Task-based needs analysis for a Medical Spanish course

Abstract

With the popularity of Spanish for Specific Purposes courses growing at U.S. universities, research that can underpin effective teaching practices and material development is greatly needed. This project focuses on task-based language teaching in the context of Medical Spanish courses, drawing from studies carried out for Business Spanish and Spanish for nurses. The objectives were (1) to conduct a needs analysis of Medical Spanish students, and (2) to create a task-based curriculum for a general Medical Spanish course. The data collection included interviews to identify relevant tasks performed in the medical field, followed by an anonymous questionnaire in which participants rated the frequency and importance of the tasks identified in the interviews. The most frequent and important tasks will serve as learning objectives for a Medical Spanish course.