How To Make A Needs Analysis Questionnaire For ESL Students

Planning a scheme of work, whether it’s for a one-to-one lesson or a group, can feel pretty overwhelming if you don’t know exactly what your students need. That’s why conducting a needs analysis is important. 

What is a needs analysis? 

Simply put, a needs analysis in language education is a set of questions created by the teacher to understand the students in the classroom:

•  Why are they learning English? 
• What do they need it for? 
• How often do they use English in their daily lives? 
• What do they hope to achieve by the end of the course? 

All these are important questions to ask. 

What is the purpose of a needs analysis?

In a nutshell, to give you information about your students so you can plan relevant lessons.

By the end of the needs analysis process, you should have a clear picture of your students’ genuine needs. This then becomes your guide and a solid starting point for planning lessons that are not only relevant but also relatable and genuinely useful for your language learners.

Now let’s take a look at the kind of information you’ll want together and how to frame your questions so you get useful answers.

Needs analysis part 1: Autobiographical information: Nationality, age, occupation

Collecting basic details about your students gives you a clear picture of who’s in your classroom. Knowing their age, background, and job can help you choose examples, topics and activities that are relevant and relatable. It also helps you be sensitive to cultural or religious considerations so your lessons are inclusive and engaging for everyone.

A few example needs analysis questions to include:

• What is your nationality?
• What are you studying? / What is your job?
• How old are you?

View the questions above as an introduction to the person or group you’ll be teaching. 

Needs analysis Part 2: Motivating factors – Reasons for learning English

Understanding why your students are learning English gives you an idea of what motivates them. Are they studying for work, travel, exams, or simply for fun? Knowing what drives them helps you create lessons that feel relevant and purposeful. Plus, it makes it easier to keep them engaged. When you tap into their personal goals, even challenging tasks feel meaningful.

A few example needs analysis questions to include:

• Why are you learning English? 
• What do you hope to learn/know by the end of this course?
• How will English help you in your daily life/career/studies?

Read more: How To Personalise EFL Lessons Effectively

Needs analysis Part 3: Educational background – Previous English learning experience

Knowing what students have done before in English helps you see how much they already know and what they are used to. This makes it easier to explain new tasks and build lessons that connect to their existing knowledge and skills. This information gives you a linguistic starting point for what target language to include, what skills to focus on and what topics stimulate and encourage language use in the classroom.

A few example needs analysis questions to include:

• Have you studied English before? If yes, where?
• How long have you been learning English?
• What kind of English classes have you had (online, school, private lessons)?

Needs analysis Part 4: Learner styles, and preferences in the classroom

Understanding learning styles and preferences is vital when planning activities, lessons or schemes of work. Most lessons will include tasks that speak to a variety of learner styles eg, imagery for visual learners, listening material for auditory learners, written text to cater for students who learn best through reading and writing, and tasks with physical response for kinaesthetic students. 

Editor’s note: Learner styles are not set in stone. It is generally accepted that learners utilise a variety of styles. However, learners may naturally prefer a particular style over another.

A few example needs analysis questions to include:

• How do you prefer to learn? By listening, reading, speaking, writing or doing activities? 
• Which classroom activities help you learn best? 
• Are there any activities that you do not like to do in the classroom?

Read more: The Controversy Over Learner Styles

Needs analysis Part 5: English skills – strengths and areas for improvement

Identifying which language skills your students are strongest and weakest in helps you plan lessons more effectively. If your class is already confident in one skill, you can plan lessons where most of your time is focused on their weaker areas or the skills they need most. 

A few example needs analysis questions to include:

• Which skill is easiest for you? Reading, writing, listening or speaking?
• Which skill is most difficult for you? 

Needs analysis Part 6: Practical use of English

Tasks in your lessons should mirror real-life situations. Create activities that prepare your students for life outside the classroom. And your needs analysis should really give you insight into what real-life means for your students. 

A few example needs analysis questions to include:

• When do you use English in your life? (work, study, shopping, travel)
• Who do you speak English with? (workmates, customers, friends)

Needs analysis Part 7: English for Specific Purposes

Some of our students need more than general, everyday English. They might need English for a specific career eg,  restaurant or hospitality work, English for travel, healthcare and so forth.  Others may need English to accomplish study objectives eg, entrance to a university where the language of instruction is English. Knowing this helps us to plan lessons that give them the tools they need to function in their sectors and achieve their goals. 

A few example needs analysis questions to include:

• Do you need to speak English on the phone, in meetings, or with customers?
• Do you need to read emails, documents, or instructions in English?

Read more: What Is English For Specific Purposes And How Do I Teach It?

A few parting tips: 

• Keep the needs analysis specific to the student/group you are starting to teach – for example, if your students are accountants, focus on questions about financial vocabulary, emails, reports, meetings and client communication in English.
• Leave out questions that do not apply to them – for example, if they do not read emails in English, then exclude questions about email correspondence. 
• Grade the language in your questions appropriately for their level. Use a vocabulary profiler to help you with this. For example, if the word ‘career’ is too advanced, then you could grade this to ‘job’. 
• Avoid complex grammar in your questions – keep them short and simple. 
• Encourage honest answers by explaining why you are asking these questions.

At the end of the day, a needs analysis is really about getting to know your students as people, not just as learners. When you understand why they are studying, what they know, what they struggle with, and what matters to them, you can plan lessons that are meaningful, helpful and enjoyable. Taking the time to do a needs analysis at the start of a course is the best thing you can do for yourself and your students. 

Author Bio

Written by

Kirsten Colquhoun

Edited by Kirsten Colquhoun

Kirsten Colquhoun is the Content Manager for The TEFL Academy. A graduate of Cambridge University and DELTA-qualified, she first started teaching kindergarten in Thailand in 2003. A South African, she has also taught in China, the UK, Spain, Qatar and South Africa, but these days she is a teacher trainer and freelance writer and editor. Read Kirsten Colquhoun's story →