Finding out about your students

1.1 Four skills needs analysis

Teaching notes
To practise Asking questions, discussing English language needs and presenting information. Level Lower-intermediate and above. Class size Ideally four students or multiples of
four. If you have one extra student, s/he should pair up with another student and share a question card. With two or three extra students, they can double up their cards. However, you could redesign the cards using more general categories for pre-experience learners.

One-to-one

Not ideal, but teacher and student can analyze the students marks, using them as a basis for discussing the students needs and possibly also for devising a course syllabus.

Pre-experience learners

This is an activity aimed at those students who already have some business experience and wish to use their English at work.

Timing 3040 minutes. You will need One copy of each of the Worksheets
(p1011), cut into four, per group of four students. A flipchart is an advantage for stage four.

Procedure
You can use this activity early on in a course to work out a course syllabus which matches, as far as possible, your students needs. answers with any students who are waiting to interview an occupied student.

Explain to students that they are going to do some research to find out what they need to do most in English. Put students into groups of four, or as close as possible to this. Tell them that each of them will research one of the main study skills. Hand out a different section of the Worksheet to each member of each group and ask students first to complete the column headed Me for themselves. If necessary, you could demonstrate this using one students answers. Next, students interview colleagues in their group about their needs and fill in the remaining columns. Encourage pairs to work at a similar pace where possible. Discuss

When everyone has been interviewed, ask students to add up the horizontal total for each item on their worksheet and write it in the Total column. They should then highlight the items with the highest scores. One representative for each group should then collate this information. While students are doing this, put the four skills as headings on a flipchart, if possible, or if not, on the board. Starting with one skill, e.g. reading, ask each group representative in turn to report on the things their group needs to be able to do most. Where an item is repeated, add a tick or star to it. Then go through the other skills in the same way. The teacher or a confident volunteer then presents the collated class material.

Follow up
Note down the information from this class and produce a poster with a heading such as Our class priorities for the wall, or make a handout. Periodically, check whether the list is still relevant to your students and revise it as appropriate.

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1.1 Four skills needs analysis

A Reading
How important is it for you to be able to read these things in English? Mark each one from 1 (not important/never do it) to 5 (very important/I really need to be able to do this) in the Me column. Then ask the other students in your group and put their marks in the other columns.

Me Business letters Reports and memos Faxes Newspapers and magazines Specialist journals Marketing and publicity material Books connected with your work Reference material (e.g. trade directories) Other?

Student 1 Student 2 Student 3

Total

B Listening
How important is it for you to be able to listen to and understand these things in English? Mark each one from 1 (not important/never do it) to 5 (very important/I really need to be able to do this) in the Me column. Then ask the other students in your group and put their marks in the other columns.

Me Presentations People speaking on the phone People speaking at meetings Lectures Social talk TV programmes and videos Radio Recorded material, e.g. answerphone, voice mail Other?

Student 1 Student 2 Student 3

Total

PHOTOCOPIABLE Cambridge Business English Activities Cambridge University Press 2000

1.1 Four skills needs analysis

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C Writing
How important is it for you to be able to write these things in English? Mark each one from 1 (unimportant/I never do it) to 5 (very important/I really need to be able to do this) in the Me column. Then ask the other students in your group and put their marks in the other columns.

Me Business letters Faxes Short messages, notes and memos Articles Reports Notes for presentations Formal speeches Other?

Student 1 Student 2 Student 3

Total

D Speaking
How important is it for you to be able to do these things in English? Mark each one from 1 (not important/I never do it) to 5 (very important/I really need to be able to do this) in the Me column. Then interview the other students in your group and fill in their answers in the other columns.

Me Speak on the phone Speak face to face in business meetings Speak face to face in social situations Negotiate Give a presentation Give a formal speech Give a lecture Sell or promote a product or service Discuss statistics Show visitors around Other?

Student 1 Student 2 Student 3

Total

Cambridge Business English Activities Cambridge University Press 2000 PHOTOCOPIABLE