As I usually teach students one-on-one, I mostly use interviews and observation as my main needs assessment tools. All my students are adults and my focus is usually on subjective needs (Brown, H.D., & Lee, H. 2015, p. 184) - students' expectations of the program, their preferences ( what skills they would like to focus on), their main goals in language learning. I think I have mentioned before that almost every student I have ever had, knew precisely what skills they needed to work on. In 99% cases they thought it was grammar when they were saying they needed to improve their speaking skills! Almost always they think that their main limitation in language usage is poor grammar. To this I ask them to think about small kids who don't know any grammar rules but can speak fluently!
If I were to teach an adult class CLB 3-4 with a focus on speaking, I would create a questionnaire ( I took the idea from www.fluentu.com).
I would include the following questions:
1. Why do I want to learn English? ( I would provide some specific examples like being able to book a room at the hotel, read and understand news articles etc) A lot of times when asked about their goal, students say "I want to speak better English". For some of them its a challenge to clearly understand and formulate their whys. I can probably add here - "I will know that my English has improved when ...
2. How did I study English before? This answer will give a general idea of their experience with the language. Some learners maybe studied English for a few months, when others have been using the language on a more constant basis.
3. What is my biggest challenge in learning English? Is it time? Budget? Self confidence? If I, see that there are a lot of shy students in my group, I will have to consider that when planning the lessons. For example, small group work might be preferable rather than answering in front of the whole class.
4. What is my biggest strength? Right beside this question I'd add a phrase "You definitely have one!" Understanding my students' strong sides will help me understand their motivation and their self-concept.
Students can work with this assignment in small groups, sharing their ideas and getting to know each other better.
I loved the idea from Cheri Dueck, an ESL instructor in the Intensive English Program at the University of Manitoba, to combine needs assessment with the content. For example, in the Speaking course we could combine the questionnaire with revising formal and informal ways of greeting people.
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