Need Analysis in Reality at Azzahra Education Center Tutoring Padang Panjang

FINAL PROJECT OF TEACHING LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

NEEDS ANALYSIS

Lecturer :

 Ms. Absharini Kardena, M.Pd

Compiled by :

Elsy Mardhatillah        ( 2317087 )

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF TEACHING FACULTY

IAIN BUKITTINGGI

2019

CHAPTER I

THEORY OF NEEDS ANALYSIS

A.    Introduce of Needs Analysis

One of the basic assumptions of curriculum development is that a sound educational program should be based on an analysis of learners' needs. Procedures used to collect information about learners' needs are known as needs analysis. Needs analysis as a distinct and necessary phase in planning educational programs emerged in the 1960s as part of the systems approach to curriculum development and was part of the prevalent philosophy of educational accountablity (Stufflebeam, McCormick, Brinkerhoff, and Nelson 1985). If providers of training programs wanted public or other sources of funding in order to provide different kinds of training programs, they were required to demonstrate that a proposed program was a response to a genuine need (Pratt 1980). Subsequently needs analysis developed into something of an industry. Berwick (1989, 51) comments:

The need for convincing precision in educational needs assessment was also reinforced during this period by the “behavioral objectives” movement in educational planning, particularly in North America, which insisted on specifying in measurable form all goals of importance within an educational system. The emphasis on precision and accountability clearly influenced the appearance of needs assessment as a form of educational technology and its diversification into a collection of educational research methodologies.

Needs analysis was introduced into language teaching through the ESP movement (James Dean Brown in Elements of Language Curriculum (Chapter 2) ). From the 1960s, the demand for specialized language programs grew and applied linguists increasingly began to employ needs analysis procedures in language teaching. By the 1980s, in many parts of the world a “needs-based philosophy” emerged in language teaching, particularly in relation to ESP and vocationally oriented program design (Brindley 1984).

2. Procedures of Needs Analysis (Richards, 2001: 51)

Procedures used to collect information about learners' needs are known as needs analysis. Needs analysis as a distinct and necessary phase in planning educational programs emerged in the 1960s as part of the systems approach to curriculum development and was part of the prevalent philosophy of educational accountablity (Stufflebeam, McCormick, Brinkerhoff, and Nelson 1985). If providers of training programs wanted public or other sources of funding in order to provide different kinds of training programs, they were required to demonstrate that a proposed program was a response to a genuine need (Pratt 1980). Subsequently needs analysis developed into something of an industry. Berwick (1989, 51) comments:

The need for convincing precision in educational needs assessment was also reinforced during this period by the “behavioral objectives” movement in educational planning, particularly in North America, which insisted on specifying in measurable form all goals of importance within an educational system. The emphasis on precision and accountability clearly influenced the appearance of needs assessment as a form of educational technology and its diversification into a collection of educational research methodologies.

C.    Process in curriculum design

Richards describes curriculum development as “the range of planning and implementation processes involved in developing or renewing a curriculum” (Richards, 2001, p. 41). He defines the processes as focusing on “needs analysis, situational analysis, planning learning outcomes, course organization, selecting and preparing teaching materials, providing for effective teaching and evaluation” (Richards, 2001, p. 41)

The first step taken in developing or reevaluating an existing curriculum is typically (for ideally) a needs analysis. Also called needs assessment (J. D. Brown, 2009), situation analysis (Richards, 2001), or constraint analysis (Kauffman, 2005),  the concept of needs analysis in L2 instruction refers to the processes involved in gathering information about the “learning needs of students, and then,once they are identified, needs are translated into learning objectives , which in turn serve as the basis for further development of teaching materials, learning activities, test, program evaluation strategies, etc. “ (Brown 2009, p.269)

4. The Purposes of needs analysis

Richards (2002, p.52) on his discussion toward needs analysis says that the first step in conducting a needs analysis is to decide exactly what its purpose or purposes are. Basically, needs analysis in language teaching may be used for a number of different purposes, such as:

1)      To find out what language skills a learner needs in order to perform a particular role, such as sales manager, tour guide, or university student

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

3)      To determine which students 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 needs to be able to do

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

7)      “Lacks, Wants, Necessities” (Nation, 2010: 24)

Meanwhile, Hutchinson and Waters in the Nation and Macallister (2010:24) divide the need into the needs of the goal (ie what the learners need to do in the target situation) and the learning needs (what the learners need to do in order to learn). Therefore, the needs of learners are divided into three namely lacks, wants, and necessities

5. Instrument of Needs Analysis

1)      Questionnaires

This is one of the most common instruments used in collecting information. Questionnaire is divided into two types, which are a set of structured questionnaires consists of structures items (in which the respondents chooses from a limited number of response) and unstructured questionnaire in which open-ended questions are given that the respondents can answer as he or she chooses (Richards, p.60).

2)      Self-rating

Self-rating consist of scales that students or other use to rate their knowledge or abilities. This might also be included as part of questionnaire as what has been stated above by Riduwan toward checklist type. However, the information collected through this instrument is too impressionistic and not very precise.

3)      Interviews

Interviews allow for a more in-depth exploration of issue that the questionnaires though it will take longer time to administer. It can be done through face-to-face or over the telephone. An interview may often be useful at the preliminary stage of designing a questionnaire, since it will help the designer get a sense of what topics and issue can be focused on the questionnaire. Therefore, it is better to conduct a structured interview that allows more consistency across responses to be obtained.

4)      Meetings

A meeting allows a large amount of information to be collected in a fairly short time. However, information obtained in this way may be impressionistic and subjective and reflect the ideas of more outspoken members of a group.

5)      Observation

Observation of learners’ behavior in a target situation is another way of assessing their needs. However, people often do not perform well or natural when they are being observed, thus this has to be taken into account. Besides, observation is a specialized skill which needs specialized training on knowing how to observe, what to look for, and how to make use of the information obtained.

6)      Collecting learner language

Collecting data on how well learners perform on different language tasks and documenting the typical problems they have is useful and direct source of information about learners’ language needs. Hence, language samples might be collected through the means of written or oral tasks, simulations or role plays, achievement tests, and performance tests.

7)      Task analysis

This refers to analysis of the kinds of tasks the learners will have to carry out in English in a future occupational or educational setting and assessment of the linguistics and demands of the tasks.

8)      Case Studies

With a case study, a single students or a selected group of students is followed through a relevant work or educational experiences in order to determine the characteristics of that situation. 

9)      Analysis of available information

Some relevant information provided in various sources such as on books, journals articles, reports and surveys, or records and files, can be used in conducting needs analysis. This procedure is normally the first step in a needs analysis because there are very few problems in language teaching that have not been written about r analyzed somewhere.

CHAPTER II

FINDINGS

1. Data of Institution

Institution                   : Azzahra Education Center Tutoring

Adress                         : Jl. Syech Ibrahim Musa RT 07 Kelurahan Ganting Kota Padang Panjang

Teacher/Interviewees  : Lidia Nova

2. Findings

This chapter presents the findings of the research about Needs Analysis in reality.

In the Azzahra Education Center Tutoring, it guides students in Elementary Schools, Junior High Schools and Senior High Schools. To analyze the needs of students in learning at this institution has never been done because it helps to repeat learning at school, but before starting the process of tutoring this institution usually helps students in completing school work then to update the material that has been learned at school this institution provides additional training when study at this institution and to be trained at home. The purpose of the institution is to guide students in learning in this way so that students do not collide with the same form of problems, solutions and materials provided at school. In general, students who take tutoring in this institution their desires and problems in learning can be fulfilled and resolved properly. According to the interviewees, the institution in the form of tutoring or tutoring is different. The difference between the two lies in the material they will teach. In tutoring institutions usually only help students solve students' problems in completing material at school and do not provide material or curriculum made by the institution itself, while in tutoring to meet the needs of students in learning institutions provide material in accordance with curriculum material made by the institution itself.

CHAPTER III

DISCUSSION

One of the basic assumptions of curriculum development is that a sound educational program should be based on an analysis of learners' needs. Procedures used to collect information about learners' needs are known as needs analysis. Needs analysis as a distinct and necessary phase in planning educational programs emerged in the 1960s as part of the systems approach to curriculum development and was part of the prevalent philosophy of educational accountablity (Stufflebeam, McCormick, Brinkerhoff, and Nelson 1985). But after observing in the field, one of the tutoring is the Azzahra Education Center tutoring in conducting its program is not based on analyzing the needs of children in accordance with this theory even though before the program activities are carried out the institution finds out how the desires of its students are. It's just that in this tutoring program implement according to the level of difficulty of students in learning. But according to my analysis, a tutoring agency should do an analysis of student needs to find out how they want to learn and know what students need to do in order to learn, this is in accordance with the purpose of needs analysis in book J. Richard (2001) p.52 and Nation, 2010: 24

Based on the theory issued in J. Richard (2001) p60-63 about the analysis of student needs can be done in a number of appropriate procedures, but in obtaining the formation of student needs in the tutoring of the Azzahra Center of Education this can not be done according to procedures that have been supported in the book J.Richard (2001). While the institute had previously found out how to ask students to learn, the procedures used were not in accordance with existing theories.

REFERENCES.

Brown, J. D. (1995). The Elements of Language Curriculum: A Systematic Approach to Program Development. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

 Brown, J. D. (2009). Foreign Language and Second Language Needs Analysis. In The Handbook of Language Teaching (pp. 269–293). Chichester, U.K.; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Nation, I. S. P., & Macalister, J. (2010). Language Curriculum Design. New York; London: Routledge.

Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.