Needs Assessment in an English as Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms

Needs Assessment in an EFL Classroom
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Needs Assessment in an EFL Classroom
The increasing need and demand English speakers have created a need for teachers to understand how to deliver quality learning experiences in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. As the English language grows and expands at the global level, there is an increasing demand for assessment and analysis of needs before developing a curriculum for the target beneficiaries. Dubin and Olshtain (1986, p. 5) define the assessment process as the fact-finding stage. The stage involves gathering relevant information about the potential beneficiaries of the program before instituting or setting it into place. Dubin and Olshtain (1986, p. 5) recommends that one considers asking questions such as "Who are the learners? Who are the teachers, why is there a need for the program? Where and how will the program be implemented?” Once one has responded to these questions, the next stage involves what Cheng and Fox (2018) call alignment assessment. The purpose of this mini paper is to address the concept of assessment of an EFL classroom concerning Dubin and Olshtan (1986), Brown (1995), and Cheng and Fox (2018). The intended audiences of this mini paper are teachers, curriculum planners, and potential researchers interested in this topic. The author anticipates that the paper will contribute to the understanding of assessment of EFL classrooms before setting and implementing curriculums for the welfare of the intended users.
The second chapter of Cheng and Fox (2017, p. 31-39). This is an initial step that is intended to provide the assessor with an in-depth understanding of the potential beneficiaries of the program. The three primary questions that the assessor will ask include who, what, and how. The first question is about what to be assessed and what is worth teaching and assessing. The second question is how can it be assessed and how can it be integrated into the learning tasks. Unless the assessor has enough background information and responses to the questions, the assessment process will take time to yield viable results. The teacher has to understand the students that he has in the classroom and their expectations. These expectations of the teacher have to resonate with the outcomes he has for his students. Dubin and Olshtain (1986) explain that assessment goes beyond the needs of the students alone. There is a need to consider the teachers that will be using the language-related curriculum in the classroom.
Considering that the EFL program can be implemented in any foreign classroom, Dubin and Olshtain (1986, p.5) recommend that the assessor of the program rely on the sociolinguistic factors of the setting where the program will be implemented. As a result, the assessment will mostly incorporate issues associated with the assessment will include collecting data and other documented information available to aid in executing the curriculum (Dubin and Olshtain, 1986, p.6). In the absence of secondary data, primary methods of data collection such as interviews and the use of structured questionnaires may be relevant to help understand the potential beneficiaries of the program. The assessor should aim ...