LANGUAGE NEEDS ANALYSIS FOR WORKING ABROAD: A CASE-STUDY IN THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE
Vol. 129 No. 6B (2020), Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
Vol. 129 No. 6B (2020)

LANGUAGE NEEDS ANALYSIS FOR WORKING ABROAD: A CASE-STUDY IN THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
https://doi.org/10.26459/hueuni-jssh.v129i6B.5703
Published 2020-07-19
Nguyễn Ngọc Bảo Châu
Hue University of Foreign Languages, Hue University
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4326-8563
PDF

Keywords

language needs analysis
task-based needs analysis
labor export
ESP

Abstract

Needs analysis is the first essential step of designing a language curriculum [26]. Needs analysis provides a mechanism for obtaining a wider range of input in the contents, design, and implementation of a language program. The process identifies general or specific language needs so that they can be addressed while developing goals, objectives, and content for a language program. In this study, we aimed to explore the language needs analysis for labor export. We regarded foreign language for labor export with a view that all decisions in instructions are based on the learners’ reasons for learning. As a case in point, we studied the language needs for labor export of laborers in Thua Thien Hue province. A task-based needs analysis approach [17] was utilized due to its methodological cogency.  45 laborers who were working abroad participated in our study. Five were interviewed and 40 were surveyed to elicit the foreign language needed for everyday life tasks and occupational domains. The results outlined export laborers language needs in regards to everyday survival (i.e. language at the supermarket, hospital, etc.) and vocational tasks (i.e. understanding employer’s requests, interacting with customers/clients, etc.). The findings of this study inform the design of an English language curriculum for labor export and serve as the basis for reviewing and evaluating existing language programs for labor export. The research also affords implications for future designs of task-based needs analysis.

https://doi.org/10.26459/hueuni-jssh.v129i6B.5703
PDF

References

  1. Basturkmen, H. (2010). Developing courses in English for specific purposes. Springer.
  2. Belcher, D. D. (2006). English for specific purposes: Teaching to perceived needs and imagined futures in worlds of work, study, and everyday life. TESOL quarterly, 40(1), 133-156.
  3. 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.
  4. Borszéki, J. (2017). The Definition of Specific-Purpose English Language Competences Needed in Border Control and their Development Potentials I. The Issues of Defining Specific Purpose Language Competences. Magyar Rendészet, 2017(4), 123-141.
  5. 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.
  6. Brown, J.D. (1995). The elements of language curriculum: A systematic approach to program development. Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
  7. Chatsungnoen, P. (2015). Needs analysis for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course for Thai undergraduates in a Food Science and Technology programme. (Doctoral dissertation, Massey University).
  8. Crystal, D. (2012). English as a global language. Cambridge university press.
  9. Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing your coursebook. Oxford: Heinemann.
  10. Dudley-Evans, T., & St. John, M.J. (1998). Developments in ESP: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  11. Gilabert, R. (2005). Evaluating the use of multiple sources and methods in needs analysis: A case study of journalists in the autonomous community of Catalonia (Spain). In M.H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 182–199). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  12. Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning-centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  13. Jasso-Aguilar, R. (2005). Sources, methods and triangulation in needs analysis: A critical perspective in a case study of Waikiki hotel maids. In M.H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 127–158). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  14. Jordan, R.R. (1997). English for academic purposes: A guide and resource book for teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  15. Le, T. 2018. Needs analysis of English for mechanical engineers in the Vietnamese context. (Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University of Wellington).
  16. Long, M. H., & Crookes, G. (1992). Three approaches to task‐based syllabus design. TESOL quarterly, 26(1), 27-56.
  17. Long, M.H. (2005a). Methodological issues in learner needs analysis. In M.H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 19–76). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  18. Long, M.H. (2005b). Overview: A rationale for needs analysis and needs analysis research. In M.H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 1–16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  19. Lynch, B.K. (1996). Language program evaluation: Theory and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  20. Mackay, R., & Mountford, A. J. (1978). The teaching of English for special purposes: Theory and practice. English for specific purposes, 2-20.
  21. Martin, A., & Adrada-Rafael, S. (2017). Business Spanish in the Real World: A Task-Based Needs Analysis. L2 Journal, 9(1).
  22. MOLISA (2018). Labour export market set to thrive during final quarter. Retrieved in August, 2019 from http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/Labour-export-market-set-to-thrive-during-final-quarter/201810/35021.vgp
  23. Munby, J. (1978). Communicative syllabus design: A sociolinguistic model for defining the content of purpose-specific language programmes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  24. Norris, J. M. (2009). 30 Task-Based Teaching and Testing. The handbook of language teaching, 578.
  25. Nunan, D. (1988). The learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  26. Richards, J.C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  27. Richterich, R., & Chancerel, J.-L. (1977). Identifying the needs of adults learning a foreign language. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
  28. Serafini, E. J., & Torres, J. (2015). The utility of needs analysis for nondomain expert instructors in designing task‐based Spanish for the professions curricula. Foreign Language Annals, 48(3), 447-472.
  29. Serafini, E. J., Lake, J. B., & Long, M. H. (2015). Needs analysis for specialized learner populations: Essential methodological improvements. English for Specific Purposes, 40, 11-26.
  30. UNESCO (2002). A Situational Analysis of Education for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region. Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok.
  31. Vandermeeren, S. (2005). Foreign Language need of business firms. In M.H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 159–179). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  32. West, R. (1994). Needs analysis in language teaching. Language Teaching, 27, 1–19.