Task-Based Needs Analysis as a Foundation for TBLT Course Design: Evidence from Thai University EFL Learners

Abstract

This study presents a task-based needs analysis (TBNA) for English for International Communication (EIC) majors at a university in Thailand, with the aim of providing an empirical foundation for taskbased language teaching (TBLT) course design in the Thai EFL context. Using a six-cycle Delphi methodology, data were triangulated from multiple sources and methods: document analysis of job placement records; semi-structured and structured interviews with graduates and workplace managers; a means analysis of institutional constraints; a confirmatory survey administered to 70 in-service graduates; and an analysis of target discourse (ATD) based on authentic workplace interactions. Results revealed that EIC graduates are predominantly placed in customer service positions across the hospitality, retail, and recreation sectors, and that eight task types are critical across these workplace domains, with giving directions, responding to emails, and providing reception services rated most highly. Successful task performance was conceptualized primarily in terms of effective communication and pragmatic competence rather than grammatical accuracy or syntactic complexity. An ATD of the task ‘Giving Directions’ identified the discourse structure and linguistic strategies characterizing prototypical task performance in Thai workplaces. The findings provide a principled approach for developing needs-based instruction, criterion-based assessments, and pedagogic tasks for additional language learners with specific needs.

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