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Needs Analysis in Syllabus Design

13th Jun 2017  English Language  Reference this

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Thank you for choosing our Language centre as one of your prospective providers. In this envelop you
will find what you have requested from us. An essay with the explanation of ‘Needs Analysis’ and
‘Syllabus design in TESOL’, and a description and rationale of the syllabus items for the two weeks
course. We hope that you will be satisfied with the work we have produced. We would be very happy
if we had the chance to collaborate with you.

Part A:

Needs Analysis:

Needs analysis procedure in language teaching was first introduced and used by Michael West in
1920, but then re-emerged during 1970 as a result of intensive studies conducted by the council of
Europe team. Needs analysis was developed and was emphasized in ESP (English for Specific
Purposes) and it is argued that it is not possible to specify the needs of general English learners.
Hutchinson and Walters (1987) describe need analysis as the most characteristic feature of English for
Specific Purposes course design. It is also notable that a needs analysis is the starting point for a
syllabus/course design. It is a part of a curriculum development, and is required before developing a
syllabus. Thus, the information gathered from a need analysis can be used to define the program goals
or sometimes to select the most relevant material for the language syllabus.

Johnson K. (2008, pg.200) points out that: ”in order to plan a foreign language teaching we need to
find a way of analysing learners’ needs. What is going to tell us just how much, and for what purposes
our learners will need which foreign languages, it is the process of needs analysis.”

Needs Analysis in language teaching and language programme design, can be defined as a systematic
process which helps teachers to collect information and get an accurate and complete picture of their
students’ needs and preferences. Then they interpret the information collected and they make
decisions about what to include in their programme, based on the interpretations in order to meet the
students’ needs. This process can be used in response to the academic needs of all the students, for
improving their achievements and meeting challenged academic standards. However, this process
sometimes does not involve looking at the learners’ individual needs, but may involve looking at the
requirements and expectations of other members involved, such as employees, parents, teachers and
financial supporters.

Some probable resources for gathering information are: questionnaires, surveys, tests, observations
and individual interviews. Generally a need analysis tries to get information on the situations in which
a language is going to be used, the purposes for which that language is needed, the types of
communication that are going to be used in the course and the level of proficiency that is required to
develop a syllabus.

If a need analysis is used as a current part of teaching, it helps learners to reflect on their learning, to
identify their needs, but also control their learning. Additionally, as Amie M. Casper (2003) states: ”
The information gleaned from a need analysis can be used to help you define program goals. These
goals can be stated as specific teaching objectives, which will function as the foundation on which a
teacher will develop the lesson plans, materials, tests, assignments and activities.” Thus, a need
analysis helps you to elucidate the purposes of your learning program.

Syllabus design in TESOL:

All professional people, who are labelled as teachers or are somehow related to language teaching,
sometimes in their career path will be responsible of creating a syllabus or at least they have created
one. Basically, syllabus design is a key component of their course preparation. To start with, syllabus
is defined as a statement of content, denoting what a particular programme is going to cover (Richards
et al. 1985, qtd in Johnson K. 2008, pg.215), which means that a syllabus design involves planning
course content.

David Nunan (1988, pg.8) comments on syllabus design by stating that: “A traditional syllabus design
has been seen as a subsidiary component of the curriculum design. Curriculum is concerned with the
planning implementation, evaluation management and administration of education programs, whereas
syllabus focuses more narrowly on the selection and grading of context.”

Syllabus design procedures are required for deciding what is going to be taught in a language
programme. A basic step prior to syllabus design is need analysis. Knowing exactly what to your
students want, and why they want to learn English is a basic feature in a syllabus design. Generally, a
right syllabus is designed into manageable chunks that can be followed and interact into each other. It
is important that the effectiveness of the teacher’s class will be largely depending on how the lessons
develop over time.

Then, the teacher has to decide the content of his syllabus. He needs to make sure what to include in
the syllabus so that it is relevant to what the students need. When it comes to organize the syllabus,
the teacher designs his syllabus based on his list of prioritized topics or areas of his study. He has to
make sure that his selected topics build up on others, but also that he uses a broad variety of resources
and activities. Furthermore, the teacher has to be sure on which of the four skills (listening, speaking,
writing, reading) to focus on, and which ones are the most important for his students.

As you have read above, there have been identified three main stages in the process of a language
syllabus. The first one is the needs analysis, then content specification and then syllabus organisation.

There are two approaches to syllabus design. Product approach and process approach. Most syllabuses
are based on product approach. In the product approach the teacher, teaches the students and then he
tests them in order to evaluate them (evaluate their performance). A product syllabus focuses on what
is going to be learnt at the end of the learning process (the outcomes) rather than the process itself.
Some product-oriented syllabuses are the following: the grammatical syllabus, the functional syllabus
and the lexical syllabus. On the other hand, a process approach on a syllabus concentrates on the skills
and the processes which are involved in the learning process.

There are different types of syllabuses in TESOL and they are the following: the situational,
structural, topical, functional, notional, skills-based, and task based and lexical syllabus.

Part B:

Description and rational of the syllabus items:

Having considered your needs, we have concluded to a relevant model of a syllabus designed
especially for you. Obviously, what you are seeking for is the education of your receptionists for a
better communication with your guests. Thus we are going to teach them those parts of English that
are most relevant to them.

Our organising principle for the selection and grading of what is going to be taught in this two-week
course are notional-functional categories. We have decided to take communicative categories as the
main principle of our syllabus. Thus this specific course is based on a notional/functional syllabus as it
is the most relevant type of syllabus for this purpose. This program needs to be practical and relevant
to your receptionists’ jobs. They need to learn how to use language under those several situations they
face every day. The communicative functions were very carefully selected and sequenced according
their usefulness to the receptionist and the extent to which they will meet the receptionists’
communicative needs.

The syllabus is organised under the context hotel, which then is divided under a general heading (at
the reception desk), with subheadings for specific activities. Within each situation, your receptionists
will learn about aspects of that situation, and what language to use in order to communicate with the
guests. We have ordered functions according to a chronological sequence because we think is more
relevant to base the syllabus on the sequence of each action (what happens first, second, etc.), rather
than grading them based on the associated language or grammar, as we are going to teach them how to
use the relevant language under each situation.

Hotel:

At the reception desk:

 Greeting the guests/Giving visitors a friendly welcome

 Booking a room
 Giving/asking information
 Check-in
 Giving advise/ making suggestions
 Dealing with complaints
 check-out

The situations listed in the syllabus are going to be practised through several of activities which will
help your receptionists to develop and practise their abilities to communicate more effectively in a
variety of real-life situations required in their work.

The assumption that the receptionists already know the grammar has been a basic reason for starting
this notional/functional syllabus, because what they need the most is to enhance their communicative
skills when using language. Teaching based on this syllabus will add a communicative dimension to
their already existing knowledge. We are going to activate this knowledge so that they will use it in
order to do things with language (communicate better and learn functions of language under the
context ‘hotel’).

Generally, a notion is a particular context in which people communicate. A function is a specific

purpose for a speaker in that given context. In this syllabus the notion of working in a hotel, requires a
numerous of functions, such as greeting the guests, giving/ asking information, making suggestions,
dealing with complaints etc. Thus, the syllabus items are focused on how the receptionists use
English, in which purposes they use it and what exactly they need to learn in order to communicate
more effectively with the hotel guests. The syllabus items, based on the contextualised exercises will
give your receptionists the chance to improve and enhance their communicative abilities through those
numerous functions of language we are going to teach them.

The main reason for including those situations in the syllabus is because those are the most important
situations in which a typical receptionist will take part in, and thus they need to work and practise
their communicative abilities, but also they need to know what function of language to use under each
situation. This is going to be done under several activities designed especially for this course. We
think that the receptionists need to work their listening and speaking skills, as they are the most
important skills they use in their work. Speaking skills are very important and they will be practised
through role-plays between the students and the teacher. Listening skills will be practised through
listening real life conversations, and then by completing activities related to the situations. It is
important that effective speaking depends on successful listening.

We decided to work on the other skills too, but the main emphasis will be given on listening and
speaking skills. Relevant vocabulary, grammar rules and structures, but also pronunciation will be
integrated in each situation. Your receptionists will be given the opportunity to practise their skills in
real life situations involving authentic language use.

Based on each situation, we have produced some exercises that present relevant instances of language.
Vocabulary, grammar and functions derive from the situations selected. However, prior each situation
we will teach them the appropriate grammar, vocabulary and structures of language they need to
know. Under each situation, the receptionists will practise different functions of language. For
example, when greeting visitors they will learn and practise relevant language on how to use language
in order to greet their guests. This is also going to be done through listening several of greetings,
based on real situations taking place in a hotel and produced by different people. We will give them
the chance to practise listening comprehension through different listening activities. The receptionists
must complete the comprehensions exercises in order to evaluate their understanding.

Also, after or before a situation, students will be divided into groups and they will be given different
scenarios in where they have to practise the topic they are given. Some scenarios examples based on
greetings, are the following:

 Greet two guests as they approach the reception ( guests are an elderly couple)
 Greet two guests as they enter the hotel (these guests are very tired)
 Greet two guests as they enter the hotel ( these guests are very famous people)
 Greet the guests as they enter the hotel (A family with two young children)

In this way, such a combination of elements will be associated with a fairly predictable language in
terms of lexis, structure and function/interaction.

Each situation they are going to listen to or practise it orally, will have a different structure, function
and lexical items (taught prior each situation). Thus, all syllabus items are organised in a way which
will be closely linked to a practical activity or task that the receptionist may have to undertake during
their work.

By the end of this course your receptionists will be able to communicate better under several
situations, and they will also improve their communicative abilities.