target Situation Analysis. That is, where the students wish and hope to be in the future. Knowing this enables a teacher to draw a line which is the route to be followed and will lead towards the student’s final destination. In other words, it will enable the teacher to gather information on what particular language skills need to be achieved in order for the learners to be able to perform the job-related tasks properly. This should include questions such as whether they will have to give presentations in the TL, participate in conferences and meetings, negotiate, entertain clients, write business reports developing an argument systematically with relevant supporting detail or provide useful ides or solutions to a problem.

Time available and deadlines.

It is always important to know how much time there is available until the completion of a course and whether there are any deadlines to be met, which would probably determine the nature of the classes as to their intensiveness.

In order for all this information to be collected, there could be held interviews between teachers and students, or the needs analysis could be in the form of a questionnaire which would be completed by the learners or even in co-operation with their employers in some cases.

Conclusion

Without doubt, responding to language learners’ specific needs can increase their motivation, their appreciation of what they learn and the extent to which they can apply what they learn in class in the outside world. Designing such programs is a complex task but by following certain steps it can be efficiently achieved and bring about the desirable outcome.

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