The classes have either already started or are about to anytime soon! This year, I have been blessed with many new private students and also a collaboration with a language academy. As I’m constantly on the search for different ways of improving myself as a tutor, I decided to have a look at one of the most important things – the one I should have started with a long time ago – needs analysis.
During my first lesson, I have always done some kind of needs analysis, the one they tell you about in CELTA, but not as intense. The typical questions included asking about their past learning of English, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they find the most challenging in learning English. I gathered all the information in my notes and used them only at the beginning to prepare a brief course description for prospective students. You can learn more about my typical first class approach in the post My very first lesson on Preply. It offers not only an in-depth explanation of my trial lessons but also an example of a presentation I use with all new students.
However, recently I decided to step up my first lesson game. Two weeks ago, I started teaching corporate groups online organised by another language academy. On the first day, I was asked to do a detailed needs analysis with some of the groups. This motivated me to keep track of all my students, monitor their progress, and have all essential information in one place. As it turns out, writing things in a notebook where I tend to write pretty much anything and everything, isn’t the best idea. For this reason, I prepared an Excel spreadsheet in which you can keep track of students’ needs, any common mistakes they make, and any additional information they provide, professional, as well as personal.
1. Language needs analysis
I start the conversation with an icebreaker that will give me some basic information while warming students up to an hour-long conversation. Students introduce themselves (name and surname, if necessary). If you are asking for their surname, it can be a perfect opportunity to check their spelling abilities and whether you need to work on it in the future. On top of the form, you can also find cells for contact information, such as email and/or phone number. This will, of course, depend on the type of student and the relationship you have.
The next part deals with students’ English needs. Discuss the reasons why they want to learn English and follow it up with some questions to elaborate a bit more on the topic. The form has three reasons for learning English (general, professional, and other). The first two reasons can be more specified, for example, travelling, living abroad, making friends in general English, or a bit more professional, such as finding a new job, having a job interview, or improving writing skills for emails and/or proposals, etc.
Before beginning the classes, it is always good to ask about students’ current English level. It can be verified in many various ways, for example, by asking about previous English lessons or any language certifications. In case you teach on a platform that offers level tests, for instance, Preply, you can encourage students to take this test beforehand and get an estimated level. This will be verified and adjusted during the first lesson speaking assessment.
Another criterion I always ask about is students’ past with learning English or any other language. It is good to know what kind of relationship they had with learning languages and the teaching approach they have experienced before. It is surprising to see students coming from different backgrounds and the skills they have acquired! It is much easier to select the best language course for 1:1 students, but you can also find some common ground and adapt the course to groups.
Even though getting a language certification can be a reason for learning a language, I decided to give it a separate category as it has a huge effect on the type of lessons you provide. First of all, ask about any previous experience with language examination. If students are familiar with some certifications, it may sway you towards the exam they are already familiar with and prepare lessons focused on this particular exam type. I have also noticed that some students initially aren’t interested in getting a language certificate but after the trial lesson, they change their minds as having a deadline and a clear goal motivates them to keep studying. This first lesson is also an opportunity to present a potential student with the types of exam preparation classes you can offer and describe what the exams look like.
The final part of the English needs analysis is self-assessment. Ask students to rank their current English skills from 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest and 5 the highest). The skills include reading, listening, speaking, writing, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Whether this assessment is accurate or not is up to you to decide, but it will definitely expose some of the students’ strengths and weaknesses.
Finally, finish this part by discussing the class dynamics. Discuss if students are interested in any type of homework and the topics they would like to talk about in class. Regarding homework, I usually give 15-minute long homework tasks because I know that my adult students don’t have too much time to spend on complex exercises, but are always able to fit in a short and fun activity. I like to keep the tasks varied to ensure that students stay focused and motivated.
2. Additional information
I finish this analysis by talking about students’ personal and professional lives. Discuss their jobs and education, regardless of whether classes are focused on general or business English. Depending on the origin of the student, you can ask them about their family and living situation, and where they currently live. If you feel that students aren’t willing to share this information, let it go. If they decide to continue learning with you, there is a chance that they will eventually open up, and you will get all the details later on without putting any pressure on anyone. I like to keep things like their hometown and date of birth for one very basic reason – everyone enjoys a good listener, and there is nothing nicer than wishing someone a happy birthday and remembering small details about their family and cities.
3. Teacher’s notes
The last part of the needs analysis is only for you and will be filled out constantly throughout many lessons. Take note of any strengths and weaknesses you have noticed in your first meeting. It will help you prepare an appropriate course while tracking their progress. It may be an interesting idea to use these notes later on and demonstrate to students how much they have improved over the course of a few weeks/months of learning with you. It is extremely difficult to track language progress as most of it is based on feeling, so showing their initial mistakes and how they either don’t make them anymore or their ability to spot and correct them will demonstrate how much they have learnt in your classes.
Let me know how you track students’ analysis and their progress over time. Would you add any other points to the spreadsheet? If you’re curious about my needs analysis file, look no further and download one by clicking the link below.
Thank you so much, this is just what i needed.