Investigating the English Language Needs of the Female Students at the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia

In the field of computer science, specific English language skills are needed to facilitate the students’ academic progress. Needs analysis is generally believed to be an important element in ESP/EAP context because it enables the practitioners and curriculum designers determine the learners’ needs in a particular academic context. In this regard, this paper, adopting a quantitative research design, reports on a survey conducted to investigate the English language needs of the female students studying in the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FCIT) at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). The study aims at identifying the students’ perceptions about the importance of the English language skills, the frequency of using those skills, their ability levels in performing such skills, and their preferences regarding the English language course. The participants in this study are 135 female undergraduates who are studying at the third, fourth, and fifth year at the FCIT, during the academic year 2013-2014. The study identifies the students’ English language necessities, lacks, wants, and their perceptions of the current English course. The paper concludes with several pedagogical implications which seek to improve the current course structure and contents so as to cater for the students’ academic English language needs.