Research On Need Analysis Of Intensive English Reading Course For Business English Majors

It’s well known that inter-disciplinary talents who are proficient inEnglish and have some business knowledge are urgently needed in China.Thus, a great many colleges offer Business English as elective courses orset up Business English major to satisfy this need. Meanwhile, businessEnglish is an important branch of English for Specific Purpose (ESP). Asignificant difference between General English (GE) and ESP lies in thatthe course design of ESP should be based on need analysis of targetlearners. Previous studies in China mostly have centered on the needanalysis of Business English majors for the curriculum design. However,few was concerned on the requirements of Business English majors for aspecific course. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the need analysis ofBusiness English majors in Xi’an International Studies University on theIntensive Reading through the methodology of questionnaire andinterview.On the one hand, this thesis investigates Business English students’motivation for learning Business English and their practical needs inIntensive Reading course, specifically learning needs. On the other hand,the thesis aims at finding out the existing drawbacks of the IntensiveReading course in view of the learners’ needs analysis and providing some reasonable suggestions for curriculum reform.Through the inquiry, the major findings are as follows:1. Most students select Business English major for good job prospect.2. A great many learners claim that they haven’t developed thecommunication skills in business environment.3. Business English majors are basically satisfied with the IntensiveReading course, yet they expect to be more exposed to businessknowledge.4. They prefer teachers to take communicative teaching methodadequately and they are eager for more chances to develop businessEnglish skill in class.5. They complain that the current textbook contains few business essaysand they need more supplementary teaching materials, especially those inthe original version.