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Research Studies on Needs Analysis
1.2.2 Needs identified in other studies
Since the teachers who responded to the questionnaire and interview were of the opinion that knowledge of English is necessary for better job
opportunities, it was considered necessary to find out what types of tasks are important in a majority of professional situations. Some
recent studies – Das (1977), Parasher (1979) and Benerji (1984) – have tired to identify the specific tasks which require the use of English in
the professional world. Meera Banerji’s article (1986:27) gives a detailed account of the attempt made to identify the needs and
requirements of the professional world by means of survey research.
Meera Banerji’s questionnaire tried to find out two things :
information related to real-life situations where English is used and the approximate time that is spent on different kinds of linguistic
activities.
the frequency of language tasks performed in the professional world.
In her research the term ‘language task’ is meant to imply those specify forms of linguistic communication which are essential for the
transmission of information or exchange of views and ideas or transaction of business in a professional organization.
The sample covered 207 subjects belonging to 64 different professional organizations located in different parts of the country.
The results were as follows :
A majority of the subjects thought that the English courses offered at the various universities are inadequate to meet the requirements of the
professional world. They felt a need to improve their proficiency in English.
A major part of the office hours is spent in the use of English. As compared to Hindi and regional languages English is used for
communication during a significantly larger proportion of time.
Communication through writing is more frequent than oral communication.
In writing English, writing letters was the most frequently performed task. This was followed by writing reports, memos and orders.
Since the secondary is a link between the primary and university education, we need to prepare the learners at the secondary level to
perform such language tasks which will be useful to them later. An analysis of the ways of teaching and testing writing as it is undertaken
in schools is taken up here. This should enable us to compare the needs of the learners with what they are taught in schools, how they are
taught and whether this way of teaching and testing is suited to the needs of the learners.
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