NEEDS ANALYSIS OF COMMUNICATION IN ARABIC LANGUAGE FOR LIBRARY STAFF CAREER

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the needs of communication in the Arabic language for the career of library staff at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). This analysis was adapted from the theory of Needs Analysis of Language for Specific Purpose by Hutchinson & Waters (1987), which comprises of three elements: Needs, Lacks and Wants. Based on this theory, a questionnaire is designed into two parts, the first part is related to the respondents’ background and the second part is related to the situations in need of Arabic communication, the lack of Arabic communication in a real situation, and what the respondents want from a course in Arabic communication. The survey respondents (N28) consist of USIM library staffs that are serving at two main counters, the Customer Service counter, and Circulation counter. The findings show that their level of needs in Arabic Communication skills is very high and positive, with four main functions in various situations, i.e. queries, application, explanations, and general conversation. Meanwhile, the lack of Arabic Communication skills is quite significant. This implies that the preparation of an Arab Communication course module will be able to narrow the gap by emphasizing what they have yet to master and need to master for their careers. This is also to fulfill their needs in the aspects of module preparation and their psychology by providing an easy and interesting teaching approach.