Page 66 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 66
ia Načinović Prskalo, Vanja Slavuj, and Marija Brkić Bakarić
a chronological order. The stages are tied by very strong links as the output
of each stage is taken to be the input for the one that follows.
The subsections to follow offer additional detail regarding the first three
stages and cover the design segment of the e sp course development. For
the description and thorough discussion of the stages pertaining to mate-
rials development and their implementation in the language learning ap-
plication, please see Slavuj et al. (2021).
Analysis of Language Learner Needs
The first stage of the e sp course development, as described by Bell (1981),
consists of gathering and analysing language learner needs with regards
to the specific topical area of interest. In order to do so, we applied the ap-
proach known in the relevant literature as Target Situation Analysis (tsa).
Based on this approach, course developers need to identify language prior-
ities for e sp education, having in mind necessities, lacks, and wants regard-
ing language skills, the teaching/learning situation, and the functions or
activities to be performed by the learners (i.e., users of language) (Elsaid
Mohammed & Nur, 2018). Necessities thus refer to the (language) skills
and knowledge a learner is expected to have in order to be able to func-
tion in a target situation. Lacks signify the difference between what learn-
ers currently know or can do with language, as opposed to what they will
have to know or do in order to perform in a target situation. Finally, wants
pertain to learners’ ideas of what they need in order to navigate the intri-
cacies of a target situation (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). Over the years,
many researchers and practitioners have employed tsa and similar needs-
analysis-based approaches for the purpose of e s p course development,
including courses in the area of computer science (Irshad & Anwar, 2018),
business (Li, 2014), and law enforcement (Torregrosa Benavent & Sánchez-
Reyes, 2015; Javid et al., 2020).
In the case of the LanGuide e s p courses for e a p and e i t p, this stage
was executed in three steps. In the first step, LanGuide course designers
made direct observations of the target situations in which language users
of different categories employed their language skills to do everyday tasks
in the academic and/or i t contexts. They shadowed students, teachers,
and the administrative staff in their daily activities at the Faculty of In-
formatics and Digital Technologies, University of Rijeka, over a period of
one week (in early 2020), marking down the activities, interactions, and
communicative endeavours of all three groups into a non-structured list.
In the second step, the designers arranged for informal consultations with
66
a chronological order. The stages are tied by very strong links as the output
of each stage is taken to be the input for the one that follows.
The subsections to follow offer additional detail regarding the first three
stages and cover the design segment of the e sp course development. For
the description and thorough discussion of the stages pertaining to mate-
rials development and their implementation in the language learning ap-
plication, please see Slavuj et al. (2021).
Analysis of Language Learner Needs
The first stage of the e sp course development, as described by Bell (1981),
consists of gathering and analysing language learner needs with regards
to the specific topical area of interest. In order to do so, we applied the ap-
proach known in the relevant literature as Target Situation Analysis (tsa).
Based on this approach, course developers need to identify language prior-
ities for e sp education, having in mind necessities, lacks, and wants regard-
ing language skills, the teaching/learning situation, and the functions or
activities to be performed by the learners (i.e., users of language) (Elsaid
Mohammed & Nur, 2018). Necessities thus refer to the (language) skills
and knowledge a learner is expected to have in order to be able to func-
tion in a target situation. Lacks signify the difference between what learn-
ers currently know or can do with language, as opposed to what they will
have to know or do in order to perform in a target situation. Finally, wants
pertain to learners’ ideas of what they need in order to navigate the intri-
cacies of a target situation (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). Over the years,
many researchers and practitioners have employed tsa and similar needs-
analysis-based approaches for the purpose of e s p course development,
including courses in the area of computer science (Irshad & Anwar, 2018),
business (Li, 2014), and law enforcement (Torregrosa Benavent & Sánchez-
Reyes, 2015; Javid et al., 2020).
In the case of the LanGuide e s p courses for e a p and e i t p, this stage
was executed in three steps. In the first step, LanGuide course designers
made direct observations of the target situations in which language users
of different categories employed their language skills to do everyday tasks
in the academic and/or i t contexts. They shadowed students, teachers,
and the administrative staff in their daily activities at the Faculty of In-
formatics and Digital Technologies, University of Rijeka, over a period of
one week (in early 2020), marking down the activities, interactions, and
communicative endeavours of all three groups into a non-structured list.
In the second step, the designers arranged for informal consultations with
66
