Learners’ needs analysis and tools

for needs analysis

1. The nature of needs
- Collecting information on the kinds of activities and purposes learners
will use English for is an essential phase in curriculum development.
- Determining the nature of these activities and their linguistic features
and demands is known as needs analysis.

- Needs analysis can be small in scale ( in a class), or it can have a much

larger scope, such as in an institute or language training organization.
- The definition of needs depends on whose point of view we are addressing.
● Learner: learners’ preferences for certain kinds of classroom activities and
what they should focus on in class (i.e., subjective needs).
● A teacher or administrator: gaps or deficiencies in the learner's performance.

- What is identified as a need is dependent on judgment and reflects the interests

and values of those making such a judgment.

- Identifying the perceptions and beliefs of different stakeholders (stakeholder

analysis) is an important dimension of needs analysis.
Example: Considering the needs of immigrants:
- The majority population’s view: achieving cultural and linguistic assimilation
as quickly as possible.
- The immigrants’ actual needs: communication for survival and
independence, particularly economic survival, but may have no wish to
assimilate into the dominant culture.

 Planning an ESL curriculum in this case involves not only identifying

students’ language needs, but also seeking “to enable them to critically
examine [the existing order] and become active in shaping their own roles in
it”. (Auerbach, 1995, p.15).
 2. Course design for learners
who may have no specifc needs
- Needs analysis: a large-scale research activity that seeks to find information
on the language needs of learners who are studying English for specific
occupational, educational, or social purposes (Long 2015).

- Many learners have no clearly defined purpose for studying English.

- For many young learners, learning English for use in the classroom becomes
the primary goal, and the activities and experiences provided in the classroom
serve as both means and ends of learning.
 Give children an experience of a Build confidence
wide range of English language in
a non-threatening environment
Provide the motivation to
learn English
Establish a trusting relationship
with children and encourage
them to do the same with their Goals of teaching English to
classmates young learners Encourage ownership of
(Vale and Feunteun, 1998) language

Show children that

English is fun

Encourage children to treat Encourage children to communicate

English as a communication tool, with whatever language they are
not as an end product at their disposal
- Courses for young learners and teenagers require a different approach to needs analysis.
- In courses for young learners and teenagers, needs analysis may have a number of different
purposes. For example:
• To determine the learners' current level of proficiency in English.
• To find out what aspects of English learning they enjoy most and least.
• To find out about their previous experiences with language learning.
• To determine their preferences for classroom learning activities.
• To find out about their interests, kinds of topics and content they would like to focus on.

• To find out their preference for learning arrangements.

• To find out their views and beliefs about some issues.

3. Larger-scale needs analysis
4. The goals of needs analysis
 3. Larger-scale needs analysis Educational
technology

Precision and The appearance of

accountability needs assessment

National Educational
research
methodologies.
Programs with wide Larger-scale
application needs analysis Industry
For learners with
specific needs

Institutional
Behavioral
objectives
 4. The goals of needs analysis
Purposes: 
• To understand the context. 
• To find out language skills, situations, tasks, and activities.
Stakeholders: Those who
• To identify a training gap.
have an interests in the
• To determine the learners' preferred teaching and learning styles.
outcomes of the needs
• To learn about different stakeholders' views of what the learners need.
analysis (teachers, learners,
• To help a teacher plan lessons.  parents, employers, and
• To help determine if an existing course adequately addresses the needs officials in the ministry of
of potential students.  education). 

• To determine which students from a group are most in need of training

in particular language skills.  
• To collect information about problems of students. 
→ The first step in conducting a needs analysis is to decide its purpose(s). 
Language learners' needs: 
• For very specific purposes (employment in
Needs analysis may take place prior to, during,
fields such as tourism, nursing, or the
or after a language program. 
hotel industry). → relatively easy to
→ The bulk of the needs analysis information
determine. 
may be collected during or after the course.
• For students in primary, secondary, and
→ The information can be used to fine-tune
high school → learners’ needs may not be
the course.
so immediate.
→ Needs analysis includes the study of
perceived and present needs as well as
potential and unrecognized needs. 
5. The users of needs analysis
6. The target population 
 5. The users of needs analysis
A needs analysis may be conducted for a variety of different users.
curriculum officers in staff of tertiary
the ministry of institutions
education Small-scale: the
A needs analysis teacher, other teachers,
to help revise the testing and the program
 teachers secondary school coordinator. 
personnel
English curriculum
Large scale: multiple
audiences
 learners writers

Determining the likely audiences is an important first step in planning a needs analysis.
In any situation, there are different stakeholders, and it is important to try to get a
sense of what their different agendas are. Different stakeholders will want different
things from the curriculum.
 6. The target population 
● The target population in a needs analysis refers to the people about
whom information will be collected.
● Typically in language programs, these will be language learners or
potential language learners but others are also often involved.
For example: A needs analysis to determine the focus of an English
program in public secondary schools:
- policymakers - employers
- ministry of education officials - vocational training specialists
- teachers - parents
- students - influential individuals
- academics - pressure groups
● In determining the target population, an important issue is that of sampling.
● Sampling involves asking a portion of the potential target population rather
than the whole of it and therefore seeks to create a sample that is
representative of the total target population.
● A number of factors influence the approach to sampling , such as the
homogeneity of the population (skills, attitudes, or knowledge; sex, language
group, or other factors.)
● Where the target population is large, specialized advice is often needed to
determine what approach to sampling best suits the purpose of the study
and the sources of information available. 
7. Procedures for conducting
large-scale needs analysis
A needs analysis of the writing problems encountered by
foreign students enrolled in English-medium universities

A variety of procedures can be used in conducting needs

analysis, and the kind of information obtained is often
dependent on the type of procedure selected.
(Huhta et al. 2013)
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8. Making use of the information obtained
9. Applying the findings of need analysis
 8. Making use of the information obtained
1. Situations in which English is frequently used
2. Situations in which difficulties are encountered
3. Differences between the learners’ current proficiency level and the desired target level
4. Comments most often made by people on learners’ performance
5. Frequencies with which different transactions are carried out
6. Perceived difficulties with different aspects of language use
7. Preferences for different kinds of activities in teaching
8. Frequencies of errors made in different types of situations or activities
9. Common communication problems in different situations
10. Suggestions and opinions about different aspects of learners’ problems
11. Frequencies of linguistic items or units in different texts
 9. Applying the findings of need analysis

In the course of These needs will have to be

carrying out a prioritized because it may not The identified needs
needs analysis, a be practical to address all of are not synonymous
large number of them in a language program, with future changes in
potential needs especially in light of the time the curriculum.
may be identified. constraints of the program.

Because needs are not objective facts but

Where there are several different
subjective interpretations of information,
audiences for the needs analysis (e.g,
from a large variety of sources, a great
teachers, administrators, a funding body),
deal of consultation is needed with the
the information obtained will have to be
various stakeholders to ensure that the
analyzed – and analyzed in a form that
conclusions drawn from a needs analysis
suits each group interests.
are appropriate and relevant.
 9. Applying the findings of need analysis

Needs analysis thus produces information that can be used in different ways.
For example, it may:
provide the basis for the evaluation on an existing program or a component of
a program

provide the basis for planning goals and objectives for a future program

assist with developing tests and other assessment procedures

help with the selection of appropriate teaching methods in a program

provide the basis for developing a syllabus and teaching materials for a course

provide information that can be used as part of a course or program