Author/Authors :
Dehnad، Afsaneh نويسنده Assistant Professor, English Language Department, School of Health Management and Information Sciences , , Bagherzadeh، Rafat نويسنده Department of Foreign Languages, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Bagherzadeh, Rafat , Bigdeli، Shoaleh نويسنده Dept. of Medical Education, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Hemmat Expressway, Tehran, Iran Bigdeli, Shoaleh , Hatami، Kamran نويسنده , , Hosseini، Agha Fatemeh نويسنده Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Hosseini, Agha Fatemeh
Abstract :
Assessing learnersʹ needs is an integral part of any curriculum and course design , namely English for specific purposes (ESP), syllabus design, materials development, teaching methods and testing issues. Critical approach to needs analysis, which is a relatively recent approach, acknowledges the rights of different stakeholders including teachers, students and administrators in the process of needs analysis. However, there has been no formal need analysis for syllabus design at postgraduate level in Medical Universities affiliated to the Ministry of Health in Iran. This study, conducted in 2011, was an attempt to assess the reading and writing needs of postgraduate students in ESP courses on the basis of critical approach to needs analysis. The study population consisted of 67 people: 56 postgraduate students, 5 heads of departments, 5 ESP instructors and 1 executive manager at the Ministry of Health in Iran. Ethical and demographic forms, needs analysis questionnaires, and a form of semi-structured interview were the instruments of the study. According to the findings, there was a discrepancy between studentsʹ and instructorsʹ perception of learnersʹ needs and the assumed needs appearing in the syllabi prescribed by the Ministry of Health in Iran. This study showed that a call for critical needs analysis in which the rights of different stakeholders are acknowledged is necessary for meeting the requirements of any ESP classes especially at postgraduate level where the instructors and learners are fully aware of learnersʹ needs.
