Needs Assessment

Discussion

Needs assessment or need analysis in a language program is often viewed  simply as identification of the language forms that the students will likely need to use in the target language when they are required to actually understand and to produce the language. In general term, needs analysis also called needs assessment, refers to the activities involved in gathering information that will serve as the basis for developing a curriculum that will meet the learning needs of particular group of students. In the case of language program, those needs will be language related. Once identified, needs can be stated in terms of goals and objectives which in turn, can serve as the basis for developing tests, materials, teaching activities, and evaluation strategies, as well as for reevaluating the precision and accuracy of the original needs assessment.

The aims of a needs analysis are thus to determine the types of situations in which learners will be using English, the tasks and activities they are expected to carry out for take part in English. And their existing language skills or abilities with respect to those tasks (Munby 1978).

Needs can be distinguished between “subjective” and Objective” needs (Brindly 1989:70) defines objective need as “derivable from different kinds of factual information about learners, their use of language in real life communication situations as well as their current language proficiency and language difficulties” and subjective needs the cognitive and affective needs of the learners in the learning situations.

Johnson (1994:55) distinguished the needs between “felt” needs and perceived” needs. Felt needs are those which learners have. Felt needs in this reveled state are sometimes referred to express needs and maybe devaluated by viewing them as desire or wants. Thus Perceived Needs represent the other side of the coin –judgments or certified expert about the educational gaps in other people’s experience.

In assessing the needs, Grave (1996:15-16) suggest to include information about the learners’ background – country and culture, education, family, profession, language spoken, age and so on; the students; abilities of proficiency in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing English .

Practical guidelines to needs assessment is proposed by Isaac and Michael (1990:21) as follows:

a.    Identify the students-oriented goals (needs are based on goals)

b.    Rank the importance of these goal without regard to performance levels which are categorized as high, moderate, or low importance.

c.    Assess the level of performance for each of the goals (categorized as high, moderate, or low)

d.    Establish a priority for each student goal, considering both importance and performance.

1.     Steps in Needs Analysis

Jordan (1997) provides a summary of steps involved in conducting a needs analysis before looking at the different approach.

2.     Approach to Needs Analysis/Assessment

a.    Target-situation analysis (TSA)

           This approach was used by Munby (1978) focusing on the students needs at the end of a language course, and target-level performance. The model collects data about the learners rather than from the learners.

b.    Present-situation analysis (PSA)

           This approach was provided by Richterich and Chancerel (1978/80). The PASA ascertains the students’ rate of the language development at the beginning of the language course. The source of information is the students, the teaching establishment, user institution, sponsor, place of work, ect. The method used are surveys, questionaries and interviews.

c.    Learning-centered approach (LCA)

           This approach inferred that learning is totally by the learner. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) compare “target needs” (what the learner needs to do in the target situation) with “learning needs” (what the learner needs to learn.
      Detailed question for target needs;

1)    Why is the language needed?

2)    How will the language be used?

3)    What will the content areas be?

4)    Who will the learner use the language with?

5)    Where will the language be used?

6)    When will the language be used?

Detailed question for learning needs;

1.    Why are the learners taking the course?

2.    How do the learners learn?

3.    What resources are available?

4.    Who are the learners?

5.    Where will the ESP course take place?

6.    When will the ESP course take place?

d.    Strategy analysis

           In 1980s, the focus of needs analysis involved not only method of teaching, but also method of learning, in other words, observing the preferred learning styles and strategies of students.

           Allwright (1982) made a distinction between needs (the skills which a student seen as being relevant to him/herself), wants (those needs on which the students put a high priority in the available, limited time), and lacks (the difference between the student’s present competence and the desired competence).

e.    Mean analysis

           This (Holliday and Cooke 1982) attempt adapt the language courses to local situation; in other words, to accommodate what are frequently seen to be “constrains”, e.g; cultural attitudes, resources, materials, equipment and methods.

3.     Philosophies of Needs Assessment

     According to Stuffbeam (Cited in Brown, 1995), there are four divergent philosophies can arise in a needs analysis

a.    The discrepancy philosophy views needs as differences between desired performance from the students and observed or predicted performance (what they are actually doing).

b.    The democratic philosophy views needs as a change desired by a majority of some reference group or majority of the group involved.

c.    The analytic philosophy sees needs as whatever the students will naturally learn next based on what is known about them and the learning process involved ; that is the students are at stage x in their language development, and they next need to learn x + 1 or whatever is next in the hierarchy of language development.

d.    The diagnostic philosophy views a need as the direction improvement predicted, given information about current status. This philosophy might lead to an analysis of the important language skills necessary such as for immigrants to survives in their adopted country.

4.     Who will be involved in the Needs Analysis?

a.    The target group which is made up those people about whom information will ultimately be gathered. Usually consist of students in a program and sometimes the teacher and/or administrator.

b.    The audience for a need analysis which encompasses all people who will eventually be required to act upon the analysis. Usually consists of teachers, teachers’ aid, program administrator, and any governing bodies or supervisor in the bureaucracy above the language program.

c.    The needs of analysis who are responsible for conducting the needs analysis. They maybe consultants brought in for the purpose, or members of the faculty designated for the job.

d.    The resource group which consist of any people who may serve as source of information about the target group.  In some contexts, financial sponsors, outsiders (content course teachers).

5.     A target situation Analysis framework

a.    Why is the language needed?

-       For study

-       For work

-       For training

-       For a combination of these

-       For some other purpose, e.g. status, examination, promotion

b.    How will the language be used?

-       Medium : Speaking, Writing, Reading or Listening

-       Channel : e.g. telephone, face to face

-       Types of text discourse; e.g; academic texts, lectures, informal conversation, technical manuals, catalogues.

c.    What will the content areas be?

-       Subjects : e.g: medicine, biology, architecture, shipping, commerce, engineering

-       Level ; e.g: technician, craftsman, postgraduate, secondary school

d.    Who will the learner use the language with?

-       Native speakers, non-native speakers:

-       Level of knowledge of receiver: e.g expert, layman, students

-       Relationship: colleague, teacher, costumer, superior subordinate

e.    Where will the language be used?

-       Physical setting: e.g office, lecture theater, hotel, workshop, library

-       Human context: e.g. alone, meeting, demonstrations, on the telephone

-       Linguistic context: e.g in own country, abroad

f.     When will the language be used?

-       concurrently with the ESP course or subsequently

-       frequently, seldom, in small amounts, in large chunks

g.    Why are the learners taking the course?

-       Compulsory or optional

-       Apparent need or covert

-       Status, money, promotion involved?

-       What do learners think they will achieve?

-       What is their attitude toward the ESP course?

h.    How do the learners learn?

-       What is their learning background?

-       What is their concept of teaching and learning?

-       What methodology will appeal to them?

-       What sort of technique are likely to bore/alienate them?

i.      What resources are available?

-       Number and professional competence of teachers

-       Attitude of teachers to ESP

-       Teachers’ knowledge of and attitude to the subject content

-       Material

-       Aids

-       Opportunities for out-or-class activities

j.      Who are the learners?

-       Age/sex/nationally

-       What do they already know about English?

-       What subject knowledge do they have?

-       What are their interests?

-       What is their socio-cultural background?

-       What teaching styles are they used to?

-       What is their attitude to English or to the culture of the English speaking world

k.    Where will the ESP course take place?

-       Are the surroundings pleasant, dull, noisy, or cold

l.      When will the ESP course take place?

-       Time of day

-       Every day/ once a week

-       Fill-time/part time

-       Concurrent with need or pre-need.

            In college education, the needs analysis of the students will be normal practice to ask both the instructors and the students about their English needs. The lecturer might tend to exaggerate the need for English, while students may give lower indication of the need for English.

                        Practically, needs analysis will provide the teacher or curriculum and course designer with a very clear background of the learners in terms of the language needs in a real situation, the types of tasks involved, the skills available and required, the register, the setting and the environment.

6.     Types of instruments

Need analyst’s role	Instrument	Procedure
Outsider looking in	Existing information	Records analysis
		System analysis
		Literature review
		Letter writing
	Tests	Proficiency
		Placement
		Diagnostic
		achievement
	Observations	Case studies
		Diary studies
		Behavior observation
		Interactional analysis
		inventories
Facilitator drawing out	Interviews	Individual
information		Group
	Meetings	Delphi technique
		Advisory
		Interest group
		Review
	Questionnaire	Bio data surveys
		Opinion surveys
		Self-ratings
		Judgmental ratings
		Q sort

7.     Some methods of collecting data for needs analysis

a.    Advance document

b.    Language test

c.    Self assessment

d.    Observation in class :monitoring

e.    Class progress tests ( an error analysis)

f.     Surveys: profile (questionnaire)

g.    Structure interview

h.    Learner diaries/Journal

i.      Case Study

j.      End-of-course test

k.    Evaluation/feedback (questionnaire; discussion)

l.      Follow –up investigations

m.   Previous research

 

Reference : Book of Fundamental Aspect of English for Specific Purposes by M. Basri Wello and Syarifuddin Dollah (UNM)