Needs analysis for specialized learner populations: Essential methodological improvements

Serafini, Ellen J.; Lake, Julie B.; Long, Michael H.

doi:10.1016/j.esp.2015.05.002

Cited by 137 publications

(65 citation statements)

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“…In addition, the studies demonstrated that researchers tend to adopt task‐supported rather than genuine task‐based approaches. As advocated by Long (, ) and Serafini et al (), conducting methodologically sound task‐based needs analyses will not only yield valid and generalizable findings about what learners actually need to be able to do to function successfully outside the classroom, but can also provide instructors who lack specific training or personal experience in specific contexts in which L2 skills are required with a useful road map in the design, instruction, and evaluation of LSP courses (Klee, ; Ogilvie & Dunn, ).…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

The Utility of Needs Analysis for Nondomain Expert Instructors in Designing Task‐Based Spanish for the Professions Curricula

Serafini

Torres

2015

Foreign Language Annals

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The demand for Spanish for specific purposes (SSP) university courses in the United States has prompted widespread curricular change in language departments over the last two decades (Klee, 2015; Sánchez‐López, 2013). However, many instructors lack the tools and training needed to design SSP curricula that meet learners’ communicative needs in such contexts. Moreover, little SSP research to date has taken a task‐based approach to identifying learners’ specialized needs (Long, 2015), which can provide much‐needed support to instructors who are nonexperts in the particular domain of interest. The current study reports on a small‐scale, multiphase needs analysis carried out to design a university business Spanish course. In Phase 1, a small sample of business graduates and professionals generated a list of 40 target tasks in the domains of reading, writing, listening, and speaking that were relevant to their particular work. In Phase 2, 54 university business majors rated the frequency and difficulty of each task on a 40‐item Likert‐type questionnaire. During Phase 3, the researchers analyzed and grouped target tasks identified in the needs assessment to create five major target task types that informed course objectives and classroom tasks.

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Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

The Utility of Needs Analysis for Nondomain Expert Instructors in Designing Task‐Based Spanish for the Professions Curricula

Serafini

Torres

2015

Foreign Language Annals

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“…There are a number of studies demonstrating the ways in which needs analysis can be carried out. Among the most recent ones is Serafini, Lake and Long's (2015) article, describing the needs analysis procedure among non-native speakers of English who are part of the scientific community at a large university. In this case, an open questionnaire aimed at identifying the tasks such in-service learners fulfil was supplemented by structured interviews, activity journals, discourse analysis, observations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an earlier study by Read (2008), diagnostic assessment was used for the purpose of understanding students' academic needs and providing appropriate academic support. According to Serafini, Lake and Long (2015), 10 needs analysis studies of 1980s-1990s predominantly relied on questionnaire surveys, interviews and observations. This article contributed to the body of methodological options for needs analysis and describe how piloting can be utilised for needs analysis purposes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Textbook Evaluation as a Means of Discovering Learners' and Teachers' Needs

Victorovna

2016

JLE

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Needs analysis is considered an essential step which normally precedes English for Academic Purposes course design. It allows course developers to identify the tasks the target audience has to complete, and the skills they need to master. Based on the experience of the 'English for Academics' textbook writing project, the paper shows that needs analysis can be extended to the materials evaluation stage of textbook development. The piloting undertaken at this stage involved a questionnaire which required qualitative and quantitative responses from teacher and learner participants. The respondents were encouraged to evaluate different aspects of the course implementation, e.g. timing, relevance, difficulty, sequence, clarity of instructions, etc., and suggest improvements. The questionnaire was analysed which provided course developers with the opportunity to identify additional learners' needs and to explore teachers' needs and expectations, which in many respects coincided with each other. Consequently, the learning and teaching materials were restructured in accordance with the evaluation. The changes which were introduced into the textbook and the Teachers' Notes are described. It is concluded that piloting can be an instrument to expose both pedagogical and linguistic needs, thus, providing for the triangulation of the methods and reliability of the results.

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“…While the findings in the studies above (Bacha & Bahous, 2008;Evans, 2013;Serafini et al, 2015) are beneficial for enhancing the design and development of authentic and effective ESP courses, questions arise around issues of translating this information into the development and design of ESP courses and materials by EL educators in Malaysia who generally have ESL backgrounds. There needs to be further investigation on the process of developing ESP courses in Malaysia to better understand the challenges faced by EL educators and to further assist in designing, developing and delivering effective ESP courses.…”

Section: Needs Analysis For Programme Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Serafini, Lake and Long (2015), for example, conducted needs analysis in nursing with student trainees and domain experts (supervising principal investigators) through online questionnaires and semistructured face-to-face interviews. Their analysis revealed a mismatch between what the trainees perceived they needed in their profession (language to perform tasks), and what experts perceived the trainees needed (language to overcome communication challenges).…”

Section: Needs Analysis For Programme Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing the complexities of English language teaching in engineering

Mohamed¹

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In this 21 st century, engineering employers seek professional engineers who have excellent scientific knowledge and are able to demonstrate good communication and problem solving skills.With this focus on job demands, engineering education has been restructured, balancing the emphasis between scientific knowledge and soft skills. This shift in focus has not only affected the teaching and learning in engineering education, but also English Language (EL) educators who are involved in teaching non-technical components within an engineering education curriculum.This shift in focus has raised the demand for ESP which include teaching communication skills in English language discourse used in engineering, and teaching problem solving skills in English language teaching. With this demand, challenges are inevitable among EL educators who are generally prepared for teaching English for generic purposes in school settings and who bring with them pedagogical knowledge and beliefs in English language teaching, as well as identities they have developed from their previous to their new workplace. This shift also raises questions about the ways in which English language teaching is positioned, the role of English language courses within an engineering-specific context and the implications of this positioning on the design of the English language courses.The main aim of this study was to investigate how EL educators managed the complexities in teaching English at one technical university in Malaysia. In addressing the research questions, a case study design was developed to highlight the complexities within that context and the ways in which EL educators managed these complexities. The data for this study were collected through qualitative and quantitative methods to unpack the complex process of teaching English for engineering which included teaching problem solving and communication skills. These methods obtained insights into the ways in which EL educators conceptualised English language teaching, positioned themselves and framed their teaching in an engineering context. The quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire involving 12 EL educators. The data from the questionnaire were used to profile the EL educators at the English Language Department of this university. Based on the profiling, four EL educators teaching undergraduate engineering students were selected for the main study. The qualitative data were collected through document study, individual semistructured interviews, classroom observations, video recording of classroom observations and stimulated recall protocols.This study found that there were disconnections between English language teaching and the engineering discipline at this university. These disconnections were due to the dissemination process of the engineering accreditation requirements whereby these requirements went through ii multiple layers of interpretation, adaptation and translation before they reached the EL educators, causing ambiguities in positioning English language ...

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Needs analysis for specialized learner populations: Essential methodological improvements

Cited by 137 publications

References 50 publications

The Utility of Needs Analysis for Nondomain Expert Instructors in Designing Task‐Based Spanish for the Professions Curricula

The Utility of Needs Analysis for Nondomain Expert Instructors in Designing Task‐Based Spanish for the Professions Curricula

Textbook Evaluation as a Means of Discovering Learners' and Teachers' Needs

Managing the complexities of English language teaching in engineering

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