Interdisciplinary Science, 2014, Vol. 59, No. 5, pp. 99-104 This paper is available online at http://stdb.hnue.edu.vn
NEEDS ANALYSIS: A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT IN THE DESIGN OF A PRE-TERTIARY EAP COURSE
Luong Thi Phuong Nhi
Faculty of English for Specific Purposes, Foreign Trade University
Abstract. It can be found that a great deal of research has been done on needs analysis and its role in the teaching and learning of EngUsh for Specific Purposes (ESP). While linguists and language teachers differ in their perspective on needs analysis, they generally share the view that needs analysis plays an integral part in the process of designing, teaching and evaluating ESP courses. With regards to the design of an English course for Academic Purposes (EAP), this paper describes and critically examines two existing approaches to needs analysis: target situation analysis and learning situation analysis in relation to a particular group of Vietnamese learners. These se two approaches have been combined in order to create an EAP course that is appropriate to a particular group of learners with particular needs in a specific learning context - that of a teaching and learning situation in an English speaking nation.
Keywords: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Academic Purposes (EAP), ESP courses.
1. Introduction
Teaching EngUsh for Specific Purposes (ESP) has broadly been perceived as a separate activity in EngUsh language teaching; it also has been seen as a cmcial and novel activity in the Teaching of English as a Foreign or Second language. The distinguishable feature of ESP Ues in its teaching approach and teaching materials, which results from needs analysis (Dudl^-Evans, 2001).
Although there have been divergent viewpoints of needs analysis, many support the notion that needs analysis is considered an "initial" and "fundamental" process for designing, teaching and evaluating any EngUsh language course in general and ESP courses m particular (Jordan, 1997; Nunan, 1988). With tiie aim of designing an EngUsh
Received January 25,2014. Accepted April 29.2014.
Contact Luong Thi Phuong Nhi, e-mail address: [email protected]
Luong Thi Phuong Nhi
course for Academic Purposes (EAP), this paper describes and criticaUy scrutinizes two existing approaches to needs analysis, that of target sitaation analysis and that of learning sitaation analysis witii reference to a particular group of Vietaamese leamers. The learner group in the EAP course is characterized as foUows: LEARNER PROFILE
The leamers in this particular EAP course are Vietaamese stadents of English aged seventeen to twenty one. AU are high school graduates who have taken the Intemational EngUsh Language Testing System (lELTS) examination and gotten scores high enough to be offered placement at a university in an EngUsh speaking country. Then English level is at the upper intermediate or better level and they are all about to enter a bachelor degree program. However, none of them have prior experience in overseas stody or in an education system where EngUsh is used as the medium of instmction. Hence, tiie EAP course offered to tiiis learner group is shaped as a pre-tertiary course, namely Genera!
EngUsh for Academic Purposes (GEAP). The course aims to provide stadents with Unguistic and socioUnguistic knowledge as well as common stady skiUs like presentation and academic writing skills. It also attempts to make stadents aware of sociopolitical issues prior to the commencement of their tertiary stady in an EngUsh speaking nation.
2. Contents
2.1. Approaches to needs analysis
After examining both target sitaation analysis and learning sitaation analysis we justify tae use of those approaches wita reference to the described group of leamers.
Target sitaation analysis originated with Munby's model of Communicative Syllabus Design (1978) which is still considered "the best well-known framework" for target-sitaation analysis (Jordan, 1997). The model proposed by Munby, as Hutchinson and Waters (1987:54) comment, offers "a highly detailed set of procedures for discovering target situation needs" possibly used for identifying "the target language needs of any group of leamers."
2.1.1. Evaluation
The principle goal of the EAP course designed for the Vietaamese learner group is to encourage stadents to use the English language which they will have to do when they stady in an EngUsh speaking country. In order to achieve this goal, the fu'st step in designing the course is to identify "the target situation and then carry out a rigorous analysis of the linguistic features of the situation", according to Hutchinson and Waters (1987:12). Thus, in this paper we use TSA to identify the "what", i.e. the language content or linguistic features, that the Vietaamese stadents need to master to "function adequately"
(Hutchinson and Waters, 1987) in the target education system.
There are some advantages to using TSA to gather information about the needs of the group of Vietaamese learners who plan to do their bachelor degrees in an education
Needs analysis: a fiindamental element in the design of a pre-teriiary EAP course system where EngUsh is used as a medium of instruction.
First of aU, a profile of the target level communicative competence needs of the learner group can be constructed based on Munby's "socioUnguistic model" (Robinson, 1991). A profile of the stadents' communication needs would include both information about then: non-linguistic constraints and their Ungmstic shortcomings. In terms of non-Unguistic constraints, course designers need to find out the leamers' educational purposes, the physical and psychological setting of the target EngUsh speaking countty and the learners' social relationship within that setting. Such information refers to the non-Unguistic consttaints of Vietaamese stadents surveyed. Meanwhile, Unguistic data consists of dialect, target level required, tasks required of the leamers and the ways they might perform those tasks (Robinson, 1991).
The consfruction of the learners' Unguistic demand profile would help to establish
"the destination" that the learners need to reach. The GEAP course provided to the chosen group of leamers is a short course designed to give stadents a clear understanding of their expected target. In an EAP short course, Basturkmen and Elder (2004) claim that language teachers find it more efficient to guide taefr stadents from point A to point B if the instmction is linked closely to the target sitaation needs.
Additionally, though some argue that TSA excludes consideration of the learner's felt or perceived needs, the objectives built up from the target sitaation needs might be seen as a motivation for studying. Motivation to leam the English language would probably appear if they recognized the objectives they must achieve by the end of the course. Hence, there is an argument that students are likely to find English language courses for specific purposes to be "highly motivating" since they can see the close correlation/ link between the goal of tae insfruction and their actual needs. They would also tend to stady effectively because the course content is "motivating" (Bloor & Bloor, 1986 cited in Basttu-kmen and Elder, 2004).
It is undeniable that TSA provides systemic and comprehensive data about the learners' linguistic and socioUnguistic needs in the target sitaation (Robinson, 1991;
Jordan, 1997). There might, however, be some drawbacks when applying TSA.
Target sitaation analysis is believed to ultimately focus on "the surface of Unguistic features of the target situation" and "a language-centered approach to needs analysis"
(Hutchinson & Waters, 1987:54). TSA as proposed in this paper is to be used to analyze Vietnamese learners' targeted linguistic needs or to coUect a detailed Ust of linguistic features of the target sitaation. While target Unguistic needs are the focus, some do feel that more should be done to analyze leamers' needs (Hutchinson and Water, 1987:54).
Learners' perception of their own needs is said to be excluded from TSA (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987:54). TSA analyzes leamers' needs in target situation and tiiose needs are defined as objective needs (Jordan, 1997) which can be conducted in "the absence of the learners" (Nunan, 1988) or with "Uttie further reference to the learner"
Luong Thi Phuong Nhi
(Hutchison and Waters, 1987:54). However, learners do have subjective needs and leamers may have particular needs and inadequate data of the leamers' "actual" needs would probably lead to the constmction of a language course that is not appropriate for the chosen leamer group.
2.1.2. The learning centered approach (Learning situation analysis) Description of Learning Situation Analysis (LSA)
Jordan (1997) asserts that Munby's approach to needs analysis plays an mfluential role in tiie development of later approaches to needs analysis in the Uterattu-e. It could be said that the learning centered approach proposed by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) stems from Munby's approach and model. While the major concem in the target sitaation analysis is language use, the learning sitaation analysis (LSA) based on Hutchinson and Waters' model (1987) emphasizes the analysis of the language learning processes. Needs analysis is not simply a process of identifying "the competence" of leamer performance.
It is, according to Hutchison and Water (1987) also a question of how leamers master that competence. LSA is tiierefore used to obtain information about leamers' target needs and learning needs. The target needs include 'necessities', 'lacks' and 'wants' while learning needs is analyzed looking at factors such as the conditions of the learning sitaation, stadent knowledge, skills and sttategies, and theh language learning motivation (Hutchison and Waters, 1987).
Evaluation
It seems that LSA offers more comprehensive data about learners' needs than does TSA. This approach is undertaken to discover target needs by analyzing necessities, lacks and wants (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). When ascertaining the necessities, target Unguistic features help to set up the objectives of the course. With this consideration, flie language content of the EAP course designed for a Vietaamese leamer group would be more 'accurate' or 'appropriate' if the'lacks' and'wants' of the leamer groups were taken into consideration.
Even though a group of leamers passes the lELTS exam, their current language proficiency may faU short of tiie targeted language competence, something which Water and Breen (1979 cited in Hutchinson and Waters, 1987) define as learner 'lacks'. If language teachers ware aware of Vietaamese leamers' necessities and lacks, they would be able to decide which Unguistic features should be prioritized or included in the content of the EAP course. It is the case that stadents' perception of their own needs or wants may be different from the course designers' or language teachers' perception of leamers' needs (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). Because leamers' felt or perceived needs and wants are likely to be the result of their understanding of the "necessities of the target sitaation and their actaal lacks, thus, learners' perceived needs should be examined criticaUy (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). LSA, to a certain extent, takes into account leamers' subjective needs, as Nunan (1988b, cited in Jordan, 1997) beUeves, and getting leamers
Needs analysis: a fundamental element in the design of a pre-tertiary EAP course involved in needs analysis is beneficial in that taey can know what can be achieved and how it can be done.
In addition, LSA is thought to be appropriate to the learner group discussed in this paper because this approach is used to identify learners' target needs in addition to how leamers leamed the language items, skills and strategies that they use (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). An analysis of learning needs like the learning sitaation, the learners' knowledge, then: learning skiUs and strategies or theh motivation for English language learning is of a necessity. According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), setting up the starting point (lacks) and tae destination (necessities) is a part of a learning process.
Showing stadents the route to go making use of available 'vehicles' creates the whole process of leanung.
There are surely limitations to the appUcation of LSA. The EAP course is designed for learners who future learning disciples are different and learners' perception of what fliey need or want will vary. Stadents will justify taeir needs and wants differently.
Information regarding learners' subjective needs should be carefiiUy interpreted and both the target and goal-oriented needs and the learners' perceived needs should be taken into account. This may lead to the design of an EAP pre-tertiary course which may to appropriate for Vietnamese leamers.
The level and experience of stadents does influence taeir felt and perceived needs.
The group of stadents under discussion have had no prior experience studying abroad and no exposure to an academic environment where EngUsh is tae medium of insttuction.
One could question whether stadents understand the target academic setting requirements when they shape their wants or needs. It is claimed that stadents do not know what they need or what they need it for unless they are aUeady ttained in their profession (Robinson, 1991).
3. Conclusion
The two approaches discussed in this paper could be used to analyze the learners' linguistic and cognitive needs, their learning process and other sociopolitical factors taat may affect leamers in their target learning sitaation.
Information about learners' linguistic needs and the learning process collected by TSA or LSA will be used to design the EAP course for tae Vietaamese leamer group.
The objective and subjective needs gathered through TSA and LSA bring comprehensive information about the learners' language use in tae target sitaation. The two approaches complement each other, influencing and being influenced by the other. It could be said that by combining tiie two approaches, a relatively vivid picture is obtained about tiie leamer needs. Combining tae two approaches may very weU lead to the designing of an EAP course that is appropriate to a particular group of leamers with particular needs in a particular learning context.
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