A study on perceived needs of vocational school students learning English

The aim of this study is to investigate English language needs of students who are studying in vocational schools of health services and learning English as a foreign language. This study is conducted to reveal the perspectives of currently enrolled students, teachers and administrators of the schools in terms of English language education offered in these institutions. The schools that are analyzed in this research are part of Çukurova University, Adana located in the southern part of Turkey. Data are collected via questionnaires and semi structured interviews with the participants. Semi structured interviews are carried out with the teachers and administrators in order to understand their perceptions towards students' language needs. Convenient sampling is used and data are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. In the light of the results, it is found out that English language needs of the students are not met sufficiently and even if the instructors who teach the courses try to address the needs of the learners, the program is not applied by analyzing needs and in terms of English for specific purposes. To conclude, there needs to be a curriculum addressing the learners' needs. Keywords: Needs analysis, English for general purposes (EGP), English for specific purposes (ESP).