Factors Affecting ESP Course Design: Learning

Theories and Needs Analysis

BABYLEN ARIT SONERMA Applied Linguistics

Learning Expectations

We will be learning about… ?

How language is to be taught (learning theories) and for whom it is meant at what time and place (needs analysis)

LEARNING THEORIES

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) speak about “´learning theories´ which provide the theoretical basis for the methodology, by helping us to understand how people learn”

It is the psychological processes involved in language use and language learning.

The Cognitive Theory• It involves activities “which engage

conscious mental processes such as analyzing and understanding, and involved learning and applying explicitly formulated rules” Cunnningsworth (1984)

Prefer to concentrate on analyzing cognitive processes

Believe in the non-observable behavior

Focuses on the inner mental activities- opening the black box of the human mind is valuable and necessary for understanding how people learn.

Mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing and problem-solving need to be explored.

Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental constructions.

Learning is defined as a change in learner’s schemata.

It is a response to behaviorism, people are not “programmed animals” that merely respond to environmental stimuli; people are rational being that require active participation in order to learn, and whose actions are a consequence of thinking.

Changes in behavior is observed, but only as an indication of what is occurring in the learner’s head.

It also assumes that responses are the result of insight and intentional patterning

Insight can be directed to:

(a) the concepts behind language i.e. to traditional grammar. (b) language as an operation - sets of communicative functions

Example of method:

The grammar translation method which is essentially cognitive in that it requires a clear understanding of rules and the ability to apply the given rules to new examples of language.

Behaviorism

'learning is a mechanical process of habit formation of a stimulus-response sequence‘ in which the basic exercise technique of a behaviorist methodology is pattern practice, particularly in the form of language laboratory drills

is a learning theory that only focuses on objectively observable behaviors and discounts any independent activities of the mind

Defined learning as nothing more than the acquisition of new behaviour based on environmental conditions

According to behaviourist thinking, it wasn’t really necessary for learners to internalize rules;instead they should learn the right patterns of linguistic behaviour, and acquire the correcthabits.

Conditioning- Universal learning processClassical Conditioning

-occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus. We are biologically “wired” so that a certain stimulus will produce a specific response. One of the more common examples of classical conditioning in the educational environment is in situations where students exhibit irrational fears and anxieties like fear of failure, fear of public speaking and general school phobia.

Classical means “in a established manner

Believes that individual learns when a previously neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus evokes a conditioned response

Includes:Unconditioned stimulus- one that unconditionally, naturally and automatically triggers a response

Unconditioned response- the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus- previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response

Conditioned response- is the learned response to previously neutral stimulus

Principles of Classical Conditioning

Extinction- a process by which a conditioned response is lost through repeated presentation of conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Generalization- a process by which the conditioned response transfers to other stimuli that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus

Discrimination- a process by which one learns not to respond to similar stimuli in an identical manner because of previous experiences.

Behavioral or Operant conditioning -occurs when a response to a

stimulus is reinforced. Basically, operant conditioning is a simple feedback system: If a reward or reinforcement follows the response to a stimulus, then the response becomes more probable in the future.

-Learning based on reinforcement and punishment

-Operant conditioning deals with the modification of “voluntary behavior” or operant behavior

Includes:Reinforcement- a consequence of behavior

that increases the likelihood that it will be repeated

Punishment- a consequence of behavior the decreases the likelihood of repetition

Aversive stimulus- a consequence that a person avoids

Shaping- teaching of new skills or behavior by reinforcing learner to help him reach goals

Cue- signal as to what behavior will be reinforced or punished

Reinforcer- any consequence that strengthens a behavior

Primary reinforcer- sometimes called an unconditioned reinforce, is a stimulus that does not require pairing to function as a reinforce and most likely has obtained this function through the evolution and its role in species’ survival like sleep, food, air, water and sex

Secondary reinforcer- sometimes called a conditioned reinforce, is a stimulus or situation that has acquired its function as a reinforcer after pairing with a stimulus which functions as a reinforcer.

Classification of reinforcement:

Verbal- praise, encouragementPhysical- touches, pats, hugsNon-verbal- smiles, winks, warm

looksActivity- being allowed to play

games, listen to music, Token- points, stars, chipsConsumable- cookies, foods

Five contexts of operant conditioningPositive reinforcement- occurs when a behavior

(response) is followed by a favorable stimulus (commonly seen as pleasant) that increases the frequency of that behavior. It consists of giving a reward like food, stars, bonus, and praise

Negative reinforcement- occurs when a behavior is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus (commonly seen as unpleasant) thereby increasing that behavior’s frequency. It consists of taking away something that the individual doesn’t like.

Positive punishment- (punishment by contingent stimulation) occurs when a behavior is followed by an aversive stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise, resulting in a decrease in that behavior

Negative punishment- (punishment by contingent withdrawal) occurs when a behavior is followed by the removal of a favorable stimulus, such as taking away a child’s toy following an undesired behavior, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.

Extinction- occurs when a behavior that had previously been reinforced is no longer effective.

Criticisms on BehaviorismBehaviorism does not account for all kinds of learning,

since it disregards the activities of the mind.

Behaviorism does not explain some learning–such as the recognition of new language patterns by young children–for which there is no reinforcement mechanism.

Research has shown that animals adapt their reinforced patterns to new information.For instance, a rat can shift its behaviour to respond to changes in the layout of a maze it had previously mastered through reinforcements.

MentalismThis theory is of the opinion that thinking is rule-

governedChomsky sees learners as thinking beings who

are capable of coping with infinite range of possible situations from a finite range of experience. The mind uses individual experiences to formulate hypothesis. For instance, knowing that words that end in‘–y’ take ‘–ies’ to form their plural, while those that end in ‘–f’ will change to ‘–ives’, the learner given these rules can form a lot of plurals even of words they have never seen before.

Constructivism

Constructivism is an educational philosophy which holds that learners ultimately construct their own knowledge that then resides within them, so that each person's knowledge is as unique as they are

Constructivists are more likely to allow for experimentation and exploration in the classroom and place a greater emphasis on the experience of the learner

Constructivist learning is based on students' active participation in problem-solving and critical thinking regarding a learning activity which they find relevant and engaging. They are "constructing" their own knowledge by testing ideas and approaches based on their prior knowledge and experience, applying these to a new situation, and integrating the new knowledge gained with pre-existing intellectual constructs.

Key Preceptssituated or anchored learning, which

presumes that most learning is context dependent, so that cognitive experiences situated in authentic activities such as project-based learning;

cognitive apprenticeships, or case-based learning environments result in richer and more meaningful learning experiences;

social negotiation of knowledge, a process by which learners form and test their constructs in a dialogue with other individuals and with the larger society

collaboration as a principal focus of learning activities so that negotiation and testing of knowledge can occur.

Current `traditional' instruction is structured through:

the transition of the teacher's role from "sage on the stage" (fount/transmitter of knowledge) to "guide on the side" (facilitator, coach);

teaching "higher order" skills such as problem-solving, reasoning, and reflection

enabling learners to learn how to learn;

more open-ended evaluation of learning outcomes; and

cooperative and collaborative learning skills.

Humanism and Affective FactorsHumanism, a paradigm that emerged in

the 1960s, focuses on the human freedom, dignity, and potential. A central assumption of humanism, according to Huitt (2001), is that people act with intentionality and values.

Humanists also believe that it is necessary to study the person as a whole, especially as an individual grows and develops over the lifespan. It follows that the study of the self, motivation, and goals are areas of particular interest.

A primary purpose of humanism could be described as the development of self-actualized, autonomous people.

In humanism, learning is student centered and personalized, and the educator’s role is that of a facilitator

Affective and cognitive needs are the key, and the goal is to develop self-actualized people in a cooperative, supportive environment

Affective factors - are emotional factors which influence learning and can have a negative orpositive effect to the learners.

Negative affective factors are called affective filters and are an important idea in theories about second language acquisition. For instance, A learner's attitude to English, tothe teacher, to other learners in the group and to herself are all affective factors and have impact on how well she learns.

Teachers can reduce negative factors and develop positive ones by doing activities to build a positive group dynamic, by including students in deciding aspects of the course and choosing activities that are motivating for the age and interests of the learners.

Affective Factor of MotivationInstrumental motivation is the

reflection of the external needs of the learner. The learners learn a language not because they want but because they need the language for something such as for study or work purposes, to transact business with the owners of the language, and learning a language for exam purpose and not for leisure, etc.

Integrative motivation derives from the desire on the part of the learners to be members of the speech community that uses a particular language. Integrative motivation, according to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), “is an internally generated want rather than an externally imposed need”

Needs Analysis

What does the learner need/want

to do with the target language?

X What are the linguistic elements the

learner needs to master?

WHAT IS NEEDS ANALYSIS?

-the process of determining the needs for which alearner or group of learners requires a language and arranging the needs according to priorities.

According to Iwai et al. (1999), the term needs analysis generally refers to the activities that are involved in collecting information that will serve as the basis for developing a curriculum that will meet the needs of

a particular group of students.

-the process of establishing what and how of a course (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998)

“the systematic collection and analysis of all subjective and objective information necessary to define and validate defensible curriculum purposes that satisfy the language learning requirements of students within the context of particular institutions that influence the learning and teaching situation” Brown (1995)

“needs analysis is the requirement for fact-finding or the collection of data” Jordan (1997)

it is “a vital pre-requisite to the specification of language learning objectives” Brindley (cited in Johnson 1989)

Needs analysis is neither unique to language teaching nor within language training but it is often seen as being “the corner stone of ESP and leads to a much focused course” (Dudley- Evans & St. John, 1998)

Before beginning a needs analysis, one must first answer the following crucial question:1. “Will the students use English at the university or in their jobs after graduation?"

If the answer is no, then ESP is not a reasonable option for the university's English language programme. The university will have to justify its existence and improve the programme via other means.

If the answer is yes, however, then ESP is probably the most intelligent option for the university curriculum. ESP begins with some basic questions to survey what will be needed.

1. Will students use English at the university or in their jobs after graduation? In what situations? For what purposes?

2. What language skills will be required (reading, writing, listening, speaking)?

3. What are the significant characteristics of the language in these situations (lexicon, grammar, spoken scripts, written texts, other characteristics)?

4. What extralinguistic knowledge of academia, specific disciplines, specific vocations, or specific professions is required for successful English usage in these areas?

OUTCOME OF NEEDS ANALYSISShould be a list of goals and

objectives for the parties involved, which should “serve as the basis for developing tests, materials, teaching activities, and evaluation strategies” (Brown, 1995)

Development

Needs analysis came to be as a result of the fact that in ESP, the learners have different specific and specifiable communication needs, which informed the development of courses to meet these varying needs.

Needs analysis was firmly established in the mid-1970s as course designers came to see learners' purposes rather than specialist language as the driving force behind ESP.

In the earlier periods needs analysis was mainly concerned with linguistic and register analysis, and as Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) suggest, needs were seen as discrete language items of grammar and vocabulary.

With the publication of Munby’s Communicative Syllabus Design (1978) needs analysis moved towards placing the learner’s purposes in the central position within the framework of needs analysis. Consequently, the notion of target needs became paramount and research proved that function and situation were also fundamental.

In his work Munby (1978) introduced Communicative Needs Processor (CNP). As Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 54) say:

With the development of the CNP it seemed as if ESP had come of age. The machinery for identifying the needs of any group of learners had been provided: all the course designers had to do was to operate it.

In Munby’s CNP, the target needs and target level performance are established by investigating the target situation, and his overall model clearly establishes the place of needs analysis as central to ESP, indeed the necessary starting point in materials or course design (West, 1998).

Munby’s overall model is made up of the following elements:

1. Participants: information about the identity and language of the learners: age, sex, nationality, present command of target language, other languages known and extent of command;

2. Communication Needs Processor: investigates the particular communication needs according to sociocultural and stylistic variables which interact to determine a profile of such needs;

3. Profile of Needs: is established through the processing of data in the CNP;

4. In the Meaning Processor “parts of the socioculturally determined profile of communication needs are converted into semantic subcategories of a predominantly pragmatic kind, and marked with attitudinal tone” (Munby, 1978: 42);

5. The Language Skills Selector: identifies “the specific language skills that are required to realize the events or activities that have been identified in the CNP” (Munby, 1978: 40);

6. The Linguistic Encoder: considers “the dimension of contextual appropriacy” (Munby, 1978: 49), one the encoding stage has been reached;

7. The Communicative Competence Specification: indicates the target communicative competence of the participant and is the translated profile of needs.

From the mentioned elements of the Munby model, the predominant one or at least the one that has been referred to by other researchers of needs analysis is the Communication Needs Processor (CNP) which is the basis of Munby’s approach to needs analysis and establishes the profile of needs through the processing of eight parameters the processing of which gives us a detailed description of particular communication needs (Munby, 1978).

The parameters specified by Munby (1987) are:

• Purposive domain: this category establishes the type of ESP, and then the purpose which the target language will be used for at the end of the course.

• Setting: the physical setting specifying the spatial and

temporal aspects of the situation where English will be

used, and the psychological setting specifying the different environment in which English will be used.

• Interaction: identifies the learner’s interlocutors and

predicts relationship between them.

• Instrumentality: specifies the medium, i.e., whether the language to be used is written, spoken, or both; mode, i.e., whether the language to be used is in the form of monologue, dialogue or any other; and channel of communication, i.e., whether it is face to face, radio, or any other.

Dialect: dialects learners will have to understand or produce in terms of their spatial, temporal, or social aspect.

• Communicative event: states what the participants will have to do productively or receptively.

Communicative key: the manner in which the participants will have to do the activities comprising an event, e.g. politely or impolitely.

• Target level: level of linguistic proficiency at the end of the ESP course which might be different for different skills.

1. Why is language needed?• for study;• for work;• for training;• for a combination of these;• for some other purposes, e.g. status, examination, promotion

cf. Munbianpurposive domain

2. How will the language be used?• Medium: speaking, writing, reading, etc.;• Channel: e.g. telephone, face to face;• Types of text or discourse: e.g. academic text,lectures, catalogues, etc

cf. Munbianinstrumentality

3. What will the content areas be?• Subjects: e.g. medicine, biology, commerce, shipping, etc.;• Level: technician, craftsman, postgraduate, etc.

cf. MunbianCommunicative event

4. Where will the language be used?• Physical setting: e.g. office, lecture theater, hotel, workshop, library;• Human context: alone, meetings, demonstrations, on telephone;• Linguistic context: e.g. in own country, abroad.

cf. MunbianSetting (physical andpsychological)

5. When will the language be used?• Concurrently with the ESP course or subsequently;• Frequently, seldom, in small amounts, in large chunks.

What is needs?

Narrow or Product –Oriented Needs”

The learner’s needs are seen as the language they will use in a particular communication situation. It is the target language behavior, that is, what the learners have to be able to do at the end of the language course.

1

It is the target language behavior, that is, what the learners have to be able to do at the end of the language course. Widdowson (cited in Robinson 1991) calls this “goal oriented needs” while Berwick (1989) used the term “objective needs”.

“Broad or Process-Oriented Needs”

This involves analyzing the needs of the learner as an individual in the learning situation.

In this kind of interpretation, the teacher tries to identify and take into account both the affective and cognitive variables which affect learning such as learner’s attitudes,

motivation, awareness, personality, wants, expectations and learning styles. This is also called ‘subjective needs’ by Widdowson (1978).

2

Although there are various ways of interpreting ‘needs’, the concept of ‘learner needs’ is often interpreted in two ways:

· as what the learner wants to do with the language (goal-oriented definition of needs) which relates to terminal objectives or the end of learning; and

· what the learner needs to do to actually acquire the language (a process-oriented definition) which relates to transitional/means of learning.

Classification of Needs

Necessities are what the learners have to know in order to function effectively in the target situations. By observing the target situations and analyzing the constituent parts of them, we can gather information about necessities.

Lacks are the gap between the existing proficiency and the target proficiency of learners.

Wants are what the learners feel they need.

Stakeholders in Needs Analysis

A. Student: needs – present, current, subjective, felt, learning, learner-centred, wants/likes, lacks, deficiency analysis, present situation analysis (PSA) and process oriented.

B. Course Designer and Teacher: purposes/needs- perceived needs, process-oriented, PSA, strategy analysis, means analysis, constraints, learning-centred.

C. Employer/Sponsor: demands – product-oriented, PSA and TSA, language audits

D. Target Situation: (Subject/department) needs – target, future, objective, target-centred, goal-oriented, aims, necessities, TSA, language analysis

Approaches to Needs Analysis1. Target Situation Analysis (TSA)- the target

needs and target level performance are established by investigating the target situation. tries to establish what the learners are expected to be

like at the end of the language course2. Present Situation Analysis (PSA)-may be

posited as a complement to target situation analysis for it attempts to identify what they are like (learners) at the beginning of the language course."a PSA estimates strengths and weaknesses in

language, skills, learning experiences." If the destination point to which the students need to get is to be established, first the starting point has to be defined, and this is provided by means of PSA.

3. Pedagogic Needs Analysis- an umbrella term to describe the following three elements of needsanalysis- deficiency analysis, strategy analysis or learning needs analysis, and means analysis.

Deficiency Analysisis concerned with the necessities that

the learner lacks;

Strategy Analysis or Learning Needs Analysisthis type of needs analysis has to do with the strategies that learners employ in order to learn another language

This tries to establish how the learners wish to learn rather than what they need to learn

seeks to establish the learners preferences in terms of learning styles and strategies, or teaching methods;

Framework for analysis of learning needs

1. Why are the learners taking the course?• compulsory or optional;• apparent need or not;• Are status, money, promotion involved?• What do learners think they will achieve?• What is their attitude towards the ESP

course? Do they want to improve their English or do they resent the time they have to spend on it?

2. How do the learners learn?

• What is their learning background?• What is their concept of teaching and

learning?• What methodology will appeal to

them?• What sort of techniques bore/alienate

them?

3. What sources are available?

• number and professional competence of teachers;

• attitude of teachers to ESP;• teachers' knowledge of and attitude to

subject content;• materials;• aids;• opportunities for out-of-class activities.

4. Who are the learners?• age/sex/nationality;• What do they know already about

English?• What subject knowledge do they have?• What are their interests?• What is their socio-cultural background?• What teaching styles are they used to?•What is their attitude to English or to the

cultures of the English speaking world?

Means Analysisprovides “information about the environment in

which the course will be run” and thus attempts to adapt toESP course to the cultural environment in which it will be run.

One of the main issues means analysis is concerned with is an “acknowledgement that what works well in one situation may not work in another” and so ESP syllabi should be sensitive to the particular culturalenvironment in which the course will be imposed

Conducting Needs Analysis (Sources and Procedure)

Methods of data collection for needs analysis

Structured interview generates both qualitative and quantitative data. It consists of prepared questions to which the answers are noted or recorded, allowing follow-up of points arising.

Unstructured interviews is time-consuming, has no fixed format, allowing in-depth coverage of issues than the use of pre-determined questions, categories and response options.

Participant observationNon participant observation means there is no

involvement with the people or activities studied (collecting data by observation alone)

Questionnaires might be designed for broad coverage of representative members and numbers of each category. It is the chief instrument for collecting quantitative data and also the most formal.

Steps in Needs Analysis1. Purpose of analysis2. Delimit student population3. Decide upon the approach(es)4. Acknowledge constraints/limitations5. Select methods of collecting data6. Collect data7. Analyze and interpret results8. Determine objectives9. Syllabus, content, material, methods, etc.10. Evaluate procedure and results;

implement decision

STUDENT NEEDS ANALYSIS1. Why are you studying English?2. Where do you expect to use English in the future (e.g. what

context or situation)?3. Order the following language skills from 1 (important) to 6

(unimportant):Reading ____Listening ____Vocabulary ____writing ____speaking ____grammar ____

4. What percentage (%) of class time do you think should be spent on each skill?

5. What do you expect to learn from this class?6. What are your language strengths and weaknesses?7. Do you have a preferred learning style? If so, what is it?8. Do you prefer to learn individually, in pairs or in a group?9. Would you prefer to learn American or British English? or

both?10. Do you like using a textbook? Why or why not?

The Purpose of Needs Analysis(1) To find out what language skills a learner

needs in order to perform well at the target situation

(2) To help determine if an existing course adequately addresses the needs and potential students

(3) To determine which student from a group are most in need of training in particular language skills

(4) To identify a change of direction that people in a reference group feel is important.

(5) To identify a gap between what students are able to do and what they need to be able to do

(6) To collect information about a particular problem learners are experiencing.

CONCLUSION

WHO, WHY, WHERE, WHEN

Needs Analysis

HOWLearning Theories

WHATLanguage

Description

ESP Course Design

Nature of particular target and learning situation

Syllabus

Methods

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