A needs analysis of English for Lanna musicians

This study was conducted to investigate the needs of Lanna musicians in terms of English language skills and core content in order to teach non-Thai speakers in Lanna music course. The researcher applied multiple sources of data collection, including interviews and questionnaires. This case study applied a mixed approach to determine the speaking, listening, writing, and reading needs of Lanna musicians in Chiang Mai. The participants of this study were 30 Lanna musicians. According to the finding, the majority of the respondents preferred to develop speaking skill over the other key language skills. Concerning the learning content, naming and describing parts of the Lanna instrument was the most preferred, while the respondents expressed having the lowest proficiency with the same topic. For the speaking skill, explanation of how an instrument is played was the most preferred for the respondents to study, while their proficiency level was the lowest on the same topic. The respondents showed their highest enthusiasm in learning Sa-lor in English. The major content included parts of Lanna instruments, type of Lanna music performance, and the Lanna music combo. Regarding the instructor preference, studying with both a native speaker and a Thai teacher would be the most effective. The respondents also preferred to study a 1-hour class 2 times a week, and the course should run for a period of roughly 30 hours. This research was carried out in an ESP context, which contributes to course design in English language for Lanna musicians who deliver Lanna music lessons to foreign learners. It also proposes a needs analysis framework that could be applicable in other future ESP needs analyses in different contexts.