The English communication needs of military cadets in Saudi Arabia as perceived by junior officers in the Saudi army and air defense

English for Specific Purpose (ESP) is a branch of language teaching that is based on the learner's communication needs. "Needs Analysis" is the recent approach used for identifying these needs. Based on sociolinguistic orientation, needs analysis proposes the identification of communication needs in terms of what the learner needs to be able to do with the language before a consideration of the lexicogrammatical options required. A desire to facilitate the application of the ESP approach at King Abdulaziz Military Academy (KAMA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, led to a needs-analysis-questionnaire developed and administered to 212 officers who had graduated from KAMA and were assigned to eight branches in the Saudi military. More specifically, the study attempts to identify the roles which English plays in the future careers of KAMA's cadets, the activities that require a knowledge of English to perform and finally whether the cadets are or will be adequately prepared in English to meet their future communication needs.;The results indicated that English plays a most significant role in situations connected with officers' jobs and training courses. The extent of the officers' actual use of English in these situations appears to depend on their experience in the military and proficiency in English. Moreover, the results indicated that the performance of 7 of the 27 activities included in the questionnaire require an adequate command of English by over 60% of officers representing all ranks and branches. The performance of another 18 activities require an adequate command of English from some officers but not all, depending on their branches of service. The results also indicated a greater need for the skills of listening and reading over speaking and writing. Finally, the study found that officers were not adequately prepared to meet the communication needs required in their jobs or training courses. In light of the results of the study some implications and recommendations for EFL teaching in the Saudi Military were drawn.