NEEDS ANALYSIS ‘C’ CATEGORY QUESTIONNAIRE

This questionnaire is part of a project being carried out by the PY’s Curriculum Department to determine what the language
needs of students are, whether these needs are being adequately met, and if not, where improvements can be made. For this
purpose, your opinions are being elicited. It would be appreciated if you could complete this questionnaire, which should take
approximately twenty minutes.

The term ‘N/A’ is used in this questionnaire. ‘N/A’ stands for ‘Not Applicable’ and is the appropriate response if a question does
not apply to you.

A. General Statements

How important are the following Not Hardly Important Highly

abilities to you? important Important important
1. Listening to English 1 2 3 4
2. Speaking English 1 2 3 4
3. Writing English 1 2 3 4
4. Reading English 1 2 3 4

B. Overview of Skills Needed and Difficulties Encountered

How often do you have difficulty with Very

Often Sometimes Never
each of these skills? often
5. Reading 1 2 3 4
6. Writing 1 2 3 4
7. Speaking 1 2 3 4
8. Listening 1 2 3 4

C. Speaking and Listening Skills

Not Very
How often do the following happen to you? Never Often
Often Often
9. Have difficulty working in small groups during class. 1 2 3 4
10. Have trouble leading class discussions. 1 2 3 4
11. Have difficulty participating in large group
1 2 3 4
discussions or in debates.
12. Struggle with interaction with speakers of English 1 2 3 4
D. Speaking Skills

Not Very
How often do the following happen you? Never Often
Often Often
13. Have difficulty giving oral presentations 1 2 3 4
14. Have trouble wording what you want to say quickly
1 2 3 4
enough
15. Worry about saying something in case you make a
1 2 3 4
mistake in English
16. Not know how to say something in English 1 2 3 4
17. Have difficulty with the pronunciation of words. 1 2 3 4
18. Find it difficult to enter a discussion. 1 2 3 4

E. Listening Skills

Not Very
How often do the following happen to you? Never Often
Often Often
19. Have trouble understanding lengthy descriptions in
1 2 3 4
English.
20. Have trouble understanding spoken instructions 1 2 3 4
21. Have trouble understanding formal language (news
1 2 3 4
programmes, documentaries, etc)
22. Have trouble understanding English speakers with
1 2 3 4
unfamiliar accents.

I have problems with speakers of English because Never Sometimes Often

23. They speak very fast. 1 2 3
24. They speak quietly. 1 2 3
25. Their accents or pronunciation are different from
1 2 3
what I’m used to.
26. More than one person is speaking, e.g., in group
1 2 3
discussions.
F. Writing Skills

Not Very
How important to you is the skill? N/A Important
Important Important
27. Using correct punctuation and
1 2 3 4
spelling
28. Structuring sentences 1 2 3 4
29. Using appropriate vocabulary 1 2 3 4
30. Organizing paragraphs 1 2 3 4
31. Organizing the overall writing 1 2 3 4
32. Expressing ideas appropriately 1 2 3 4
33. Developing ideas 1 2 3 4
34. Expressing what you want to say
1 2 3 4
clearly
35. Addressing a topic 1 2 3 4
36. Adopting appropriate tone and style 1 2 3 4
37. Evaluating and revising your
1 2 3 4
writing
38. Overall writing ability 1 2 3 4
39. Completing written tasks (e.g.,
1 2 3 4
exams, tests) within the time limit

G. Reading Skills

How often do you have difficulty reading these

N/A Never Sometimes Often
types of material?
40. Newspaper articles 1 2 3 4
41. Works of fiction 1 2 3 4
42. On-line material 1 2 3 4
43. Academic text books 1 2 3 4
 How often do you have difficulty with these reading Not Very
Never Often
skills? Often Often
44. Previewing texts 1 2 3 4
45. Reading for main ideas 1 2 3 4
46. Skimming for ideas 1 2 3 4
47. Scanning for ideas 1 2 3 4
48. Reading for details 1 2 3 4
49. Recognizing different text types 1 2 3 4
50. Reading maps to locate information 1 2 3 4
51. Make inferences to understand ideas 1 2 3 4
52. Understanding the main points of the text. 1 2 3 4
53. Guessing unknown words in the text. 1 2 3 4
54. Understanding text organization. 1 2 3 4
55. Understanding specialist vocabulary in a text. 1 2 3 4
56. Reading speed. 1 2 3 4
57. Reading in order to respond critically. 1 2 3 4
58. Understanding a writer’s attitude and purpose. 1 2 3 4
59. General comprehension. 1 2 3 4

H. Skills You Would Like to Improve

Not Hardly Highly

Rate the importance of these skills for you Useful
useful Useful Useful
60. Listening to pronunciation/intonation/stress
1 2 3 4
patterns of British English
61. Listening to pronunciation/intonation/stress
1 2 3 4
patterns of American English
62. Lecture note-taking 1 2 3 4
63. General listening comprehension 1 2 3 4
64. Giving formal speeches or presentations 1 2 3 4
65. Participating effectively in discussions 1 2 3 4
66. Communicating effectively with peers in small
group discussions, collaborative projects, or out-of-class 1 2 3 4
study groups
67. Communicating effectively with staff in and out of
1 2 3 4
class
68. Library skills 1 2 3 4
69. Essay writing 1 2 3 4
70. Creative writing 1 2 3 4
71. Describing objects or procedures 1 2 3 4
72. Writing introductions and conclusions 1 2 3 4
73. Writing references and quotations 1 2 3 4
74. Formulating coherent arguments 1 2 3 4
75. Summarizing factual information 1 2 3 4
76. Synthesizing information from more than one source 1 2 3 4
77. Analyzing written materials 1 2 3 4
78. Knowledge of vocabulary 1 2 3 4
79. Reading quickly 1 2 3 4
80. Reading critically 1 2 3 4
81. Reading for an author’s viewpoint 1 2 3 4
82. Summarizing material 1 2 3 4
83. General reading comprehension 1 2 3 4

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.

I. Additional Information

If we would like more information from you, would you be willing to be interviewed?

If yes, please give your:

Name: _________________________________________________________________

Contact telephone number: _________________________________________________

Email address: ___________________________________________________________

Adapted from: Student questionnaire used at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, Gravatt, Richards & Lewis 1997.