Abstract
Needs analysis is considered an essential step which normally precedes English for Academic Purposes course design. It allows course developers to identify the tasks the target audience has to complete, and the skills they need to master. Based on the experience of the 'English for Academics' textbook writing project, the paper shows that needs analysis can be extended to the materials evaluation stage of textbook development. The piloting undertaken at this stage involved a questionnaire which required qualitative and quantitative responses from teacher and learner participants. The respondents were encouraged to evaluate different aspects of the course implementation, e.g. timing, relevance, difficulty, sequence, clarity of instructions, etc., and suggest improvements. The questionnaire was analysed which provided course developers with the opportunity to identify additional learners' needs and to explore teachers' needs and expectations, which in many respects coincided with each other. Consequently, the learning and teaching materials were restructured in accordance with the evaluation. The changes which were introduced into the textbook and the Teachers' Notes are described. It is concluded that piloting can be an instrument to expose both pedagogical and linguistic needs, thus, providing for the triangulation of the methods and reliability of the results.
Highlights
Hyland and Hamp-Lyons (2002) argue that EAP has already expanded far beyond university level learning, and it encompasses more than instruction of learners on how to successfully study in an Englishspeaking environment
Though the needs analysis stage normally precedes the materials development stage, the ‘English for Academics’ experience clearly demonstrated that the trial of materials in real classrooms gives the developers an opportunity to further explore the needs of the target group of learners
Needs analysis penetrated the textbook writing process and allowed for the exploration of needs in different dimensions and from different perspectives
Summary
Hyland and Hamp-Lyons (2002) argue that EAP has already expanded far beyond university level learning, and it encompasses more than instruction of learners on how to successfully study in an Englishspeaking environment. Researchers and university teachers are required to publish in English and to participate in international events, though they do not always possess the necessary skills and knowledge. The ‘English for Academics’ course was developed by a group of Russian university teachers under the supervision of the British expert Rod Bolitho within the British Council (Russia) project. The process of the development of ‘English for Academics. The authoring team agreed to divide the first book in the course into four modules, each catering for the development of the appropriate microskills within the four major skills. The author of the article mostly contributed to the development of the materials for the Writing Module, which deals with academic correspondence, summary, abstract and grant application writing
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