A Needs Analysis of Reading Skills

International journal of Science Commerce and Humanities Volume No 2 No 4 May 2014
A Needs Analysis of Reading Skills

For Foundation Year in ELI
Mona Yousef Al-Zahrani
myalzahrani@kau.edu.sa
ELI, University of King Abdul-Aziz
Curriculum Design
MA / TESOL
Year One
Semester One
2013
1.Introduction
This article will describe a study investigating the perceived English language needs for reading skills
of students at ELI at King Abdul Aziz University as part of a curriculum review. In a curriculum review,
students perceived English language needs are often collected and taken into consideration toward any
curriculum revision. But how valid are the students perceived second language needs in reading. Validating
the students perceived language needs in reading skills will be done by investigating the students initial
perceived English language needs in this area.
A needs analysis is essential domain in curriculum designing and in language teaching, and it has received
extensive attention by many researchers (Pratt,1980), Richards, J.(2001) and Brindley, G (1984) because it
is essential in determining the core of any course. A needs analysis involves gathering of information of
what students know and what they need to learn. It is important to know learners needs which are the
wants, desires, demands, expectations, motivations, lacks and requirements (Brindley 1984). Needs analysis
is the procedure for collecting information about learners` needs and it is essential in determining tests,
materials, teaching activities, evaluation strategies and reevaluating them. Lack of needs analysis in
language programs would lead to a failure of the program because the wrong program might be used for that
situation and for those students.
Foundation year students at the English Language Institute, where I work, often find it difficult for
students to read written texts fluently after finishing four levels of intensive English courses. ELI faculty
members are constantly reporting that most of their students cannot comprehend the given texts easily and
face difficulty in reading parts in the assessments. Worse still, there are no empirical studies have been
conducted in the ELI to critically examine pedagogical needs of these students. Hence, this paper attempts to
conduct needs analysis in order to identify the points of weaknesses students face in reading skills and to
identify the reason whether it is the text type or the lack of skills needed to comprehend any written text.
To achieve this end, this study will first review the relevant literature on needs analysis in EFL
reading skills and the importance of needs analysis in EFL instruction. It then presents the methodological
grounding and data collection procedures of this study. After that, it tackles the findings and discussions.
After concluding this paper, I wish that it will also provide suggestions based on findings, hoping that these
accounts will enhance the practice of EFL reading instruction at the ELI analyze the situation in ELI
regarding needs analysis of reading skills and describe what happens. Moreover, this study will gather
questionnaires as an instrument and break them into small parts to be studied according to the field of needs
analysis of reading skills. The main aim is to evaluate them and mention their points of weaknesses. This
26
questionnaire will be distributed among students to ask about their needs. The questionnaire will be used to
have wider vision about needs analysis in ELI regarding reading skills. It is the reading skills' part from Jack
Richard's questionnaire which include all language learning skills, but my research uses the reading part
only. It is taken from Jack Richard "Curriculum Development in Language Teaching" . Finally, this study
will relate all results together to come up by some results and facts to provide suggestions and that can be
applicable and usable in ELI for the purpose of development of reading skills. So, my main aim and purpose
of this study is to deal with something related directly to teaching foundation year students in ELI.
This research will deal with reading skills particularly and analyze the reading skills for ELI students
because ELI students struggle in reading and will try to find the weaknesses and reasons behind that. There
is a gap between what is given to the students and their achievements and progress regarding level of
proficiency in reading. The language development is not satisfactory and does not meet all the efforts
provided to help them acquire the second language they are learning which is English. Foundation year
students face a big challenge in acquiring the language proficiency in reading after passing all four levels
provided from Oxford university. Such conclusions are from teachers' notices and teachers' complaints
because no official studies done in ELI. They are only meetings with teachers and students to gather ideas
and opinions without involving specialized people and without making studies. Viewing that problem from
the perspective of needs analysis will participate in minimizing if not solving the essence of the problem.
ELI members cooperate to facilitate everything for their students but the progress is slow which means that
they are going on the wrong way. All these factors work together to give the final product of the foundation
year.
2.Literature Review
Needs Analysis is the process of identifying and evaluating needs in a community or other defined
population of people. The identification of needs is a process of describing problems of a target population
and possible solutions to these problems. A need has been described as a gap between what is and what
should be. (Witkin et al., 1995) .A gap between real and ideal that is both acknowledged by community
values and potentially amenable to change. (McKillip, 1987). Needs analysis focuses on the future or what
should be done rather than on what was done as is the focus of most program evaluations.
English language programs worldwide have become increasingly aware of the need for curriculum
review due to changes taking place. As student populations, societal views, and institutional factors
are constantly changing, English language programs need to adapt their curriculum. Therefore, a process
of reviewing an English language program needs to be implemented routinely to make the changes
necessary to facilitate the desired outcome of the program. Needs analysis is now often viewed as an
integral part of second language curriculum development and review. Determining the needs of a
particular institutions students is seen as a direct way to inform the curriculum developers of the
possible goals and objectives necessary to create the curriculum. In the field of English as a Second
Language, the growing interest in the needs of the students has primarily focused on what types of
output the students will need. This focuses on the specific speech acts necessary in a given situation the
learner will encounter (Munby, 1978). The inclusion of needs analysis in second language curriculum
development began in the 1960s as language programs started emphasizing English for Specific
Purposes (Richards, 2001). The type of needs analysis for ESP focuses on gathering detailed language
used for specific language needs.
Besides obtaining the specific language needed in particular situations by asking professionals in the
field, it has also become useful to determine the overall needs as perceived by the learners themselves.
Brindley (1984) provides a wider definition of the term needs as it is used in needs analysis for
educational purposes. It is sometimes used to refer to wants, desires, demands, expectations,
motivations, lacks, constraints, and requirements. The importance of this concept of needs is highlighted
by the possible conflict that can arise when the curriculum and the students beliefs and assumptions are
27
not the same. As Nunan (1989) has said, the effectiveness of a language program will be dictated as
much by the attitudes and expectations of the learners as by the specifications of the official curriculum..
It is important to understand how students perceived language needs change over the course of their
English language studies at one institution. This is possible by identifying the students background and
then conducting repeated measures of the students perceived English language needs. Furthermore,
determining the factors that cause changes in the perceived language needs would also serve as
constructive information to curriculum review. The focus here is entirely on gap or need analysis. The
following steps are suggestions to illustrate the gaps between expected and actual outcomes (McKillip,
1998). It includes a description of the expected outcomes of the various solutions. This is the time to
evaluate the identified needs, the most important need, conflicts with other needs, consistent agreement
across levels of target groups about the relevance and importance of all these needs. Learning needs
analysis is undertaken in industry and business to determine the gap between the existing skills,
knowledge and abilities and those that are needed for the organization to function at the desired level.
Once this gap is determined, decisions can be taken as to the type of training required and the form of
delivery. Likewise, in an educational setting, a learning needs analysis helps students to identify where
they are in terms of their knowledge, skills and competencies. Students learn better when they can see a
reason or relevance as to why they are following a program of study. By conducting a learning needs
analysis with prospective students, the learning provider can identify what programs are needed. By
assisting the learners to identify the gaps in their own learning, the provider will be better able to support
the student.
Conducting a learning needs analysis for reading skill will help to identify what skills and knowledge
learners already have in reading skills and highlight skills, knowledge, and competencies that need
developing. Moreover, it helps to identify clearly what students wish to achieve and define their
expectations and goals in any reading lesson. Also, it identifies any obstacles or difficulties which may
arise in reading skill lessons in classes. Needs analysis for reading skills will help to achieve a correct fit
between the provider and student in order to let the course matches student needs and expectations. In
addition, needs analysis of reading skills identifies the content that best suits students' needs in reading
skills and determine what is the most appropriate delivery format such as class based, online or any other
formats. The most important part that needs analysis for reading skills can do is to ascertain the most
suitable evaluation mechanisms for students and outline what results can be expected and how these can
be measured. Designing the learning needs of reading skill analysis aims to do the following procedures
which are to assess the current situation, define the problem, determine if there is a need for learning,
determine what is driving this need for learning, evaluate existing training and assess the possible learning
solutions. Furthermore, needs analysis should not only be considered as a pre-stage for the design of
language courses. In fact, it is an "on-going process (White 1998). It can be used to design, improve and
implement language programs. However, there is a further, very important reason why ESL students
should try to develop their reading skills. Educational researchers have found that there is a strong
correlation between reading and academic success. This means that a student who is a good reader is more
likely to do well in school and pass exams than a student who is a weak reader.
Good readers can understand the individual sentences and the organizational structure of a piece of
writing. They can comprehend ideas, follow arguments, and detect implications. They know most of the
words in the text already, but they can also determine the meaning of many of the unfamiliar words from
the context. In summary, good readers can extract from the writing what is important for the particular
task they are employed in.
Educational researchers have also found a strong correlation between reading and vocabulary
knowledge. In other words, students who have a large vocabulary are usually good readers. This is due to
the fact that the best way to acquire a large vocabulary is to read extensively, and if you read extensively
you are likely to be or become a good reader. So, if you want students to be successful at reading skill
encourage him or her to read any reading in the mother tongue to acquire the skill that he or she can use
28
to read in any language.
3.Methodology
It is important to include students in determining their needs and important to know students'
perspectives (Brown, 1995). However, it has been pointed out that ELI students have problems in the
reading skills. This is only through my experience as a language instructor in ELI and through other ELI
teachers' opinions. There is no professional researches done regarding ELI students particularly. It is useful
to know students' points of view about the reading skills in their required English courses. To determine the
types of interventions that could best be used to serve the needs of ELI students in reading skill, a needs
analysis survey (See Appendix A) was e-mailed to ELI students and they responded to this survey. A needs
analysis study was performed to validate the preliminary problem statement. ELI students were included in
the needs analysis study in order to better understand their perspective of the problem.
3.1 Research Instruments
The Questionnaire Survey of English needs was used to find out students' beliefs towards reading skills
in English learning. The questionnaire was constructed using sections of previously made needs analysis
surveys by Jack Richards as needs analysis questionnaire for non-Englishbackground students as a second
language students. It is in Richard`s book "Curriculum Development in Language Teaching" (2001). The
questionnaire includes all four skills but only reading skill`s part is taken which is on page 84 and 85. The
reading part includes two parts which are (1) the type of materials students are expected to read and how
often students have difficulty doing so and (2) to indicate how often students have difficulty with some skills
and practices related to the reading skill. To alleviate English effects on students' understanding of the
questionnaire, it was translated and written in Arabic.
3.2 Participants and Data Collection
Responses to the questionnaire were collected and organized. The questionnaire is made online to make it
easy for everyone to share and reply. The questionnaire represents the opinions of 61 female students from
the foundation year in ELI at king Abdul Aziz University. The questionnaire was distributed randomly
among all the four levels. Approved by the vice dean of ELI, the questionnaire was sent to the chief
coordinator of ELI via e-mail in order to send it to teachers in the same way. Teachers sent the questionnaire
to their students via emails and students started answering the questionnaire and sending it back.
3.3 Data Analysis Procedures
The results for each research question will be analyzed according to the total respondents from the
total number. The data will be analyzed using the same computer program the questioner is made by which
is Google Docs. It is one of the most popular programs used to make questionnaires online and analyze all
results to that questionnaire.
4.Results and Discussion
Results are described in accordance with research questions in order as mentioned. Information is organized
in figures in order to see the results clearly.
4.1 part 1: Which of the following materials you are expected to read and how often you have
difficulty doing so?
Respondents are asked to choose the kind of materials they are expected to read in their English course
at ELI. There are eight kinds of reading materials listed for the respondents to choose from. They are
journal articles, newspaper articles, works of function, entire reference or text books, selected chapters of
books, photocopied notes, workbook or laboratory instructions, and computer-presented reading materials.
Percentages are collected based on calculate based on the numbers of the respondents who had checked the
items on the questionnaire. They reflect the kind of expected materials with which the respondents agree.
29
The first question asks about the expected reading materials for students in the English course in
foundation year program. The results show that a significantly high percentage of the respondents expects
photocopied materials to read in this course. The response rate is 38% , followed by reading works of fiction
which rates 36%, while workbook or laboratory instructions was expected by 30% of students. Those kinds
of materials come at the top of students' expectations. On the other hand, reading selected chapters of books
received 27% of respondents, followed by computer-presented reading materials which received 23% of
students' responses, while newspaper articles comes after and received 20% responses. These three kinds of
reading materials received average expectations by students. Reading journal articles and entire reference or
text books had the lowest percentages which are 10% and 13%.
Furthermore, it is found, as shown in the figure of responses, that the respondents decided upon the
difficulty of various reading materials. For example, reading journal articles and entire reference or
textbooks which received low expectation by students to be read during the course received high
expectations of frequency of difficulty which are 52% and 62%. On the other hand, reading photocopied
materials which highly expected by students to read during the course received low level of frequency of
difficulty which is only by 5% of respondents. Also, reading newspaper articles received 44% of being
always difficult and reading works of fiction received 28%. They can be considered average rates of being
difficult all the time. Reading computer-presented reading materials, reading selected chapters of books and
workbook or laboratory instructions received intermediate expectations of being always difficult. Their rates
are 18%, 20% and 21%. As seen in the results, the more expected materials to read by students, the less
difficulty level is expected to face by students.
When asked to comment on reading journal articles, students responded by low rate of expectation to
read such materials during the program. However, they believe that such materials are always difficult to
read. Very small number of students said that it is not difficult and those might be the excellent students of
the total respondents. Average number of students indicated that such materials can be sometimes difficult.
This indicates that students are not expecting difficult materials such as reading journal articles. Reading
newspaper articles was expected to some extent by students and the majority believed that it is always
difficult. It also shows that it received the least expectations to be not difficult. Obviously, this suggests that
students do not expect to read newspaper article because of the level of difficulty they are expecting. When
it comes the third type of reading which is works of fiction, it is clear that it is not expected and the level of
difficulty is being always difficult. Interestingly, the results showed that reading entire reference or text
books is not expected that much by students and its level of difficulty is very high. Only 3% of students said
that it is not difficult. As seen in the figures, reading selected chapters of books is also not very expected in
which only 27% expected reading such material. Concerning level of difficulty, the majority agrees on being
difficult sometimes. When it comes to reading photocopied notes, it is obvious that they are highly expected
and a big difference between the results regarding the level of difficulty. Only 5% said that they are always
difficult, 41% of the respondents believed that they are not difficult at all and 16% said they are sometimes
difficult. This also reinforces the connection between the expectation of the kind of the reading material with
the level of difficulty. On the other hand, reading workbook or laboratory instructions received 30% of
expectations to be read. The results of being always, sometimes or never difficult are almost equal in which
are 21%, 30% and 20%. We can indicate that they are sometimes difficult. Regarding reading Computer-
presented reading materials, it is not highly expected and the majorities agreed upon being sometimes
difficult. Finally, 53% expected other kinds of reading materials without being difficult.
In summary, students have their views regarding the kind of the expected materials with regarding to the
difficulty whether always, sometimes or never. The results explained above show the actual situation
regarding reading skill in ELI and such results can be a guidance to the type of reading materials suitable for
students and the materials that match students needs. The graphics below illustrate the results of the first part
of the questionnaire.
30
Frequecncy of Expected to be
Difficulty read
Expected to be Frequency od
read Difficulty
.
4.2 Part 2: Indicate how often you have difficulty with each of the following
Students are asked to choose among several skills related to the reading skill. There are eleven common
skills listed and students are supposed to choose the frequency of difficulty related to each skill. They are
understanding the main points of text, reading a text quickly in order to establish a general idea of the
content (skimming), editing a text slowly and carefully in order to understand the details of the text, looking
through a text quickly in order to locate specific information (scanning), guessing unknown words in a text,
understanding text organization, understanding specialist vocabulary in a text, reading speed, reading in
order to respond critically, understanding a writer`s attitude and purpose and general comprehension. The
percentage of the respondents who checked on the items of each specific skill are calculated. Data reveals
that 48% of respondents agreed that understanding a writer`s attitude and purpose is always difficult for
them and this can be justified that it is a higher skill that needs deep understanding and analyzing to the text.
31% agreed that it is sometimes difficult and 21% that it is not difficult. After that comes understanding
specialist vocabulary in a text and reading in order to respond critically which equally received 44%. This
also reflects the high skill of responding critically not just reading the text without going deeper to the
essence of the text. Moreover, the lack of vocabulary makes it difficult for students to understand a lot of
words in the given text. Furthermore, reading a text quickly in order to establish a general idea of the content
(skimming) received 36% of being always difficult. Other important findings were given as follows:
guessing unknown words in a text received 28% of being always difficult, looking through a text quickly in
order to locate specific information (scanning) received 27% of being always difficult and understanding
the main points of text received 21%. These skills need thinking but not very high compared the previous
ones. Next, results show that reading a text slowly and carefully in order to understand the details of the text
and understanding text organization are not always difficult in which they only received only 21% and 18%.
They received 48% and 57% for being sometimes difficult. The last two skills that are not difficult at all for
students are reading speed and general comprehension. Students agreed that they are not difficult at all with
amount of 43% and46%. These results indicate that students face difficulty in higher skills that need
thinking and criticizing. Students find it easy for them to read for general comprehension and to find any
information from them given text. Simply, this can be due to the way they have been taught by which
ignores or minimizes critical thinking. This would affect reading skill in language learning.
Gathering the information and sorting it into categories help to identify the needs of students' reading
skills to be addressed. The graphs summarize the input received about commonly observed reading materials
and difficulties in ELI students' population. In addition, it was discovered during this questionnaire that
students were having difficulty in reading because of the type of the reading materials. The results of the
survey, in some cases, reflected the students' expectations of the kind of the reading materials and also
revealed their expectations of the frequency of difficulty. Most students indicated high level of difficulty in
most of reading materials. Among the top priorities of the students surveyed were an interest in expecting
material without high frequency of difficulty. On the other hand, the materials with high frequency of
difficulty are not expected to be in the reading material in the course. Ideally, students should be taught both
the materials and skills that will make them successful in the classroom. Accommodating the high level of
difficulty would improve performance. The students' survey, as part of the needs analysis study, was
designed to measure a wide assortment of learners' characteristics and attitudes. With the problem statement
31
in mind, data analysis concentrates on the learners relevant group characteristics, prior knowledge,
experience and attitude toward additional focus on reading. A summary of the results from the students'
survey appears in figures. Appendix A contains a sample of the students' survey and Appendix B lists a
detailed analysis of each survey question.
The material type and frequency of difficulty are two problems which commonly accompany a reading
disability were the obvious areas of student weakness. Most students reported at least one of these as a
weakness they see. Some reported both of these problems. When asked to comment on the types of reading
skills they believed were most needed by students, teacher responses fell into these two main categories.
Figures provide a summary of the skills that teachers found to have been lacking. Based on this data, it
appears that an approximate average of regular education students at ELI have moderate to severe reading
difficulties. In order to understand and evaluate current levels of engagement in reading skills is to explore
associated training requirements. The objective was to discover the extent to which respondents face
difficulty in reading skills. In addition, the survey explored respondents identification of their own needs in
this area, training already undertaken, and priorities for further training and development. Respondents were
asked to indicate the extent of development of reading activity within their institution, together with brief
details of reading involvement. The graphs (Appendix B) show the results sorted according to the questions'
sequence in the questionnaire. This could be an advice would be given for the field of teaching reading
skills as areas of current developments.
5. Conclusion
This study is empirical analysis of students' needs of reading skills at ELI. It has intention of giving
insight to the needs and problems of learning the English language in reading skill as perceived by students.
It aims to provide a basis for the design of EFL courses to meet those needs. The findings provide evidence
that students have different needs regarding the reading skill. At the beginning of the paper, I discussed the
significance of conducting a needs analysis regarding reading skill. This study provides us with more
insights into more understanding of our teaching of reading skill. Through the process of conducting the
needs analysis, some revelations have emerged. Firstly, by conducting needs analysis teachers can
understand more about reading skills and difficulties students struggle with. Also, it gives rise to new
concepts and ideas to contribute to the adjustment and improvement of reading skill. Secondly, needs
analysis of reading skill reveals that it is a complicated matter in which so many criteria need to be taken
into account. Some variables are also points to consider such as the type o the reading materials and the
skills students are supposed to practice in doing any reading task.
From the current study, some directions have emerged for EFL teachers in order to better prepare
students or the reading skill. It is very useful for curriculum development to design reading lessons that meet
the needs of ELI students. Then ELI curriculum will accomplish what it tends to. The choice of the reading
texts should be done carefully and prepare the students for any type of readings because students expect to
read photocopied notes and simple materials only. Moreover, students should focus on high level of skills
such as criticizing and viewing the writer`s opinion because students find them difficult for them.
The process of collecting English language learners' needs, including real needs as well as wants and
desires is now viewed increasingly important in the creating of English language programs. Current English
language programs need also to include needs analysis as a part of routine program review due to learners`
changing needs and institutional factors. Identifying and confirming the various perceptual needs and wants
of the students` at one institution is very helpful in determining the exact weaknesses and points that need to
be developed. It is hoped that the description and analyses of the current needs analysis regarding reading
skills being conducted at ELI in King Abdul Aziz University serves as a model to what should be done in
order to address curriculum development and review. Also, this leads to increase the sense of ownership and
involvement of the students in deciding any curriculum change or adjustment. Finally, I shall conclude by
adding that Pratt (1980) states that "needs assessment refers to any array of procedures for identifying and
validating needs, and establishing priorities among them."
32
6. References
Brindley, G (1984). Needs Analysis and Objective Setting in the Adult Migrants Education Program.
Sydney.
Brown, J.D (1995). The elements of language curriculum. Boston.
McKillip, J. (1987). Need Analysis: Tools for the Human Service and Education. Applied Social
Research Methods Series, Volume 10. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.
McKillip, J. (1998). Need Analysis. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Mumby, J. (1978). Communicative Syllabus Design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, D.(1989). Hidden Agendas: The role of the Learner in Program Implementation. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Pratt, D.(1980). Curriculum: Design and development. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Richards, J.(2001). Curriculum Development in language Teaching. Cambridge : Cambridge University
Press.
White, Ronald V. The ELT Curriculum. Cambridge.
Witkin, B. R. and Altschuld, J. W. (1995). Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments: A Practical
Guide. Sage Publications: CA..
7. Appendix
Appendix A
Needs analysis of Reading Skills Survey
Dear ELI Students,

The ELI program would like to know some information about our students to help plan future courses.
You are invited to participate in this research study. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
You are eligible for participating in this study because you are an undergraduate student who has reading
skills in ELI. The purpose of the study is to explore students' weaknesses and needs regarding reading skills.
It would be appreciated if you would take some time to answer the following questions on the questionnaire.
Your answers will be important to create the type of English classes most useful for you. Participation in this
study will not take more than ten minutes of your time. Your answers to this questionnaire confidential and
only used for the purpose of this research.
Reading Skills
The following questions concern the reading tasks required of you during the course. Please indicate:
a) Which of the following materials you are expected to read , and
b) How often you have difficulty doing so (please circle):
Expected to read? Yes/No Frequency of difficulties
1-Journal articles Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never
2-Newspaper articles Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never
3-Works of function Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never
4-Entire reference or text books Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never
5-Selected chapters of books Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never
6-Photocopieds notes Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never
7-Workbook or laboratory instructions Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never
33
8-Computer-presented reading materials Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never

9-Other---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indicate how often you have difficulty with each of the following:
10-understanding the main points of text. Very often Sometimes Never
11-Reading a text quickly in order to establish a
general idea of the content (skimming). Very often Sometimes Never
12- Reading a text slowly and carefully in order
to understand the details of the text. Very often Sometimes Never
13-Looking through a text quickly in order
to locate specific information (scanning). Very often Sometimes Never
14- Guessing unknown words in a text. Very often Sometimes Never
15-understanding text organization. Very often Sometimes Never
16-Understanding specialist vocabulary in a text. Very often Sometimes Never
17-Reading speed. Very often Sometimes Never
18-Reading in order to respond critically. Very often Sometimes Never
19- Understanding a writer`s attitude and purpose. Very often Sometimes Never
20-General comprehension Very often Sometimes Never
21-Other---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you very much for answering the questionnaire.
Appendix B
Graphs of Responses
1--Journal articles
Expected 6 10%
Always 31 52%
Sometimes 20 33%
Never 3 5%
2- Newspaper articles
34
Expected 12 20%
Always 26 44%
Sometimes 15 25%
Never 6 10%
3- Works of function
Expected 22 36%
Always 17 28%
Sometimes 14 23%
Never 8 13%
4- Entire reference or text books
35
Expected 8 13%
Always 38 62%
Sometimes 13 21%
Never 2 3%
5- Selected chapters of books
Expected 16 27%
Always 12 20%
Sometimes 22 37%
Never 10 17%
6- Photocopied notes
36
Expected 23 38%
Always 3 5%
Sometimes 10 16%
Never 25 41%
7- Workbook or laboratory instructions
Expected 18 30%
Always 13 21%
Sometimes 18 30%
Never 12 20%
8- Computer-presented reading materials
37
Expected 14 23%
Always 11 18%
Sometimes 18 30%
Never 17 28%
9-Other
Expected 26 53%
Always 5 10%
Sometimes 5 10%
Never 13 27%
10- Understanding the main points of text.
38
Always 13 21%
Sometimes 27 44%
Never 21 34%
11- Reading a text quickly in order to establish a general idea of the content (skimming).
Always 22 36%
Sometimes 20 33%
Never 19 31%
12- Reading a text slowly and carefully in order to understand the details of the text.
Always 12 20%
Sometimes 29 48%
Never 20 33%
13-Looking through a text quickly in order to locate specific information (scanning).
Always 16 27%
Sometimes 25 42%
Never 19 32%
39
14- Guessing unknown words in a text.
Always 17 28%
Sometimes 28 47%
Never 15 25%
15- Understanding text organization.
Always 11 18%
Sometimes 34 57%
Never 15 25%
16- Understanding specialist vocabulary in a text
Always 26 44%
Sometimes 28 47%
Never 5 8%
40
17- Reading speed.
Always 9 15%
Sometimes 25 42%
Never 26 43%
18- Reading in order to respond critically.
Always 26 43%
Sometimes 20 33%
Never 15 25%
19- Understanding a writer`s attitude and purpose
Always 29 48%
Sometimes 19 31%
Never 13 21%
41
20- General comprehension
Always 6 10%
Sometimes 27 44%
Never 28 46%
42

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International journal of Science Commerce and Humanities Volume No 2 No 4 May 2014

A Needs Analysis of Reading Skills

to read in any language.

Dear ELI Students,

8-Computer-presented reading materials Yes/No Very often Sometimes Never

4- Entire reference or text books

5- Selected chapters of books

7- Workbook or laboratory instructions

8- Computer-presented reading materials

10- Understanding the main points of text.

14- Guessing unknown words in a text.

15- Understanding text organization.

16- Understanding specialist vocabulary in a text

17- Reading speed.

18- Reading in order to respond critically.

19- Understanding a writer`s attitude and purpose

20- General comprehension

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