Cover not available

Article published In: TASK
Vol. 4:2 (2024) ► pp.202–240

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

A task-based needs analysis of primary school-aged children with migrant or refugee backgrounds in Austria

ORCiD logo with link | University of BarcelonaGuerrero, Spain
ORCiD logo with link | University of BarcelonaGuerrero, Spain
Published online: 16 December 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/task.00033.tra
Abstract
In this study, we report on a task-based needs analysis (TBNA) for primary school-aged newcomers to Austria. 31% of Austria’s primary school students learn German as L2 and thus a systematic analysis of their language learning needs is crucial. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and a survey was distributed. Results show 38 crucial target tasks for social and academic integration and their respective rankings regarding perceived frequency and the need for training. Triangulation of multiple sources and methods facilitated the identification of target tasks in various life domains and the development of detailed task descriptions along multiple task dimensions. Collectively, the results provide a basis for task selection, task sequencing, and the development of a meaningful syllabus for refugee/migrant populations at the primary school level in Austria.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
  • Review of needs analyses in the context of migration and younger learners
    • Research questions
  • Methodology
    • Methodological considerations
  • Participants
  • Instruments and analysis
    • Interviews
    • Surveys
  • Creation of thematic task groups
  • Results
    • Answer to RQ1
    • Answer to RQ2
    • Additional quantitative data
  • Discussion
    • Discussion of RQ1 results
    • Discussion of RQ2 results
    • Methodological and theoretical reflections
    • Limitations
  • Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
References (42)
References
Alibakhshi, G., & Labbafi, A. (2021). Academic and real-life task-based language needs of marine engineering students: Interface between students’ and subject teachers’ perspectives. Heliyon, 7(2). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alhadiah, A. (2021). Communicative needs of Saudi EFL engineering students in an EAP context: Task-based needs analysis. TESOL International Journal, 16(1), 9–33. [URL]
Bartlett, N. J. D. (2005). A double shot 2% mocha latte, please, with whip: Service encounters in two coffee shops and at a coffee cart. In M. H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 305–343). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brown, J. D. (2009). Foreign and second language needs analysis. In M. H. Long & C. Doughty, The handbook of language teaching (pp. 267–293). Wiley-Blackwell. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Camus, P., & Advani, M. (2021). Preparing for study abroad: A task-based needs analysis. Hispania, 104(3), 375–394. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chaudron, C., Doughty, C. J., Kim, Y., Kong, D.-K., Lee, J., Lee, Y.-G., Long, M. H., Rivers, R., & Urano, K. (2005). A task-based needs analysis of a tertiary Korean as a foreign language program. In M. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 225–262). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Duran, G., & Ramaut, G. (2006). Tasks for absolute beginners and beyond: Developing and sequencing tasks at basic proficiency levels. In K. Van den Branden (Ed.), Task-based language education: From theory to practice (pp. 47–75). Cambridge university press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Erling, E. J., Gitschthaler, M., & Schwab, S. (2022). Is segregated language support fit for purpose? Insights from German language support classes in Austria. European Journal of Educational Research, 11(1), 573–586. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gilabert, R. (2005). Evaluating the use of multiple sources and methods in needs analysis: A case study of journalists in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Spain). In M. H. Long (Ed.), Second Language Needs Analysis (pp. 182–199). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gilabert, R., & Malicka, A. (2021a). From needs analysis to task-based design: Methodology, assessment, and program evaluation. In N. P. Sudharshana & L. Mukhopadhyay (Eds.), Task-based language teaching and assessment (pp. 93–181). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2021b). From needs analysis to task selection, design, sequencing. In M. J. Ahmadian & M. H. Long (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huang, L. S. (2021). “I Have Big, Big, Big Dream!”: Realigning instruction with the language-learning needs of adult Syrians with refugee experience in Canada. Refuge, 37(2), 141–163. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huh, S. (2006). A task-based need analysis for a business English course. In Second Language Studies, 24(2).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A Learner-Centered Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Iizuka, T. (2019). Task-based needs analysis: Identifying communicative needs for study abroad students in Japan. System, 801, 134–142. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jasso-Aguilar, R. (1999). Sources, methods and triangulation in needs analysis: A critical perspective in a case study of Waikiki hotel maids. English for Specific Purposes, 18(1), 27–46. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keller, S. (2021). Bienvenidos Abordo: A task-based needs analysis of Spanish-destination flight attendants (Unpublished MA thesis]) University of Barcelona.
Kim, Y., Kong, D.-K., Lee, Y.-G., Silva, A., & Urano, K. (2003). A Task-Based Needs Analysis for the English Language Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. [URL]
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equiation modeling (5th ed.). Guilford Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lambert, C. (2010). A task-based needs analysis: Putting principles into practice. Language Teaching Research, 14(1), 99–112. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Long, M. H. (1985). A role for instruction in second language acquisition. In K. Hyltenstam & M. Pienemann (Eds.), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition. Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2005a). Methodological issues in learner needs analysis. In M. H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 19–76). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2005b). Overview: A rationale for needs analysis and needs analysis research. In M. H. Long (Ed.), Second language needs analysis (pp. 1–16). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2005c). Second language needs analysis. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2015). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching (1st ed,). Wiley Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martin, A., & Adrada-Rafael, S. (2017). Business Spanish in the real world: A task-based needs analysis. L2 Journal, 9(1). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Middleton, T. (2019). The L2 motivational self system and language needs of educated refugees learning English in the Netherlands (Unpublished MA thesis). Universiteit Utrecht.
Nezakatgoo, B., & Alibakhshi, G. (2014). Assessing task-based English language needs of medicine students: Are they aligned with pedagogical tasks in EMS courses? Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 6(2), 81–102. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ngoc, N., & Chau, B. (2020). Language needs analysis for working abroad: A case-study in Thua Thien Hue province. Hue University Journal of Science: Social Sciences and Humanities, 129(6B), 117–134. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oliver, R., Grote, E., Rochecouste, J., & Exell, M. (2013). A task-based needs analysis for Australian Aboriginal students: Going beyond the target situation to address cultural issues. International Journal of Training Research, 11(3), 246–259. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Park, M., & Slater, T. (2014). A typology of tasks for mobile-assisted language learning: Recommendations from a small-scale needs analysis. TESL Canada Journal, 311, 93–93. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pressemitteilung: 12.794-092/22. (2022, April 26). Statistik Austria. [URL]
Robinson, P. (2011). Second Language Task Complexity (P. Robinson, Ed.). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serafini, E. J. (2022). Adapting and advancing task-based needs analysis (NA) methodology across diverse language learning contexts. In M. J. Ahmadian & M. H. Long (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of task-based language teaching (pp. 73–98). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serafini, E. J., Lake, J. B., & Long, M. H. (2015). Needs analysis for specialized learner populations: Essential methodological improvements. English for Specific Purposes, 401, 11–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serafini, E. J., & Torres, J. (2015). The utility of needs analysis for nondomain expert instructors in designing task-based Spanish for the professions curricula. Foreign Language Annals, 48(3), 447–472. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Skehan, P. (2009). Modelling second language performance: Integrating complexity, accuracy, fluency, and lexis. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 510–532. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Smith, G. F., Jung, H., & Zenker, F. (2022). From task-based needs analysis to curriculum evaluation: Putting methodological innovations to the test in an English for academic purposes program. English for Specific Purposes, 80–93. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spence, P., & Liu, G.-Z. (2013). Engineering English and the high-tech industry: A case study of an English needs analysis of process integration engineers at a semiconductor manufacturing company in Taiwan. English for Specific Purposes, 321, 97–109. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Toker, S., & Sağdıç, A. (2021). A task-based language needs analysis of Syrian refugee parents in Turkey. In M. J. Ahmadian & M. H. Long (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van Avermaet, P., & Gysen, S. (2006). From needs to tasks: Language learning needs in a task-based approach. In K. Van de Branden (Ed.), Task-based language education (pp. 143–170). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Youn, S. J. (2018). Task-based needs analysis of L2 pragmatics in an EAP context. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 361, 86–98. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue