I Want It That Way! —Engineering Students’ Needs for English Language Preparation for the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test

Abstract

Needs analysis is a critical step to undertake when executing the design and development of a course. This quantitative research aimed to investigate the engineering students’ reasons for taking the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test and their needs for English language preparation for taking the test. The participants were 83 voluntary and anonymous engineering students. The instrument was the researcher-constructed needs analysis questionnaire. The gathered quantitative data were statistically analyzed, and responses to an open-ended question were examined through thematic analysis. The results revealed that the participants would take the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test to fulfill one of the requirements to obtain an official teacher’s license. As for the need for English language preparation, the participants wanted to be prepared with English listening, reading, vocabulary, and grammar essential for achieving the expected TOEIC scores at a high level. According to the short answers obtained from the open-ended question, it was found that the participants mentioned their significant concern of being unable to understand words’ meaning. In addition, the participants expressed their interest in developing communication abilities simultaneously with test-taking preparation. Consequently, the information provided in this study can be the basics for designing and developing a training course that enhances the linguistic knowledge necessary for test-taking and communication.