English for SpecificPurposes Needs Analysis

By: Ika P. / PBI 5F/08321Peni R. / PBI 5F/08321 217Pijar/ PBI 5F/08321 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH TEACHING FACULTY OF ARTS AND LETTERS EDUCATION IKIP PGRI Jakarta

Chapter 1 A . B a c k g r o u n d B . T h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s p a p e r Based on the description above, this paper would analyze:a . N e e d s A n a l y s i s b . W h o I s C o n d u c t i n g N e e d s A n a l y s i s ? c . W h a t A r e T a r g e t N e e d s ? d. Gath er in g In for mation about Tar get Need se . L e a r n i n g N e e d s f. An a l ysi n g Lea r n i n g Need sg. Cr i t i que of n e ed s a n a l ysi s Chapter 2 A . N e e d s A n a l y s i s Why do learners need to learn English? All courses are based on a perceivedn e e d o f s o m e s o r t . O t h e r w i s e w h y w o u l d E n g l i s h f i n d i t s w a y i n s c h o o l o r college timetable: someone at sometime must have decided there was a need for it. What is the difference between ESP and GE? In theory nothing, in practicea great deal. It is often argued that the needs in GE are not specifiabl e. In factthis is the weakness of all arguments, because it is alwa ys possi ble t o specifyneeds, even if its only the need to pass exams at the and of school year. There isalways an identifiable need of some sort. What distinguishes ESP from GE? It isnot the existence of a need but rather an awareness of the need. It is not so muchthe nature of the need which distinguishes the ESP from the General course butrather the awareness of a need, i.e. the awareness of a target situation, the needto communicate in English. Thus, any course should be based on an analysis of the learner needs. Analysis for ESP and GE: Questions will be the same, but theanswers will be different. Nevertheless, for the time being, the tradition persisti n G E t h a t t h e l e a r n e r s c a n n o t b e s p e c i f i e d a n d a s a r e s u l t s n o a t t e m p t s i s usually made to discover learners true needs. Thus if we had to state in practicalterms the irreducible minimum of an ESP approach to course design, it would b e needs analysis, since it is the awareness of a target situation, t h a t distinguishes the ESP learners from the learners of GE. What do we mean by n e e d s ? Accor din g to th e lan guage-cen ter ed appr oach , it is th e abilit y tocompr eh en d an d/or pr oduc e t h e l i n gui st i c fea t ur es of t h e t ar get si t ua t i on . T ar get n eeds: wh a t th e s t u d e n t s n e e d t o d o i n t h e t a r g e t s i t u a t i o n . L e a r n i n g needs: what the student needs to do in order to learn.B . W h o I s C o n d u c t i n g N e e d s A n a l y s i s ? Learners: current and former Teachers and applied linguists Domain experts /subject specialists Employers Documents

 Triangulated sourcesC . W h a t A r e T a r g e t N e e d s ? Target needs: It is like the umbrella term, which in practice hides a number of important distinctions. Necessities: according to the demands of the target situation, this isw h a t t h e l e a r n e r h a s t o k n o w i n o r d e r t o f u n c t i o n e f f e c t i v e l y i n t h a t situation. Lacks: according to what the learner already knows, we decide whatnecessities are missing. There is a gap between the existing profi ciencyand the target proficiency. W a n t s : a c c o r d i n g t o w h a t w e h a v e c o n s i d e r e d f r o m a n o b j e c t i v e POV, we have to say that a need does not exist independent of a person.It is people who build their images of their needs on the basis of datar e l a t i n g t o t h e m s e l v e s a n d t h e i r e n v i r o n m e n t . T h u s , o b j e c t i v e a n d s u b j e c t i v e v i e w s o f n e e d s c a n c o n f l i c t m o t i v a t i o n . T h e E S P c o u r s e designer or teacher has to be aware of such differences and take accountof them in materials and methodol ogy. Important decisi ons are to bem a d e . T o u n d e r t a k e M e d i c a l S t u d i e s T o s u c c e e d i n A g r i c u l t u r a l or V e t e r i n a r y s t u d i e s W A N T S M e a n s o f d o i n g M e d i c a l S t u d i e s (Presumabl y) areas of English needed for Agricultural or VeterinaryStudies LACKS To reluctantly cope with a second-best situation TheE n g l i s h n e e d e d f o r s u c c e s s i n Agricultural or Veterinary studies N E C E S S I T I E S S U B J E C T I V E ( i . e . a s p e r c e i v e d b y s t u d e n t s ) OBJECTIVE (i.e. as perceived by course designers).D.Gathering Information about Target NeedsThe analysis of target needs involves far more than simply identifying thelinguistic features of the target situation. Different ways in which informationcan be gathered about needs: Questionnaires Interviews Observation Data collection Informal consultations Important: the choice will depend on the time and resources available. And,needs analysis is not a once-for-all activity. It should be a continuing process.A Target situation analysis framework Why is the language needed? How will the language be used? What will the content areas be? Who will the learner use the language with? Where will the language be used? When will the language be used?It is obviously necessary to obtain answers to the questions from a variety of sources, and then negotiate a satisfactory compromise.E . L e a r n i n g N e e d s Using our analogy of the ESP course as a journey, what we have done so far is to consider the starting point (lacks) and the destination (necessities) andwhere the destination should be (wants).What we have not considered yet is theroute. How are we going to get from our starting point to the destination? Thewhole ESP process is concerned not with knowing or doing, but with learning.We need to take into account the destination or needs of a learning situation: Atask that is enjoyable, fulfilling, manageable, generative, etc. A project in classcan be guided in terms of its general orientation by the target situation, but itsspecific content is a response to learning

needs. The target situation alone is nota reliable indicator of what is needed in the ESP course. It can determine thedestination, but we must also choose our route: the conditions of the learning situation the learners knowledge, skills and strategies the learners motivationF o r e x a m p l e , i n a t a r g e t s i t u a t i o n s t u d e n t s m a y n e e d t o r e a d l o n g , d u l l , complex texts, but their motivation may be high because: They like the subject in general Job/Promotion prospects may be involved They will carry out interesting experiments or practical work (basedon the texts) They like and/or respect the teacher/boss. F . A n a l y s i n g L e a r n i n g N e e d s A framework for analysing learning needs: Why are the learners taking the course? How do the learners learn? What resources are available? Who are the learners? Where will the ESP course take place? When will the ESP course take place?G . C r i t i q u e o f n e e d s a n a l y s i s Learners may not be reliable sources of information about their ownneeds, especially if they are pre-experience learners Learners may lack metalinguistic awareness Objective needs are not the same as subjective needs Perspectives of needs vary; whose perspective of needs should be takeninto account? Language use is too unpredictable Needs analysis often serves the interests of the institution rather thanlearners sis of the target situation can tell us what people do with language. What we