Need Analysis for Material Development The teaching of ESP is frequently described as a learner-based approach, which implies
that one of the fundamental responsibilities of the ESP practitioner is to investigate the gap
between learners’ current and target competencies (Belcher, 2012). The investigation, referred
to as needs analysis (NA), is a first spot for further activities and involves systematic research
into the objective and subjective needs of the learner group and quite a lot of other factors
related to the planned ESP course, such as information about the environment wherein it is to
be run.
Needs analysis identifies a particular learner’s or group of learners’ communicative needs
and their learning styles and preferences. It assists the teacher in identifying the learners’ future
target tasks and, if necessary, changing the syllabus, adapting it to the learners’ specific needs,
what learners know and what they need to learn in order to address these needs (Graves, 2001).
Likewise, Lowi (in Miyake and Tremarco; 2005) proposes types of needs analysis as
follows:
1. Target Situation Analysisof learners: the tasks and activities in which English is used;
2. Wants, Means and Subjective Need Analysis: personal information about learners including
factors that affect the way learners learn such as previous learning experiences, cultural
information, reasons for learning ESP and its expectations;
3. Present Situation Analysis: Information about learners’ current skills of language use;
4. Lack Analysis: the gap between Present Situation Analysisand Target Situation Analysis;
5. Learning Need Analysis: language learning information about the effective ways of learning
the skills and language;
6. Linguistic Analysis,Discourse Analysis and Genre Analysis: professional communication
information about knowledge of how language and skills are used in the target situation;
7. Means Analysis: information about the environment in which the course will be run.