ASSIGNMENT – IF

SUBJECT ASSIGNMENT:
INDIVIDUAL FACTORS IN THE LEARNER’S DEVELOPMENT

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:

This assignment has to be done in pairs following these formatting guidelines:

- Length: 6 pages (cover, table of contents, and appendices are not included in the page
count).
- Font: Arial or Times New Roman.
- Font size: 11.
- Line spacing: 1.5.
- Alignment: Justified.

The assignment has to be written in this Word document and has to follow the instructions on
quotes and references detailed in the Study Guide.

Also, the assignment has to be submitted following the procedure specified in the document:
“Subject Evaluation”. Sending it to the tutor’s e-mail is not allowed.

It is strongly recommended to read the assessment criteria, which can be found in the
document “Subject Evaluation”.

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Assignment instructions:
Design a questionnaire to retrieve information on a group of students and their learning needs.

The assignment has to include the following sections:

a) Description of the context the questionnaire is designed for (institution, characteristics of

the course, number of students, etc.).
b) Questionnaire proposal.
c) Justification of questionnaire design: all the questions included in the questionnaire must
be justified regarding the group of students it is designed for and the contents covered in
“Individual factors in the learner’s development”.

Important: you have to write your personal details and the name of the subject on the
cover (see the template on the next page). You have to include a table of contents after
the cover. Assignments that do not fulfil these conditions will not be corrected.

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SUBJECT: INDIVIDUAL FACTORS IN THE LEARNER’S DEVELOPMENT

TITLE: INDIVIDUAL FACTORS IN THE LEARNER’S DEVELOPMENT

ASSIGNMENT

Students’ full names: Kasonda Boyd and Leonardo de Sá Monteiro

Group: 2020/06

Date: 27/02/2021

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Index

1. Introduction (Contextualization) …………………………………………………..…..5

2. Questionnaire Proposal……………………………………………………………………..5

3. Question 1(What do you enjoy the most?)…………………………………………….…5

4. Question 2(Which of the following options describe you better?)……………………...5

5. Question 3(Which teaching resources do you prefer in your English classes?)……..6

6. Question 4(How do you prefer to work in class?)……………………………………..…6

7. Question 5(In your opinion, which intercultural references enrich the English learning

experience the best?)…………………………………………………………………….…6

8. Question 6(. How much time do you need to study and dedicate yourself to English

language outside your classes?)……………………………………………………….…6

9. Question 7(. Regarding your learning difficulties at the moment, give a number to the

following statements)………………………………………………………………………7

10. Question 8(Tell us about your confidence and proficiency)……………………………7

11. Question 9(. In regards to your expectations on this course (learning results) give a

number to the following statements according to the importance)……………………7

12. Question 10(Relating to your general goals, what would you prefer to do after completing

your course?)…………………………………………………………………………….…7

13. Justification of Question 1…………………………………………………………………8

14. Justification of Question 2………………………………………………………………….8

15. Justification of Question 3 & 4………………………………………………………….….8

16. Justification of Question 5………………………………………………………………….9

17. Justification of Question 6……………………………………………………………….…9

18. Justification of Question 7 & 8………………………………………………………….…9

19. Justification of Question 9 & 10………………………………………………………….10

20. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….10

21. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………. 11
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Introduction (Context)
This questionnaire is a proposal designed in order to identify the students’ needs in learning
English as a second language. It will be administered at a public teacher training school called
Magistério “Amor do Povo”, located in Saurimo township of Lunda-Sul Province in the Republic
of Angola. The institution was founded in 1992, and it offers training for teachers of both primary
and junior secondary school for a period of four (4) years, that is from grade 10 to grade 13. The
courses are divided into two (2) programmes; namely Primary Education and Junior Secondary
Education. These students always speak the Portuguese Language as their first language (L1),
they learn English as a foreign language and the intention is not to be teachers of English but
just for the purpose of communication. The respondents of this questionnaire will be eight (8)
students in grade 13 (thirteen) from the Primary Education Programme. The ages of the
students varies from 14 to 16 years old.

QUESTIONNAIRE PROPOSAL

Needs Analysis Questionnaire

1). Name ……………………………………………………..

2). Institution Name………………………………………….
3). Age ……………………………………………………….
4) Course. …………………………………………………….
5). Term……………………………………………………….

1.What do you enjoy the most?, Number the options from 1 to 6; being 1 the one you
prefer the most and six the one you prefer the least.

a) Getting lost in a good reading _____

b) Listening to a good song _____
c) Writing in a story, a letter or a poem _____
d) Singing a song _____
e) Acting a role on a play _____
f) Speaking about a topic in front of people _____

2. Which of the following options describes you better? Circle it.

a) I learn better from seeing words or pictures, I don’t need to write anything to
remember the language concepts.
b) I learn better by listening to the teacher, my partners or audio tapes, I don’t need to
see anything.

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c) I learn better by being involved in movement activities, I enjoy role plays or physical
experiences.
d) I learn better when I am working and touching materials, I like to be involved in
activities such as hands-on projects.

3. Which teaching resources do you prefer in your English classes? Circle it.

a) CD/DVD (audio recordings).

b) Internet and media resources (video clips, films, TV series).
c) Photocopies, workbooks and worksheets, board games…).
d) Interactive and digital boards or platforms.

4. How do you prefer to work in class? Circle it.

a) Individually
b) In pairs
c) In groups
d) Talking to the teacher

5. In your opinion, which intercultural references enrich the English learning experience
the best? Circle it.

a) Using material from different Anglophone countries and cultures in order to recognize
different expressions, accents, idioms and cultural issues.
b) Comparing and contrasting cultural traditions from American or British people and
Spanish-speaking people in order to check and understand formal and informal aspects
from the languages.
c) Direct references from authentic material in the target language such as newspapers,
magazines, TV programs and series, films, literary texts, tape recordings or videos in
real contexts of communication.

6. How much time do you need to study and dedicate yourself to English language
outside your classes? Circle it.

a) 2 or 3 hours per week

b) 1 hour per day (at least)
c) On weekends
d) I do not have time
7. Regarding your learning difficulties at the moment, give a number to the following
statements, where 1-5 correspond to:

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1 (none) and 5 (a lot)

1. Reading comprehension _____

2. Speaking comprehension_____
(Understanding of other speakers)
3. Proficiency in English vocabulary _____

4. Confidence when speaking _____

8. Tell us about your confidence and proficiency when:

1 A lot and 5 (none)

1. Writing reports, e-mails, essays, (academic writing style) _____

2. Speaking in informal meetings or participating in conversations in small groups_____
3. Working or talking with other people who speak English (native speakers) _____
4. Reading and understanding instructions from manuals, technical articles, newspapers
or magazines etc._____
5. Giving oral presentations (speaking in front of an audience) _____

9. In regards to your expectations on this course (learning results) give a number to the
following statements according to the importance given, where 1-3 correspond to:

1- Not very important. 2- Important. 3- very important

1. Mastery of the four (4) main skills in languages (Speaking, writing, listening and
reading). ____

2. Acquisition of vocabulary and meaningful expressions related to your academic

program or working field. ____

3. Ability to communicate (writing and orally) and transferring academic and personal
information. ____

10. Relating to your general goals, what would you prefer to do after completing your
course? Circle it.
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a) Get a new job

b) Get a diploma in English language

c) Going to an English language speaking country to improve your language skills.

( Speaking, writing, listening and reading )

JUSTIFICATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Justification of Question 1

What do you enjoy the most?, Number the options from 1 to 6; being 1 the one you prefer
the most and six the one you prefer the less.

“Intelligence seems to be a strong factor when it comes to learning second languages in

classrooms, particularly if the instruction is formal”, (Lightbown & Spada 1993, p: 37). In this
course students are exposed to formal instruction and as a result of this they are expected to
get a specific level at the end of their language learning process. Teachers should take into
account the intelligence as an important factor that can affect students’ learning and the way
they need to acquire it. We are totally aware of the fact that intelligence is not measurable under
just some questions, but we consider that the result of this question can definitely guide us
through the way students are more likely to learn. As Howards Gardner (1985, p: 89) stated,
“you learn at your best when you have something you care about and can get pleasure in being
engaged in”. That is why we designed this question taking into account activities that can be
easily related to their likes and can give us information not only about their types of intelligences
but also about some activities they would prefer.

Justification of Question 2
Which of the following options describes you better?

For this question we took into account the four perceptual learning tendencies proposed by Reid
which includes (visual learning, auditory learning, kinesthetic learning and tactile learning), it will
allow us to identify the way students feel when they learn better and it will also help us to know
the kind of activities they feel more comfortable with. Considering that the group is taking this
course as a mandatory requirement, with the result of this question we can find different
teaching strategies to motivate them to work better.

Justification of Question 3 and 4

Which teaching resources do you prefer in your English classes?
How do you prefer to work in class?
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“Some students prefer to learn by themselves in their own place, in familiar surrounding rather
than in groups. Students tend to perceive information differently, such as by “viewing and
listening, reflection and action, to reasoning logically and intuitively and also scrutinizing and
visualizing” (Felder & Henriques, 1995, p: 49). Regarding to these preferences, we could add
that students have their own way to learn, for that reason we decided to include these two
questions in our questionnaire. It will allow us to know what they prefer regarding the kind of
materials and the way they work better. Considering that his group has students from the same
careers, it is important to know the materials they prefer to learn with, because students usually
have different interests and abilities. So, we want to identify their main preferences to use them
to make their classes more interesting.

Justification of Question 5
In your opinion, which intercultural references enrich the English learning experience the
best?

We consider this question important since it will allow us to identify the way students prefer to
acquire the language. If we know the resources students prefer to use we can provide them the
appropriate material to learn. In that way they will be able to feel more comfortable and
motivated to learn. If motivation exists, success in language learning is guaranteed. (Corder
1981)

Justification of Question 6
How much time do you need to study and dedicate yourself to English language outside
your classes?

Knowing the time students are willing to dedicate to study English, we could have an idea about
how interested and motivated they can be towards it. “Motivation is a topic that can mean the
difference between success and failure in the classroom.” (Travers, Elliot & Kratchwill 1993, p:
137). We can take that information to motivate them to study outside their classes or if they are
already willing to do it, we can take advantage of it to make them to work in different activities to
acquire more knowledge outside their classrooms.

Justification of Question 7 and 8

In regards to your expectations on this course (learning results) give a number to the
following statements according to the importance given, where 1-3 correspond to:

Tell us about your confidence and proficiency when:

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These two questions are important since the results can give us information about the
knowledge that students have about their language learning. It facilitates us to see their ability,
capacities and difficulties. If students are able to identify areas where they are not good at, they
can find different strategies to work on their weaknesses.
Oxford (2001, p: 21) has clarified that “language learning strategies are used by learners to
complete speaking, reading, vocabulary, listening or writing activities presented in language
lessons”. With these two questions we can give our students the possibility to be aware of the
aspects they have to improve on, also to make them more aware about the strategies they can
use to obtain the expected result. Language learners need instruction on how to use strategies
effectively as a way to improve language learning and performance.

Justification of Question 9 and 10

Regarding to your expectations on this course (learning results) give a number to the
following statements according to the importance given where 1-3 correspond to:
Relating to your general goals when ending the course you would prefer to:

Talking about expectations and goals in these two last questions we try to summarize learners’
point of view about the course and their thoughts and personal needs.
Moving in the right direction in order to make right decisions concerning important aspects such
as methodology, material and contents are one of our priorities with this questionnaire and we
consider that we could get meaningful information from them because of the items given and
their responses.

Conclusion.

This assignment focused on the proposal of designing a questionnaire in order to identify the
students’ language learning needs. These learning needs are very important to the teacher of
English because they will make him or her to teach the language in a way that the students will
be extrinsically motivated. PALACIOS, I. Gassó, E. & Ball, P. (2016, p: 30) describes
motivationas “…the motivational factor is considered as a central concept in any pedagogical
theory since it is no possible to think of learning without motivation”. This means that the teacher
needs to understand the students’needs for them to learn well the target language, for example,
the teacher needs to understand if they are learners who enjoy reading story books, telling
stories, writing stories, acting in a role play, or singing songs. These will actually help the
teacher to chose a suitable teaching methodology that interests the students so that they learn
the language without difficulties.

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Bibliography

- Gardner, R.Y & Lambert, W. (1972). Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning.
Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

- MARTINEZ, J. D. (2013, 7 abril). Specialization on Teaching English as a Foreign Language

- JAEN - English at public schools / 767 Esquel Chubut. Recuperado de
http://www.academia.edu/4042862/Specialization_on_Teaching_ENglish_as_a_Foreign_La
nguage_-JAEN__English_at_public_schools_767_Esquel_Chubut.

- Nida, E. (1956). Motivation in Second Language Learning. Language Learning, 7(3-4),11-

15.

- O’Malley, J. M. & Chamot, A. U. (1995). Learning Strategies in Second Language

Acquisition. London: Cambridge University Press.

- Oxford, R.L. (2001). Language learning strategies in R. Carter & D. Nunan.(Eds.). The
Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (p 21). UK:
Cambridge University Press.

- PALACIOS, I. Gassó, E. & Ball, P. (2016). Individual Factors in the Learner’s Development
Barcelona: Funiber.

- Wan Shaaidi, Wan Raihan. (2012). A STUDY OF THE PREFERRED LEARNING STYLES
OF STUDENTS TAKING THE ENGLISH 1119 PAPER IN SMK TENGKU INTAN
ZAHARAH: ARE THE TEACHERS AWARE OF THESE LEARNING STYLES?. .
10.13140/RG.2.1.3212.2403

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