Needs Analysis in Curriculum Design: Language Needs of Tourism Students*

Abstract

In this study, the main aim was to reveal English language needs of tourism students for their future profession. Regarding the obtained needs from students, graduates, content experts and employers in tourism sector, goals and objectives of Vocational English Course were set. The data were collected through needs analysis questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. 70 students in the school where the researcher works, 112 graduates of Tourism and Hotel Management program, 9 content experts and 51 employers working in tourism sector answered the questionnaire. 8 students, 11 graduates, 2 content experts and 5 employers took part in semi-structured interviews voluntarily. After the questionnaire was administered to four groups of participants, the obtained data were analyzed through SPSS 20. On the other hand, while analyzing the qualitative data, the recordings were transcribed for the analysis of data by the researcher. Then, a list of codes developed by Wen (2010) was drawn on for coding. The results indicated that 4 language skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) were important for tourism students, but particularly listening and speaking language skills for their future profession were emphasized.