Work Shadowing, a Back From the Future Technique?

Bouguesmia, Mohammed Tewfik; Melouk, Mohamed

التعليمية
Volume 13, Numéro 3, Pages 782-800
2023-12-31

Work Shadowing, A Back From The Future Technique?

Authors : Bouguesmia Mohammed Tewfik . Melouk Mohamed .

Abstract

English has long reigned uncontested as a lingua franca. Its utter dominance over sensitive domains like technology, finance, and politics, to name but a few, made it irresistibly appealing in the eyes of many. Algeria, in response to popular demand, and wary of being left out of the equation for success, recently launched an initiative designed to give prominence to the language, grant it its rightful status, and widen its usage. This overdue project, as grand and visionary as it is, implied that much was awaited in terms of needs’ fulfilment from teachers and ESP practitioners. The latter are specifically expected to be in for a challenge in light of their learners’ narrow as well as individualist needs. However, if one were to contemplate the sub-par work conditions under which they operate, one would be wise to worry about their ability to realize the said aspirations. Ergo, this investigation attempted to assess the precision of needs analyses carried out by business teachers in particular. Moreover, it took interest in the impact of using the work shadowing technique would have on the accuracy of those analyses. To accomplish these aims, a jump in time was mimicked by selecting two distinct locations as research contexts, namely, the finance and international commerce department located within the economics faculty at Djillali Liabes university, and ENIE’s solar manufactory. The intent was to examine how language training received in the university would benefit the students once in the target situation. Therefore, the participation of one hundred master students, ten teachers, and former learners currently ENIE’s employees was just as welcomed as it was warranted. Four data collection tools were utilized to see this research through, including two distinct questionnaires, an interview, and the work shadowing technique. The results demonstrate serious flaws in the conducted needs analyses, more precisely a disregard towards the Target Situation Analysis along with the necessities. They also confirm the positive effect that the work shadowing can have on the exactitude of needs analyses.