The Most Essential Step in Curriculum and Syllabus Design
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article aims to: first, clarify why needs analysis is a significant initial step to take in curriculum/syllabus design and secondly, offer examples of Design Thinking and the ADDIE Models to illustrate how teachers can begin to design their curricula following the steps of the two models, be they the whole program, the whole level, the whole year, a course or even a unit of teaching. Thus, the article begins with presenting the meanings of curriculum and syllabus to indicate why needs analysis should precede curriculum or syllabus design and continues with discussing the beliefs and the theories about how one learns, most of which indicate that learners are different and they learn differently, often influenced by their learning styles and the chosen learning strategies. Then, the significance of needs analysis is explained to show why it is recommended as a very important step to begin with and what can be expected as a result of the needs analysis activity. Finally, Design Thinking, which was first originated in the business field and which was later popularly adopted in curriculum/syllabus design in education and the ADDIE Model, which is extensively and currently well-known for online training program curriculum development, will be proposed as practical models for curriculum/syllabus designers to adopt to find out specific details such as learning preferences, learning needs, wants and lacks about their prospective students towards certain courses or programs to study. Simple and clear steps that these two models adhere to will be identified and explained for the benefits of the readers.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Every article published in the Romphruek Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences is the opinion and point of view of the authors. Thery're not the viewpoint of Krirk University or the editored department. Any part or all of the articles for pablication must be clearly cited.
References
Alla, X. (2024). Lifelong learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research and Development, 11(1), 27-32.
Anabella, Zaimah, N. F. A., & Rafa, S. (2024). Necessities, lacks and wants of students learning English as a foreign language. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net
Brindley, G. (1984). Needs analysis and objective setting in the adult migrant education programme. NSW Adult Migrant Education Service.
Brown, D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). Addison Wesley Longman
Brown, J. D. (2009). Foreign and second language needs analysis. In M. H. Long & C. J. Doughty (Eds.), The handbook of language teaching (pp. 269–293). Wiley-Blackwell.
Deak, V. & Santoso, R. (2021). Learning strategies and applications in learning achievements. International Journal of Social and Management Studies, 2(4). 159-167. http://doi.org/10.5555/ijosmas.v2i4.64.
Destianingsih, A. & Satria, A. (2017). A study on students’ need analysis on web-based English learning materials. Inovish Journal, 2(1), 48-57.
Dornyei, Z. (1998). Motivation in second and foreign language learning. Language Teaching, 31(3), 117-135. Doi:10.1017/S026144480001315x.
Fatihi, A. R. (2003). The role of needs analysis in ESL program design. South Asian Language Review, 8(1&2), 39-58.
Fialová, A. (2021). An example of needs analysis implementation into an ESP course (Master’s thesis, Masaryk University). https://www.scribd.com/document/670797843/An-Example-of-Needs-Analysis-Implementation-into-an-ESP-Course-Archive
Fleming, N. D. (2001). Teaching and learning styles: VARK strategies. Niel Fleming.
Flowerdew, L. (2012). Needs analysis and curriculum development in ESP. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 325–346). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118339855.ch17
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books.
Hernandez, M. P. Z., & Cruz, J. P. A. (2023). The importance of considering the different learning styles in students of English as a foreign language. Revista Ensayos Pedagógicos, 18(2), 1–14.
Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes. Cambridge University Press.
Iwai, T., Kondo, K., Lim, D. S. J., Ray, E. G., Shimizu, H., & Brown, J. D. (1999). Japanese language needs analysis. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures.
Kumacho, M. (2016). David Kelley: From design to design thinking at Stanford and IDEO. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 2 (1), 87–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2016.01.009
Kossimov, A. A. (2021). The importance of needs analysis in teaching and enhancing English language proficiency among Uzbek EFL learners. Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 11(11). https://doi.org/10.5958/2249-7315.2021.00294.X
Li, J. (2014). Literature review of the classifications of “needs” in needs analysis theory. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 2(3), 12–16.
Maisarah, U., & Nirwanto, R. (2024). The importance of conducting need analysis to design English courses in Kurikulum Merdeka. Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan Nasional, 2(1), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.59435/jipnas.v2i1.54
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
Nakkampan, N. (2018). Needs analysis of the language skills: A case study of dentists in Ayutthaya province of Thailand (Master’s thesis, Thammasat University). https://doi.org/10.14457/TU.the.2018.1483
Nation, I. S. P., & Macalister, J. (2010). Language curriculum design. Routledge.
Nuemaihom, A. (2017). Roles of needs analysis in English for specific purposes (ESP). Interdisciplinary Journal, Buriram Rajabhat University,1(1), 35-42.
Nunan, D. (1988a). The learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, D. (1988b). Syllabus design. Oxford University Press.
Palmer, H. E. (1921). The principles of language-study: The oral method of teaching languages. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org
Panahi, A., Mohebbi, H., & Oxford, R. L. (2024). Rebecca Oxford’s 50 years of contributions to language education and related fields: A systematic review. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 41, 169–230. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Ponglee, C., & Sukying, A. (2022). A needs analysis of English language Thai pre-service teachers. Journal of Modern Learning Development, 7(10), 184–194. https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jomld/article/view/257215
Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Safatri, I. (2017). Students’ needs analysis in English speaking for everyday communication at State Islamic Institute of Palangka Raya (Undergraduate thesis, State Islamic Institute of Palangka Raya).
https://digilib.iain-palangkaraya.ac.id/1135/1/SKRIPSI%20INTAN%20SAFITRI%20-%201301120868.pdf
Smith, V., Windle, S., & Johnny, L. (2025). Meeting the needs of EAP students in Canadian colleges: Insights from a needs analysis study. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 17(4), 102280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2025.102280
Smith, R. C. (1999). The writings of Harold E. Palmer: An overview. Hon-no-Tomosha.
Sinclair, J. (Ed.). (1997). Collins COBUILD English language dictionary. HarperCollins.
Summers, D. (Ed.). (2003). Longman dictionary of contemporary English (4th ed.) Longman.
Tubtimtong, W. (1991). Needs analysis, syllabus design and evaluation of an English course for science and engineering students at the graduate level (Master’s thesis, Chulalongkorn University).
Viktorovna, B. S., & Viktorovna, S. E. (2020). Needs analysis in course design: Converging learners’, instructors’ and developers’ voices. Porta Linguarum, 33, 145–162. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi33.26642
Wattanapokakul, S., & Sitajalabhorn, W. (2023). A needs analysis for English as a foreign language instruction for Thai senior secondary school students with hearing impairment. rEFLections, 30(2), 428–467. https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267417
Weller, C. (2017). This is the teaching method that Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg love. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org
White, R. (1988). The ELT curriculum. Blackwell.
Wickramage, U. C., & Gunasinghe, M. P. D. (2024). Syllabus revision: A needs analysis study. South Florida Journal of Development, 5(2), 525–530. https://doi.org/10.46932/sfjdv5n2-009
Widdowson, H. (1983). Learning purpose and language use. Oxford University Press.
Zela, E. (2018). Investigating students’ needs for English language as foundation for syllabus design. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 6(2), S1. https://jurnal.padangtekno.com/index.php/jipnas
Zohoorian, Z. (2015). Needs analysis in ESP context: An overview of research methods. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(1), 58–65. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0501.07
