TKT Unit 14:

Learner Needs
by
Porntip Bodeepongse
What needs do learner have?
• Personal needs
– Age
– Gender
– Cultural background
– Interests
– Educational background
– Motivation
 Learner needs (cont.)
• Learning needs
– Learning styles
– Past language experience
– Learning gap
– Learning goals & expectations
– Learner autonomy
– Availability of time
 Learner needs (cont.)
• (Future) professional needs
– Language requirement for
employment
– Language requirement for training
– Language requirement for education
 Key concepts
• Different learners have different
needs.
• Sometimes different learners need to
be taught in different ways and learn
different things in an English
classroom.
• So how can teacher meet learner
needs?
 Example of courses
• A 4-week intensive course on exam
strategies for taking a university
entrance exam
• A series of one-to-one lessons over 8
weeks on business presentation skills
• A 6-week summer course in the UK,
involving lots of sports, trips and
chatting with teenagers from other
countries
 To meet learner needs…
• The courses vary in:
– length
– frequency
– class size
– language skill focused on
– type of English
– teaching methods and activities
 To meet Ss’ personal needs
• Suitable materials and topics
• Pace or speed of lessons
• Suitable activities
• Suitable approach to teaching
• Treatment of individual learners
• Suitable skills
• Suitable interaction patterns
• Types of feedback
 To meet Ss’ learning needs
• Suitable materials and topics
• Suitable activities
• Suitable interaction patterns
• Suitable approach to teaching
• Suitable language and skills
• Appropriate level of language and
skills
• Learning strategies
• Workload