Needs analysis

Needs analysis

1. What are needs?

   • The concept of needs is not as simple as it might seem, which is why it is sometimes used to refer to longings, requests, expectations, motivations, wants, constraints and requirements (Brindley 1984, 28).
     • This indicates that needs possess an objective reality and simply remain there.
       • Porcher (1977, in Brindley 1984, 29) gives a different view: "The need is not an existing thing that can be discovered already realized in the street.

2. The purposes of needs analysis

   • we can use it for several different purposes, for example:
     • -To find out what language skills a learner needs in order to perform a particular role, such as sales manager, tour guide, or university student. (Richards, 2001)
     • -To help determine if an existing course adequately addresses the needs of potential students. (Richards, 2001)
     • -To determine which students from a group are most in need of training in particular language Skills. (Richards, 2001)
     • -To identify a change of direction that people in a reference group feel is important. (Richards, 2001)
     • -To identify a gap between what students are able to do and what they need to be able to do. (Richards, 2001)
     • -To collect information about a particular problem learners are experiencing. (Richards, 2001)

3. The users of needs analysis

   • staff of tertiary institutions, who are interested in knowing what the expected level will be of students exiting the schools and what problems they face. (Richards, 2001)
   • testing personnel, who are involved in developing end-of-school assessments
   • teachers who will teach from the new curriculum
   • learners, who will be taught from the curriculum
   • writers, who are preparing new textbooks
   • curriculum officers in the ministry of education, who may wish to use the information to evaluate the adequacy of existing syllabus, curriculum, and materials
   • 2 Lacks
     • What do the learners lack? For example, are there aspects of writing that were not practiced in their previous learning (L1, L2)?
   • 3 Wants
     • What do the learners wish to learn?
   • 1 Necessities
     • What is necessary in the learners’ use of language? For example, do the learners have to write answers to exam questions?

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