DELTA 2010-2011
Needs Analysis
Analysing Learner Needs
Edith Flahive
Overview
• What are Learner Needs?
• Types of Learner Needs
• Why Identify Learner Needs?
• Approaches to Needs Analysis
• Components of Needs Analysis
• Techniques Used in Needs Analysis
• Conclusion
• Learning Styles
• Learning Styles and Instructor Goals
• Types of Learning Styles
• References
What are Learner Needs?
The needs of a learner represent the gap between
what the learner wants to get out of the learning
experience and his or her current state of
knowledge, skill and enthusiasm (Noessel, 2003).
Types of Learner Needs
Cognitive
 Recognise good questions
 Ask good questions
 Get help from experts
 Practise problem solving
 Think independently
 Create work products
 Process new information
 Use learning resources
(Bloom’s Taxonomy, 1956)
Affective
 Attain goals
 Nurture positive attitudes
 Be open to feedback from others
 Have time for reflection and self-assessment
 Possess well-founded self-confidence
 Define and respond to locus of control
 Have a sense of belonging
 Understand motivations of others
(Bloom’s Taxonomy, 1956)
Psychomotor
 Be in a comfortable setting
 Have transportation
 Have child care
 Get enough sleep
 Have good diet/adequate energy levels
 Exercise
 Have access to equipment and tools
 Engage in appropriate and timely demonstrations
(Bloom’s Taxonomy, 1956)
Social
 Communicate with peers
 Give and receive support
 Experience external motivation
 Make a difference
 Interact while problem solving
 Explore and challenge conventions
 Grow with friends
 Manage time and tasks
(Vgotsky, 2006, Dewey, 2005)
Why Identify Learner Needs?
 Helps administrators, teachers and tutors with learner placement,
developing materials, curricula, skills assessments, teaching methods, and
teacher training.
 Assures a flexible, responsive curriculum, rather than a fixed, linear
curriculum predetermined by instructors.
 Provides information for the instructor about what the learner brings to the
course (if carried out at the beginning), what has been accomplished (if
conducted during the course), and what the learner wants and needs to
know next.
Approaches to Needs Analysis
A Sociolinguistic Model
Munby (1978) targets communicative competence.
A Systemic Approach
Richterich & Chancerel (1977) investigate learner needs before a
course starts as well as during the course and by ‘teaching
establishments’ such as their place of work and sponsoring bodies
(Jordan, 1997).
A Learning-Centred Approach
Hutchinson & Waters (1987)
Learner-Centred Approaches
 Perceived vs felt needs (Berwick, 1989).
 Product
vs
process
oriented
interpretations
(Brindley, 1989).
 Objective vs subjective needs (Brindley, 1989).
A Task-Based Approach
Long (2005a, p.3) states that in this approach, tasks are
the units of analysis and “samples of the discourse typically
involved in performance of target tasks are collected”.
Long argues that “structures or other linguistic elements
(notions, functions, lexical items, etc.)” should not be a focal
point of teaching and learning.
Components of Needs Analyses
No single approach to needs analysis can be a reliable
indicator of what is needed to enhance learning.
Dudley-Evans & St John (1998: 125) propose a modern
and comprehensive concept of needs analysis which
encompasses all the above mentioned approaches and
includes the following components:
Target Situation Analysis:
includes objective, perceived
and product-oriented needs.
Present Situation Analysis:
Strategy or Learning Needs
Analysis:
includes subjective, felt and processoriented needs.
Means Analysis: Register Analysis:
estimates strengths and
the environment
weaknesses in language, skill, in which the
and learning experience.
course will be
run.
focuses on
vocabulary and
grammar of the
text.
Deficiency Analysis:
Genre Analysis:
considers learners’ present
needs and wants.
Discourse
Analysis:
investigates how
sentences
combine into
discourse.
focuses on the
regularities of
structure that
distinguishes one
type of text from
another.
Techniques Used in Needs Analysis
 Direct observation
 Questionnaires
 Consultation with persons in key positions or with specific knowledge
 Interviews
 Focus groups
 Tests
 Class discussions
Conclusion
Needs analysis needs to be ongoing in order to provide
appropriate instructional input to foster effective
learning (Chaudron, 1990).
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”
(Karl Marx, 1875).
Learning Styles
What are learning styles?
Stewart and Felicetti (1992: 17) define learning styles as those
“educational conditions under which a student is most likely to learn”.
Thus, learning styles are not really concerned with what
learners learn, but rather how they prefer to learn.
Learning Styles and Instructor Goals
Researchers agree that we do have various learning styles and
preferences, however, there is disagreement on how to best
measure learning styles (Coffield et al., 2004). Merrill (2000)
suggests that instructional strategies should first be determined
on the basis of the type of content to be taught or the goals of
the instruction, and learner styles or preferences then be used to
adjust or fine-tune these fundamental learning strategies.
Types of Learning Styles
Visual Learners
Visual Learners
learn through seeing…
These learners need to see the instructor’s body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a
lesson.They tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions.They often prefer to take
detailed notes during a lecture so they can absorb the information.They learn best from visual aids like the following:

Illustrated textbooks

Videos

Diagrams/Charts

Slides

Overhead transparencies

Hand-outs
Auditory Learners
Auditory Learners
learn through listening……
These learners need to hear the instructor’s lectures, listen to discussions, talk things through and listen to
what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to
tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances.Written information may have little meaning until it is heard.
They learn best from auditory aids like the following:

Tape recorders (replay lectures later)

Reading written text aloud

Verbal repetition

Speeches

Giving presentations

Creating mnemonics and musical jingles
Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic learners
learn through moving, doing and touching…
These learners need a hands-on approach.They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become
distracted by their need for activity and exploration.They learn best from hands-on experiences and aids like
the following:

Touching and feeling materials

Moving around while receiving information

Scientific or lab type experiments

Gesturing when speaking

Taking frequent study breaks

Snacking or chewing gum while studying/listening to lectures
Multiples Intelligences
Howard Gardner (1983) claims that all human beings have multiple intelligences.These intelligences
are located in different areas of the brain and can either work independently or together. He believes
that all human beings possess the following nine intelligences in varying amounts:

Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence

Mathematical-Logical Intelligence

Musical Intelligence

Visual-Spatial Intelligence

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Interpersonal Intelligence

Intrapersonal-Intelligence

Naturalist Intelligence

Existential Intelligence
?
References
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Applied Linguistics and Delta Systems.
Berwick, R. (1989). Needs assessment in language programming: from theory to practice. In R. K. Johnson, (Ed.), The second language curriculum (pp. 48-62). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Bloom, B. S. (1956). The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.
Brindley, G. (1989). The role of needs analysis in adult ESL programme design. In R. K. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum. (pp. 63-77). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Chaudron, C. (1990). Second Language Classrooms: Research on Teaching and Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learning-centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jordan, R. R. (1997). English for Academic Purposes: A guide and resource book for teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Krumsieg, K., & Baehr, M. (2000). Foundations of Learning. Lisle, IL: Pacific Crest.
Long, M. H. (2005a). Methodological issues in learner needs analysis. In M. H. Long (Ed.), Second Language Needs Analysis (pp. 1-16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McKeachie, W., & Svinicki, M. (2006). McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Marx, K. (1875). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critique_of_the_Gotha_Program
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_each_according_to_his_ability,_to_each_according_to_his_need
Munby, J. (1978). Communicative Syllabus Design: A sociolinguistic model for defining the content of purpose-specific language programmes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Noessel, C. (2003). Free range learning support. Interaction Design Institute. http://www.interaction-ivrea.it/theses/2002-03/c.noessel/need.htm
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