Needs analysisPresented by

HIKMAH PRAVITAHUKMA DAROJATIZAENUL WAFA

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the purpose of needs analysis

what are needs?

the users of needs analysis

target population

administering the needs analysis

Procedures for conducting analysis

collecting learner language sample

Designing

Conclusion

content

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THE PURPOSE OF NEEDS ANALYSIS

Richard (2000)To find out what language skills a learner needs in order to perform a particular role, such as sales manager, tour guide, or university student• To help determine if an existing course adequately addresses the needs of potential students• To determine which students from a group are most in need of training in particular language skills• To identify a change of direction that people in a reference group feel is important• To identify a gap between what students are able to do and what they needs to be able to do• To collect information about a particular problem learners are experiencing

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NEEDS

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a family of procedures for gathering information

about learners and about communication tasks...

(Nunan, 1988, p.75)

systematic collection and analysis of all

subjective and objective information necessary

to define and validate defensible curriculum

processes that satisfy the language learning

requirements of students within the context of

particular institutions that influence the

learning and teaching situation. Brown, (1995,

p.36)

DEFINITION

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the ministry of education to gain information to evaluate curriculum, syllabus and

material teachers who will teach from the new curriculum writers who are preparing new textbooks testing personnel, (school or course assessors) school staff to create school decision

Private InstitutionTrainerEmployee who is interested in developing staff performance

THE USERS OF NEED ANALYSIS

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TARGET POPULATION

policy maker

ministry of education officials

teachers

students

academics

employers

vocational teaching specialist

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sample of student writing

test data on student performance

reports by teacher or typical problems students

face

opinion of expert

information students via interviews or

questionnaire

survey or related literature

PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING NEEDS ANALYSIS

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Task analysis

Case study

COLLECTING LEARNER LANGUAGE SAMPLE

Conducting needs analysis: Sources of information (based on Long, 2005)

• Literature: published (e.g., ESP research articles) and unpublished (e.g., in-house reports)

• Learners: current and former• Teachers and applied linguists• Domain experts /subject specialists• Employers• Documents• Triangulated sources

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Conducting needs analysis: Methods of gathering data (based on Long, 2005)

• Interviews (structured, semi-structured, unstructured)

• Questionnaires• Language audits• Lesson observations• Diaries and logs• Discourse analysis (spoken and written) using

genre analysis, computer-based analysis, etc.• Tests• Triangulated methods

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Needs analysis as a step in course design

In the course design cycle, when is it conducted? A) As a first step, before course design B) On-going: during the course C) After the course

Needs analysis Course design Teaching/Learning

Evaluation Assessment

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What are Target Needs?“Target Needs” What the learner needs to do in the target situation

Target Needs

Lack

WantNecessities

Observing what situation the learner will need to function in and then analysing the constituent parts of them

Need to know the learner already, so that you can then decide which of the necessities the learners lack

Necessities

Lack

“…. Need doesn’t not exist independent of a person. It is people who build their images of their need in the basis of data relating to themselves and their environment.”

Objective SubjectiveView of needs can, and do, conflict, with a consequent de-

stabilising

Want

Effect on Motivation

The Target Situation Not reliable indicator of what is needed or useful in the ESP Learning Situation

• Can determine destination• As a compass to give general direction Choose our route : The vehicles guides available (The conditions of the learning situation) The learner’s mind (Their knowledge, skill & strategies) The learner’s motivation

Analyzing Learning Needs

To analyse learning needs, we can use a similar checklist to that used for target situation analysis :

Why are the learners taking the course? How do the learners learn? What resources are available? Who are the learners? Where will the ESP course take place? When will the ESP course take place?

CONCLUSION 1

Basically, needs analysis is like a research that is carried out to find out the information and answers of certain questions that are being asked. To conduct needs analysis, it is important to set the questions and purposes as soon as possible then use these as the guide in choosing the methods and tools for data collections. Good needs analysis involves asking the right questions and finding the answers in the most effective way (Nation & Macalister, 2010).

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CONCLUSION 2

Good needs analysis covers a range of information of needs using a range of data collection tools. Because needs are not always clear and are likely changing, it is important that needs are gathered from the multiple perspectives at a variety of times. The perspectives can vary according to the type of needs, the source of information, the type of information and the tools for gathering the data. Overall, needs analysis are useful and helpful in providing a range of information that is used as a guide for the course design, syllabus design or curriculum development.

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Thank you

Types of needs

Need = umbrella term Hutchinson & Waters (1987)

1. Target situation needs = needs defined in relation to the situation in which the learner will eventually need to functionA. Necessities = what the learner needs to know in order to

function effectively in the TSB. Lacks = what the learner already knows and does not knowC. Wants = what the learner feels s/he needsQ: Which of these are subjective and which objective?

2. Learning needs = needs of the learning situation (what is manageable at present)

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Learner 1: What are his necessities, lacks and wants?

Karl Jensen is a German engineer who has a frequent and important need to read texts in English. He also needs to talk to overseas colleagues occasionally, for example, at the annual planning conference. The company he works for is a multi-national company and the operating language for communication outside national boundaries is English, although the majority of workers are non-native speakers. By any quantitative analysis Karl Jensen’s need is for reading, because it is a much more frequent activity for him. But he feels a far stronger need to spend his time in the English class improving his oral competence. Why? The answer lies in the way in which he identifies his own personality with the use of a foreign language. He reads in private and at his own speed: he can use a dictionary if he wants. But when he is speaking, his pride is on the line: his English competence (or lack of it, as he sees it) is exposed for all to see and he is under pressure to participate at a speed determined by the discourse.

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Learner 2: What are her necessities, lacks and wants?

Li Yun Zhen is a Chinese graduate in chemistry, who is going to study in the United States. She needs to be able to survive socially and professionally in an English-speaking community. Fluency is, therefore, her greatest need. Li Yun Zhen, however, prefers to spend her time improving her knowledge of English grammar. Why? Her answer lies in her estimation of priorities. Inorder to be accepted for her course of study she must first pass a test. The most important criterion in the test is grammatical accuracy. She, therefore, sees as her priority need as being to pass the test.

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Learner 3: What are his necessities, lacks and wants?

Jose Lima is a Brazilian salesman. He needs to be able to talk on the telephone to customers and to other colleagues. He also needs to read catalogues and business letters. Jose is an outgoing, sociable man, who gets on easily with people. His spoken English is not very accurate, but is fluent. His employer feels that Jose ‘s real need is for greater accuracy in spoken conversation, because it reflects badly on the company’s image to have one of its representatives speaking very incorrect English. However, Jose feels that his spoken English very good, and he resents the implication that it is not. After all, he communicates very well. He sees the English classes as a criticism of his performance as a salesman. He, therefore, has little motivation to attend classes.

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Target situation analysis vs. analysis of learning needs

Target situation analysisWhy is the language needed? (e.g., for

study, work)How will the language be used? (speaking

on the phone)What will the content areas be? (e.g.,

medicine)Who will the Ls use the language with?

(native/non-native speakers, customers/colleagues)

Where will the language be used? (meetings abroad)

When will the language be used? (concurrently with ESP course/afterwards; frequently)

Analysis of learning needsWhy are the Ls taking the course?

(e.g.,their attitudes)How do the Ls learn (what methodology

will appeal to them?)What resources are available? (materials,

trained ESP teachers?Who are the Ls? (age, nationality, subject

knowledge)Where will the ESP course take place?

(classroom features)When will the ESP course take place?

(every day/once a week)

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Types of needs analyses I

• Dudley-Evans & St John (1998)– 1.Target situation analysis

= objective, perceived, product-oriented needs– 2. Learning situation analysis

= subjective, felt, process-oriented needs– 3. Present situation analysis

= the learner’s current strengths and weaknesses (what learners already know)

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Target situation, learning situation or present situation needs analysis?

1. I need to see vocabulary written down.2. I have occasional meetings with British colleagues.3. I find it difficult to write persuasively.4. I pick things up by listening.5. Student X needs to read more widely.6. I like problem solving.7. I get my tenses mixed up.8. I hate group work.9. I have to write reports.10. My problem is finding the right word.

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Types of needs analyses II

• Holliday & Cooke (1982): means analysis= analysis of the environment where the course will be

run- Factors in the environment are seen not as negative

constraints but rather as relevant features- Question to be asked: What is best given the

situation? (rather than ‘How can programme X be implemented’?)

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