Gathering information about target needs
It follows from the above account that the analysis of target needs involves far more than simply identifying the linguistic feature~ of rhe target situation. There are a number of ways in which information can be gathered about needs. The most frequently used are: questionnaires; interviews; observation; data collection e.g. gathering texts; h informal consultations with sponsors, learners and others.
A target situation analysis framework
Why is the language needed ?
- for study;
- forwork;
- for training;
- for a combination of these;
- for some other purpose, e.g. status, examination, promotion.
How will the language be used ?
- medium: speaking, writing, reading etc.;
- channel: e.g. telephone, face to face;
- types of text or discourse: e.g. academic texts, lectures, informal conversations, technical manual s, catalogues.
What will the content areas be?
- subjects: e.g. medicine, biology, architecture, shipping, commerce, engineering;
- level: e.g. technician, craftsman, postgraduate, secondary school.
Who will the learner use the language with ?
- native speakers or non-native ;
- level of knowledge of receiver: e.g. expert, layman, student;
- relationship: e.g. colleague, teacher, customer, superior, subordinate.
Where will the language be used ?
- physical setting: e.g. office, lecture theatre, hotel, workshop, library ;
- human context: e.g. alone, meetings, demonstrations, on telephone;
- linguistic context: e.g. in own country, abroad.
When will the language be used ?
- concurrentIy with the ESP course or subsequently;
-_ frequently, seldom, in small amounts, in large chunks
Learning needs
Till now we have considered needs only in terms of target situation needs. We have been considering the question: 'What knowledge and abilities will the learners require in order to be able to perform to the required degree of competence in the target situation?'. Using our analogy of the ESP course as a journey, what we have done so far is to consider the starting point (lacks) and the destination (necessities), although we have also seen that there might be some dispute as to what that destination should be (wants). What we have not considered yet is the route. How are we going to get from our starting point to rhe destination? This indicates another kind of need: learning needs.
When a learner ieams a foreign language he or she has various kinds of needs which influence
his/her learning. They are personal needs, learning needs and future professional needs.
Meeting these learner needs is part of being a good teacher.
The different kinds of learner needs are shown in this table:
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