Needs Analysis:
Strategic Issue on the Teaching of English for Specific Purposes
for the
Study of Sciences and Technology
Lubna Algadrie
With the development of science and
technology scholars and professionals now need to acquire a higher form of
literacy to be able to participate in groups of similar fields or groups of
works. The need for English as one of the international languages, an
established language, has increased because English has access to world
knowledge particularly in the field of science and technology, computer
utilization, international trade and commerce. However, the need can vary in
terms of the study fields, selection of skills, selection of language
functions, and the language learners. Effective strategies can only be applied
through a thorough analysis of the learners’ needs, which will refer to the
whole range of language resources for material selection. Since it is clear
that ESP course is directly concerned with the purposes of which the learners
need English, ESP course should be learner-centered.
In this paper the writer would like to give the results of needs analysis
(wants and strategies: Shaw, 1982; Allwright and Allwright, 1997) done among the learners (students and
lecturers of engineering studies from various departments) of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya
(ITS) who are learning English at ITS Language Center
to fulfil the market demand for job employment of their career and further
studies.
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Algadrie, L. (2002). Needs analysis: Strategic issue on the teaching of English for
specific purposes for the study of sciences and technology. TEFLIN
Journal, 13(1), 106-112.
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