The Necessity of Needs Analyses

THE NECESSITY OF
NEEDS ANALYSES
Federico Espinosa

Name?
Occupation?
Education?
Who is this?
Family?
Pets?
Interests?
Nationality?
Phobias?
Anything
else…?

Two Learners
Why is she learning English? Why is he learning English?
What do they need from a
course?

What is a Needs Analysis?
A needs analysis is a means of
defining, as precisely as
possible, the learners’ language
needs and understanding what
they think they can obtain from
the language course.
(Source: TEFLpedia.com)

What’s the Point?
 It gives the teacher more of an idea
about how to adapt the course to the
student, rather than the student
having to adapt to the course
 It helps the student become more
aware of their role in the learning
process
(Source: TEFLpedia.com)

Process of a Needs Analysis
Collect Information Apply and Modify
Student
Interests
Student
Needs
Course
Aims
Book?
Level
Reflective
Practice
Adaptation
Make Basic Decisions

What Information Do We Want?
Interests
Motivation
Level
Preferred Activities
Strengths and Weaknesses
Needed Skills

How Do We Collect
Information?

A great first task for introducing yourself to
students, and learning a bit about each of
their lives
Personal Information
Icebreaker

Ask Me Questions About These
Numbers
Federico
28
3
0
6
32

How it Works
 Students shout out questions, trying to get one
of the numbers as the answer (How old are
you?)
 For correct answers you write the explanation
(age, countries visited, years teaching)
 When completed, students create their own
and guess in pairs

How it Really Works
 Student questions inform their language
ability
 Complexity of Question
 Range of Vocabulary
 Student questions inform their personality
 Sense of Humor
 Boundaries
 Quiet vs. Outspoken
 Student’s own puzzles tell you about them
 Who owns three motorcycles?
 Who speaks five languages?

A communicative way to engage students in
the pros and cons of various
approaches/options for the class
Discussion Card Mingle

Discussion Card Mingle
 Students are given a card with some statement about
language learning or classroom dynamics
 Students mingle to ask each other if they agree or
disagree with their statement
 Quick feedback is taken
 Students mingle again to attempt to convince others
to change their mind
 Full feedback is conducted to discuss what might work
best

Discussion Card Ideas
 I like to get up and move around the
classroom from time to time.
 I like to be told grammar rules.
 I find reading really useful
 I don’t like using a dictionary in class
 Writing should be done for homework
 I like to be corrected often
 I have time to do homework out of class
 I need a translation to really understand
vocabulary
 I think exam preparation
(FCE/CAE/CPE) is important.
 I don’t really enjoy discussing current
events in English
 After an activity, I like to compare my
answers to my partner.
 Games are boring
 Role plays are fun and useful.
 I learn new things best when I write
them down.
 I enjoy working out of a coursebook
 I am interested in doing work out of
class online
 Etc….

Activity Evaluation
 Gives time to talk
about various specific
points
 Encourages opinion
sharing and
discussion
 Clarifies definitions of
fuzzy concepts or
ideas
 Students may feel
there is a “right
answer”
 Requires a minimum
level of fluency
 Harder to manage in
larger groups
Advantages Disadvantages

A reflective task that more specifically
identifies group needs and interests
“Enjoy” and “Need” Tables

 Students individually complete the table without
consulting the teacher’s suggestions.
 Once they have written at least two things in each
box, they unfold their paper to see suggestions.
 When finished, students compare in pairs and
compromise to fill in a new table together.
 Pairs compare to a different pair and consolidate
again. Repeat until a full class table is completed.

Activity Evaluation
 Gives more freedom
to add other ideas
 Distinguishes
“enjoyable” from
“useful”
 Provides a tangible
set of class guidelines
to keep and modify
 Students may feel
there is a “right
answer”
 Compromise stage
can overgeneralize
the final table
 Again, challenging for
large groups

Some ideas for collecting information from
larger groups in lecture hall settings
Feedback for Large Groups

Use Physical Movement
 Stand Up/Sit Down
 Thumbs Up/Down
 Turn Left/Turn Right
 How Many Fingers?

Use Sticky Notes
 Three Color
Feedback
 Place Along
Spectrum
 5 Votes, 4
Categories
 Ranking Stations

Use Technology
 SurveyMonkey
 Google Docs
 Doodle
 Socrative

What About Adapting Mid-
Course?

Throughout the course come back to the
table and have the class make any changes
to the original Need/Don’t Need/Like/Don’t
Like topics
Revisiting Class Needs
Tables

A writing and speaking activity to assess
potential changes to a continuing course
Petitions

How it Works
 Students write a sentence or two listing a
change they want made to the class
 They mill around the room looking for
signatures to their petition from other students
 At the end the petitions get handed up to the
front and the most popular options are
discussed

Activity Evaluation
 Raises student
generated issues
 Involves students in
course design
 Gives periodic
opportunities for
change
 Puts students on the
spot individually
 Requires a minimum
maturity level
 Requires a genuine
willingness to adapt

In Conclusion….
 Decide what is set in
stone beforehand
 Find out what your
students need and
want
 Plan the course
dynamics with this in
mind
 Check in and modify

Thank You!
 Slides for this presentation are
available at:
tinyURL.com/needtoanalyze
 Or through my blog at:
fedEFL.blogspot.com

The Necessity of Needs Analyses

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Recently uploaded

The Necessity of Needs Analyses