The Use of Needs Analysis in English for Specific Purposes Courses between Reality and Myth:

Abstract

Regardless of the growing demand for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction in Algerian Universities, ESP courses still receive less attention to improve their effectiveness. The present research deals with the situation of ESP courses at the department of Biology at 8 Mai 1945 university of Guelma. The purpose of this study is to know the probability of considering students’ needs when designing ESP courses, as well as, students' perceptions toward the efficacy of these courses. The study hypothesizes that English teachers in the Biology department do not consider using Needs Analysis in designing their courses or syllabuses; also, Biology students are not satisfied with the outcomes of their ESP courses. .In order to obtain the needed information, qualitative and quantitative descriptive methods are used; it is qualitative as it examines teacher’s opinions and experiences through interviewing the ESP teacher, and quantitative, in the sense that, it provides data on students’ views and expectations through the use of questionnaire. The findings show that the current ESP courses offered at the department of biology; specifically, specialty of immunology are already pre-designed by the teacher, who did not take into account her students’ needs and propositions. Thus, the module does not satisfy or meet the majority of students’ need, who consider the content of this course as boring. As a result, these courses are not effective; as it is confirmed by the students, and do not offer improvement to their English level. Conclusions drawn from this work led to submit a number of recommendations about preparing ESP teacher to be qualified and competent enough to deal with students' needs, interests, and expectations.