




































American International Journal of Education and Linguistics Research; Vol. 3, No. 1; 2020 

ISSN 2641-7987   E-ISSN 2641-7995 

Published by American Center of Science and Education, USA 

 

11 

 

 

Needs Analysis in ESP Context: A Project in English for Specific 

Purpose: English Writing Course for Diploma Students in 

Management 
 

 

Zia ur Rahman Zaheer  

Master of Education 

Faculty of Literature and Humanities  

English Language and Literature Department  

Baghlan University, Baghlan, Afghanistan 

E-mail: zzia8927@gmail.com 

 

Wahidullah Alokozay  

Master of Education  

Faculty of Languages and Literature 

English Language Department 
Paktia University, Nangarhar, Afghanistan 

E-mail: wahidullahalokozay123@gmail.com 

 

Hamza Atifnigar  

Master of Education 

Faculty of Literature and Humanities 

English Language and Literature Department 

Laghman University, Laghman, Afghanistan 

E-mail: hamza.honaryar@gmail.com  

  

 
Abstract 

This study aims to analyse the needs of Management students for English for Specific Purpose (ESP) course as well 

as to design an ESP course for the Management students. In addition, this research is carried out to answer the 

research questions; 1. What is the importance of the use of English in management program? 2. What are the most 

important language skills used in Management program? 3. What is the frequency of the language skills used in 

management program? 4. What is the level of students’ performance based on the academic task? The findings of 

the study indicated that the use of English is very important as it is used in every task related to management. The 

students revealed that they have to give presentations in English and have discussions with peer in English. The 

listening skills are known to be least used in management program. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the 

students mostly have some difficulty in completing speaking tasks in their program. 

 

Keywords: Management Program, English for Specific Purpose, Language Skills, Presentations, Writing Skills. 

1. Introduction 

1.1 Introduction to Syllabus  

According to Graves (2000), a syllabus is an organized and detailed outline of a course that highlights “specific 

course goals, requirements, readings, assessments, and scheduled assignments” throughout the course (as cited by 

Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 179). For instance, to teach in a classroom, the teachers may need to have or make an outline 

of what they want to achieve and to meet the students’ needs in acquiring the language. Parkes and Harris (2002) 

stated that a course syllabus can serve as a highly effective facilitator of student learning. Course syllabus will allow 
the students to see the content of the course. In this section, a syllabus is made base on the need analysis that has 

been done previously. From the need analysis, the important skills that has been highlighted by the Diploma in 

Management students is writing skill. Moreover, the writing tasks deemed to be the most difficult task for the 

students is report writing. Therefore, a writing course for the Diploma in Management is designed to cater the 

students’ needs in improving their writing skills. 

 



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1.2 Content-based and task-based syllabus  

The syllabus for teaching of language is the integration or combination of two or more of the types of syllabus. In 

this study, the combination of the two types of syllabus which are task-based and content-based syllabus are used to 

design the syllabus. Content-based syllabuses, act as a vehicle for communicating of a specific context because 

language is not seen as a subject on its own right (Nunan et al., 1988, p.38). The primary task of a content-based 

syllabus is when language is being taught through content and information. In this syllabus, teacher used the content 
in management which is report writing to teach writing skills. 

According to Ellis (2003), stated that task-based language teaching highlighted the “use tasks at the core of 

the language teaching” (as cited in Brown & Lee, 2015). Students learn the language through tasks given rather  than 

‘chalk and talk’ method. The tasks will help the students to engage with real-world tasks in their field. The tasks 

involved in a language class considered being specific to the subject matter and the target language is used to 

stimulate learners to think and learn (Brinton & Snow, 1989). The tasks should be relevant and meaningful so that 

the students can apply what they have learnt in the course to their academic context.  

 

1.3 Need Analysis 

English for Specific Purposes or ESP is the teaching and learning of English as a second language or foreign 

language where the goal is for the learners to be able to use English in their particular academic needs and 

professional or occupational domain (Plesca, 2016).  EGP is taught in the school for the students to be able to use 
English in their daily life for simple conversation. ESP on the other hand, is focusing on the needs of language that 

the learners will use in their academic settings and professional working environment. EGP does not emphasize on 

the learners’ specific context of language learning compared to ESP (Pradhan,2013). 

In Malaysia, English is a crucial language that is taught not only in the schools but also in Universities or 

institutions. The students had learnt English from their primary school until secondary school which is almost 10 

years in total. Even in their tertiary education, English language is still being taught. However, some of them are still 

unable to use and master the English language. It is essential for the students to master English language in order to 

help their tertiary education become more conducive and to cope with the challenges. This is because in educational 

institutions nowadays, English is used as the medium of instruction and mostly the literature is written in English. 

Moreover, the students are required to use English in most of the academic tasks, for instance, giving presentations, 

writing report, reading for information and many more. Students with different academic fields will have different 
learning demands of English. Therefore, this study aims to designed an ESP course for Diploma in Management 

students.  

 

1.4 Research Questions  

The target needs analysis is necessary in order for researchers to understand what they need to know and understand 

about the target community needs in their ESP course. Needs analysis was conducted to identify the students’ 

language learning needs and to ascertain the students’ weaknesses in language learning (Cohen et al, 2005, pp. 390). 

In this study, the data required for the needs analysis is derived from questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire 

was distributed to the students of Management to acquire information of their needs in language learning. 

Furthermore, the interview was done by the course lecturer and a student of Management to obtain initial 

information about the program and also the language used in the program.  

 
 What is the importance of the use of English in management program?  

 What is the most important language skills used in Management program? 

 What is the frequency of the language skills used in management program?  

 What is the level of students’ performance based on the academic task? 

 

2. Methodology 

2.1 Participants 

The participants were 20 students of the Operational Management course. The students are currently in their third 

semester of Diploma in Management at a private university. English is used for the medium of instruction for this 

program. This highlighted importance to identify the students’ needs and deficiencies in language learning.  

 

2.2 Preliminary Survey 

An interview was conducted in order to get an overview of the students’ needs of using the English language in the 

course. More specifically, the interview was done through phone calls and WhatsApp conversation with the lecturer 

and a few students from this course.  



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2.3 Data Collection 

Two instruments of questionnaire and interview were used in order to get the information needed. The questionnaire 

has two sections which are: SECTION A: RESPONDENTS’ BACKGROUND and SECTION B: THE USE OF 

ENGLISH IN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. The questionnaire was distributed and collected by the lecturer of this 

course. Moreover, interview with the teacher was conducted via phone call to obtain further information of the 

students’ academic tasks.  
 

2.4 Data Analysis 

The data was analyzed and the results are organized to identify (1) the level of importance of English language use 

in Management program, (2) the most important language skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) used, 

(3) the frequency of the language skill used and (4) the students’ performance based on the academic task. The 

questions emphasized the context of English language used by the Management students.  

 

3. Findings and Discussions 

After the data is collected from the questionnaire and interview sessions, the findings of the needs analysis 

questionnaire and interview are being analyzed and discussed. There is two parts in this section namely SECTION 

A: FINDINGS OF STUDENTS’ DATA and SECTION B: FINDINGS OF LECTURER’S DATA. Moreover, in 

Section A, the findings of the questionnaire were justified with further confirmation and clarification from the 
students of Management through an interview. Thus, the findings and discussions were interpreted based on the 

questionnaire and interview of the students. Furthermore, Section B, the findings from the lecturer’s interview were 

being interpreted. 

Question 1: The importance of the use of English in management program 

 

 
 

Figure 1: Importance of the use of English in Management program 

 

Figure 1 depicted the students’ claims of the importance of English use in their Management program. The 

students indicated that the English use is “very important” and “important” in the Management program. This is due 

to the medium of instructions and the academic tasks were given in English. This determined that English is widely 

used in the program. Thus, this has emphasized the need to design an ESP course for the Management students.  
 

Question 2: The most important language skills used in Management program 

Table 1: Ranking of language skills used in Management program. 

Skills No. of Students 

The most 

important 

Important  Least important Not important at all 

Listening 0 0 7 13 

Speaking  6 10 4 0 



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Table 1 showed the ranking of the importance of language skills in Management program. The students 

stated that the listening skills were the ‘least important’ and ‘not important at all’ in the Management program as the 

students did not use the skills explicitly. The students are well-aware of the use of listening skills where this skill 

were not given emphasis as they only have to listen to lectures, discussions and presentations. Furthermore, the 6 

and 10 students ranked speaking as ‘the most important’ and ‘important’ skills in the Management program 

respectively. This is due to the fact that the students have to give presentations in English. In the class, the students 
sometimes use their L1 to make meaning as well as giving and answering questions. Moreover, the students used 

their L1 when doing discussions with their peers. As for reading, only one student indicated that reading skills were 

the most important and 4 students indicate it is just an important skill. While, 8 and 7 students stated that reading 

skills were the least important and not important at all in the Management program respectively. This finding 

showed that the students did not give focus on reading skills as they rarely read extensively. Lastly, 13 and 6 

students ranked writing skills as the most important and important skills used in the Management program. This 

suggests that the students used writing skills in most of their academic tasks. From the findings of this question, it is 

clear that writing skills should be given more emphasis to ensure the students’ success in the program.  

 

Question 3: The frequency of the language skills used 

Table 2: Frequency of language skills used in Management program 

 

 Table 2 depicted the frequency of language skills used in the Management program. The students’ use of 

listening skills ranged from ‘seldom’ to ‘very often’. They often used listening skills during listening to lecturers and 

presentations. Moreover, 9 students stated that they used speaking very often in the Management program. The 

students stated that reading skills has the lowest usage as 8 students claimed that they “sometimes” employed 
reading skills in the Management program. This is due the students not emphasizing any extensive reading tasks on 

their own. Furthermore, the students ‘often’ and ‘very often’ used writing skills in the Management program. 

Writing skills were highlighted as the most used language skills in the Management program. From this finding, it is 

clear that all four language skills are used in the program, but writing was the most frequently used language skills. 

Thus, it is important that the students should have competency in all the language skills but focus on writing skills 

should be made to ensure that the students can write competently and effectively in their own context.  

 

Question 4: The students’ performance based on the academic task 

Table 3: Students’ rating of their own performance in listening tasks 

 

Table 3 showed that the students use the listening skills at ease when listening to lectures. The lectures in 

Management program were conducted in English; however, sometimes the lecturer might use L1 to help the students 

to understand better. When the students are doing group discussion in English, the students have some difficulty in 
listening to their peers when conversing. This is because, sometimes, the messages or points were not properly 

Reading 1 4 8 7 

Writing  13 6 1 0 

Skills No. of Students 

Seldom Sometimes Often Very often 

Listening 1 7 8 4 

Speaking  0 3 8 9 

Reading 0 8 9 3 

Writing  0 0 10 10 

Tasks Part A : Listening Skills 

Tasks Evaluation  

With a lot of difficulty With difficulty With some difficulty With ease 

1. Listening to 

lecture  

1 1 5 13 

2. Listening to group 

discussion  

0 1 12 7 

3. Listening to oral 

presentation  

2 0 8 10 



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conveyed due to inappropriate vocabulary used and incorrect sentence structure. However, 10 students stated that 

they could use their listening skills at ease. During oral presentation, the students are required to prepare on their 

presentation, thus, their peers have no trouble in listening and understanding what is being presented. Generally, the 

students could easily use their listening skills to perform listening tasks in the classroom although there were slight 

difficulties. 

 
Table 4: Students’ rating of their own performance in speaking tasks 

 

Table 4 depicted the students rating of their own performance in completing speaking tasks. For oral 

presentation, 2 students rated that they have difficulty and 11 students  rated they have some difficulty in completing 
the task respectively. The challenges that the students faced when speaking in oral presentation were being afraid of 

making errors, not confident in speaking in English, lack of vocabulary and grammar knowledge. These challenges 

have affected the students’ performance and motivation when doing oral presentation. Moreover, 11 students 

indicated that they have some difficulty in speaking for group discussion. The students have ‘some’ difficulty in 

completing the task because they are speaking among their peers. They are more comfortable speaking with their 

friends even though they are making mistakes. However, the problem that students faced is conveying messages in 

the appropriate language use which resulted in the use of L1. Lastly, 4 students have a lot of difficulty in speaking in 

a forum. This is due to the format of the forum which is more structure and formal where they have to use the right 

terms and terminology to present the points. Therefore, the findings revealed that the students mostly have some 

difficulty in completing speaking tasks in their program.  

 
Table 5: Students’ rating of their own performance in reading tasks 

 

 Table 5 showed the students’ rating of their own performance in reading tasks. 12 students stated that they 

read textbooks in their program with ease. Meanwhile, 6 and 2 students indicated that they have some difficulty and 

difficulty in reading the textbook as the language used for textbook are formal and difficult terminology is used. 

Moreover, the students have some difficulty in reading journal articles. Similar to textbook reading, the language 

used for the journal article made it hard for the students to understand the content. Lastly, the students could easily 

complete tasks on reading for specific information. This is because sometimes the students are required to browse 

for extra information in order for them to complete their academic tasks which includes surfing the internet and 

reading extensive books. Hence, the findings in this section concluded that the students can easily complete the 

reading task, although they face some difficulty in the formality and difficult terminology of the language in the 

reading texts that they had to read and use. 
 

 

 

 

Tasks Part B: Speaking Skills 

Tasks Evaluation  

With a lot of difficulty With difficulty With some difficulty With ease 

1. Oral presentation 0 2 11 7 

2. Oral group 

discussion 

0 1 11 8 

3. Forum 4 3 10 3 

Tasks Part C: Reading skills 

Tasks Evaluation  

With a lot of difficulty With difficulty With some difficulty With ease 

1. Reading of 

textbook 

0 2 6 12 

2. Reading of journal 

articles 

1 5 10 4 

3. Reading for 

specific 
information 

1 1 6 12 



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Table 6: Students’ rating of their own performance in writing tasks 

  

Table 6 depicted the students’ rating of their performance in completing writing tasks. As mentioned in the 

previous findings (Question 2 and 3), writing skills is deemed as the most important skills used in the Management 

program. Thus, the findings in this section will identify the students’ deficiency in writing tasks. Based on the four 

writing tasks, 4 students stated that they have a lot of difficulty in writing a report. This is because report writing 

requires a lot of attention to the contents, language structures and many other linguistics aspects. Hence, some 

students are unable to write effectively in their reports which is a concern.  

Moreover, only 2 students have a lot of difficulty in completing summary writing as they were unsure of how to 

simplify the content of the reading materials. Furthermore, 13 students indicated that they have some difficulty in 

writing for commentary. They are unable to express themselves in words effectively. Lastly, majority of the students 
could complete note-taking task with ease. As the note-taking task is a more personal task, the students have more 

confident in writing for their own understanding. Therefore, the findings of this section concluded that the students 

have a lot of difficulty in report writing due to several challenges of linguistics aspects. This has highlighted the 

need for a writing course for the Management students and emphasis on the language used in report writing should 

be taught in the ESP course.  

 

5. Conclusion  

Based on the findings of data, it can be concluded that there is a need to design an ESP course which includes all 

four of language skills, however, writing skills should be given more emphasis. The foundation of this ESP course is 

to raise the students’ awareness of appropriate language used in different academic context. Language tasks on 

report writing should be highlighted to improve the students writing skills and correct usage of language. The 
language tasks in the ESP course should be designed to serves specific language focus. Furthermore, according to 

Angus and De Oliveira (2012), the teachers can implement a well-researched pedagogy to ensure effective teaching 

in the classroom. Hence, an integration of more than one syllabus types (content-based and task-based syllabus) 

would be beneficial in order to design a coherent ESP course for the students in Management.  

 

Acknowledgement  

First of all, I would like to express our sincere thanks to The Respected Ministry of Higher Education of 

Afghanistan and Higher Educational Development in Afghanistan (HEDP) who financially supported us. Secondly, 

we are thankful to Miss. Putria senior lecturer at the University Technology Malaysia (UTM) whose valuable 

instructions helped us in completing the project and the research. We would like to thank our dear classmates who 

assisted us in accomplishing our work.  

 

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Copyrights  

Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. This is an 

open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license 

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 
 

 

 


