Quick Question

All my learners have the same needs: to pass an exam, so why should I spend time on analysing my learners' needs?

Passing the exam is the long-term goal of your learners. Analysing learners' needs deals with their interests, classroom materials, lesson pace, feedback etc. Understanding learner needs helps you design more effective lessons to achieve the long-term goal.

The Bigger Picture

Teachers can use different approaches to teach according to their learners' needs, interests and learning styles.

Early in course, teachers can use some kind of need analysis to find out more about the personal needs, learning needs and future or current professional needs of the learners.

Once a teacher has an understanding of his/her learners' needs, topics and themes can be selected to fit these needs and interests, and the appropriate materials and activity types can also be selected tofit their learning needs.

Based on their learning needs, some learners need a greater focus on practising skill work (reading, listening, speaking and writing). Other learners need a focus on building vocabulary or developing an understanding of grammar.

Different learners prefer different lesson pace (the speed of the lesson). Some learners prefer to work slowly and methodically, while others prefer a faster pace.

Some learners need a lot of feedback from the teacher on their work, while others are happy with peer feedback.

Differentiation is what happens when teachers understand their learners' needs. In many classrooms, all the learners are doing the same thing at the same time, and are expected to achieve the same results. (This is called lock-step teaching.) If learning is differentiated, the methods, objectives, activities, pace etc. will be adjusted to the needs of the individual learners.

Key Vocabulary

differentiation 因材施教

goal 学习目标

interaction pattern 互动模式

language skill 语言技能

learner autonomy 自主学习能力

lesson pace 课堂节奏

Tricky Terms and Concepts

personal need VS learning need VS professional need

Personal needs are things related to the learners' age, gender, cultural background, interests etc.

Learning needs are things directly related to study, such as learning style, language level, past language learning experience etc.

Professional needs are usually the reasons or learner motivation for studying, such as learning for work, studying abroad, passing an exam etc.

In Your Class

You have probably already noticed that your learners display different needs, but have you thought about adjusting your teaching to meet their needs? Do you ever use differentiation?

Try It Out

Before you teach your next class: Consider how much you know about your students' learning needs. Are their needs the same? Would differentiation work with your learners?

While you're teaching your next class: Pay attention to your lesson pace. Are all your learners comfortable with the pace of your lesson? How do you know?

After your next class: Reflect on how much feedback you gave your learners. Was there enough(or too much) feedback? How did your learners respond to this feedback?

What You Might Be Tested On

TKT questions might ask you to:

» Complete statements by learners about their needs.

» Match the needs of different students with the most suitable courses.» Match certain types of classroom activity with learner needs.

Find Out What You Know

Look at the incomplete statements about learning and learners, and the three options for completing them listed A, B and C. Two of the options complete the statement correctly. One option does NOT. Choose the option (A, B or C) which does NOT complete the statement.

1. Learning strategies include

A. guided discovery.

B. paraphrasing.

C. summarising.

2. Cognitive processes in L2 learning include

A. grouping similar concepts together.

B. deducing the word meaning from the context.

C. cooperating with other learners.

3. Learner autonomy may involve

A. making plans for learning content.

B. waiting for teachers' guidance.

C. extensive reading outside the classroom.

4. Examples of learning needs are

A. past language learning experience.

B. current language level.

C. hobbies and interests.

5. A learner with a short attention span will likely be incapable of

A. listening carefully to an engaging audio recording.

B. concentrating on a personalised group discussion.

C. completing a series of grammar tasks in succession.

Key: 1. A 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. C

Inspiration

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