مجلة الآداب و العلوم الإجتماعية
Volume 18, Numéro 1, Pages 328-342
2021-03-07

Preliminary Analysis Of Management Master’s Students English Needs: Considerations For Esp Problem Based Course Design

Authors : Boudinar Soumia . Keskes Said .

Abstract

Needs Analysis is considered a paramount first step in designing ESP courses. This study aims at analysing the English language needs of 45 Master’s Management students in the department of Management, Faculty of Economics, Commerce and Management at Farhat Abbes University –Setif1-. Accordingly, the main research question is “What are Master’s Management students’ perceptions regarding their English language needs?” To answer the research question, a questionnaire was designed according to the needs analysis framework suggested by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) focusing on target needs analysis, present situation analysis, and learning situation analysis. In the light of results, the majority of Master’s students noted that ESP course is significant and beneficial for both their academic studies and for their professional future careers. However, the results revealed the participants’ dissatisfaction with the different ESP course components due to the absence of clear course objectives in addition to the mismatch between course content and learners’ needs. Therefore, students’ low proficiency level in English productive skills, especially speaking skills, necessitates reconsideration of the instructional practises and requires considerable focus on the spoken communicative aspects of the target language.

Keywords

-English for Specific Purposes, Needs Analysis, Business English, Course Design