Business Spanish in the Real World: A Task-Based Needs Analysis

Abstract

The growing demand for Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) courses at universities in the United States in the last two decades (Klee, 2015) has brought to light the need for more theoretically driven research in this field, which can inform pedagogical decisions and materials design. The present study conceptually replicates Serafini and Torres (2015), adopting a Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach to instructional design, and it aims to contribute to the under-researched field of SPP by a) performing a needs analysis (NA) of a university business Spanish course at two institutions, and b) creating a semester-long syllabus, which better equips non-expert instructors to teach their business Spanish courses. Results indicated that of the total 40 target tasks cited in the first phase of the NA, 21 were reported to be very commonly performed by at least 30% of the respondents in the second phase. These 21 tasks were regrouped and categorized into five more abstract, super-ordinate target task types that made up the objectives for the semester-long business Spanish syllabus informed by TBLT.

A Positive Psychology Perspective on Designing a Technology-mediated Learning Experience: Engagement and Personal Development

“…One of its redefined objectives was to provide opportunities to engage self-expression in the presentational mode of communication within a business environment. Martin and Adrada-Rafael (2017) point out that, "practicing job interviews, writing a report, or giving a formal presentation to colleagues using PowerPoint all represent common tasks in the business world that, consequently, need to be addressed in the L2 classroom" (p. 57).…”

Language Needs Analysis for Working Abroad: a Case-Study in Thua Thien Hue Province

“…The researchers could identify major target task types that are used to build course objectives and lessons' tasks, including writing formal correspondence, summarizing and analyzing case studies, developing and present a marketing strategy, writing a report, and presenting data in a formal setting. Martin and Adrada-Rafael [21] conduct a replication study of Serafini and…”

“…Specific themes and questions were designed on the basis of the adaptations from previous literature in the discipline [4,7,15,21,28].…”

“…Questionnaire: The questionnaire was designed to elicit information about the needs of English training for export laborers, in particular, their language needs regarding daily routines and survival (e.g., language needs for daily life activities, at the restaurant, at the post office, at the bank, at the hospital, at the market/supermarket, and at the airport/station) and professional domains (interactions with employers/managers, with colleagues, with clients/customers, and with documents/machinery). The questionnaire was designed on the basis of relevant frameworks and previous studies that tackle the learners' language needs, in regards to vocational and labor migration purposes [4,7,15,21,28]. In addition, the information from the semi-structured interview also serves as the basis for the construction of the questionnaire, especially regarding the specific contextual factors of Vietnamese laborers.…”

“…Unlike studies of Serafini and Torres [28] or Martin and Adrada-Rafael [21] in which the target context is professional business settings, in our study, participants were involved in mainly blue-collar work. This reflects lower needs to read/write memos, reports, faxes, or contracts.…”