A NEED ANALYSIS OF ESP FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN ONE OF UNIVERSITIES IN CIAMIS (A CASE STUDY)

Abstract

This research focuses on identifying the English language needs of civil engineering students and aims to identify the needs of civil engineering students and their perceptions of the importance of English language skills for Engineering students. Needs analysis is a way of collecting information related to the beliefs, attitudes and opinions of students or lecturers, and used to reduce the gap between lecturers, students and teaching materials as well as answer students' actual needs and help create change and innovation for course programs. This research was conducted at the Faculty of Engineering, West Java University and used a qualitative case study design. To collect data, researchers combined data from 11 participants, consisting of English lecturers and civil engineering students, and used semi-structured interviews and closed questionnaires. The results of semi-structured interviews and closed questionnaires based on student awareness show that English language learning really needs to be correlated with engineering faculty students because English is very important to support their careers in the future. The research results provide valuable recommendations for teachers and program developers in designing appropriate English language curriculum and learning materials for engineering students. The results indicate that civil engineering students are actively developing their English language skills, particularly for reading academic materials and engaging with international peers. This demonstrates their understanding of English's importance for overcoming cross-cultural communication barriers and achieving academic success. While students are preparing for future careers and education in English, many expressed dissatisfactions with the current curriculum, highlighting the need for ongoing communication and feedback between students and educators. The findings also revealed a strong preference for speaking skills, underscoring the necessity of balancing all language skills for a well- rounded learning experience. Overall, the study reflects diverse preferences among students.