Your Needs Analysis

At Cactus Language Training all our courses are tailor-made. The details of your course content are decided upon after we have talked to you about what you need to learn. Needs Analysis is simply a way of gathering the information we need to build your course. You can do this once you’ve booked your course with us or, if you prefer to keep your options open, you can complete the Needs Analysis and we’ll use this to develop a proposal and programme outline for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

:: What is a Needs Analysis compared to a Level Test?
:: What if I don't know what I want?
:: What if I'm at a very low level in the language?
:: How flexible will my programme be?
:: Can I send you some of the things I'm working on?

Needs Analysis Form

:: Corporate Needs
:: Individual Needs Analysis form

What is a Needs Analysis compared to a Level Test?

The Needs Analysis tells us about the skills and subject areas you’d like to cover on your course and your learning approaches. The other document we may use is the Level Test. This can highlight the grammatical and structural areas you may need to work on along with giving an idea of your level (useful if studying with other people). Information regarding your ability in the language will be finetuned when you meet your trainer for the first time.

What if I don’t know what I want?

As a default, our trainers will generally focus on developing your speaking and listening, underpinning this work with vocabulary development and confidence building. Your grammatical accuracy will be improved, but only as a tool to the fundamental skill of effective communication. Learning through listening and speaking is also the most natural and enjoyable way to learn a language. Nevertheless, please complete as much as possible of the form below.

What if I’m at a very low level in the language?

If you are a beginner, or at an elementary level, there will be lots of basics of the language to focus on first. This doesn’t stop us from giving these essential areas of language a theme or ‘flavour’ linked to the subject areas which interest you, so it’s still important to complete this form.

How flexible will my programme be?

The Needs Analysis is used to give your trainer an overview of your needs, and help us to present back to you a sample programme. Once you actually start your training programme, you’ll find that your needs might evolve, or that you spend more or less time on a certain area. Your trainer will work with you to try as much as possible to stick to the programme, so that you attain the objectives you’ve set for yourself, but we will fully respect your request to modify this as your programme progresses.

Can I send you some of the things I’m working on?

Yes, please do. You can send us relevant documents by email, fax or post. Please be sure to write your name and company on any literature, so we can trace it back to you. You can also send samples of relevant emails you want to work on, or simply a link to your website for us to have a look at what you do.

Corporate Needs

It may be easiest to contact us if you are planning training for more than one group. The following form can be completed by each member of a group or by individuals, so we can obtain an overall picture of people's needs.