STUDENT NEEDS ANALYSIS ON LISTENING ACTIVITIES TO STIMULATE HOTS IN ESP CLASSROOM
Abstract
This study investigated vocational students' listening needs, difficulties, and learning preferences for developing higher-order thinking skills in an English for Food and Beverage course. A mixed-methods needs analysis was conducted using a questionnaire administered to 187 vocational hospitality students, semi-structured interviews with lecturers and alumni, and analysis of the curriculum and Semester Learning Plan. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, while qualitative data were examined through an interactive analysis model. The findings showed very high communicative and cognitive listening needs (grand M = 4.56), with the highest priorities involving understanding customer complaints, resolving miscommunication, and engaging in listening activities that stimulate critical thinking. Students also reported high listening difficulties (grand M = 3.48), particularly when processing rapid speech, different English accents, and appropriate responses in service situations. Learning preferences were very high overall (grand M = 4.29), with strong preferences for authentic workplace interactions, contextually relevant materials, adaptive technology-assisted activities, and analytical listening tasks. Complaint handling was the most frequently requested workplace scenario, reported by 53.5% of respondents. Curriculum and Semester Learning Plan analysis further showed that although the course includes occupationally relevant Food and Beverage topics and generic critical-thinking outcomes, listening instruction remains predominantly procedural and has not yet been fully contextualized to require systematic analysis, evaluation, and solution generation. These findings indicate the need for authentic, progressively scaffolded, technology-assisted listening materials that integrate workplace problem-solving, accent and speech-rate variation, interactive feedback, and case-based higher-order thinking assessment.References
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