Beyond needs analysis: soft systems methodology for meaningful collaboration in EAP course design

Designing an EAP course requires collaboration among various concerned stakeholders, including students, subject teachers, institutional administrators and EAP teachers themselves. While needs analysis is often considered fundamental to EAP, alternative research methodologies may be required to facilitate meaningful collaboration between these parties. This article argues that soft systems methodology (SSM), a research methodology developed in Management Studies, can serve to meet this requirement. SSM is a learning system by means of which collaborative pathways are developed in a systemic way in order to better understand complex human problem situations. This article begins by discussing some issues in needs analysis, and then proceeds to a description of the nature of SSM. Finally, it describes one way in which SSM was applied to an EAP course design project. In doing so, we hope that the article reveals how SSM can add a new perspective to research methodology in EAP.