The ways of researching ESP learners' needs as seen by teachers of Ukrainian universities

Iryna Soroka “Law Institute for “KNEU named after Vadym Hetman”, Kyiv, Ukraine

The aim of this article is to introduce different ways of researching learners’ needs and discuss the results of the research, conducted among Ukrainian ESP university teachers, to emphasise the need for universities to develop and implement a Continuing Professional Development policy for teachers of English. The qualitative method (questionnaire) was used to interview sixty teachers of ESP from Ukrainian universities to identify their awareness of the importance of learners’ needs analysis and various ways of its research. The results of this research show that the majority of teachers from Ukrainian universities are aware of the importance of learners’ needs analysis in an ESP class. Ukrainian teachers consider introspection, workplace tours, the Internet, textbooks and training courses to be the most meaningful learners’ needs. However, all surveyed teachers get information about their students’ needs by interviewing them. There is a huge reliance on teachers’ experience. The results of the survey have also shown that the majority of respondents discuss with subject teachers and students the topics, terminology, materials for ESP curriculum. This research has lead to the conclusion that the usage of different ways and multiple sources will increase the quality of gathered information about learners’ needs.

Keywords: ESP; absolute and variable characteristics; learners’ needs; Continuing Professional Development.