A NEEDS ANALYSIS IN LEARNING ENGLISH

FOR AIRLINE STAFF PROGRAM

By
Rahmat Hidayat1

Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh

ABSTRACT

Needs analysis is necessary for the institutions to design or develop the

English curriculum to find out a set of competencies needed by the
students. Needs analysis to find specific needs for the students in the
institution may direct the institution to an English program called English
for Specific Purposes (ESP). This study was aimed (1) to find out the
students of Airline Staff Program need in learning English at
International Tourism College and (2) to investigate in what extent the
existing English syllabus appropriate to the students’ needs. A purposive
sampling technique was used to choose the sample. The subjects were
71 students of Airline Staff Program, the lecturer and the manager of
International Tourism College. The instruments were close ended-
questionnaire, documentation, and interview guide. The collected data
were analyzed and interpreted through qualitative and quantitative
procedures, by using data reduction, presentation, verification and
conclusion drawing. The first finding showed that students need to learn
English because English is an international language that is used at
airline industry. The students need to learn four skills; speaking,
listening, reading and writing. However, communication and speaking
skill are the main priorities skill for them. The second was from
documentation. It is found that the syllabus is appropriate with the
students’ need related to duration of the course, material, and context.
The study also showed some aspects of teaching material should be
upgraded in developing a communicative syllabus. Finally, by analyzing
students’ need helped teachers and institution in designing an appropriate
syllabus.

Keywords: students’ needs, appropriateness, and syllabus design.

1
Corresponding author: rahmat3280@gmail.com

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INTRODUCTION

Needs analysis emerged in the 1960s through the ESP movement

and increasingly began to be employed in the language teaching by
applied linguists since its emergence. Needs analysis was also known as
a necessary phase in planning educational programs as the demand for
specialized language programs grew from that time, such as English for
science, business, and medicine (Richards, 2001, p. 51). In Indonesia,
the English subject in some non-English departments of higher education
has shifted from General English Course to English for Specific Purposes
Course such as English for Law, English for Chemistry, English for
Technical, English for Business, English for Tourism, English for
Islamic Studies, and other ESP topics (Kusni, 2007, p. 64). Thus, by
having information of what learners’ need, the language they learn will
be appropriate to learners.
Regarding to the issues above, the writer had done the preliminary
study at International Tourism College (ITC), Banda Aceh, it has noticed
that students in the academic year 2014-2015 were less proficient in
English and they did not used English effectively at their work place.
The view was based on preliminary discussions with manager of the
institution, 2 English teachers and 2 students of airline staff and 2 alumni
of airline staff study program, who graduated from the ITC and have
been working in the aviation field. They thought that the students
completed their study without gaining any enough benefit from the
English subjects they took in the institution.
Having said that, it is necessary to realize the perceptions of the
students and teacher in order to find out what they really need in learning
English subjects that can support their job in airline.
In line with the issues above, the studies on needs analysis for ESP
course were varied in the context of business, science and technology,
health, and arts (Rodis et al., 2011). In Indonesia, there were also some
research studies of needs analysis and ESP in the context of business,
science and technology (Hardiningsih et al., 2012) and in the context of
Islamic studies conducted by Zuniati (2010) in terms of course book
development, Sucipto (2010) in terms of syllabus development, Meisuri
(2009) in terms of the relevance of English materials to the students’
needs, and Kurniadin (2008) in terms of the use of specific English
textbook to Islamic Studies students.
Considering the discussions above, the researcher believes that need
analysis can assist students in learning English based on their needs. For

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this reason, the researcher is interested in finding out the students of

Airline Staff Program need in learning English at International Tourism
College and investigating in what extent the existing English syllabus
appropriate to the students’ needs for Airline Staff Program.

LITERATURE REVIEW

History and development of English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

English for Specific Purposes or ESP has ascended as a single field
in the 1960's. The advancement of ESP has come to fruition in light of
various occasions like the second world war in 1945, the quick expansion
in consistent, the improvement of science and development, the extended
usage of English as the worldwide tongue of science, advancement and
business, the extended money related impact of certain oil-rich countries
and extended amounts of overall understudies considering in UK, USA,
and Australia. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) state that in ESP context,
the results of the verifiable events came about because of various
individuals over the globe who needed to learn English language because
of the key language for the fields of science, technology and commerce.
The development of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) training
improvement came to fruition on account of the English language needs
of the students for specific purposes according to their reasons for living
or set of working duties. Since the new years in the 1960s, ESP has
transformed into a fundamental and imaginative activity inside the
Teaching of English as a Foreign or Second Language improvement
(TEFL/TESL) as depicted by Howatt (1984).
The definition that Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) offer is
unmistakably impacted by that of Strevens (1980) and they have
included more factor qualities. Their division of ESP into total and
variable qualities, specifically, is exceptionally useful in settling
contentions about what is and isn't ESP.

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General
English

Engish for English for

Academic Spesific
Purposes Purposes

English for English for English for English for

English for English For
(Academic) (Academic) (Academic) Management
Professional Vocational
Science and Medical Legal Finance and
Purposes Purposes
Technology Purposes Purposes Economic

English for English for

PreVocational Vocational
Medical Bussinesw
English English
Purposes Purposes

Figure 1. ESP Classification by Professional Area (Dudley-Evans &

St John, 1998, p. 6)

By understanding the figure, English Specific Purpose for Airline

Staff is a part of English for Professional Purposes. Students of Airline
Staff Program learn the English subject is to support their work at airline
after finishing their study at International Tourism College.

Similarities and differences between English Specific Purpose (ESP)

and General English (GE)
ESP can be viewed as a special and specific edition of EGP that
incorporates practical linguistic skills to enable students for the
successful performance of professional tasks (Potocar, 2002). However,
EGP provides basic knowledge and skills of English language at a school
level where the occupational/professional and higher educational
orientations of the students are not defined properly. The main goal of
introducing ESP in various non-native /international settings is to equip
learners with necessary English language skills to face their practical
situation communication challenges in their future careers. As Holme
(1996 cited in Potocar, 2002) suggests that ESP should help students to
acquire necessary language skills to utilize their knowledge by
combining work-related skills with personality development and
sociocultural knowledge.
The specificity of ESP courses demands a teacher to adopt a
different role and teaching strategy to transfer knowledge to his students.
First of all, he/she has to identify learners’ needs that will, in fact,

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A Needs Analysis in Learning English for Airline Staff Program (R. Hidayat)

determine the method, material and the level of language teaching

(Robinson, 1991). ‘What distinguishes ESP from General English is an
awareness of the need’ (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p. 53). So, it can
be inferred that an ESP practitioner is almost a teacher of General
English unless he understands and focuses upon the special needs of
his/her students (Robinson, 1991).However, it is likely that specific
linguistic knowledge and skills may be relevant and useful to more than
one subject or profession (Holme, 1996). For example, skills required for
communicative competence for different occupations may be similar
(Potocar, 2002).

English Specific Purpose for Airline Staff

English for Airline Staff can be considered as a specific sub-branch
of ESP. What distinguishes English for Airline Staff for other ESP sub-
branches is that English for Airline Staff has its own set of airline staff
discourse. Based on the figure 1; ESP Classification by Professional
Area (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998, p. 6), English for Airline Staff is
a part of English for Professional Purposes.
English for Airline Staff refers to some words and phrases which
have been developed to describe the procedures at work, the
communication, and passengers’ services. It focuses on building sector
specific vocabulary, aviation industry based on English skills, such as
reading, writing, speaking and listening and cross-cultural awareness
related to the airline staff sector and its practices. For example, handling
complaint of passenger, giving information, navigation, time duration
and schedules, cargo, materials and fire, cabin crew, landings,
meteorology, aerodromes, and security.

Needs Analysis (NA)

An effort to know needs of a group of learners to learn English is
called a needs analysis or needs assessment (Morales, et al., 2010, p. 47;
Ellis, 1994, in Hossain, 2013, p. 18). Needs analysis (NA) is an
information gathering process. Its rise in language planning can be
followed back to the 1970s and its boundless expansion in the area is
owing to its adaption by The Council of Europe's modern language
project (Nunan, 1988). Tudor, (1996) opines that the advancement of an
impression of need in communicative language teaching (CLT) in the
1970s had an across the board impact on needs analysis work.
NA is considered as a fundamental central of ESP (Robinson, 1991)
and the vast majority of the data on NA at first originated from ESP

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(West, 1994). This is because of the way that a NA approach is more

valuable when students' needs are connected to a 'discrete arrangement
of informative circumstances' (Tudor, 1996). Truth be told, in General
English instructing, each language skills; listening, reading, speaking,
and writing, are focused on similarly. However, in ESP it is a
requirements investigation that figures out which language skills are
most required by the students, and the syllabus is planned appropriately.

Need Analysis Today

A needs analysis shows up in English language learning and
educating to address particular issues of English picking up
concentrating on certain particular needs by and large known as English
for specific purposes (ESP) and professional programs (Richards, 2001,
p. 51). Richards (2001, pp. 51-53) discusses a needs analysis in ESP and
professional projects, as well as in more extensive feeling of English
language getting the hang of, incorporating learning in EFL setting
which is general English. Directing a need analysis for particular
purposes as indicated by Brown (1995, p. 35) isn't generally new,
however it has been casually led for quite a long time by educators who
needed to evaluate what dialect indicates their understudies require learn.
As of late, the pattern to direct a need analysis for particular purposes
keeping in mind the end goal to determine the learning content that
address the issues of the students is expanding (see Tarone & Yule, 1989;
in Tzotzou, 2014). The patterns got from a move of English learning and
teaching (ELT) from teacher-centered into learner-centered approach
(Hossain, 2013). In learner-centered approach, needs analysis is the
initial step to do by an educator before directing a guidance (Richards,
1984).

The Role of Syllabus

Some experts say that a syllabus is an instrument which can help the
learners to arrive at the objective effectively. A syllabus also becomes a
clear guideline for a teacher to make a lesson. It describes the progress
of teaching and learning activity. In addition, Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) say that a syllabus does not only show the teachers and students
their learning destination but also how they can reach their goal. Having
a syllabus in fact, is something unavoidable for teachers.
The communicative syllabus gives more deliberate consideration
regarding the communication needs of the students (Munby, 1978). This
sort of syllabus is typically centered on communication in confined

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setting, for example, English for Specific Purposes. Furthermore, a great

syllabus should give prudent viewpoints in time and cash. This implies
the setting of guidance must be arranged and the substances of the
syllabus are produced in light of the commonsense imperative of some
random circumstance. The students will take in more proficiently if the
learning track is in a decent structure and in the event that it isn't, the
students won't have the capacity to achieve their objective in the planned
time.
The syllabus being developed is an ESP syllabus which can be
used for Airline Staff students. This syllabus should cover the students’
need. With a specific end goal to deliver such syllabus, a few hypotheses
of syllabus by Richard and Alexander (1996) will be utilized as the
premise of the substance of the syllabus. In the interim, Yalden's
thoughts (1987) will be utilized as the premise of syllabus advancement.
Richard and Alexander (1996) propose various syllabus choices that give
accentuation on speaking expertise. They are:
1. Situational means that the syllabus will be sorted out around various
circumstances and the oral aptitudes required in the oral working
circumstance.
2. Topical means that the syllabus will be produced in light of various
subjects and talk in various circumstances.
3. Functional means that the syllabus will be produced in view of the
language function normally utilized in the genuine working
circumstance.
4. Task-based means that the syllabus will be sorted out in light of
various task and exercises that the students will perform in English.

The Communicative Syllabus

Yalden (1987) proposes an elective method for taking a gander at an
communicative syllabus, and indicates ten fundamental parts:
1. A consideration is about the function for which the learners suppose
to obtain the objective language.
2. An idea of setting in which they want to use the target language.
3. The role of the learners in using the target language as well as the
roles in social interaction.
4. The communicative events in which the learners participate.
5. The language functions involved in these events, or what the learners
need to be able to with or through the language.
6. The notions involved or what the learners need to be able to talk
about.

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7. The skills involved.

8. The variety or varieties of the target language that will be needed,
and in the level in the spoken and written language which the learners
will need to reach.
9. The grammatical content that will be needed.
10. The lexical content that will be needed.
Yalden has made an amazing commitment, which licenses one to
join every one of the ten segments in a syllabus that is more
communicative than one which can't consolidate these segments. The
cases Yalden (1987) makes is that the ten segments mull over everything
which is required to ensure real communication.

Need Analysis and Syllabus Design

It has been shown that learners have their own, internal needs in
addition to the external demands imposed by the teaching institutions,
which complicate the issue of interrelated needs, wants and lacks.
Teachers are not authorized to prolong or shorten the scheduled courses,
but they can foster their students' language skills by employing more
effective techniques and encouraging learners to plan their learning by
setting realistic aims.
For successful ESP taking in, the consolidation of learners‟ future
needs – what is known as „real world‟ needs – and the advancement of
student capacity to exchange language information to novel
circumstances, together with the use of obtained skill, all things
considered, communication are thought to be essential parts of ESP
syllabus. This is the reason needs analysis has centered throughout the
previous thirty years on learners‟ informative needs. It has by and large
been acknowledged that an underlying pre-course needs analysis can go
for setting up the structure and substance of a language course.
Taking everything into account, need analysis is the critical part in
outlining syllabus. The syllabus originators must think about the
students' need as their objective of educating. On the off chance that the
syllabus doesn't meet the understudy needs, it must be renovated.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research was a case study at LKP International Tourism

College, Banda Aceh. The case is based on the general assumption that
English language teaching at the academy or university level is

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considered ESP. The study intends to create a bridge of gap between

what students’ need and what the institution teaches in classroom.
This research method used in this study was mixed method which is
combined quantitative and qualitative method. Furthermore, the type of
mixed method design used in this study was sequential explanatory
design in which quantitative data will be collected first, and depending
on its results, qualitative data are gathered to elucidate, elaborate on, or
explain the quantitative findings (McMilan & Schumaher, 2010). The
model of sequential explanatory model can be visually seen as follows:

Figure 2. Research Process in Sequential Explanatory Design

(McMilan & Schumaher, 2010)

In this study, the quantitative data was first gathered and analyzed
to find out the students of Ailine Staff Proram need in learning English
at International Tourism College. Futhermore, the researcher continued
to collect and analyze the qualitative data to investigate in what extent
the existing English syllabus appropriate to the students’ needs for
Airline Staff Program.

Data Collection
There were three kinds of instrument that used in this study. They
were questionnaire, document and interview guide. The data from
questionnaire, document and interview were collected by following
some techniques.
The questionnaire was adopted and modified from Albassri (2016)
and distributed to 71 students of Airline Staff Program of International
Tourism College. Before distributing the questionnaires, permission was
obtained from the coordinator of study program of English Education of
teacher training and education faculty. After obtaining the approval
letter, the researcher submitted the letter to International Tourism
College. After getting permission from the manager of International
Tourism College, the researcher made an appointment with 15 students
who lives in Banda Aceh for conducting the questionnaire. The rest
number of students, they could participated by answering the
questionnaire on a link for Google form which was shared by admin of

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International Tourism College in What’s Up Group, Facebook Group,

and other social networks. However, the researcher also contacted them
who did not get information of this study. Thus, the researcher could
distribute to all participants of this study.
A selected authentic document from institution was collected in
order to be analyzed for the purpose of finding out the conformity with
students’ needs. The main documentation was an existing syllabus.
Beside the syllabus, some other documents were also obtained from the
academic management. In qualitative research, personal or official
documents can be used as data because the can provide access to
understanding the subject matter being studied (Bogdan & Biklen, 1997).
The researcher got the syllabus from the academic of International
Tourism College. Before obtaining the syllabus, the researcher informed
to the manager that he needed the syllabus as a data collection in this
study. The syllabus would help the researcher to find out the second
objective of this study.
The last instrument was interview. The interview is a technique that
was used for obtaining additional information. Two interviews were
conducted in this study: one was with the English teacher who teaches
English for Airline Staff and the other was with the manager of
International Tourism College.

Data Analysis
The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed by using
simple descriptive statistics. The questionnaires were distributed for the
purpose of finding out the students’ needs towards English learning in
the academy. The percentage system was formed as mentioned in
Sudjana (1998, p. 67), and the formula is:

𝐹
P= 𝑥 100%
𝑛

Explanation:
P = Percentage
F = Frequency of responders
n = Number of sample
100 = Constant value

The data obtained from document was analyzed to obtain all the
components of the exciting syllabus. Next, the researcher compared the

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syllabus to the students’ need from the result of the questionnaire. By

comparing the teacher’s syllabus and students’ need, the researcher could
find out in what extent the existing English syllabus appropriate to the
students’ needs for Airline Staff Program. The detailed description of the
findings is presented in the following chapter.
The data obtained from the interview in this study was to strengthen
the data from questionnaires and documents. The data from interview
was analyzed by using Miles and Huberman (1994) model. There are
three current flows of activity: data reduction, data display and
conclusion drawing/verification. In this research, these three stages were
carried out by the researcher to analyze the data collected from the
interview. They are:
1. Data reduction
In this part, the researcher sorted out the relevant related to the
purpose of this study. In the other words, the unrelated or unnecessary
statement from the students was eliminated by the researcher.
2. Data transcription/display
After data reduction, the researcher then displayed the related data
in the form of narration. Moreover, the researcher selected some relevant
information as a representative by directly quoting the manager and
teacher’s statements.
3. Conclusion drawing/verification data
Conclusion is the final step of the data analysis in this study. At this
step the researcher drew the conclusion based on the data that had been
selected and displayed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The research was held from July 17th to 22nd, 2018. The total
number of participant was 71 participants. There are 15 students and 56
alumni of Airline Staff Program, an English lecturer and a manager of
International Tourism College. After collecting data, the researcher
conducted analysis to find out the research objectives.

The students of Airline Staff Program need in learning English at

International Tourism College
To answer research question 1 regarding the data about the need of
student of Airline Staff Program in learning English, the researcher
distributed a questionnaire to students and alumni by sending them a link
to access online platform questionnaire using google form.

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The questionnaire consisted of 5 categories; (a) Learner’s attitudes

towards English language learning, (b) Self Analysis, (c) Language Skill;
Reading/ Speaking/ Writing/ Listening, (d) Duration of the course, (e)
Aspect of English Language Need. The data of the student need in
learning English can be seen in figure and table below.

45
40
35
30
25
20 Beginer
15 Intermediate
10 Advance
5
0
English English English English
Proficiency Proficiency Proficiency Proficiency
Level Level Level Level
[Speaking] [Listening] [Reading] [Writing]

Figure 3. General information about respondent.

From Figure 3 above, it showed that the majority of students’ ability

at airline staff is intermediate level. Then, the skill that students master
more is reading skill.

Tabel 1. Learner’s attitudes towards English language learning

Scale S1 S2 S3
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 8.45
Neutral 2.82 1.41 32.39
Agree 42.25 25.35 43.66
Strongly Agree 54.93 73.24 15.49

The first category including 3 questions related to the learners’

attitude toward English language learning. From the table above, it can
be seen that there are 52 respondents (73.24%) out of 71 who chose
strongly agree toward S2 (I learn English for Airline Staff because it is

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an international language that is used at Airline Industry), 18 respondents

(25.35%) responded agree, and only 1 respondent (1.41) who chose
“neutral”.
Furthermore, pertaining to the statement “Taking English subject
that focuses on “Airline Staff” is interesting”, 39 respondents (54.93%)
chose “strongly agree”, 30 respondents (42.25%) responded “agree”, 2
respondents (2.82%) expressed “neutral”.
However, fewer students revealed “learning English for Airline
Staff is more important than English for General Purposes (EGP)”. 11
respondents (15.49%) responded “strongly agree”, 31 respondents
(43.66%) chose “agree”, 23 respondents (32.39%) chose “neutral”, and
6 respondents (8. 45%) responded “disagree”.

Language Skill: Reading/Speaking/Writing/Listening

The second category of the questionnaire aimed at the investigating
the importance of specific area language skills; reading, speaking,
writing and listening. The intent purpose of these questions was to know
which areas of language skills that most student need in learning English
for Airline staff. For further explanation can be seen below for each
language skills.

Table 2. The areas of reading that I need in learning English for

Airline Staff

Scale R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6
Strongly
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 1.41 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Neutral 9.86 21.13 22.54 18.31 0.00 0.00
Agree 25.35 45.07 47.89 45.07 4.23 5.63
Strongly
Agree 63.38 33.80 29.58 36.62 95.77 94.37

Table 2 showed that reading passengers’ travel documents and

Reading Passenger Handling Manuals (PHM) and Ground Operation
Manuals (GOM) are the main priorities for the students of airline at
95.77% and 94.37%. Reading text was priorities for only 45 students
(63.38%) out of 71 students. Reading article and reading newspaper were
more important than reading magazine. About 36.62% and 33.80%
chose “strongly agree” toward reading article and reading newspaper.

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Meanwhile, there were only 21 students (29.48%) who considered

reading magazine as their main areas of reading skill.

Table 3. The areas of speaking that I need in learning English for

Airline Staff

Scale S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
Strongly
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.41 0.00 0.00
Neutral 4.23 0.00 2.82 2.82 1.41 0.00
Agree 4.23 1.41 11.27 7.04 7.04 7.04
Strongly
Agree 91.55 98.59 85.92 88.73 91.55 92.96

The intent of this question was to investigate the importance of

various areas of speaking to the students. The percentage of students who
selected “strongly agree” was as following: speaking to passengers,
98.59%; giving suggestion about tourist information, 92.96%; speaking
to Air Traffic Control and Giving Direction to airport facilities and
service, 91.55%; taking part in meetings, 88.73%; and speaking on the
phone, 85.92%. Thus, from those results, it can be concluded that
speaking to passengers is the most area mainly required by the students.

Table 4. The areas of writing that I need in learning English for

Airline Staff

Scale W1 W2 W3 W4
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Neutral 9.86 4.23 1.41 1.41
Agree 18.31 22.54 12.68 5.63
Strongly Agree 71.83 73.24 85.92 92.96

Moreover, this question was to determine the comparative

importance of areas of writing to students. The majority of students
responded that “issuing airline documents” become the majority of their
need in learning writing skill which is 66 respondents (92.96) out of 71
respondents selected “strongly agree”, Furthermore, followed by

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“writing message for passengers” which is chosen by 61 respondents

(85.92%).

Table 5. The areas of listening that I need in learning English for

Airline Staff

Scale L1 L2 L3 L4 L5
Strongly
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 1.41 0.00 0.00
Neutral 18.31 2.82 18.31 1.41 1.41
Agree 39.44 25.35 45.07 4.23 1.41
Strongly Agree 42.25 71.83 35.21 94.37 97.18

This question examined the comparative importance for areas of

listening skill. From the table, it showed that there are 69 respondents
(97.18%) chose “strongly agree” toward listening to personal detailed
and information of passengers. Furthermore, closely followed by
“listening to announcement” 94.37%. Then, “listening to presentation in
meeting” becomes the third position as their priority area of learning
listening at 71.83%. However, fewer students responded “strongly
agree” toward “listening to peer and “listening to lecturer” at 35.21% and
42.25% respectively.

Table 6. Duration of the course

Scale S1 S2
Strongly Disagree 0.00 0.00
Disagree 2.82 2.82
Neutral 5.63 19.72
Agree 39.44 50.70
Strongly Agree 52.11 26.76

This question aimed at finding out about the duration time that the
students in learning English at Airline staff program. From the table
above showed most students considered “90 minutes of the time
allocated to the course of English for Airline Staff is enough to me to use
the language effectively”. There are 37 respondents (52.11%) out of 71
respondents selected “strongly agree”.

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Table 7. The aspects of English language that I need to focus on in

the course
Scale S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8
Strongly
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 7.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Neutral 43.66 1.41 0.00 1.41 1.41 1.41 15.49 1.41
Agree 36.62 8.45 11.27 9.86 7.04 4.23 18.31 4.23
Strongly
Agree 12.68 90.14 88.73 88.73 91.55 94.37 64.79 94.37

Concerning to the aspects of English language that the students need

to focus on the course, most of students consider speaking skill and
communicative skill as prominent aspect of the course that required by
the learners. Table 5.1 highlighted 67 respondents (94.37) out of 71
respondents chose “strongly agree”. Then, closely followed by “listening
comprehension” and “technical vocabulary” at 91.55% and 90.14%
respectively.

Table 8. The contexts of English that I need to learn in the subject

of English for Airline Staff

Scale S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
Strongly
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Disagree 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Neutral 2.82 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Agree 5.63 1.41 2.82 5.63 2.82 4.23
Strongly Agree 91.55 98.59 97.18 94.37 97.18 95.77

The aim of this question is to know the context of English that

students’ need to learn in the subject of English for Airline staff. From
the table above showed that the majority of students chose “strongly
agree” toward all topics. It means that students need to learn all topics
asked in the questionnaire because the differences of the scores given by
the students to all questions are almost equal. However, the topic they
need more is about announcement (98.59%), then followed by flight
information and check-in-service (97.18%). The third topic they need
more is emergency/disaster (95.77%) and passengers’ complaint

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(49.37%). In addition, 91.55% students respond “strongly agree” to the

topic about weather.

The existing English syllabus appropriate to the students’ needs for

Airline Staff Program
After analyzing the data from questionnaire, the researcher analyzed
the data from documentation by means of syllabus to obtain the data
regarding to the investigation in what extent the existing English syllabus
appropriate to the students’ needs for Airline Staff Program. The syllabus
was design for student majoring at Airline Staff of International Tourism
College as the guidance for the teaching and learning process. It contains
learning target, goal of learning, teaching methodology, learning
activities, assessment, attendance, references, course schedule, and
teaching unit.
The first component in the syllabus is learning target. The syllabus
is specially designed for the students of airline staff at ITC in order to
help students to be able in learning English especially English for
Airline.
The second component is goal of learning. The purpose of learning
English for airline is giving a basic skill for professional candidate in
order to able to communicate in English especially speaking in the
context of flight industry. The learners will be taught how to
communicate with passengers. At the end of the learning, the learners
are expected to be able to master all situations related to the customer,
understanding conversation between passengers and ground staff, and
being able to implement the vocabularies and phrases in communication
effectively. The goal of learning in the syllabus is the same as with the
result of questionnaire related to the aspects of English language need by
the students. The majority of students regarded communicative and
speaking skill is the main aspect of their need in learning English of
airline.
The third component is teaching methodology. The teaching
methodology used by the teacher is the student-centered approach. The
reason of using this method is to make students more active than
teachers. Through this method, teacher can give students an opportunity
to practice English language in the context of airline.
Furthermore, the fourth component is learning activities. There are
some learning activities mentioned in the syllabus, are; asking students
and instructors questions, class discussions, group discussions, pair

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discussions, and listening to native speakers through CD’s audio and

video.
Moreover, the fifth component is assessment. The aim of giving
assessment is to assess the ability of the students in understanding the
task of flight attendants in the context of communication, understanding
ground staff task in the context of communication, and being able to do
the tasks given by the teachers correctly and perfect.
The sixth component mentions in the syllabus is attendance.
According to the syllabus, professional candidate must come to the
language class minimal 80%.
Then, seventh component is reference. The subject content in
syllabus was adopted based on some references found in some websites;
these include links https://www.englishclub.com/english-for-
work/airline-announcement.htm,
http:www.speakenglish.co.uk/phrases/making_a_reservation, and
http://twominenglish.com/video/374At_the_Airport_English_Vocabuar
y_Learn_English_for_Traveling.html.
In addition, the last component is course schedule. In this
component, teachers explain about the contents or material that students
learn in the class and also some appropriate activities used in the class.
Having analyzed the data from documentation, the researcher
proceeded to interviewing manager and teacher of English. As the aim
of this interview is to support the data from documentation, the
researcher only displayed some important question and answer from the
interview that related to data from documentation. The data was shown
below by first including the questions asked in the interview, followed
by the researcher’s interpretation and direct quotation from the
participant to support the researcher’s interpretation.

Q1. Would you like to tell me how does this institution get
curriculum?
Curriculum is very essential in teaching because it functions as
guidance for the teachers in teaching in order to be appropriate with their
targets. Concerning to this question, T revealed that:
“We got curriculum based on the, before we create the curriculum, we
have, we get the curriculum based on IATA rules (International Air
Transportation Association). IATA one of the organization, world
organization, for airlines. They have so many training over there. And
then, we can adopt the curriculum from them and to apply for our
institution. Also, we can, we adopt from ministry of air-transportation of

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A Needs Analysis in Learning English for Airline Staff Program (R. Hidayat)

Indonesia, because nowadays education ministry of Indonesia, they

don’t have curriculum for airlines institution”.
From the statement above, it can be concluded that, T adopted
curriculum for teaching English at Airline staff from some resources
such as curriculum based on IATA rules and from ministry of air-
transportation of Indonesia.

Q2: Does the syllabus appropriate for students to support their

English need on their work?
When creating the syllabus, a teacher should know what the purpose
of her/his teaching and they also should know what their students’ need.
Thus, conduction informal interview with some students is essential to
get the information about students’ purpose and need in learning English.
In line with this, R mentioned that:
“Of course, because when I create this English for airlines staff
syllabus, I did some research, like I did some reading and then I search
some movie, I search some videos, like, a lot of the reference I use to
make this kind of syllabus. And at the same time, umm. So, I am confident
to say that my syllabus will support my students in the future. And also
because when I create this syllabus, I usually look at it as a big picture.
So, it’s usually for the first meeting, I will ask about, I will teach the
general, like, duties in the airport. And then, I start from, like, I make it
like a circle what they will need to do when they first like in arrival
terminal: what will they meet, what kind of conversation will they have,
or perhaps the conversation with the airline, how to say it?, with the
ticketing .... .....So, I will teach them that. At the end of the class, we will
learn about the conversation. We will have at departure gate. So,
perhaps, the conversation at checking baggage, this kind of
conversation, or at the custom. So, I will see my syllabus as one, like one
of circle at the airport. So, we will start from arrival terminal, and then
we will finish until the departure terminal”.

Q3: What are students of airlines staff program need in learning

English?
From the result of the interview, it found that speaking skill is the
main skill that they want to be focused; this is because they will use it in
their work. T revealed that:
“Especially for conversation and speaking .... because if they can speak
English well, they can communicate with the passenger. If they working

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in tourism place, for example in Bali, so foreigner is most common in the

airport. So, they need to help the passenger”.
Similarly, R said that:
“I think, honestly speaking, I will say speaking skill is the most important
one they have to has, because especially when they work at the airport,
they will meet different people. So they will use this. But, again, I will tell
my student to support your speaking, at the same time you have to read
a lot. So, you need the reading thing. At the same time, you have to
practice. At the same time, you have to listen a lot. So, you, is going to
improve your speaking, especially when you listen to the music, to the
movie, where you can learn about the pronunciation. So, even though I
say I will say that speaking is the most important thing that they will need
in their workplace, but other skills are the support that they have to have
to, you know, to improve their speaking performance.

Q4: Which aspects of English language do you focused on in the

course?
There are some aspects of language that students need to focus, such
as speaking, reading, writing and listening. However, as we are in this
era globalization, many people learn English jut for being able to do
conversation. The researcher’s perception is supported by “R”. He
pointed out that:
“I think I combine all of them because I think, even though, like, for
example, I focused on the speaking, but then, I will teach them about the
vocabulary, and also the reading comprehension. So, especially for
reading, they will learn a new language, but then still the context at the
airlines staff. And, I think it’s really good to help the pronunciation. And,
sometime, we do the speed reading, where I count the time”.

Q5: What are teaching methods do you use?

Implementing appropriate teaching methodology is very important
in teaching learning language. Teachers should possess some
methodologies especially when teaching ESP such communicative
language teaching. This statement can be seen in the following interview
excerpt.
“R” “I usually use the combination of communication. Ahh, I usually use
the communicative language teaching where I want the students to
become more active than me and also like. Yeah. I think that’s I can say
the teaching method I use”.

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Discussion
This study was intended to find out the students of Airline Staff
Program need in learning English at International Tourism College and
to investigate in what extent the existing English syllabus appropriate to
the students’ needs for Airline Staff Program. From the findings of this
study, it indicates that students of Airline Staff Program at International
Tourism College need to learn English because English is an
international language that is used at Airline Industry. The students need
to learn all the four skills; speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Regarding to the duration of the time, 90 minutes of the time
allocated to the course of English for Airline Staff is enough to use the
language effectively. In line this, duration of the course for each meeting
that exist is meet to students need.
Concerning to the aspect of language mainly required by the
students are communicative skill and speaking skill. As has been
mentioned above, speaking is the main required aspects to be focused by
the students comparing to other skill since they will work in the field of
airline in many places.
In addition, in relation to the context students need in learning
English at Airline staff program, the entire contexts included in the
questionnaire become the important context to be learned by students.
Those contexts are included in the course schedule of syllabus except the
context about weather. Whereas, there are many students selected
strongly agree toward the topic about weather. Thus, the teacher should
include the topic about weather in the syllabus.
Therefore, the existing syllabus is appropriate to students’ need in
overall extent. Yet, the study also showed some aspects of teaching
material should be upgraded in developing a communicative syllabus. In
line with this, the communicative syllabus gives more systematic
attention to the communication needs of the learners (Richard and
Alexander, 1996; Munby, 1978).

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION

Conclusion
From the result of questionnaire, the researcher found that students
at airline staff of International Tourism College need to learn English in
term of English for airline staff. They learn English because it is an
international language that is used at Airline Industry. Moreover, there
are some areas of language skills that most students need in learning

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English for Airline staff. In reading, reading passengers’ travel

documents and Reading Passenger Handling Manuals (PHM) and
Ground Operation Manuals (GOM) are the main priorities for the
students of airline. In speaking, speaking to passengers had the highest
mean score comparing to other areas. For writing skill, the majority of
students responded that issuing airline documents become the majority
of their need in learning writing skill. In addition, in listening skill,
listening to personal detailed and information of passengers are the most
important aspects required mostly by students. Furthermore, about the
duration time that the students in learning English at Airline staff
program, 90 minutes of the time allocated to the course of English for
Airline Staff is enough to them to use the language effectively.
Moreover, Concerning to the aspects of English language that the
students need to focus on the course, most of students consider speaking
skill and communicative skill as prominent aspect of the course that
required by the learners. Finally, the context of English that students’
need to learn in the subject of English for Airline staff are all subjects
containing in the syllabus except the topic about weather.
In regard to the documentation, the researcher found that some
material and activities included in syllabus are appropriate with the
students’ need such as there are a lot of activities to students to practice
all skills especially speaking skill. In the syllabus contains learning
target, goal of learning, teaching methodology, learning activities,
assessment, attendance, references, course schedule, and teaching unit.
In addition, in regard to interview, the researcher found that the most
skill needed by students at airline staff program is speaking skill since
after graduated from the institution, they will work in many tourism place
that demand them to be able in speaking English fluently,. However,
other skills like reading, listening, and writing are also importance to be
taught for students.

Suggestion
In teaching and learning language, knowing students’ need is quite
essential, so that they can devise the teaching materials appropriately. In
term of this, teachers at Airline staff program, ITC should know what
students need in learning English at this institution such as conducting
informal interview or distributing the questionnaire regarding to the
students’ need at the first meeting. Furthermore, writing skill is also
important skill that students should also mater, thus, teacher should also
focus in teaching writing skill and put it as a priority in the syllabus.

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