Introducing Genre and English for Specific Purposes by Hyon Sunny

Author:Hyon, Sunny [Hyon, Sunny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Routledge

Examples of needs analysis

A number of ESP needs analyses illustrate ways of collecting and using data like those described in Table 5.1. I briefly describe five such analyses below, each of which has particular emphases, research methods, and outcomes that could apply to a needs analysis for a genre-based course. These five examples may give you ideas for doing a needs analysis of your own.

Basturkmen (2010): identifying target and learning needs through multiple methods

In designing an English for Police course, Basturkmen (2010) and her colleagues conducted a multi-method, triangulated needs analysis of New Zealand police officers, many of whom were non-native English speakers. The researchers assessed the officers’ target needs by interviewing a senior officer about genres the officers had to use, examining samples of those genres, and observing first-hand the officers’ language use by doing ‘ride-alongs’ with them on their patrols. In addition, regarding their learning needs, the course developers gathered feedback from the officers about what language learning and teaching styles they preferred. They also ascertained the officers’ current genre and general English knowledge through language proficiency tests and interviews with them. From these data, the course developers identified several facts that guided their priorities for the English for Police course:

• The police officers had to speak English in stressful situations and sometimes had difficulties with English pronunciation when speaking under pressure.

• They had not yet mastered particular features of written police genres. Junior officers, for example, often used vague language in reports that needed to be more precise, especially as these reports were used as evidence in court trials.

• In terms of their learning needs, although they had access to online lessons and individual tutorials, officers “showed a strong desire for a social form of learning” with face-to-face classes and a teacher.

(Basturkmen, 2010, p 77)

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