Needs analysis realizado a un grupo de una institución educativa pública de Ibagué, Colombia.

1. 1
NEEDS ANALYSIS REPORT.
PRACTICUM I
WILLIAM FERNANDO ALVARADO CÉSPEDES
SCHOOL: DIEGO FALLÓN
IN-SERVICE TEACHER: PIEDAD LOPEZ VERA
STUDENTS´ GRADE: 10-A
UNIVERSIDAD DEL TOLIMA
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
B.A IN ENGLISH
IBAGUÉ
07/05/2018

2. 2
1. INTRODUCTION
It is well known for teachers and student teachers that pedagogy should be sensible to
the particularities of the protagonists of the educational process: the students. Teaching
actions that are not centered on students’ experience and needs are “so disturbing for those
affected by them—so threatening to their belief systems—that hostility is aroused and
learning becomes impossible” (Coleman, 1996, p. 11).
As Kumaravadivelu stated in his article “Towards a Posmethod Pedagogy”, language
teachers have committed a big error throughout history: To copy teaching methods not
suitable for the context they are aimed to apply. It is impossible to have an ideal learning
process without being respectful to the particularities presented in a classroom. However,
particularity is not a fact, Becker (1960) said:
(…) is not something we begin with; particularity is something we arrive at, by
repeating. Particularity is something we learn. We don’t distinguish birds until we learn
their names and hear their songs. Up to that point we hear “bird” around us and then we
begin to pick up their particularity along with the language. Particularity is something
we achieve. (p. 29)
In that way, in order to reach that particularity, I have applied the needs analysis survey.
Thanks to it, I will know my students, their likes and dislikes, their perceptions towards
English, their contexts, problems, and so on, to plan my coming classes centered on them.
In that way, my class will be meaningful for them. Also, it will help me to develop
research, based on the issues I found, to improve myself, my future classes, and English
teaching in my country.

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2. ANALYSIS OF THE INSTITUTION
“Diego Fallon” school is located in Belen neighborhood, at the north of Ibague. It is
surrounded by rural and urban zones, so it is an institution plenty of contrasts. The
socio-economic situation of the educative population is also varied. Belen and Irazu are
well-off sectors; meanwhile, the surrounding areas, such as Alaska, Santa Barbara,
Augusto Medina, and Belencito, are middle-class neighborhoods. In that way, Diego
Fallon is a very diverse school.
Additionally, the institution is facing the “Jornada Única” program. Teachers have
to work more hours, and there are a lot of irregularities in its application. For example,
the schedules have changed and all the educative community is confused, the teachers
have to be in charge of supervising the students even during the lunch time, teachers do
not agree with the initiative at all…etc. In fact, there are some skirmish among the
teachers and the directors because of that policy.
Regarding its mission and vision, the institution has as mission to form students
prepared to confront the globalized world, based on civic, communicative, and
technological competences. In that way, they will improve their life quality.
Its mission is to form students in all the human dimensions, being able of facing all
the challenges that are presented in life with values, civic, communicative, and
technological competences. Additionally, the school aims to form identity, sense of
belonging, leadership, self-esteem, autonomy, and critical thinking.

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Finally, the institution bases its practices under the “constructivism” approach. It
means the school give a great importance to social interaction. Vygotsky (1980), the
precursor of this approach found that “Every function in the child’s cultural
development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level;
first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child
(intrapsychological)”.
3. ANALYSIS OF THE OBSERVATION RECORDS
During the observations, I found some positive and negative aspects that are classified
in the following chart:
MOTIVA
TION
CLASS
MANAGE
MENT
LANGU
AGE
USE
METHODO
LOGY
ENVIRON
MENT
ASSESS
MENT
The
teacher
always
applies a
warm up
before
each class
to motivate
students, to
know
The teacher
has a map of
the
organization
of the
classroom to
avoid
misbehavior
.
The
instructio
ns are
clear.
The
teacher
uses
Spanish
only
when it is
The teacher
uses
technology to
work on more
skills (such as
listening and
pronunciation
) and to
motivate
students.
The English
lab has a
very
gripping
decoration.
For instance,
a chart with
the IPA, the
shield of the
USA,
When the
students
participate,
the
correction
is
instantane
ous.

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them, and
to
reinforce
topics.
strictly
necessary
.
tablets,
visual
aids…etc.
The
teacher
encourages
participatio
n and
praises
every
contributio
n.
The teacher
spends too
much time
handing in
the tablets.
(More than
20 minutes)
As the
students
have to sign
formats,
some of the
tablets are
drained
out…etc.
The
students
use the
FL only
when the
teacher
asks
them to
do it. So,
they do
not
interact
in
English
among
them.
When there is
new
vocabulary,
the teacher
uses different
strategies
such as realia,
images, or
deconstructio
n of words.
The students
do not have
a good
attitude
when it is
raining.
The
teacher
corrects
students
kindly.

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The
teacher
gives
positive
reinforcem
ent.
There are
clear rules.
For
example, the
students
know how
to hand the
tablets out
or how they
have to
organize the
English
room before
leaving it.
The
audios
and some
materials
used are
in British
English;
however,
the
teacher
uses and
teaches
America
n
English.
There is
constant
monitoring.
Sometimes,
the teacher
only takes
into account
the
participation
of the most
The
students
have a
very low
level, in
contrast
to what it
is stated
There is
collaborative
work.

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advanced
pupils.
in the
“English
Basic
Rights”
The teacher
has to speak
loudly to get
the students’
attention.
When there is
misbehave or
lacking of
attention, the
teacher
commands
the student to
translate the
materials.
The teacher
prepares
special
material for
the advanced
students.
Grammar is
taught
explicitly and
implicitly.

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Problems to analyze and give solutions:
 The students use the FL only when the teacher asks them that. When they
are not supervised by the teacher, they speak in the L1.
I think it may happen due to the low English level of the students and the way they
are learning English. It is evident they know aspects about the language, but they are
not prepared for communicate in English. In that way, a solution I could give – based
on my experience as a teacher and student – is to contextualize the language into their
lives. For instance, to ask them about their routines, what they did, what is in, to keep
conversations based on their likes... etc. Also, keeping interaction with students is a key
factor to encourage them to use the language. For example, answering the worksheets
together, asking questions all the time. Finally, teaching grammar inductively could be
a tool to encourage students to use the language.
 When there is misbehave, the teacher asks students to translate the
material they are working on.
It is not a secret that translation applied in LT is old fashioned; that is not
meaningful for students. If we want our students to communicate in English as the
guidelines state, we have to use communicative approaches. To avoid misbehave is
crucial to keep the students learning and practicing. Games and activities which
involve movement could be a good resource, collaborative work and group work as
well.

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4. DATA ANALYSIS
These are the results gotten from the needs analysis. The instrument I used to gather
the information was a questionnaire. 32 students participated in the process.
4.1 Age of the students
Most of the students are in the ages of 15 and 16. It means they are in the late adolescence.
According to what we studied in the course Psychology of children and adolescents,
students at that age are able to:
 Think abstractly
 Reflect and have alternative options to problems
 Think about ideas and philosophy of life
 Ask who they are and how society sees them
 Express their ideas through different means: music, poems, writings…etc.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
14 15 16 17 18 NO RESPONDE

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4.2 The way they better learn English
4.3 Enjoyable activities to learn English
0
5
10
15
20
25
ESCRIBIENDO ESCUCHANDO HABLANDO LEYENDO OTRAS (LUDICAS)
0 5 10 15 20 25
ACTIVIDAD FISICA
CANCIONES
CUENTOS
DIBUJOS
DISCUSIONES
ESCRITOS
JUEGOS DE MESA
MANUALIDADES
OBRAS DE TEATRO
PELICULAS
VIDEOS

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Again, it is evident the students are auditory as more than 50% of the total of students find
funny to learn English through audio and songs. Other activities students like are videos,
movies, and games.
4.4 How they learn easier.
Based on the previous answers, I can affirm most of the students are auditory as most of
them learn easier through songs and audios. Other activities in which they learn easier are
workshops, videos, movement, writing, and images.
4.5 Importance of learning English
100% of the students affirm it is important to learn English. Most of them say it is
important for getting a better job, to travel to another country and for having a better life
quality.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
AUDIO/CANCIONES
ESCRIBIENDO
GRAFICOS/DIBUJOS
IMÁGENES
INSTRUCCIONES/TALLERES
MOVIMIENTO
TEXTOS/CUENTOS
VIDEOS/DIGITAL

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4.6 Opportunities to learn English outside the school
69% of the students have not had the opportunity for learning English outside the school.
31%
69%
SI NO
20%
10%
70%
INSTITUTO CLASES INFORMALES CURSOS ONLINE/APPS

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70% of the students who have had the chance of learning English apart from the English
classes have studied it through apps and online courses. 20% of those students have gone to
an English institute.
4.6 How they feel in the English classes
Most of the students feel motivated and interested. Nonetheless, it is worrying the fact that
there are some students who feel anxious during the English classes.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
ABURRIDO
CONTENTO
MOTIVADO/INTERESADO
NERVIOSO
OTRO (NORMAL)

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4.7 Participation in class
Most of the students sometimes participate in English. Some of the reasons they give are:
 Sometimes I do not understand
 I do not like English
 Because my level is too low
 I am shy
 The teacher gives value only to the contributions of the most advanced students.
4.8 How they feel sharing with their families.
0
5
10
15
20
25
A VECES CASI SIEMPRE NUNCA SIEMPRE
0 5 10 15 20
BIEN
CASI NO COMPARTIMOS
FELIZ
NO ME GUSTA

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Most of the students get happy and okay when sharing with their families. However, there
are some of them who do not have the opportunity of sharing with their families. The main
obstacles are time and lacking of confidence.
4.8 How they feel in the group
4.9 The relevance of their opinion in the group
72% of the participants said their classmates respect their opinion.
75%
6%
10%
3%
3% 3%
tranquilo aislado contento
otro (estresado) otro (todos me caen mal) otro (normal)
72%
19%
3%
6%
SI NO OTRO (A VECES) N/R

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4.10 How they express their ideas
4.11 How free they feel of expressing their ideas, emotions, feelings…etc.
59% of the students do not feel they can express their emotions, feelings, and ideas. Most
of them said they cannot do it since they do not feel their teachers
42%
33%
25% LO EXPRESA A UN
COMPAÑERO
SIMPLEMENTE LO EXPRESA
LO EXPRESO AL PROFESOR
59%
5%
36% NO
A VECES
SI

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4.12 Qualities
This section surprised me a lot since most of the students did not answer to the question as
they think they do not have qualities.
4.13 Spare time
The most popular hobbies are sleeping, listening to music, and football.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
APRENDERINGLES
AYUDARENLACASA
BICICLETA
CAMINAR
CELULAR
COMER
COMPARTIRCONAMIGOS
COMPARTIRENFAMILIA
DANZAS
DEBERES
DORMIR
EJERCICIO
ESCUCHARMUSICA
ESTARCONLAPAREJA
TOMARSEFOTOS
FUTBOL
VIDEOJUEGOS
LEER
MEMES
NATACION
SERVICIOSOCIAL
SISTEMAS
VERTV
VOLEYBALL

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4.14 Favorite music
As it was stated before, most of the students are auditory, so this questions are vital for my
future classes with them. Most of the students like trap, rap, vallenato, and rock. It will be a
challenge for me to incorporate those genres into the classes.
4.15 Sports
0 5 10 15 20
FUTBOL
VOLEYBALL
RUGBY
TODOS
NATACION
BEISBALL
WORKOUT
BAILE DE ACADEMIA
BMX
BASKETBALL
PATINAJE

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4.16 Their opinion and the development of English classes
Most of the students claimed they opinion is valuable in the development of the classes.
Nonetheless, some of them said it is not for some reasons:
 The teacher does not interest our opinion
 I do not care
 The class is not based on our opinion.
66% of the participants said it is important to take into account their opinion in the
development of the English class
66%
22%
3%
9%
SI NO OTRO (A VECES) NO RESPONDE

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Some of the reasons they gave are:
 I have very good ideas
 In that way, the class would be more enjoyable
 Our opinion matters
 In that way, we can learn more.
4.19 Their preferred way of working (Likert scale)
66%
16%
3%
6%
9%
SI NO OTRO (A VECES) OTRO (ME DA IGUAL) NO RESPONDE
2.7
3.7
3.4
2.5
3.6
3.7
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
TRABAJO IND.
EN PAREJAS
GRUPOS GRANDES
PRES. IND.
PRES. GRUP.
MESA REDONDA/DEBATE

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According to the graph, they like working in pairs, in round tables, and in group
presentations.
4.20 Support in their homes (Likert scale)
Most of them find support in their homes; nonetheless, there are some who do not feel they
are supported enough. They said it is so because:
 My family do not know how to help
 I like to do things on my own
 They do not pay attention to me
 I do not have confidence with my family.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 N/R

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4.21 Obstacles that do not allow them to perform academically better.
0
5
10
15
20
25

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CONCLUSIONS
Regarding their age, it is a homogeneous group. Consequently, at this stage,
according to Piaget, one of the precursors of constructivism, the adolescent or young adult
begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems, begin to think more
about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that require theoretical and
abstract reasoning, and are able to think deductively, or reasoning from a general principle
to specific information.
About their likes, they enjoy listening to rap, trap, and vallenato; they like football
and volleyball, and most of them are auditory and kinesthetic. I will make the most to
incorporate their likes into my class.
Taking into account their feelings and opinions towards the class, I am quite
disquiet as the pupils do not feel free to talk and express their thoughts in class. Also, they
claimed that the teacher does not take into account their contributions. Consequently, my
duty is to form a better classroom atmosphere, taking into consideration their thoughts and
contributions, to make they feel they are important in the class development.
In relation to their social and affective needs, most of them feel demotivated,
without support in their homes. Additionally, the majority of the group feels comfortable
working in groups, rather than individually. Nevertheless, I have observed they always
work in the same groups, so they usually do not interact with most of the class.

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ANNEXES
Test format
Nombre:___________________________________________________________
___ Edad:______________ Grado ______________ Sexo:
M_____F____ Fecha:______________________________
OBJETIVO: El propósito de este cuestionario es conocer las necesidades, intereses
y expectativas de los estudiantes de grado ___________ de la institución educativa
_________________________________________ de la ciudad de Ibagué.
INSTRUCCIONES: Por favor responda de forma honesta a todas las preguntas.
Gracias por su colaboración.
MI NIVEL DE INGLÉS
1. ¿Crees que es importante aprender inglés?
SI ______ NO ______ ¿Por qué?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________
2. ¿De qué manera aprendes mejor el inglés? Puedes encerrar más de una
opción
a. Leyendo
b. Escribiendo
c. Hablando
d. Escuchando
e. De otras maneras. ¿Cuáles?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________
3. ¿Qué actividades encuentras divertidas para aprender inglés? (encierra las
que te gusten más)

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 Películas
 Canciones
 Discusiones
 Escritos
 Cuentos
 Obras de teatro
 Juegos de mesa
 Juegos de actividad física
 Manualidades
 Dibujos
 Videos
 Otros… ¿Cuáles?
4. ¿Cómo se te facilita aprender? Encierra la opción u opciones necesarias
a. Escuchando al profesor y haciendo talleres
b. Haciendo gráficos/dibujando/haciendo posters
c. Tomando notas/componiendo/escribiendo
d. Haciendo actividades que involucran movimiento (juegos)
e. Por medio de videos/material digital…
f. Audios, canciones, rimas…

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g. Imágenes/memes…
h. Textos/cuentos/historias…
i. Otro. ¿Cuál? ___________________________________
5. ¿Has tenido la oportunidad de aprender inglés aparte de las clases que
recibes en el colegio?
SI _____ NO _____
Si la respuesta es sí, ¿Dónde lo has aprendido? _________________________
MIS SENTIMIENTOS Y EMOCIONES
Marque con una X la opción que considere correcta o responda con sus propias palabras
lo que considere es correcto de acuerdo a la pregunta.
6. ¿Cómo se siente en las clases de inglés?
Motivado/interesado
Nervioso
Aburrido
Contento
Otros: ___________________
7. ¿Cada cuánto participas en clase?
Siempre
Casi siempre
A veces
Nunca
¿Por qué?
8. ¿Cómo te sientes compartiendo en familia?
Bien
Feliz
Casi no compartimos
Triste
Aburrido
No me gusta
¿Por qué?

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9. ¿Cómo te sientes frente al grupo?
Tranquilo
Aislado
Contento
Otros: ____________________
10. ¿Sientes que en el grupo tienen en cuenta tu opinión cuando participas?
Sí No
11. ¿Sientes que puedes expresar tus sentimientos, pensamientos,
emociones…?
Sí No
Si tu respuesta es SI, ¿Cómo lo haces?
Le cuento al profesor Prefiero no expresarlos
Le cuento a un compañero
Simplemente lo expreso
Si respondiste no, ¿Por qué?
12. ¿Qué cualidades posees?
MIS GUSTOS Y PREFERENCIAS
13. ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
14. ¿Cuál es/son tu(s) género(s) de música preferido(s)?
__________
________________________________________________________
15. ¿Cuál es(son) tu(s) deporte(s) favorito? (Deporte que te guste ver y/o jugar)
__________________________________________________________________

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MI ENTORNO
16. ¿Crees que tu opinión es tomada en cuenta en el desarrollo de las clases
de inglés?
Si No
¿Por qué?:
________________________________________________________________
17. ¿Para ti es importante qué tu opinión sea tomada en cuenta en el desarrollo
de la clase de inglés?
Sí No ¿Por qué?:
________________________________________________________________
18. ¿Qué tanto te gusta participar en las siguientes actividades? (5: Me encanta
1: No me gusta en absoluto
Trabajo individual 1 2 3 4 5
Trabajo en parejas 1 2 3 4 5
Trabajo en grupos grandes 1 2 3 4 5
Presentaciones individuales 1 2 3 4 5
Presentaciones grupales 1 2 3 4 5
Mesas redondas/debates 1 2 3 4 5
19. ¿Qué tanto te sientes apoyado en tus actividades escolares en tu
hogar? (1: nada 5: Me apoyan mucho)
1 2 3 4 5
¿Por qué?
________________________________________________________________
20. ¿Cuál de las siguientes situaciones impide, obstaculiza o dificulta tu
rendimiento académico? Marca una X en frente de cada situación que te afecta:

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Falta de recursos económicos. _______
Falta de apoyo por fuera del salón de clase. _______
Falta de acceso a fuentes de información. _______
Falta de motivación. _______
Falta de apoyo por parte del docente. _______
Conflictos en el hogar. _______
Trabajo (tengo que apoyar económicamente en mi casa). _______
Tareas del hogar. _______
Depresión. _______
Bullying. _______
Violencia. _______
otras: ________________________________________
Has llegado al final del formato. ¡Gracias por tu colaboración!

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A sample of the test filled out.

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REFERENCES
Becker,A. (1986). Language in particular: A lecture. In D. Tannen (Ed.), Linguistics in context:
Connecting observation and understanding (pp. 17–35). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Coleman, H. (1996). Autonomy and ideology in the English language classroom. In H. Coleman
(Ed.), Society and the language classroom (pp. 1–16). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (1994). The postmethod condition: (E)merging strategies for second/foreign
language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 27–48.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. Readings on the development
of children, 23(3), 34-41.