Needs Assessment: Do We Need It? A Case Study in an EFL Writing Class in Vietnam

Abstract

Needs assessment focuses on "the learning needs of students, and then, once they are identified, needs are translated into learning objectives" (Brown, 2011, p. 269). Assessment of students’ needs will help teachers to develop teaching materials, learning activities, tests, assessment tools more effectively in their EFL classrooms. Thus, recognizing students’ needs provides a strong foundation for good practice in EFL classrooms. This paper dealt with the use of needs assessment in an EFL writing class at a university. Qualitative approach was employed in the study involving thirty-four first-year English majors. The research collected data from the researcher’s observation, students’ learning logs, the needs assessment questionnaire and student writing. The data analyses found a wide range of positive impacts of needs assessment. Students’ perceptions of needs assessment and some problems arising during the implementation were also revealed. Pedagogical implications for orchestrating the learning in EFL classrooms were accordingly offered in the paper. It is, indubitably, important enough to warrant further investigation into needs assessment in EFL contexts.



Author Information
Vi Tran Lam Ngan, Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam

Paper Information
Conference: ACEID2020
Stream: Assessment Theories & Methodologies

This paper is part of the ACEID2020 Conference Proceedings (View)
Full Paper
View / Download the full paper in a new tab/window


To cite this article:
Ngan V. (2020) Needs Assessment: Do We Need It? A Case Study in an EFL Writing Class in Vietnam ISSN: 2189-101X – The Asian Conference on Education & International Development 2020 Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2020.29
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2020.29


Comments & Feedback

Place a comment using your LinkedIn profile

Comments

Share on activity feed

Powered by WP LinkPress

Share this Research

Posted by James Alexander Gordon