FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEEDS ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY ON KAZAKHSTANI EXPERIENCES

Abstract

Preparing students' needs while they
spend their years at universities is critical. Some
universities place a greater emphasis on the development
of students' skills. Knowledge construction, real-world
problem solving, skilled communication, collaboration,
use of information and communication technology for
learning, and self-regulation are examples of 21st century
skills. These are vital as employers nowadays seek
graduates who possess 21st century skills. This article
provides a detailed analysis of the results of
questionnaires completed by Kazakhstani university
students. The primary research instrument in this study
was a survey questionnaire with 12 items designed to
identify the needs of first-year students studying English
at International Information Technology University
(IITU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The items were
developed and designed by the authors of this article.
The respondents were 449 first year students who were
studying at IITU. Within four weeks, the data was
collected, and an online questionnaire was sent to
respondents' email addresses. The researchers gave the
respondents 2-3 days to complete the questionnaire and
return it to researchers for data analysis. The main aim
is to gather information about what the learners’ need in
studying the type of course program they are interested
in and to determine the need of English for specific
purposes and when is the most appropriate time to study
it. The summary of the results achieved concludes the
article.