Running head: NEEDS ANALYSIS LITERATURE REVIEW 1

Needs Analysis Literature Review

Sarah van Nostrand

Colorado State University

NEEDS ANALYSIS LITERATURE REVIEW 2

Introduction

The following literature review was written prior to conducting a needs analysis that was

completed to fulfill E634 English for Specific Purposes course requirements. This literature

review researches some of the approaches to conducting needs analyses as they pertain to

English language learners (ELLs). This research has directly influenced the approaches my

colleagues and I chose to employ to conduct our needs analysis, and consequently, it has also

influenced how we developed our supplemental pedagogical materials that were designed to

address the specific needs identified in our analysis. This research has helped me understand the

importance of conducting needs analyses to ensure effective language teaching before, during,

and after course instruction. This research has also helped me to understand some of the

challenges involved in collecting reliable, bias-free data. I plan to reference this research when I

am conducting needs analyses as a future language teacher.

Literature Review

Needs analyses are not only beneficial to creating effective ESP courses, they are a

necessity, as discussed by Johns and Price-Machado (2000). Needs analyses are viewed as an

integral part of the development of ESP courses, as well as a valuable tool to be utilized as an

ongoing process to assess student progress. Over time, needs analyses have grown in complexity.

While target language use was the primary focus in earlier needs analyses, they have evolved to

include other analyses such as discourse analysis and learner factor analysis (Basturkmen, 2010).

The target situation, present situation, learner factor, and discourse factor analysis were all

analyses that the analysts described in detail in the needs analysis report of NRRT 320.

Nation (2010) describes needs analyses as revolving around two major components: target

needs and learning needs. While target needs focus on what the student needs to be able to
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achieve in the target situation, learning needs refer to what the student must do to be able to

learn. These needs can be further subdivided into needs, lacks, and wants. What does the student

need to know in order to be successful in the course? What knowledge or information are

students lacking when they enter the course? What do students want to get out of the course?

These are all questions that should be asked to address these three components. In order to

answer these questions, various types of information must be gathered and analyzed. Conducting

observations, interviews, corpus analysis, and formal and informal assessments are just a few

possible ways to gather this necessary data.

While the goal of a needs analysis is ultimately intended to address the needs of the target

population, it is important to note that needs analyses are not always completely objective in

their goals. Benesch (2001) explains that they are often used by institutions to get students to

follow well-known communicative practices, which is why there has been criticism that needs

analyses encourage the notion that needs analyses value language training over language

education (Widdowson, 1983).

Nation (2010) discusses the importance of evaluating whether or not a needs analysis is

reliable and practical. In order for a needs analysis to be reliable, data must be collected from

several different sources. Moreover, methods of collecting data must be systematic. That is, they

should, for example, during one-on-one interviews with current students, analysts should use

checklists and be sure to ask the same questions to every student in order to ensure consistency.

With regard to practicality, Nation (2010) considers how it may be worth creating a method for

ranking the types of data being gathered in order to guarantee that the most important

information has the time and resources required to be collected. Nation warns against falling into
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the trap of collecting data simply because it is convenient. Every piece of data gathered during

the needs analysis process should have a clear purpose.

In Jasso-Aguilars (2005) study on Waikiki hotel maids, he discusses the importance of

utilizing multiple sources and methods of data collection in a needs analysis, as well as

employing the use of triangulation, in order to provide a well-rounded, multi-sided assessment of

student needs. Triangulation, a more current and encompassing approach to needs analysis, is a

process involving systematic comparison between multiple sources that can aid in eliminating

institutional or other outsider bias from the analysis (Jasso-Aguilar, 2005). Similarly, Maxwell

(1996), defines triangulation as collecting information from a diverse range of individuals

and setting, using a variety of methods (p. 93). Triangulation was used by Jasso-Aguilar in his

study of Waikiki hotel maids where he cross-analyzed data between three distinct sources:

workers, guests, and administrators. In another study, Holly Sue Hudspath-Niemi (2008)

examined the effectiveness of English as a second language (ESL) staff development programs

in an elementary, middle, and high school located in western Pennsylvania by employing

triangulation. In order for Hudspath-Niemi to enhance the reliability of her needs analysis, she

used triangulation to cross-analyze her three major data collection sources, which included

teacher focus groups, administrator interviews, and document analysis (Hudspath-Niemi, 2008).

This approach to conducting a needs analysis is appealing, in part, because it allows for a

broader view and multiple perspectives of the issue (Hudspath-Niemi, 2008, p. 60).
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References

Basturkmen, H. (2010). Developing courses in English for specific purposes. Houndmills,

Basingstoke, Hampshire, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Benesch, S. (2001). Critical English for Academic Purposes: Theory, Politics and Practice. New

Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Hudspath-Niemi, H. (2008). Historical case analysis of ESL staff development for mainstream

content area teachers in a pennsylvania school district (Order No. 3315393). Available from

Education Database; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: Social Sciences. (304405034).

Retrieved from https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/docview/304405034?accountid=10223

Jasso-Aguilar, R. (2005). Sources, methods, and triangulation in needs analysis: A critical

perspective in a case study of Waikiki hotel maids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Johns, A., & Price-Machado, D. (2001). English for specific purposes: Tailoring courses to

student needsand to the outside world. Heinle & Heinle, 49-49.

Maxwell, J.A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

Nation, I. S., & Macalister, J. (2010). Language curriculum design. New York, NY: Routledge.

Widdowson, H.G. (1983). Learning purpose and language use. Oxford: Oxford University Press.