Needs Analysis Instrument and Report
English for Medicine
University of Magallanes
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
English Pedagogy
Teacher: Bastián Dillems.
Authors: Bárbara Almonacid, Lorena Gallardo.
Tuesday 20th of May, 2025.
1. Present Situation.
Aspects Information
Course English for Medicine.
Students 24 students of 3rd year of Medicine, with an overall CEFR
B1.
Stakeholders Students, 2 medicine lecturers, ESP teacher, course
director, and the hospital tutor.
Main need To improve speaking skills for clinical talks, learn words for
body parts, symptoms, treatments, and feel confident when
presenting cases to foreign doctors.
NA objectives ● Diagnose linguistic, professional and affective needs.
● Rank the tasks.
● Collect input for a goal-oriented syllabus.
2. Instrument. Questionnaire.
Needs Analysis Questionnaire
English for Medicine
The purpose of the following instrument is to find out what you already do in English
and what you will need to do during your medical studies and internships. Your
answers will help us design a course that truly meets your real academic and
professional needs. The results of this instrument are anonymous and will only be
used for course planning.
Please turn to the next page to begin the questionnaire.
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A. Background information:
a. Year of study / semester: __________________.
b. English certificates you already have:
□ PET □ FCE □ IELTS □TOEFL □None
c. Hours you study English outside class each week: □ 0 □ 1–3 □4–6 □
7+
d. Future career focus:
□Clinical doctor □Researcher □Public health □Other:
______________.
e. Have you had any international academic experience?:
□Student exchange □Conference □Hospital rotation □None
f. When you speak English, what is your biggest difficulty?
□Fluency □Grammar □accuracy □Pronunciation □Vocabulary
□Confidence
g. Which learning mode do you prefer?
□Face-to-face □Online □Blended (mix) □No preference
B. Current use of English:
How often do you… (1=never - 5=always)
Skill/situation 1 2 3 4 5
a.- Read medical papers in English.
b.- Speak English with classmates or patients.
c.- Write emails or reports in English.
d.- Listen to lectures in English.
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C. Future professional tasks:
How important will each task be for you during internships or future work?
(1=not important - 5=very important)
Task 1 2 3 4 5
a.- Presenting a clinical case to doctors in English.
b.- Taking a patient’s medical history in English.
c.- Explaining a procedure to a doctor.
d.- Writing a discharge summary in English.
e.- Interpreting lab results aloud for a supervisor or person in
charge.
f.- Doing telemedicine video calls in English.
g.- List any other English tasks you expect to do in medicine:
______________________________
D. Learning preferences and availability:
a.- Which class activities help you learn speaking best? (tick all that apply):
□Role-plays □Simulations □Short talks with feedback □Peer-teaching
b.- Preferred group size for speaking practice:
□Pairs □Groups of 3 □Whole class
c.- Are you willing to be audio or video recorded for feedback?: □Yes □No
d.- Outside your regular schedule, you are free for extra practice on…
□Weekdays after 19:20 hrs □Saturday morning □Not available
e.- Devices & connection you can use for online tasks (tick all that apply)
□Laptop/PC □Smartphone □Reliable internet □I don’t have a
laptop/PC
□I don’t have a smartphone. □I don’t have access to internet
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f.- Your preferred learning style is:
□Visual (charts,slides) □Auditory (lectures,podcasts)
□Hands-on/kinesthetic □Mixed / not sure
E. Feelings and personal goals:
a.- How confident do you feel speaking English to foreign doctors?
□Very low □Low □Medium □High □Very high
b.- What’s your main reason of speaking anxiety?
□Grammar □Pronunciation/accent □Peers listening to me □Being
graded
c.- What feedback style do you find most useful?
□Direct oral correction □Written notes □Peer feedback first, then teacher
d.- Do you need any special accommodation or support? (leave blank if
none):______________________________________________________________
e.- The workload I expect of this course will be…
□Light □Reasonable □Heavy
f.- Write one personal goal for this course (30 words or
more):______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Thank you for answering the questionnaire. Your answers will help shape the
following lessons to be adapted to yours and your classmates’ necessities.
3. Chart:
Need-type Linked items Why do these items satisfy the
need-type?
Present-situation Section B, items a, Because they show how often
analysis. b, c, d. students already read, speak,
write and/or listen in English
during their degree, so we know
their current level and limitations.
Target-situation use. Section C, items, These items serve the purpose of
a, b, c, d, e, f. rating the importance of future
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clinical tasks, revealing what
English they will actually need in
their practices.
Target-situation Section C, items These same task items point
linguistic. a, e. directly to the vocabulary,
grammar and genres (case
reports, discharge notes) that the
course must cover.
Target-situation Section D, items These items are related to
learning a, b, c, f. students’ favorite activities, group
size, willingness to be recorded
and learning style. That is clear
evidence for how they prefer to
learn those tasks.
Gap analysis. Section B, items a, When contrasting how often
b, c, d. students use each skill now
(section B)with how important
Section C, items that skill will be later(section C),
a, b, c, d, e, f. we can see how big the gap is
and what we need to improve.
Individual differences. Section A, items b, The certificates they have
d, f. obtained, their career focus and
their personal learning style
varies student by student, and
will influence course grouping
and pace.
Affective analysis. Section E, items a, Students’ confidence, their
b, c, d, e. anxiety source(s), feedback
preference and workload
expectations for the course
ensure the course respects the
students’ well being.
Classroom-learning Section D, items Students’ preferred classroom
analysis. a, b, c. activities, group size and consent
to recording guide a day by day
methodology.
Classroom-teaching Section E, item c. Students’ chosen feedback style
analysis. tells us ESP practitioners how to
correct and support more
effectively during the course.
Means analysis. Section D, items After class availability and
d, e. technology access show the
practical resources we can rely
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on to make our classes.
Language audit. Section C, items The key medical tasks identified
a, b, c, d, e. here will act as the vocabulary
and skills checklist that shapes
the syllabus of the course.
The present needs-analysis instrument will analyse only at one group of
third-year medical students who are about to begin their hospital practice. By
focusing the instrument on spoken English for medical related situations, it stays
small enough to manage, yet still gives us useful information for everyone involved.
The questionnaire gathers views from the students so the course can meet all their
expectations: students want to feel more confident and need a clear, efficient course
plan.
Most of the questions we created use five-point scales because these give
steady and easy to compare numbers, we also included a few open questions to let
students add details that numbers can’t really show. We made sure that every survey
item links to at least one of Brown’s eleven need-types, which means we have not
missed any key angle: current skills, future tasks, learning preferences, available
resources, or learner rights. Because self-reports can be unreliable, I would check
the survey results with a short role-play test and quick follow-up interviews to see
how well answers match real performance.
When the data is in, we would look at which future tasks students rate as
very important but say they rarely do now. ANd with that, those gaps will guide the
course goals and the order of lessons: tasks with the biggest gap and the highest
professional value will come first and receive extra class time. Finally, what students
say about their preferred activities, group size, and feedback style will shape
everyday teaching choices, helping us build a course that feels supportive, practical,
and directly relevant to their medical careers.
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MOCK EXAMPLE
Needs Analysis Questionnaire
English for Medicine
The purpose of the following instrument is to find out what you already do in English
and what you will need to do during your medical studies and internships. Your
answers will help us design a course that truly meets your real academic and
professional needs. The results of this instrument are anonymous and will only be
used for course planning.
A. Background information:
g. Year of study / semester: 3RD YEAR, 1ST SEMESTER.
h. English certificates you already have:
□ PET □ FCE □ IELTS □TOEFL □None
i. Hours you study English outside class each week: □ 0 □ 1–3 □4–
6 □ 7+
j. Future career focus:
□Clinical doctor □Researcher □Public health □Other:
______________.
k. Have you had any international academic experience?:
□Student exchange □Conference □Hospital rotation □None
l. When you speak English, what is your biggest difficulty?
□Fluency □Grammar □accuracy □Pronunciation □Vocabulary
□Confidence
g. Which learning mode do you prefer?
□Face-to-face □Online □Blended (mix) □No preference
B. Current use of English:
8
How often do you… (1=never - 5=always)
Skill/situation 1 2 3 4 5
a.- Read medical papers in English. ✓
b.- Speak English with classmates or patients. ✓
c.- Write emails or reports in English. ✓
d.- Listen to lectures in English. ✓
C. Future professional tasks:
How important will each task be for you during internships or future work?
(1=not important - 5=very important)
Task 1 2 3 4 5
a.- Presenting a clinical case to doctors in English. ✓
b.- Taking a patient’s medical history in English. ✓
c.- Explaining a procedure to a doctor. ✓
d.- Writing a discharge summary in English. ✓
e.- Interpreting lab results aloud for a supervisor or person in ✓
charge.
f.- Doing telemedicine video calls in English. ✓
g.- List any other English tasks you expect to do in medicine: DISCUSSING CASES WITH
INTERNATIONAL STUDY GROUPS MAYBE.
D. Learning preferences and availability:
a.- Which class activities help you learn speaking best? (tick all that apply):
□Role-plays □Simulations □Short talks with feedback □Peer-teaching
b.- Preferred group size for speaking practice:
□Pairs □Groups of 3 □Whole class
c.- Are you willing to be audio or video recorded for feedback?: □Yes □No
d.- Outside your regular schedule, you are free for extra practice on…
□Weekdays after 19:20 hrs □Saturday morning □Not available
9
e.- Devices & connection you can use for online tasks (tick all that apply)
□Laptop/PC □Smartphone □Reliable internet □I don’t have a
laptop/PC
□I don’t have a smartphone. □I don’t have access to internet
f.- Your preferred learning style is:
□Visual (charts,slides) □Auditory (lectures,podcasts)
□Hands-on/kinesthetic □Mixed / not sure
E. Feelings and personal goals:
a.- How confident do you feel speaking English to foreign doctors?
□Very low □Low □Medium □High □Very high
b.- What’s your main reason of speaking anxiety?
□Grammar □Pronunciation/accent □Peers listening to me □Being
graded
c.- What feedback style do you find most useful?
□Direct oral correction □Written notes □Peer feedback first, then teacher
d.- Do you need any special accommodation or support? (leave blank if
none):______________________________________________________________
e.- The workload I expect of this course will be…
□Light □Reasonable □Heavy
f.- Write one personal goal for this course (30 words or more):I WANT TO EXPLAIN
PATIENT CASES MORE CLEARLY AND JOIN WARD-ROUND TALK WITHOUT
GETTING NERVOUS, SO I CAN FEEL CONFIDENT DURING MY TRAINING NEXT
YEAR. MY DREAM IS TO WORK IN MADRID IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
Thank you for answering the questionnaire. Your answers will help shape the
following lessons to be adapted to yours and your classmates’ necessities.
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