TCH LRN 409

“Needs Assessment” Fieldwork and Report

Caroline Ginder

I. Needs Analysis Tool:

a. The purpose of the tool is to assess the needs of an ELL in Language Arts grade 6 and

then be able to apply this to the individuals learning style in terms of the problems in

learning English, the priorities in teaching strategies, the abilities that the students

have in English, the attitudes the students have able learning English, and the

solutions that the teachers use that help the students succeed in learning English.

b. Questions asked:

1. What is your name?

2. What is your native language?

3. Where were you born and where else have you lived?

4. What’s your favorite food? What is your favorite dessert?

5. What do you like to do in school?

6. What do you like to do outside of school?

7. What kind of environment do you learn best in? Alone? With your peers?

8. How can a teacher help you learn? How do you learn in the most effective

way?

9. How many members do you have in your family? Who makes up your

family?

10. Do you have any pets?

1. I interviewed a student from my hometown that is in sixth grade. He is originally from Mexico

and came to the United States in first grade. When talking to my ELL student, I learned firsthand

the difficulty that this student, as well as other ELLs, face not only in school, but also on a daily
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basis. While this student answered my questions, I also learned that he would like the teacher to

slow down and not move so fast through the activities. He said that the biggest struggle that he

faces is that he cannot keep up with the rest of the class. He says that sometimes he will ask the

teacher questions afterwards but sometimes he is too nervous and just pretends he got all the

information that the teacher was saying.

Another problem that this student faces is feeling like he is not at the same level as the

other students. In class sometimes the teacher has to teach him to write certain words when the

other students are already finished with their assignments. He says that this makes him feel

embarrassed because he thinks the other students will make fun of him. My ELL student said

that the best way he can learn is by having his peers teach him. He enjoys when students that sit

close to him help him understand the directions and help him keep on track. He said that when he

first came to the U.S. he barely spoke and it took him about a year to get comfortable speaking to

his peers. He now feels much more comfortable asking his peers questions but he struggles when

it comes to keeping up in class. He is also nervous to ask the teacher questions a lot of the time.

2. By asking these questions, I was able to get to know the ELL student a little better. I had to

dig a little deeper to get some information about how the student learns and what they struggle

with. If I were to do this again I would like to meet the student in person and possibly be able to

observe them in the classroom setting. By seeing a student in that setting I would be able to make

some more assumptions about how they might struggle in school and learning. Sometimes it is

difficult to get more information out of a student during a formal interview. According to Brown,

the “target group” would be the ELL I interviewed and in doing so, I collect the information that

will help me to help this student succeed in the future (Brown, p. 3). When I was taking this
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information from the student, I was able to get his point of view about the certain ways he learns

best in a classroom. These, of course, were the views that were most important to my analysis. If

I were to do this again and in order to get more information, I would most likely want the point

of view from the teacher and peers as well. This would give me a clearer understanding of what

it is like in a classroom setting with my ELL student (Brown, p. 5). Using this analysis tool is a

great and direct way of getting the students input on how they learn and the ways that could help

them succeed and learn more.

Works Cited

Brown, J. D. (1995). Chapter 2: Needs analysis. In The elements of language curriculum:

A systematic approach to program development. New York, NY: Heinle & Heinle.

O’Malley, J. M., & Pierce, L. V. (1996). Authentic assessment for English language

learners: Practical approaches for teachers. New York: Addison-Wesley.