One of the main aims of language teaching is to answer the learners needs in order to prepare them to be better users of english language. Needs are gaps between program goals and the learners proficiency at that stage, which is defined with reference to communicative functions and discourse communities. In contrast, there are some criticisms about using needs analysis. English is considered a language of communication as well as language of fashion and status in pakistan. In fact one of the main contributions of esp to the wider world of english language teaching has been the development of thorough needs analysis. Beginning with definitions of needs analysis and esp, this book takes a jargonfree approach which leads the reader stepbystep through the process of performing a needs analysis in esp. Subsequently reader will have a chance to get familiar with different models of the esp course, as well as its associated advantages and disadvantages. Needs analysis, carried out to establish the what and the how of a course, is the first stage in english for specific purposes esp course development, followed by curriculum design, materials selection, methodology, assessment, and evaluation.
In esp course, it is needs analysis that determines which language skills are useful for the learners to be able to accomplish certain professional tasks e g. English for specific purposes by tony dudleyevans m. The esp approach theory and reality of needs analysis and course design. The role of needs analysis in esp curriculum design plesca ciudin galina, phd student, university lecturer department of english and french. At the initial stages of esp the 1960s and early 1970s, needs analysis consisted in assessing the communicative needs of the learners and the techniques. An investigation of needs in an eap context zahra zohoorian department of languages, islamic azad university, mashhad branch, mashhad, iran abstract needs analysis, sometimes called needs assessment, has been one of the major motives for the emergence of esp as the umbrella term and thus eap as a subdivision. The users of the analysis are those who will act on the basis of the report. Nevertheless, for the time being the tradition persists of ge that the learners cannot be specified and as a result no attempt is usually made to discover learners true needs. The purposes of needs analysis needs analysis in language teaching may be used for a number of different purposes, for example. Needs analysis for an english for specific purposes esp massey.
Training teachers with english teaching methods dr. At the initial stages of esp the 1960s and early 1970, needs analysis consisted in assessing the communicative needs of the learners and the techniques of achieving specific teaching objectives. In regard to the assessment of learner needs, abrarulhassan 2012, former tesol esp is chair, writes about a needs analysis na as follows. Chapter 6 need analysis english for specific purposes. The conclusions of the investigation carried out revealed a gap between the practice of esp in our context and the expectations due to the lack of formal didactic framework, the absence of a clearly defined status of esp as a theoretically rooted and professionally oriented academic discipline, and the discrepancy between the envisioned. A needs analysis of english for specific purposes esp ijhssi. Dudleyevans and johnson 1991 assert that esp takes a better care of students needs. The type of needs analysis for esp focuses on gathering detailed language used for vocational or other specific language needs martin, 2003. Taking into consideration the main concept of needs analysis, many researchers provide different valuable contributions to the field of esp.
Needs analysis is a formal, systematic process of identifying and evaluating training that should be done, or specific needs of an individual or group of employees, customers, suppliers, etc. Modern needs analysis includes areas specifically excluded by munby, eg practicalities. Then enter the name part of your kindle email address below. The general features represent the key concepts, as follows. Nowadays, the tasks of needs analysis is much more complex. English esl needs analysis worksheets most downloaded 6. A learner centered approach 19 analysis is the requirement for factfinding or the collection of data from various sources, for example the data about learners, the materials and so on 11. How to overcome these challenges will be the focus of the following subsections. Study on the theoretical foundation of business english. English for specific purposes esp as a subdivision of english language teaching elt is claimed to be relevant to the needs of an identifiable group of learners.
Needs analysis was introduced into language teaching through the esp movement see chapter 2. Using his guidelines, the end product is a detailed profile of the students language needs. Adapting the nice ideas of needs analysis and course design to the situations we actually teach in. Defining needs analysis it is difficultto finda consensus over the definitionof needs. Target need is something of an umbrella term, which is practice, hides a number of important distinctions. A needs analysis of english for specific purposes esp. In order to do this, one of the needs analysis instrument, mentioned above, needs to be held. The views which influenced na include the present situation analysis, the target situation analysis munby 1978, a combination of present situation and target situation analysis mcdonough. Against this background, this study was undertaken during the academic year 201516 to define the english language needs of engineering students. John munbys communicative syllabus design 1978 is, probably, the most. Introducing needs analysis and english for specific purposes. Esp courses are taught to adult learners who are in homogeneous classes organized with respect to. Needs analysis for language course design is a handbook for those who prepare and teach courses in esp. A needs analysis ap proach to english for academic purposes eap in iran.
In other words, target need is what the learner needs to do in the target situation. Stevenson, 2009, and coeditor of new directions in english for specific purposes research with d. Planning a syllabus for a series of intensive workplace courses at a leading japanese company. In regard to the assessment of learner needs, abrarulhassan 2012, former tesol espis chair, writes about a needs analysis na as follows. Nov 24, 2015 the purposes of needs analysis needs analysis in language teaching may be used for a number of different purposes, for example. Mckillip 1987 identified five steps in needs analysis. Esp course design is the process by which the raw data about a learning need is interpreted to produce an integrated series of teachinglearning experiences, whose ultimate aim is to lead the learners to a particular state of knowledge hutchinson and waters 1987 discuss the ways in which data is collected prior to an esp course and prepare a needs analysis instrument for a. Pdf english for specific purposes esp have different needs of english language use. It discusses how the theory of need analysis can be used in business english curriculum design, and proposes some principles of be. Significance and future direction soo ruey shing, tam shu sim dr. Needs analysis for an english for specific purposes esp course for thai undergraduates in a food science and technology programme a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy in education at massey university, palmerston north, new zealand paweena chatsungnoen 2015. Despite this, little literature discusses approaches to needs analysis from different perspectives in the context of esp.
English for specific purposes espis a subdivision of a wider field, language for specific purposes lsp, which is defined as. Beginning with definitions of needs analysis and esp, this book takes a jargonfree approach wh. At the initial stages of esp the 1960s and early 1970s, needs analysis consisted in assessing the communicative needs of the learners and the techniques of. Efl teachers may find it useful to devise a needs analysis questionnaire, before designing a teaching programme, to make sure that their lessons address the students particular needs and individual learning styles. English for specific purposes esp is a subdivision of a wider field, language for specific purposes lsp, which is defined as. Thus, it is more useful to look at the target situation in terms of necessities, lacks and wants. He is coauthor of thesis and dissertation writing in a second language with s. A widely referred approach to needs analysis is that of munby 1978 who suggests the work on needs analysis. The role of needs analysis in english for specific purposes.
Introduction finding out about and analyzing the needs of the students is vital in esp teaching. Needs analysis that can be carried out alone or as a pair activity with the. Needs analysis or needs assessment has been a long tradition particularly in english for specific purposes esp programs. Meeting students needs in two eap programmes in vietnam and new zealand.
Esp english for specific purposes, needs analysis in esp, tsa, psa, lsa, models of esp needs analysis. Na is considered as a basic principal of esp robinson 1991 and most of the information on na initially came from esp. Pdf this article discusses the role of needs analysis in esp. Needs analysis can be a vital asset for teachers of english for specific purposes esp to identify their learners key requirements or needs and determine the areas in which they are lacking skills. While emphasis has been put on the target situation analysis generating the language.
The concept of needs analysis has been different along the decades. Beginning with definitions of needs analysis and esp, this book takes a jargonfree approach which leads the reader stepbystep through the. The analysis is discussed with participants and its reality verified by them. Seen as a data collection process nunan, 1988, needs anal ysis can be a vital asset for teachers of english for specif ic purposes esp to. These needs will be the fundamental indicators to develop. Needs analysis na has been identified in the literature as a major practice and a continuous process in english for specific purposes esp. English for specific purposes approach, business english being just. Language needs analysis of art and design students. Introducing needs analysis and english for specific purposes is a clear and accessible guide to the theoretical background and practical tools needed for this early stage of curriculum development in esp.
Needs analysis 1 needs analysis what is needs analysis assessment. Also referred to as gap analysis, or needs assessment. Needs analysis chapter 3 curriculum development in. In 1960 the term, english for specific purposes appeared at the makerere conference in 1961 west, 1994. Needs analysis and curriculum development in esp the.
At last, esp had the machinery for identifying needs. When we are talking about needs in esp, we can consider it from three points of views. At the initial stages of esp the 1960s and early 1970s, needs analysis consisted in assessing the communicative needs of the learners and the techniques of achieving specific teaching. A needs analysis approach to esp design in iranian context. Needs analysis, course design and evaluation of business english. Teaching esp should not be considered as a different kind of teaching the language but. The handbook of english for specific purposes wiley. Needs analysis, esp class, communicative language teaching, educational. Pdf the role of needs analysis in english for specific purposes. Against this background, this study was undertaken during the academic year 201516 to define the english language needs of engineering students n200 majoring in civil engineering and. Saudi engineering students as a case study 59 which, in return, can be used as an input to feed the larger structure of the local esp context in higher education. Multiple perspectives on esp needs analysis and research. Needs analysis is considered to be the cornerstone of english for specific purposes esp. Esp builds on language and skills of specific disciplines.
Beginning with definitions of needs analysis and esp, this book takes a jargonfree approach which leads the reader stepbystep through the process of performing a needs. Considerations for esp course design sarjit kaur and alla baksh mohd ayub khan. From the 1960s, the demand for specialized language programs grew and applied linguists increasingly began to employ needs analysis procedures in language teaching. Needs are often referred to as gaps, or the difference between what is currently done and what should be performed. By the 1980s, in many parts of the world a needs based philosophy emerged in. Issues in education of english for specific purposes in the tunisian higher education abdelfatteh harrabi. This study is an attempt to focus on the importance of considering students needs and wants from the esp course that is taught to administration.
Ideas and options in english for specific purposes. For last some decades, it is being taught in different institutions to meet specified academic and professional needs of learners. The esp approach theory and reality of needs analysis and. Needs analysis is the corner stone of esp and leads to a focused course brown, 1995. Saudi engineering students as a case study article pdf available in advances in language and literary studies 86. This is probably due to the fact that an na approach is more useful when learners needs are linked to a discrete set of communicative situations 12. Knowing the uses of the need analysis can help focus on the problems and solutions that can be entertained. English for specific purposes esp is not general discusses english ge teaching and learning, forbut it is specialized english. Thoughts on portfolio assessment in tesol paul rogers.
Then, the rationale for a needs analysis survey among preservice students in current legal english courses is presented and, finally, the findings are interpreted with respect to the actual target situations that students are likely to encounter after. Needs analysis is the foremost and an integral part of the materials development processes as claimed by montazeri and hamidi 20 including english for academic and specific purposes. His book has useful data banks of eg micro skills, and attitudes. Generally, a needs analysis study investigates those important aspects of the course to which much needs is felt by the learners. Brian paltridge is professor of tesol at the university of sydney. The role of needs analysis in esp curriculum design.
Needs analysis, involving the identification and evaluation of needs, is a tool for decision making in the human services and education. English for specific purposes tesol international association. Analysis for general english and english for specific purpose is the question will be the same but the answer will be different. First, needs analysis is situated within the methodology of english for specific purposes. This relevance is virtually achieved through needs analysis by which one can come up with what the learners already know, what they need to know, and, finally, what they want to know. Pdf the role of needs analysis in esp curriculum design. The esp approach theory and reality of needs analysis. Needs analysis in language teaching language teaching.
Implications of need hierarchy theory for esp needs analysis adnan tahir. Conducting a needs analysis is a way in which you can find out more about the needs of your students. Introduction english for specific purposes esp has for about 30 years been a separate branch of english language teaching. One obvious advantage of needs analysis is that, by identifying them learners in general, needs analysis will identify the weak. Esp is normally goaloriented and esp courses are designed based on needs analysis. Needs analysis is the foremost and an integral part of the materials development processes as claimed by montazeri and. It is clear thus that needs analysis can help learners adapt to the new learning system when their teachers recognize their needs of the learning process carkin, 2005. Be welcomed by the students and the people paying e. The starting point for an esp course or program is to. The book shows the reader how needs analysis can be used to create a detailed profile of the professional learner and how this profile can then be used to tailor make a course in language and communication for working professionals and for those studying towards a. Needs analysis, course design and evaluation of business.