Needs analysis for language course design. A case study for engineering and business students

Innovative Ideas in Science 2016

Todea, L.^1 ; Demarcsek, R.^1

Department of Philology and Cultural Studies, Technical University of Cluj Napoca, North University, Centre of Baia Mare, Romania^1

关键词: Financial resources;    Language course;    Level of satisfaction;    Needs analysis;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/200/1/012064/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/200/1/012064

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

These days, teaching languages - English in particular - has become an ever more complex and challenging task due to the fact that groups of students are eclectic in terms of knowledge of English and level of competence. Teachers try to adapt to this challenging environment by providing a wide variety of activities and materials so as to satisfy the students' demands. This may sometimes prove counterproductive, is usually time consuming, and requires material and financial resources that are not always available. Under the circumstances, we considered that a needs analysis would benefit all parties involved: teachers on the one hand, in that it would somewhat simplify their effort and make it easier to work with the aforementioned groups of students, and the students on the other hand, in that the activities would be better tailored to suit their needs and requirements in terms of knowledge, abilities and skills. To this end, we conducted a survey in which we requested students to state their level of satisfaction with regard to the English course, as well as provide suggestions in terms of topics and language issues they would like to approach during these courses. In this paper we analysed and interpreted the responses in an attempt to adapt the content of the course so as to better meet the expectations of the end beneficiaries, i.e. the students.