CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

One of the most important language in the world is English.

It happens as the role of English as a language of international

communication has expanded rapidly since 1950 (White, 1988:8). English

becomes more and more important in the international trade and

commerce. The role of English is supported by the growth of radio, film

and television. White (1988:9) comments as follows :

“Whereas in medieval time English was the language of an

island nation and French was the language of a continental
one, in the twentieth century English has become the
language of the word thanks to the linguistic legacy of the
British Empire, the emergence of the USA as an English.
Speaking superpower and the fortuitous association of
English with the industrial and technological developments of
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries”.

As English has developed, the need of mastering English has

also increased. Therefore many private English courses have been

established. English courses must be designed for various purposes and

focused on the learner’ needs. Yusup (1992:4) says : “The increasing

number of English learners in various English courses, for example :

students, workers, housewives, etc imply the fact that English has become

a mass communication and a professional tool”.

Different students may have different needs. According to

Richards (2001:54) needs analysis take place before prior to, during, or

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 after a language program . Much of the literature on needs analysis is

based on the assumption that it is part of the planning that takes place as

part of the development of a course. In order to identify the needs of the

students, the writer has to conduct a need – analysis, and, in doing so, she

will put a strong emphasis on the four language skills : reading, listening,

writing and speaking, since Brown (2001:237) states that : ”For more than

six decades now, research and practice in English language teaching has

identified the ‘four skills’, listening, speaking, reading, and writing as of

paramount importance”.

This study focuses on the needs analysis at CLT. The purpose

of this study is to find out the needs of CLT students. In this study the

writer will not investigate the teaching methodology and techniques used

in the teaching process but the needs of CLT students.

1.2.FIELD OF THE STUDY

Applied Linguistics

1.3.SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research focuses on students’ needs analysis

1.4.PROBLEM FORMULATION

What are the students’ needs to improve their English language skills

1.5.OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To find out CLT students’ needs on English language skills.

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1.6.SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The writer hopes that this study can give information about

the students needs in study English especially CLT course. The students

can express their needs, while the teachers at CLT can understand the need

of their students and they may find way to help the students’ need

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The term of the need is explained as follows :

- Needs Analysis

According to Nunan-Lamb (1996:23) Needs Analysis is to

collect and interpret data about the learners and institutional context in

which they learn. This information may be collected formally or

informally before the course and once the course has begun.

- Need

In Brindley’s opinion (1984:28) Cited in Richards (2001:54)

the term of need is sometimes used to refer to wants, desire, demand,

expectation, motivation, lack, constrains and requirements. Brindley

(1989:70) as cited in Graves (1996:13) also differentiates two types of

needs as derivable from different kinds of factual information about

learners, their use of language in real-life communication situation as well

as their current language.

- Students’ Needs on English Language Skill

Nababan (1994:135) has opinion that before doing the needs

analysis, the writer should find out what the students want to do in their

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future in relation to their choice of jobs and careers. Also Tubtimtong

(1994:126) says that there are several kinds of students’ needs, such as: the

needs to improve their productive abilities, for examples speaking and

writing, to have linguistics competence rules, to transfer the linguistics

knowledge to real communication, to have the ability to transfer

grammatical rules to the creation of coherent passages of discourse, and

the opportunity to practice and produce language in context, which in this

case is their specialized field of studies and needs to become a competent

user of language for real world communication.