Optimizing Language Instruction at the Tertiary Level: Student Needs Analysis toward Educational Change

The job expectations and requirements of the information age bring with them a need for a change in teaching and studying. A quantitative approach to working with information and a frontal style of teaching, still a wide practice in many institutions, no longer seem to be suitable preparation for current students' needs. One of the areas affected by these changes are the foreign language competences necessary to efficiently deal with study and job related practices and, correspondingly, to succeed in the job market. Along with the change in student needs comes the demand for change in the organization of language classrooms and instruction. Young people, facing a deluge of information and unlimited access to resources, are challenged by the changing needs in processing the material. A qualitative approach to information is required with a growing focus on information processing, analysis, critical evaluation and implementation in practice. Similarly, the need for efficient communication skills such as negotiation, argumentation or presenting seem to be more in demand than grammatical precision or encyclopedic knowledge. From this perspective, language instruction accentuating activities focused on memorizing and drills needs to be restructured so the students can develop targeted key competences for the current times. This paper focuses on the research of student needs and how they are perceived from the perspective of students and their study or internship experience, as well as from the perspective of teacher practitioners. The purpose of the study is to identify the key competences students need to succeed in the job market as a resource for restructuring university language instruction.