A Needs Analysis Study: An Investigation into Secondary School Students' English Language Needs

Abstract

This article discusses a study investigating secondary school students' English language needs at a school in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. Due to the changes to the current Malaysian curriculum in relation to the introduction of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013-2025), the English language syllabus for primary and secondary schools has undergone several reforms towards alignment with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Imported textbooks were adopted by the Ministry of Education (MoE) as initial ways to supplement the national schools with materials that are aligned with the CEFR framework, following the English Language Education Roadmap for Malaysia (2015-2025). The adopted textbooks for secondary school students (Pulse 2), Form 1 until Form 3, and (Full Blast Plus 4), Form 4, are organised according to the four language skills: speaking, reading, listening, and writing, in which every unit in the textbooks follows the pre-determined sequence. Considering this, there is a need to conduct a needs analysis study to observe which among the four language skills requires further attention, while at the same time taking into consideration the reasons, problems, motivational factors, and also the mode of learning that are involved in the process of learning English by the students.