Needs AnalysisANNAS SURDYANTO

Examines what the learners know already and what they need to know.

• What is necessary in the learners’ use of language?

• Ex: do the learners have to write answers to exam questions?

Needs• What do the learners lack?• Ex: are there aspects of writing that were not practised in their previous learning (L1, L2)?Lacks

• What do the learners wish to learn?Wants Information

Lacks

NeedsWants

What to gather?

Needs: Why are you learning English?

• The learning is focused on language that learners need

Lacks: What do you want to do with your English?

• The content is in appropriate degrees

Wants: How will you learn and use English in the future?

• The learning process is as what is expected

http://www.icaltefl.com/needs-analysis

Situation Needs vs Language Needs

Brindley 1984, p.31

Situation

Physical, psychological, and social needs

Language

Target linguistic behaviors of learners

Objective Needs vs Subjective Needs

Brindley 1984, p.31

Objective

Language proficiency, skill levels, etc.

Questionnaires, personal interviews, data collection, self-report, observation, consultation with teachers and learners

Subjective

Wants, desires, expectations

lists and scales, questionnaires, and interviews.

Linguistic Content vs Learning Processes

Linguistic Content

Grammatical structures, phonemes, morphemes,

utterances, etc

Learning Process

Affective domain: Motivation, self- esteem,

etc

Types of Information

Problems (Identify problems being experienced) Priorities (investigate topics, language uses, skills, etc) Abilities (determine the abilities of students at entry) Attitudes (addressed to the students on how well they like studying

“grammar points” as opposed to language functions such as “seeking information on the telephone”)

Solutions (elicits ideas of perceived problems for solutions in terms of what changes might bring about compromise and resolution).

(BROWN 1995: 43-44)

Deciding kinds of InformationChoosing instruments

Lacks

Lacks: information about the students writing skill.

Test

Needs

Information about what the students need to learn

Test/observation/questionnaire

Wants

Information about how they will learn

Interview/questionnaire

Findings

TestStudents are lack of punctuation

Students are lack of vocabulary

Evaluating Needs Analysis

MOTIVATION Do you need to learn the language to be able to achieve certain specific tasksAIMS Do you want to communicate in the written or the spoken language? or both? Will it be enough if you just understand the language (at least in the first instance)?FUNCTIONS What kind of situations will you have to perform in? (telephone? lectures?

seminars? shops? etc.) What functions of language will you primarily need? (explaining, persuading,

seeking information, contradicting etc.)

Evaluating Needs Analysis

INFORMATION Which are the most important: technical vocabulary? the precise meaning

of intonation? correct pronunciation? a set of ready-made sentences to get by with?

ACTIVITIES How much time can you devote to it? What are your learning habits? Do

you like working on your own? Is the Language Lab suitable? Do you need help? (Dictionary, radio, newspapers, grammars, contact with native speakers, etc.) Do you know native speakers who would agree to talk with you in their own language? Do you make full use of other possibilities, e.g., the radio? sub-titled film? etc.

Task 1 Needs analysis for a writing course

You have been asked to design a writing course for learners of English who intend to go on to university study in English. As a part of the fact-finding stage you have decided to carry out a needs analysis. (a) Decide what kind of information you are looking for and classify it into necessities, lacks or wants. (b) List ways that you will use to gather the information for the writing course (questionnaires etc.). (d) Write a sample item for each of the ways. ( The questions)

You have now done your needs analysis and have decided how to gather the information you need.

1. List your findings.

2. List important principles about how you think writing should be learned.

3. Write the general goal for your course.

4. Choose types of activities that you will use in your course.

Analyzing informationEx: writing Ex: speaking

References

Nation, I.S.P. & Macalister, J. 2010. Language Curriculum Design. Oxon: Routledge.

Brown, J. D. 1995. Elements of Language Curriculum. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.