A Needs Analysis for English for Specific Purposes Online Course for Accounting: A Tertiary Level Sri Lankan Study

Abstract

Curriculum designing has been considering English for Specific Purposes pertaining to many areas of study to be delivered online. Accounting is yet another area of study which comes under Management studies. The present study addresses the need to develop a curriculum to meet the needs of the undergraduates in the field, making them ready for the world of work. The present research intends to investigate the subjective needs, present needs and target needs of the sample. The sample consists of fifty undergraduates at the Department of Accountancy, University of Kelaniya. In order to validate the industry needs, six industry professionals with more than seven years of experience are interviewed. The interviews are audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data gathered are analyzed mainly qualitatively however student questionnaire’s closed ended items in the Google Form are analyzed qualitatively using SPSS. The findings reveal that students are least confident about their speaking skills and expecting to improve both speaking and writing skills. According to the professionals, speaking, writing and reading are equally demanded at workplaces. Business emails, letters, presentations, conversations are said to be the most recurrent instances of English use. The methods of learning preferred are group work, pair work, grammar exercises, vocabulary exercises and individual work. Since the course is delivered online, the item which inquires about online learning gets positive responses from the majority although challenges are explained in the open-ended item that followed. However, in order to cater to the specific needs of Accounting students, both perceptions of students themselves and industry professionals are taken into account to create a more effective course with relevant content.