Using a needs analysis as a means of reflection on ESP syllabus

Using A Needs Analysis As A Means of Reflection on ESP Syllabus Ángeles Linde López Universidad de Granada This article suggests using a needs analysis as a useful means of reflection in order to highlight to what extent language needs assessment can illustrate whether or not exist any discrepancy between felt' needs and 'perceived' needs as well as between learners' needs and interests that can be relevant to syllabus designs. The study looks at the results of a needs analysis carried out with university students ofESP. 1. Introduction In recent years there has been an increasing interest in looking at needs analyses as a strong justification for the decisions planners make about language programms as well as a vital prerequisite to the specification of language leaming objectives. Although the definition of needs is the basis of any needs assessment, it is difficult to find an operational definition suitable in any context of second language learning. Nevertheless, a definition of needs is most often agreed to be expressed as "a gap or measurable discrepancy between a current state of affairs and a desired future state' (Berwick, 1994:52), or as being something like 'the gap between what is and what should be" (Brindley, 1994:65). Two major streams have emerged about the meaning of 'needs' and what 'needs analysis' should imply in ELT. The first is the goal-oriented or product-oriented interpretation whereby the language of the target situation is described and the syllabus is devised solely on the needs the leamer will meet in a particular communication situation. The second stream is termed process-oriented interpretation which sees needs primarily as means of leaming. That is to say: It means trying to identify and take into account a multiplicity of affective and cognitive variables which affect learning, such as learners'attitudes, motivation, awareness, personality, wants, expectations and leaming styles' (Brindley: 63). Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) 117 Ángeles Linde López These different perspectives on needs analysis reflect the shift which has taken place in language teaching from language-centred to leamer-centred approaches. Our approach to needs analysis in this study supports the view that both interpretations must have their place when carrying out a needs analysis, which has been pointed out by numerous authors (Widdowson, 1981, Berwick, Brindley, Richterich, 1983, Richterich and Chancerel, 1980, Robinson, 1991). Thus, we will try to relate general concepts and methodologies in language needs assessment to our particular concern with the present needs analysis in ESR 2. 'Felt' needs vs. 'perceived' needs This paper suggests using a needs analysis as a useful means of reflection in order to highlight to what extent language needs assessment can illustrate whether or not exist any discrepancy between 'felt' needs and 'perceived' needs as well as between leamers' needs and interests that can be relevant to syllabus designs. We may start by considering 'felt' needs as those which leamers have, sometimes referred to as 'expressed' needs and in a devalued viewing as 'wants' or 'desires'. 'Perceived' needs represent the other side of the coin, they are those which teachers (or other experts) have about learners' educational gaps. Along with this, 'perceived' needs have also been described as 'normative' 'real' or 'objective' needs. These views definitely reflect a clear contrast between 'objective' and 'subjective' needs as Brindley (70) states: The first of these terms.refers to needs which are derivable from different kinds of factual information about leamers, their use of language in real-life communication situations as well as their current language proficiency and language difficulties. The second term refers to thecognitive and affective needs of the learner in the learning situation, derivable from information about affective and cognitive factors such as personality, confidence, altitudes, learners' wants and expectations with regards to the learning of English and their individual cognitive style and learning strategies. 118 Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) Using A Needs Analysis As A Means of Reflection on ESP Syllabus 3. Aims Although the distinction above described is not as clear cut as might be supposed, it is useful since it lets us seek the source of need and come to a potential agreement between learner-centred and teacher-centred inputs. Infonnation from students should lead to reach compromises between what learners expect and want and the teacher feels he/she can and ought to provide. Thus, given the likelihood that some disparity of views can exist, the twofold aim of this study is, firstly, to know and reflect on how students involved in leaming EngUsh for specific purposes assess their language needs and, secondly, make us aware of any leamer preferences that may require us to modify or negotiate our ESP language syllabus. Due to the fact that we have already started the implementation of El Nuevo Plan de Estudios in the Faculty of Pharmacy, which means a complete change with respect to former annual number of credits and subject-content designs, it can be of vital importance for us to obtain most infomiation as to what constitutes valuable teaching and learning activities and try to overeóme that perception gap between teachers and learners. 4. The empirical study The needs analysis was carried out in the Faculty of Pharmacy (University of Granada) when EL Antiguo Plan de Estudios was still in forcé. Information on learners' needs was gathered using a questionnaire which was administered to 300 first-year students, although the total number of registered students was near 900. That is to say one third of all the students. This was the first and only year these students were compulsorily exposed to English language instruction in the University setting. The FL background for the students was varied although all were supposed to have studied English for at least 4 years in Secondary Education. The cholee of a questionnaire as the technique for investigating needs was made on the basis of its ease to be handed out to a large number of people in spite of its disadvantage in that some students would not bother to fill it in Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) 119 Ángeles Linde López seriously. To make their behaviour more conscious they were told their information would be taken into account for designing new subject-content in EL Nuevo Plan de Estudios. It was written up in Spanish to ensure comprehension. The U-item questionnaire includes, in a way or another, a simple combination of goal-oriented and process-oriented needs analyses (see Appendix). Thus, the 11 items on this questionnaire are a rough attempt to reflect the leamers' 'felt' needs about their actual leaming needs and leaming means, their futura communicative needs in the target situation (as lecturers, researchers, laboratory workers, etc. in the Pharmaceutical and Health science fields) as well as their interests, aptitudes and attitudes towards English. In this sense, there is an underlying aim contrasting what the real leaming needs are and what the prospective needs will be. It is worth mentioning that this questionnaire was intended to be piloted as the first draft of what should be posterior studies since we think of needs analysis as an ongoing process. 5. Results We now consider each of the items in tum, beginning with the overall results and moving on to a comparison of the different items. Results of percentage and number of answers per item will be reported below each question keeping the same structure of the questionnaire to facilítate its reading. The unequal number of answers is due to the fact that some students failed to fill in the whole questionnaire so the percentages have been worked out only from the items answered. Question n1. En tu opinión ¿es necesario saber inglés para aprobar la licenciatura? SI 13746% NO 16254% Total rf of answers 299 - 100% 120 Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) Using A Needs Analysis As A Means ofReflection on ESP Syllabus Question n2. ¿Crees que es conveniente un conocimiento de inglés para gradurase en Farmacia? SI 220 - 73% NO 80 - 27% Total n^ of answers 300 - 100% Question n3. 5/ la respuesta es "SI" indica qué funciones en inglés necesitarías dominar: 3.1. Percentage of different proficiency within eachfunction. Adecuadamente Algo Innecesario N-A. Leer textos/artículos 176-78% 49-22% 2-0% 227-100% Escuchar conferencias 145-66% 65-29% 11-5% 221-100% Participar en seminarios 51-24% 117-55% 46-21% 214-100% Escribir artículos/abstracts 57-28% 76-37% 70-34% 203-100% Otros (Inestimable percentage to be worth mentioning). 3.2. Percentage per level of proficiency for eachfunction. Adecuadamente Leer textos/artículos Escuchar conferencias Participar en seminarios Escribir artículos/abstracts Total nof answers 41% 34% 12% 13% 100% 429 Algo 16% 21% 38% 25% 100% 307 Innecesario 129 2% 9% 36% 54% 100% = 865 Question n4. ¿Crees que necesitarás leer material escrito en un idioma extranjero para futuros trabajos de investigación? SI 26790% NO 3110% Total n^ of answers 298 - 100% Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos W 4 (1997) 121 Ángeles Linde López Question n5. 5/ la respuesta es "SI" ¿de qué idioma(s) se trataría en orden de importancia? Irst. 261 - 98% 2nd. 5 - 2% 3rd. O0% Total n^ of answers 266 - 100% Question n6. ¿Crees que necesitarás leer material escrito en un idioma extranjero para realizar tus futuras funciones profesionales? SI 197-66% NO 100-34% Total ns of answers 297 - 100% Question n7. Si la respuesta es "SI" ¿de qué idioma(s) se trataría en orden de importancia? Irst. 195 - 99% 2nd. 31% 3rd O0% Total ns of answers 198 - 100% Question n8. ¿Te recomiendan textos en inglés como material de lectura? SI 116-40% NO 175-60% Total rf of answers 291 - 100% Question n9. ¿Con qué grado de facilidad lees en inglés? Con facilidad 116-39% Con dificultad 181-61% Total n° of answers 297 - 100% 122 Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) Using A Needs Analysis As A Means ofRefledion on ESP Syllabus Question n-10. ¿Piensas cursar estudios de pos grado/llevar a cabo trabajos de investigación en un país de habla inglesa? SI 86-30% NO 201 - 70% Total rf of answers 298 - 100% Question n11. ¿Cómo describirías la utilidad del inglés para un profesional bien cualificado en tu campo? Necesario 94 - 32% Conveniente 194 - 64% Innecesario 12 - 4% Total n= of answers 300 - 100% 6. Díscussíon of results Though main comments stand out by themselves, we now will go through the data for each item eliciting those details that can be relevant to our purpose. To start with, questions 1, 2 and 3 deal with "process-oriented needs" or "leaming needs". In question 1, which was supposed to be an objective one, the small difference between both percentages may be because the students differred as to the meaning of the question itself. It could be read, at least in our opinión, in two ways: a) ¿Does it mean you have to have a high level of proficiency to pass the English subject and so to be able to get your degree?. In the "NO" case, the pass mark in English would be questioned. In both cases "SI" and "NO" it could also entail a masked excuse for those who feared to fail the subject. b) ¿Does it mean you need English to pass other subjects? This meaning would be against the reality of the general methodological teaching trend in the Faculty of Pharmacy where it is solely based on class note-taking. Conversely, question 2 provides us with a high disparity between "sies" and "noes" (73% vs. 27%). It can be put down to the words "necesario" and Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) 123 Ángeles Linde López "conveniente" used in the first and second questions respectively. It seems to me that students feel a certain discrepancy between what they think should be beneficial (conveniente) for their education and what is actually easier (necesario) for them to get their degree, that is needs vs. interests. Furthermore, the 27% of "NO conveniente" can be reasonable since a high number of the students have from the very beginning a definite purpose: to run a Chemist's shop, very likely an ongoing family business. 3 has, in principie, two possibillities regarding percentage estimates. 3.1. Percentage of different proficiency within each function. The highest score (78%) with respect to ''leer textoslartículos" was obtained in the "adecuadamente" level. This unsurprisingly parallels those obtained in almost every ESP needs analysis besides coinciding with our perceived needs. "Escuchar conferencias adecuadamente" had quite an important advantage (66%) over the grade "algo" (29%), which, in this case that deals with first-year students, seems to us rather odd. Speaking skill implied in "participar en seminarios" scored the highest percentage (55%) on the grade "algo" followed by almost a draw between "adecuadamente" e "innecesario". Here the results coincide with our own expectations so that there is an agreement between felt and perceived needs. Finally, the "escribir artículos/abstracts" function surprises us as to it obtained the lowest percentage (28%) awarded "adecuadamente" of all the levéis of proficiency. This was not, obviously, within our expectaions as we know from experience that writing skill is largely considered as one of the two first needs required for academic and specific purposes in the current opinión. A sudden thought came to my mind when reading these results: could it be due to the students' consciousness of their own poor proficiency on writing in Spanish?. Could it be due also to the order in presenting the functions? 3.2. Percentage per level of proficiency for each function. We observe first that "adecuadamente" obtained the highest number of answers (429) what is a good sign of the overall level of mastery that should be required in the functions as it is also that the number of answers related to level "algo" 124 Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) Using A Needs Analysis As A Means of Reflection on ESP Syllabus 11.- ¿Cómo describirías la utilidad del inglés para un profesional bien cualificado en tu campo? Necesario [ ] Conveniente [ ] Innecesario [ ] Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos N4 (1997) 131