Investigating English language needs for the second year master students at Kasdi Merbeh University, Ouargla

Abstract EN

Needs Analysis is an essential first step for designing appropriate language courses to help students acquire knowledge in their academic studies.

In the science and technology framework, specific English language skills are needed to enable students to succeed in academic settings .

To determine what students need to achieve through the medium of English, it is imperative to carry out a Needs Analysis.

Needs Analysis is defined as the process of determining the needs for which a learner or group of learners requires a language and arranging the needs according to priorities.

(Richards & Platt, 1992, P.

122.( Starting from this view, the current study seeks to identify the academic English language target needs of petroleum Master One students at Kasdi Merbeh University in Ouargla.

Guided by Hutchinson and Waters' (1987) framework of needs analysis, this study surveys the perceptions of sixty petroleum Master One students about their present English language proficiency, the academic English language proficiency necessary for their academic studies, and the English language skills they desire to learn.

A questionnaire is used for data collection.

Also five teachers teaching English at both the Faculty of Applied Sciences, precisely at the Department of Mechanics; and the Faculty of Fuels and Geology, precisely at the «Département des Hydrocarbures» and the «Département de Geologie» at the University of Kasdi Merbeh in Ouargla, are interviewed face to face by the researcher.

The results show the significance of English for petroleum M 1 students and identify the students ' needs, lacks, and wants with regard to the English language.

The research work concludes with pedagogical implications that help to improve the current English language course based on students' needs.