1.6.2.1 Questionnaire surveys
To gather information, questionnaire surveys are the most
common and the most efficient method of Needs Analysis compared to the other
procedures. (Browns,1992; West,1994). The questionnaire surveys are a list of
research or survey questions distained and asked to the respondents, and
designed to extract specific information that are going to be used in the field
of research. They serve to collect the appropriate data, make them
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comparable and amenable to analysis. The questionnaire surveys
collect, analyze, and interpret the view of one person or a group of people
from a target population .
1.6.2.2 Interviews
Interviews may obtain and build information that would not
possibly be revealed by any other data collection method (Gall and Borg,1996).
In fact, an Interview is a meeting between people where questions are asked and
answered. It is a procedure for getting information from the interviewee orally
and gaining different views concerning the field of research or
investigation.
1.6.2.3 Observations
Observations are another instrument applied in order to
conduct a Needs Analysis. It is the process of watching someone, something, or
a group. According to Marshall and Rossman (1989) observation is defined as
"the systematic description of events, behaviors, and artifacts in the
social setting chosen for study" (79). Observations enable the researcher
to describe existing situations using the five senses, providing a "written
photograph" of the situation under study (Erlandson, Harris, Skipped &
Allen, 1993). For example in EFL classes, observation includes watching the
teacher giving a lesson to his/her class an then taking notes to respond to the
research questions (teacher's method, learners' motivation, participation
...).
1.6.2.4 Analyzing Authentic Texts
According to Dudley-Evans and St-Johns (1998)
«Analyzing authentic texts is a crucial stage of Needs
Analysis»(136) .If the learner uses the target language
primarily for reading and writing, text analysis will help in determining what
the student will ultimately have to read or write. By analyzing authentic
texts, it is easy to pick out and select the necessary ideas that the author
has developed in his text that are useful in a research .They are also the
basis
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for classroom materials since they provide the researcher with
the extra knowledge to add in his work. Analyzing authentic texts can also
allow students to form their own texts and reveal other hidden needs.
1.6.3 Sources of Needs Analysis
The main sources of Needs Analysis are the learners, people
working or studying in the field, ex-students, documents relevant to the field,
clients, employers, colleagues, and previous ESP research in the field. Brown
(1995) points out that there are four categories of people who may be involved
in a needs analysis: the target group, the audience, the needs analysts, and
the resource group.
The target group consists of the people about whom information
will ultimately be gathered, such as the learners in a program, the teachers or
administrators. The audience is all those who are eventually required to act
upon the analysis. This group usually consists of teachers, teachers aides,
program administrators, and any governing bodies or supervisors in the
bureaucracy above the language program. The needs analysts are the persons
responsible for conducting the needs analysis. In addition to conducting the
needs analysis, this group is probably responsible for identifying the other
three groups. Finally, the resource group which consists of those who may serve
as sources of information about the target group.
1.7 Course design 1.7.1 course
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) define a course as «An
integrated series of teaching-learning experiences, whose ultimate aim is to
lead the learners to a particular state of knowledge»(P.65). That is
to say, it is a process of planning and setting up courses for the sake of
learning a language. Thus, language courses whether in ESP or GE are well
established through a number of steps: the outcomes of needs analysis,
determining the goals
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and objectives, conceptualizing the content, selecting and
developing materials, organizing the content of the syllabus, and evaluating
(Graves, 1996, Quoted in Xenodohidis, 2002).
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