PREFACE

Praise to Allah SWT who has helped his servant to finish this paper with great
ease. Without his helping, this paper may not be able to complete on time and well.
This paper is structured so that the readers can expand the study of ENGLISH
FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES, which we presented based on observations from
various sources. This paper complied by our group in a variety of obstacles. Whether
it came from us from outside. But with patience and especially help from Allah,
finally this paper can be resolved.
This paper contains the Need Analysis which is very useful to know.
Although this paper may less than perfect, but it has a fairly clear detail for the
readers.
Authors also thank to the lecturer who was led the author to be able to
understand about how develop the knowledge of ESP
Hopefully this paper can provide a broader insight of reader. Although this
paper have advantages and disadvantages. Authors ask for advice and criticism.
Thank you very much.

Makassar, April 2010

Authors

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

Preface ........................................................................................................... 1

Table of Content ........................................................................................... 2

Part I. Introduction ...................................................................................... 3

Part II. Body ................................................................................................. 5

A. Who will be Involved in the Need Analysis .................................... 5

B. A Target Situation Analysis Framework ....................................... 6

C. Types of Information ....................................................................... 8

Part III. Conclusion ................................................................................... 13

Refferences .................................................................................................. 14

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 PART I
INTRODUCTION

Needs assessment is a process for determining and addressing needs, or

"gaps" between current conditions and desired conditions, often used for
improvement projects in education/training, organizations, or communities. In the
context of community improvement, it is known as community needs analysis. It
involves identifying material problems/deficits/weaknesses and
advantages/opportunities/strengths, and evaluating possible solutions that take those
qualities into consideration.
Needs assessment or needs analysis in a language program is often viewed
simply as identification of the language forms that the students will likely need to use
in the target language when they are required to actually understand and to produce
the language. In general term, needs analysis also called needs assessment, refers to
the activities involved in gathering information.
Need analysis procedures may involve interviews with student do determine
perception of the major language difficulties, interviews with lecturer and instructor,
observation of students in class to observe how well they can carry that assessment,
examination of their lecture notes, essay, and so on to determine their difficulties as
well as test of different kinds to determine students level proficiency in reading,
writing and note making (Mackay and Palmer 1981). The aims of needs analysis are
to determine the types of situation ion which learners will be using English, the task
and activities they are expected to carry out or take part in English, and their existing
language skills or abilities with respect to those tasks (Munby 1878).

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 A practical guideline to needs assessment is proposed by Isaac and Michael
(1990: 21) as follow:
1. Identify the students-oriented goals (needs are based on goals).
2. Rank the importance of these goals without regard to performance levels
which are categorized as high, moderate, or low importance.
3. Assess the level of performance for each of the goal. The performance level
for each goal is categorized as high, moderate, or low.
4. Establish a priority for each student goal, considering both importance and
performance. The goals are placed into one of the nine cells provided in the
figure 3 on page 37. Priorities are established, high to low, from upper left to
lower right with cell number 1 being top priority. Cell number 2 has second
level priority; cell number 3 is third level; and cell 4 and 5 have least priory.

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 PART II
BODY

A. Who Will be Involved in the Needs Analysis

1. Target Group which is made up of those people about whom information
will ultimately be gathered. The usual target group is the students in a
program, but sometimes the teacher and/or administrators are also
targeted.
2. The audience for a needs analysis which encompasses all people who will
eventually be required to act upon the analysis. This group usually
consists of teachers, teacher’s aids program administrator and any
governing bodies or supervisor in the bureaucracy above the language
program.
3. The needs analyst who are responsible to conducting the needs analysis.
They may be consultants brought in for the purpose or members of the
faculty designated for the job.
4. The recourses group which consist of any people who may serve as
sources of information about the target group. In some context, financial
sponsor outsiders (content course teacher).
Hall and Crabbe (1994:8) emphasize that the types of information which are
central to any specific purpose of a language course will answer the following
question:
a. In what situations do the learners have to use English?
b. Who do they talk to or listen to, about what task do they have to perform?
c. What kinds of information do they have to read or write, in what form and
for what purpose?

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B. A target Situation Analysis Framework
1. Why is the language needed?
 For study;
 For training;
 For work;
 For a combination of these;
 For some other purpose, e. g, status, examination, promotion.
2. How will the language be used?
 Medium; speaking, writing, listening or reading;
 Chanel: e. g. telephone, face to face;
 Types of discourse; e. g. academic task, lectures, informal
conversation, technical manuals, catalog.
3. What will the content areas be?
 Subjects; e.g. medicine, biology, architecture, shipping, commerce,
and engineering;
 Level; e. g. technician, craftsman, postgraduate, secondary school.
4. Who will the learner use the language with?
 Native speaker; non native speakers;
 Level of knowledge of receiver: e.g. experts, layman, and students;
 Relationship: colleague, teacher, superior, subordinate;
5. Where will the language be used?
 Physical setting: e.g. office, lecture theater, hotel, workshop, library;
 Human context: e.g. alone, meeting, demonstration, on the telephone;
 Linguistic context: e.g. in own country, abroad.
6. When will the language use?
 Concurrently with the ESP course or subsequently;
 Frequently, seldom, in small amounts, in large chunks.

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7. Why are the learners taking the course?
 Compulsory or optional;
 Apparent need or convert;
 Are status, money, promotion involved?
 What do the learners think they will achieve?
 What is their attitude toward the ESP course
8. How do the learners learn?
 What is their learning background?
 What is their concept of teaching and learning?
 What methodology will appeal to them?
 What sorts of technique are likely to bore/alienate them?
9. What resources are available?
 Number of professional competence of teachers;
 Attitude of teacher to ESP;
 Teacher’s knowledge of an attitude to the subject content;
 Materials;
 Aids;
 Opportunities for out-of-class activities.
10. Who are the learners?
 Age, sex, nationality;
 What do they already know about English?
 What subject knowledge do they have?
 What are their interests?
 What is their socio-cultural background?
 What teaching styles are they used to?
 What is their attitude to English or to the culture of the English
speaking world?

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 11. Where will the ESP course take place?
 Are the surrounding pleasant dull, noisy or calm?
12. When will the ESP course take place?
 Time of day;
 Everyday, once a week;
 Fulltime, part-time;
 Concurrent with need or preneed.
Practically, needs analysis will provide the teacher or curriculum and course
designer with a very clear background of learners in terms of the language needs in a
real situation, the types of task involved, the skills available and required, the register
and the setting and the environment.

C. Types of Instrument
There are six kinds of instrument which are frequently used in gathering needs
analysis information:

Records analysis
Procedure System analysis
1. Existing Information
Literature review
Letter writing

Proficiency
Procedure Placement
2. Tests
Diagnostic
Achievement

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 Case Studies
Diary studies
Procedure Behavior observation
3. Observation
Interactional analysis
Inventories

Procedure Individual
4. Interviews
Group

Delphitechnique
Procedure Advisory
5. Meetings
Interest group
Review

Biodata surveys

Procedure Opinion surveys

6. Questionnaires Self-ratings
Judgmental Ratings
Q sort

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Methods of collecting data for needs analyses:

Method Overall Purpose Advantages Challenges

-can complete
anonymously
-inexpensive to -might not get careful
administer feedback
when need to quickly
-easy to compare and -wording can bias
questionnaires, and/or easily get lots
analyze client's responses
surveys, of information from
-administer to many -are impersonal
checklists people in a non
people -in surveys, may need
threatening way
-can get lots of data sampling expert
-many sample - doesn't get full story
questionnaires already
exist
when want to fully
-get full range and -can take much time
understand someone's
depth of information -can be hard to
impressions or
-develops relationship analyze and compare
Interviews experiences, or learn
with client -can be costly
more about their
-can be flexible with -interviewer can bias
answers to
client client's responses
questionnaires
when want -get comprehensive and -often takes much time
impression of how historical information -info may be
documentation
program operates -doesn't interrupt incomplete
review
without interrupting program or client's -need to be quite clear
the program; is from routine in program about what looking for

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 review of -information already -not flexible means to
applications, exists get data; data
finances, memos, -few biases about restricted to what
minutes, etc. information already exists

-can be difficult to
interpret seen
to gather accurate behaviors
-view operations of a
information about -can be complex to
program as they are
how a program categorize
observation actually occurring
actually operates, observations
-can adapt to events as
particularly about -can influence
they occur
processes behaviors of program
participants
-can be expensive
explore a topic in
-quickly and reliably
depth through group
get common
discussion, e.g., about
impressions -can be hard to
reactions to an
-can be efficient way to analyze responses
experience or
get much range and -need good facilitator
focus groups suggestion,
depth of information in for safety and closure
understanding
short time -difficult to schedule
common complaints,
- can convey key 6-8 people together
etc.; useful in
information about
evaluation and
programs
marketing

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 to fully understand or
-fully depicts client's
depict client's -usually quite time
experience in program
experiences in a consuming to collect,
input, process and
program, and conduct organize and describe
case studies results
comprehensive -represents depth of
-powerful means to
examination through information, rather
portray program to
cross comparison of than breadth
outsiders
cases

Information that will contribute to the needs assessment may include:

 Contact with family and friends
 Cultural/religious background
 Resident’s own assessment of needs, priorities, goals and strengths
 Interests, aspirations, hobbies, clubs etc
 Physical health
 Mental health history
 Learning difficulties
 Legal situation
 Previous housing experiences
 Housing need / history
 Risk to self or others
 Involvement of other agencies
 Literacy, education, works experience etc.
 Independent living skills

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 PART III
CONCLUSION

1. The need analysis not only involved learners as target groups but also involved
another element such as the audience, the need analyst, and the resource group.
2. There are six types of instrument that used in need analysis, they are: existing
information, test, observation, interviews, meetings, and questioners.
3. The methods of collecting data in needs analysis are questionnaires, surveys,
checklists, Interviews, documentation review, observation, focus groups, and
case studies.

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 REFFERENCES

Wello, Basri and Syarifuddin Dollah. 2008. Fundamental Aspects of English for
Specific Purpose. The UNM Publisher. Makassar
Anonymous. 2010. Needs Assessment. http://en.wikipedia.org
Retrieved at: April, 15th, 2010
McnaMara, Carter. 2010. Overview of Basic Methods to Collect Information.
http://www.authenticityconsulting.com/ Retrieved at: April, 15th, 2010

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