An Investigation of English Language Needs of Iraqi Non-English Major Students: A Case of EAP Students

Needs analysis as the systematic collection of data on students’ needs and preferences especially for English for Academic Purposes courses can provide insights for designing a course or finding the weaknesses and strengths of such courses. Relying on Needs Analysis as a cornerstone of such courses, the researcher conducted needs analysis on a group of 200 male and female non-English major students at the Thi-Qar University in Iraq. The researcher conducted a convergent mixed parallel method through the administration of TAŞÇI’s questionnaire and conducting structured interviews with 15 students. The findings suggest that the reading skill was the prioritized skill followed by the speaking skill. Also, it was found that the students’ problems included poor vocabulary and the complex use of reading materials in general and professional texts. They also mentioned pronunciation as a problematic area. It was also inferred from the interviews that the students’ needs were not limited to the campus use and they needed this skill off campus for reading English subtitles or e-books. Policy makers and syllabus designers at Thi-Qar University as well as other Iraqi universities in the region are suggested to focus more on the reading skill.

An Investigation of English Language Needs of Iraqi Non-English Major Students: A Case of EAP Students Keywords:

English Language Skills , Needs Analysis , English for Academic courses , Learners’ English Language needs