作业needs-analysis.doc

Needs Analysis of the Business English Learners in XISUIntroductionNeeds analysis conducted before a course works for teachers in setting teaching goals, selecting teaching content and materials, and exploring approaches of teaching and learning. Courses which are based on the findings of pre-course needs analysis will better meet the needs of language learners and employers. Under the theoretical framework of needs analysis, this paper is aimed to analyze the needs of college Business English undergraduate with the purpose of investigating what the students objective needs and subjective needs, target needs and learning needs so as to judge whether the current BE curriculum can meet the needs of students. The Classification of Business English LearnersEllis and Johnson(1994) categorize three types of those learners.(1) Pre-experience learners. These learners who are always university students without any working experience. They learn the business knowledge mainly from the textbooks chosen by the school. And their need of language skills in real business activities is ambiguous. (2) low-experience learners. These Learners are lack of effective working experience which is used in some important companies settings. Thus, they need some professional BE training. (3) Job-experience learners. These learners include different people in a company ranging from employees to managers. Their targets are to choose related business English courses to improve their technique in order to run the company successfully. This thesis is aimed to analyze the needs of college Business English undergraduate studying in XISU.The definition of needsNeeds are described as objective and subjective ( Brindle, 1989: 65), perceived and felt ( Brick, 1989: 55), target situation / goal-oriented and learning, process-oriented and product-oriented (Brindley, 1989: 63); in addition, there are necessities, wants and lacks ( Hutchinson and Waters, 1987:55). These terms have been introduced to describe the different factors and perspectives which have helped the philosophy or educational value, and merits careful thought. Models of Needs Analysis (1) Target Situation Analysis (TSA) Needs Analysis involves the collection of both objective information relating to the learners biographical data, learning purpose, and language proficiency and subjective information relating to the learners attitudes, preferences, wants and expectations before and during instruction (Brindley, 2000, p.439). A needs analysis which focuses on students needs at the end of a language course can be called Target Situation Analysis (TSA) (Chambers, 1980).The best known model for a TSA type of needs analysis is formulated by Munby (1978) who presents a communicative needs processor, a complex and very detailed analytic tool that allowed course planners to build up a profile of a learners communication needs. These needs were then translated into lists of language skills and micro functions which formed the basis of the target syllabus specification (Brindley, 2000, p.439). (2) Present Situation Analysis (PSA)As a complement to TSA, the Present Situation Analysis (PSA), sometimes called a language audit, seeks to establish what the students are like at the start of their language course, investigating their strengths and weaknesses. Three basic sources of information should be collected in order to establish the PSA: the students themselves, the language teaching establishment and the user institution, for example, the students place of work. For each of these we shall seek information regarding their respective levels of ability; their resources, for example, financial and technical; and their views on language teaching and learning. We might also study the surrounding society and culture; the attitude held towards English and towards the learning and use of a foreign language. It is believed that the PSA involves fundamental variables which must clearly be considered before the TSA. Besides Target Situation Analysis and Present Situation Analysis, Hutchinson Waters Needs Analysis (1987) and Dudley Evans St Johns Needs Analysis (1998) are also two important needs analysis models. (3) Hutchinson and Waters Model of Needs Analysis Hutchinson and Waters (1987) put forward the Learning-Centered Approach analysis model which contains two sections: Target Needs Analysis and Learning Needs Analysis which consist of several questions, each divided into more detailed questions. Target Needs Analysis focuses on the actual usage of language in specific situation, and Learning Needs Analysis emphasizes on the learners language studying.The thesis mainly adopts theoretical framework of Target Situation Analysis (TSA), Learning Situation Analysis (LSA), Present Situation Analysis (PSA) and intends to find out the learners strengths and weaknesses in language, skills and learning experiences, and what skills the learners are expected to get at the end of the language course. Research MethodologyThe Purpose of this research is to examine the TSA, LSA and PSA of Business English learners in college. The results of the research act as a beneficial guide for the curriculum design of Business English. The target population in this research include the students studying at XISU. The total number of students is 30 grade 3. The reason for choosing the junior students is that they have studied the Business English curriculum so that they are familiar with the current curriculum design. Thus, their learning needs provide some vital suggestions for Business English curriculum design. Questionnaire, coupled with interview is to be used as a major instrument for collecting the data needed. Highly structured questionnaires with mostly closed questions, together with open-ended questions, post-survey interview have been adopted. 30 students are surveyed, 30 validate questionnaires have been collected.Data Analysis (1)Target Situation Analysis What language ability of Business English are more practical and urgent in future work situations? Question1 is used to find out students needs of language skills of Business English at the end of current course. Students (66%) consider that business conversations is important, 50% (15 out of 30) of the students think that business English negotiations is vital and about 33% consider that business English correspondences are of much importance. The conclusion can be drawn that the students put emphasis on business conversation and business English negotiation, therefore, the Business English course should focus on the two language skills of Business English.Question 2 is used to find out students attitude to which certificates are more useful. The data collected imply that 60% of students claim that CET-4 or CET-6 or EMT-8 certificate is necessary. 47% of students prefer Intermediate-level or Advanced-level English Interpreter Certificate. The results imply that students pay more attention to the basic English Language skills.(2) Learning Situation AnalysisQuestion 3 is designed to find out students motivation of choosing Business English major. From the data collected we can see that 65% of the students select the course in consideration of job-hunting, 39.2% of them are out of personal interest. The minority of students is for Business English certificates (10.8%) and overseas study (10.8%). We conclude that most of students choosing Business English major aim to get a good employment in the future. Thus, the curricular design should correspond to job selection of students. Questions 4 is aimed to find out students interests about the current Business English textbooks. The majority of the students are in favor of Business English textbooks concerning learners real needs. Question 5 is designed to find out students attitude toward the teaching methods. 70% of the students consider that both A and B are vital. Therefore, the basic English language skills and Business knowledge should be considered into the curricular design.(3) Present Situation Analysis Graduates self-perception of the most difficult Business English skills (Q6)and biggest obstacle(Q7) to their progress can be useful in finding out the lacks of learners. 22.7% of the students agree that it is not easy to master the writing skills. The majority of students(60.8%) think that listening and speaking are the most difficult to master. According to the QQ group chat with the Business English undergraduate, majority of undergraduate consider a shortage of enough practice to be the biggest obstacle. Thus, learners strengths and weaknesses in language, skills and learning experiences provide beneficial guide for curriculum design.Conclusion Based on the analysis of the results of the survey, learners expect to get the basic English language skills and Business knowledge. Learners lack of necessary skills of writing, listening and speaking. Thus, college business English course should mainly focus on enhancing learners business knowledge and Business English listening and speaking. Textbooks that can best work for learners needs should be used. Teaching approaches which can provide learners with enough practice and experience should be implemented. Questionnaire Q1: Which of the following Business English skills are more practical in future job? (Three choices) A. Telephone EnglishB. Business English negotiationC. Products presentationD. Conference EnglishE. Business English conversationsF. English contractsG. Business English correspondencesH. Product instructionsI. Business English translationQ2: Which of the following certificates are attached much importance in job application? (Exclusive choice)A. BEC certificates for intermediate or upper-intermediate levelsB. CET-4, CET-6 or EMT-8 certificateC. Intermediate-level or Advanced-level English Interpreter CertificateD. Dan Zhengyuan National International Business LicensesE. Documents Operator CertificateQ3: Why do you select College Business English course? (Multiple choices)A. out of personal interestB. to prepare myself for business English certificatesC. in consideration to job-huntingD. to prepare myself for overseas studyQ4：What kind of business textbooks interests you most? (Exclusive choice)A. Chinese business textbooksB. Overseas Business English textbooksC. Business English textbooks concerning learners real needsQ5: Which of the following ways of teaching do you like most? (Exclusive choice)A. Business-English-know