CHAPTER 6

Abstract

Abstract The goal of this paper and central objective of this study was to investigate and find out social work students' English language skills target needs at the University College of Applied Sciences (UCAS), through determining and identifying the social work students' lacks, and wants to function effectively in their academic and work domain. The findings in this paper are drawn from a research study on investigating English language target needs of social work students at the university college of applied sciences, Palestine. Following NA model, the respondents of this study are social work students and teachers, and ESP teachers. This study uses a triangulation mixed methods design. Quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques including a questionnaire and interviews are employed to identify the students' lacks, and wants. Generally, the findings show that speaking and writing are the most important for the social work students, as perceived by all the respondents, to function effectively in the academic and job domain. Finally, the study will broaden the scope and archive of data relevant to research on ESP and NA. It is hoped that this study will be an initial step in developing a suitable ESP course at UCAS, as it tries to encourage other researchers to pursue the subject further, as well. Key words: Target Lacks and Wants, Social Work Students, University College, Applied Sciences. Introduction In the era of globalization and technological and industrial progress, countries all over the world are doing their best to escort such development. Hasman (2004) stated that English language has a remarkable spread in various life domains; such as education, science, technology, business, policy etc. Accordingly, educational institutions devote money, time, and efforts to meet the scientific and technological needs and goals, since joining the developed and civilized world is unattainable without distinguished educational systems. In this regard, the University College of Applied Science (UCAS) in the Gaza Strip is a case in point. UCAS is an academic institution which has been established to provide the Palestinian community in Gaza Strip with its needs by graduating highly-qualified and well-trained professionals, besides transferring science and technology to Palestinian society through its all various sectors. The main goal of the present study is to investigate the Social Work students' English Target lacks, and wants at UCAS in relation to their reading and writing skills. Background of the Study Even though Arabic is the official language of Palestine as it is the mother tongue of all Palestinians, teaching English language is considered to be one of the main components of the Palestinian education curriculum. Including obligatory English components in the Palestinian curriculum is a natural reflection to the significance and usefulness of English language that have been recognized by the Palestinian policy makers in the Palestinian educational system. In this respect, Harmer (1991) explained that English was already on its way to become a genuine Lingua-Franca by the end of twentieth century. Moreover, Literature Review In the world of English language teaching (ELT), the last few years have witnessed numerous rapid changes, due to the ELT practitioners' efforts to create and renovate better teaching methods on one hand, and to remove the irrelevance in ELT on the other hand. In this regard