A task-based needs analysis for Australian Aboriginal students: Going beyond the target situation to address cultural issues

While needs analyses underpin the design of second language analytic syllabi, the methodologies undertaken are rarely examined. This paper explores the value of multiple data sources and collection methods for developing a needs analysis model to enable vocational education and training teachers to address the needs of Australian Aboriginal students from remote communities who speak Australian English as an additional language (EAL). Adopting a task-based approach to needs analysis, data were gathered from educators, students, potential employers and Aboriginal community members using interviews, observation and document collection. The findings highlight the benefits of a needs analysis for triangulating multiple data sources and methods to identify the actual target tasks, including social workplace interactions as well as cultural issues. These findings have implications for all language needs analyses, particularly for EAL students from non-Western cultures

Needs analysis for task-based language teaching: A case study of Indigenous vocational education and training students who speak EAL/EAD

Indigenous students enrol in vocational education and training (VET) programs because they provide a viable pathway into the workplace or further education. However, most high school VET programs use mainstream teaching methodologies which already assume that students speak the StandardAustralian English required for the workplace. This approach can disadvantage Indigenous students, particularly those from remote communities who speak a traditional Aboriginal language as a home language. This paper describes a case study of a second language Task-Based Needs Analysis(TBNA) undertaken at a residential high school specialising in VET for Indigenous students, most of whom come from Western Australia's remote communities and speak English as an Additional Language (EAL). The study used naturalistic data collection methods (non-participant observation, unstructured interviews and document collection) to identify the actual language and literacy tasks that students are likely to encounter in various workplace settings. The main findings are presented in relation to work-oriented tasks, work-life tasks and cross-cultural interactions. The research described here provides a potential guide for undertaking a TBNA as the starting point for designing and implementing task-based language teaching programs, especially for Indigenous VET students (and others from non-Western cultures) who speak EAL