Tyler Waller

Tch & Lrn 409

Dr. Omran Akasha

“Needs Analysis” Tool

The ESL student I am going to interview is a 9 year old boy who is from South Korea, he

speaks strictly Korean at home but knows some English but cannot speak it very well. He came

to the United States when he was 7 and has consistently struggled in class, specifically in

Language Arts, he tends to get frustrated and give up entirely. He does however perform well in

math. My goal for this tool is to help aid him to approach Language Arts differently so that he

may begin to comprehend sentences, spell words correctly, and read at a higher grade level. The

questions I intend to ask him are:

1. What kinds of problems have you been feeling with Language Arts?

2. What is the hardest part for you to understand about spelling?

3. How do you feel about other subjects?

4. What part of Language arts do you want the most support with?

5. Can you determine a sentence from a question?

6. What do you do in math that helps you learn?

7. How do you feel about spelling and learning new words?

8. What do you think would make reading more fun?

9. What can I do to better support you?

10. What do you want to accomplish by the end of the year?

 11. When you are doing Language arts, do you feel like literally cannot do it or do you get

frustrated and stop?

12. How are your interactions with both English speaking students and other ESL’s

13. Outside of Language arts, where do you want more help or support?

I chose to go about the interview in this way because I believe it is a great way to reflect

on personal abilities now and how they can be supported as he progresses in school.

Additionally, it will help me to determine his attitude towards school and where he finds his

priorities when it comes to school in general. “Needs analysis is defined by Richards, Platt, and

Weber as the process for determining the needs for which a learner or group of learners requires

a language and arranging the needs determined by priorities” (Brown, 1995, p.35-36). I feel as

though these questions best represent this approach to needs analysis and I most accurately relate

and understand this definition. Individual interviews lead to more personal responses and “real

opinions” (Brown, 1995, p. 49). These are the kinds of responses I am searching for, this way I

can plan out a curriculum perfectly molded to his learning style so that both he and I are getting

the most out of our time together. Additionally by having a one on one interview, I can begin to

build a relationship with him in hopes of receiving his trust to make sure he will constantly be

improving and growing.

References

Brown, J. D. (1995). The elements of language curriculum : a systematic approach to program

development. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.