The need for a needs analysis at UEM: Aspects of and attitudes towards change

This study concentrates on a needs analysis to gain insights into the current status of the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (including English for specific and academic purposes - namely EFL, ESP and EAP) at Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo. The study will attempt an identification and classification of the skills and strategies students are taught through their textbooks and how these help them construe meaning. Needs analysis, questionnaires and different reading taxonomies are used to identify and classify reading skills and strategies, as well as gauge the perceptions of practitioners at UEM. Learners' reading level is tested through a reading test using the relevant IELTS module. Findings show that a number of cognitive and metacognitive reading skills and strategies are taught, but with the use of very old and rather inadequate textbooks; these do not meet the expected goals of teaching English for Specific or Academic Purposes. Further, it is evident from the findings that the degree of text comprehension is below average and practitioners' attitudes towards needs analysis and curricula development require attention in their own right.