From Needs Analysis to Task-Based Design: Methodology, Assessment and Programme Evaluation

Abstract

In this chapter, we look at the interface between needs analysis (NA) and syllabus design, with a special focus on the methodological implementation of task, language testing and programme evaluation. The goal of the chapter is twofold, since it both analyses and suggests ways in which NA may be used to inform crucial decisions in syllabus design. After a short review of how NA may contribute to task selection, sequencing and pedagogical design, the article analyses how information coming from multiple NA methods (e.g. interviews, observations or the linguistic analysis of samples) may inform decisions about the implementation of methodological principles (e.g. ‘learning by doing’, fostering inductive learning, providing authentic input, promoting autonomy or respecting learners’ internal syllabuses) and pedagogical procedures (e.g. motivating, modelling, providing pre-emptive focus on form). The chapter then zooms in on how NA may be instrumental in making decisions about testing at the level of interactional, psycholinguistic and cognitive demands of assessment tasks. It also looks at how information gathered in NA can aid in determining the technological dimension of tasks as well as establishing performance standards on these tasks. Finally, the study also associates NA with aspects of programme evaluation, and it looks at how the performance and linguistic standards detected by NA may inform evaluation criteria for external reviewers of language programs. The chapter concludes with a reflection and future directions of the interface between NA and syllabus design.