A needs analysis based study: The professional development needs of EFL instructors at a Technical University

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the Professional Development (PD) needs of EFL instructors at a state university in Turkey using a mixed-method research design. The data for this study were collected through a questionnaire administered to 31 EFL instructors and one-on-one interviews with a sub-sample of participants. The findings highlight the PD needs of EFL instructors, the most salient of which were identified as teaching and assessing writing and speaking skills. In addition to basic teaching and assessing needs, the findings identified other activities that EFL instructors classified as immediate PD needs, such as English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and classroom research. However, although the aforementioned PD needs were identified as the top areas of need according to the questionnaire, items such as effective lesson planning and classroom management were reported to be important in the interviews. The findings offer new insights into EFL instructors' perceptions of their PD needs.