Designing An Esp Syllabus Based On Needs Analysis: The Case Of Postgraduate Biology Students At Souk-ahras University

Abstract

Teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) requires selecting the required teaching and learning materials that need to be tailored to match the students’ specific needs, making needs analysis a critical step to determine what to teach and how to teach. Despite increasing interest in ESP globally, little research has been directed towards its implementation in the Algerian scientific departments—particularly biology—where both the field-specific content and the relevant materials are crucial. Addressing this gap, the study offers insights into practical ESP syllabus and materials tailored to meet the students’ academic needs. Therefore, the aim of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods research was twofold: It sought to identify the gaps between the existing ESP syllabus and the students’ actual needs while also exploring how appropriate ESP materials could be selected and adapted to meet their academic demands. Thus, conducting a needs analysis enables teachers to uncover students’ core academic needs, which in turn guides the design of effective and relevant course content and materials. Accordingly, this study grapples with two core questions: what basic academic needs do postgraduate biology students have, and which types of ESP materials are best suited to address those needs? To this end, a structured questionnaire was administered at the very beginning of the academic year 2020/2021 to 167 Master I students from the Department of Biology, University of Souk-Ahras. Additionally, an interview was conducted with two ESP teachers to gain in-depth insights into the existing syllabus. The data showed that teachers were not following any syllabus for teaching ESP, and no coordination sessions had been held, neither among language specialists nor with subject specialists. The data also indicated that a proper syllabus should be developed, taking the students’ expectations into account to better align classroom learning with the demands of their field. Based on these findings, an ESP syllabus was designed, along with relevant ESP materials, to address the identified needs and provide a more suitable and effective learning experience.