The writing needs of Omani EFL students for the development of grade 11 english program: A needs analysis

• Main Authors: Al-Saadi, S., Samuel, M.
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: LB Theory and practice of education
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/13599/1/0001.pdf; http://eprints.um.edu.my/13599/

This article gave a detailed description of a national large scale needs analysis in the reform of the grade 11 English language curriculum in Oman. It highlighted the needs analysis practises of using triangulation of multiple sources (students, teachers, supervisors, heads of department, and textbooks) and multiple methods (questionnaires, interviews, content analysis) in the data collection stage to validate the study findings. The actual grade 11 English Language textbooks (n=4) were first analyzed for writing skills content and then contrasted with the perceived needs of 982 students, 64 teachers, 4 supervisors, and 3 heads of department. The findings revealed that a gap existed between the content of the grade 11 curriculum and the perceived needs of the students. The Grade 11 £L curriculum provided little space for students to develop writing competence. The findings related to language innovation/reform were then discussed and implication were made for the grade 11 program aim, principles, teaching methodology, content and teacher training in Oman.