Needs Analysis In Oral English Teaching

In English language teaching, there has been a shift in the last thirty years from an emphasis on teacher-centered teaching, examination-oriented method, grammar and vocabulary-based method to a concern with the very individual learners, more exactly, to student-centered teaching, quality-oriented teaching and communicative competence. Since most of us have embraced the student-centered teaching approach, how to give full play to it in practical English language teaching situation, especially in oral English teaching for English majors, comes to the priority. The striking features of oral English teaching for English majors are quite different from those of other courses in universities or colleges. Moreover, oral English teaching practice has assured us that students do have needs and concerns other than linguistic ones. Though it is testified that a good starting point for student-centered teaching is a needs analysis, a neglected but significant factor in curriculum design is affective analysis of individuals. Humanistic psychology, however, attaches much importance to the unification of cognition and affect so as to enhance the overall development of a whole person in that in the field of education, what goes first is the educated person and then the learner. (Arnold, 2000: F18-19)This thesis grows from the essence of humanistic psychology that learners' needsand wants, affect and intention should be fully considered in the process of oral English teaching, to put it simply, to enhance personal growth. So, needs analysis in this thesis refers to the systematic collection and analysis of all the learners' human needs as well as language-related ones that satisfy the learning needs of students within the context of oral English teaching for English majors. As such, this thesis places the analysis of students' learning needs at the center of attention, analyzes the role of the humanistic psychology in oral English teaching for English majors and identifies students' learning needs in oral English teaching for English majors as well.This thesis, based on the needs analysis questionnaire of 100 English majors at Chongqing Normal University, reports some of the significant findings. By doing so, it establishes a reasonable model of needs analysis in oral English teaching for Englishmajors. It concludes with a discussion of the issues in the implementation of needs analysis in oral English teaching for English majors in China as well as some suggested ideas on how to conduct needs analysis in oral English teaching. Meanwhile, it forms a major part of the continual enquiry into the study of needs analysis in oral English teaching for further effective implementation and educational innovation.In line with points mentioned above, this thesis falls into the following five chapters.Chapter 1 serves as an introduction. The fact that a complete absence or neglect of needs analysis has impeded the implementation of oral English teaching for English majors is a big problem. Hence, this chapter identifies reasons for needs analysis, particularly explores the effects of needs analysis in oral English teaching for English majors in an attempt to pave the way for the arguments of the following chapters. Lastly, it gives the layout of this thesis with detailed statements of focus in each chapter.Chapter 2 firstly presents a literature review on the studies of needs analysis. Then it comes to the solid theoretical support for needs analysis: humanistic psychology. Thirdly, it formulates a definition of exactly what is meant by "Needs" and " Needs Analysis" in oral English teaching for English majors. The last part of this chapter is concerned with the illustrations of humanism-oriented needs (affective variables and personality variables) specific to oral English teaching.Chapter 3 is a survey of needs analysis. A needs analysis survey of 100 English majors at Chongqing Normal University is conducted for the supported viewpoint in this thesis. This questionnaire represents an attempt to find out the effects of needs analysis in oral English teaching for English majors and to report some of the significant findings on the basis of data gathered in the needs analysis questionnaire survey. Accordingly, this chapter proposes an applicable model for needs analysis in oral English teaching for English majors.Chapter 4, the main body of this thesis, concerns the issues in the implementation of oral English teaching for English majors. As the questionnaire shows, there are quite a lot of other needs on the part of students in oral English teaching for English majors. By analyzing the considerations specific to oral English teaching, this chapter suggests some ways to conducting humanistic activities suitable to oral English teaching for English majors and puts forward some suggestions for further research in the field of needs analysis.Chapter 5 is the conclusion of the thesis. This thesis aims at exploring how parameters of needs analysis influence oral English teaching and how to take effective measures to meet students' learning needs. Furthermore, this thesis illustrates that, difficulties do exist in the implementation of NA in oral English teaching and much remains to be done, yet looking into the future, the importance of NA in English teaching in China will gain more popularity in theory and practice.