Since starting my career as a teacher in 2005, I’ve been aware of the importance of understanding learners’ goals, preferences, and contexts. However, my understanding of systematic learner needs analysis deepened during my Cambridge Delta Module 3, where I focused on Curriculum Design for English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Drawing on Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) definition of ESP as “an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning,” I explored how learner context, goals, and preferences can be mapped to practical curriculum design.
For the Delta assignment, I conducted a comprehensive needs analysis for a cohort of apprentice Security Guards training in a vocational centre run by Saudi Aramco. Learners came from a range of backgrounds, and the curriculum needed to develop English for use in professional settings such as safety briefings, reporting, and communicating with contractors. I used a range of needs analysis tools - interviews, questionnaires, diagnostic testing, and classroom observation - to build a profile of learner attitudes, lacks, and wants. I also considered their learning situation, including available technology (smartboards), and how this might be used to support instruction and assessment. The outcome was a tailored ESP syllabus rooted in both language proficiency and occupational performance, with scaffolded materials for blended delivery.
As a result of this needs analysis, I was seconded to Saudi Aramco's Training and Development headquarters in Dhahran to support the design and rollout of a new iPad-based English curriculum. I was selected on the basis of my understanding of the learners' needs and treated as a subject matter expert, helping to write and advise on course materials suitable for our trainee cohort. After creating the first two levels of materials, I returned to my vocational training centre in Ras Tanura - Saudi Aramco's largest, with over 800 trainees - to pilot the new curriculum. At the culmination of the pilot, I was selected to deliver a demonstration lesson to the CEO of Saudi Aramco, and subsequently coordinated training for colleagues in how to use the iPads and the new materials. Many of our instructors had limited experience with digital tools, and the shift to iPad-based delivery represented a significant change for them. I applied the same needs-led approach to their training as I had to the curriculum itself, drawing on my understanding of how they preferred to teach and showing practical examples of how to adapt existing lesson materials and activities to iPad-based delivery. This sensitivity to colleagues' needs as learners helped ensure the successful rollout across the centre, and later, to training centres across the country.
Later, as a Curriculum Development Manager, I applied this same learner-centred approach to platform evaluation and selection. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, our organisation launched a new online curriculum for primary-aged learners in China. Our in-house bilingual VLE (based on Drupal) worked well for older students but posed challenges for younger children and their parents. Learners struggled to type Zoom passwords, download content, and stay engaged in Zoom classes that lacked age-appropriate interactive features.
Based on feedback from learners and parents, as well as staff recommendations, I evaluated and advocated for the adoption of ClassIn, a virtual classroom platform widely used in China. From a needs-based perspective, ClassIn provided a more accessible experience, allowing for one-click access to lessons, integrated lesson materials within the onle classroom, and a range of features for young learners, including animated reactions, gamified rewards, and collaborative whiteboards.
Despite the operational costs and added staff workload required to adopt and support a second platform, I recommended switching to ClassIn for our primary-age curriculum. This required the creation of new onboarding materials, orientation processes for families, and teacher training guides, but ultimately aligned our tools with the specific capabilities and expectations of our youngest users.
Through both formal frameworks (ESP needs analysis models) and practical iterative feedback (student feedback, parent surveys), I was able to prioritise learner needs and select appropriate tools and content delivery methods. These experiences have helped me develop a systematic and empathetic approach to understanding diverse learner groups.
The Saudi Aramco experience was formative in shaping my understanding of learners as encompassing not just students but also the staff who need to adopt new technologies. The needs analysis I conducted for the trainees gave me credibility and subject matter expertise, while the subsequent work with instructors - understanding their anxieties, adapting the training to their teaching preferences, and demonstrating practical rather than abstract benefits - helped the rollout succeed at scale. This taught me the importance of understanding target learners as everyone whose practice needs to change in order for a new approach to work. I continue to apply this principle in my current role, whether supporting Teaching Office colleagues with new assessment workflows or coordinating staff training during the Learn Ultra rollout (see Section 1c).
Regarding the ClassIn adoption, the impact of this change was measurable. Enrolments in the primary programme increased, and both student and parent satisfaction improved as learners found the platform easier to access and navigate. Staff also reported benefits, including simpler lesson scheduling and more efficient management of learning materials. While onboarding processes became more complex, requiring differentiated training for staff using one or multiple platforms, I judged this to be an acceptable trade-off given the improvements to the learner experience.
This needs-led approach also influenced wider organisational decisions. It informed how courses were marketed and how our overall curriculum portfolio was structured, positioning ClassIn as an entry platform for younger learners, with a clear progression to our in-house VLE for older, more independent students preparing for university study. In this way, platform selection became part of a coherent learner journey rather than a purely technical choice.
Making this recommendation required balancing pedagogical priorities against cost, scalability, and long-term sustainability. I worked closely with the Director of Operations, who initially favoured maintaining a single in-house platform, and liaised with sales and marketing colleagues to develop a financial case alongside the pedagogical rationale. This process reinforced for me that learning technology selection involves negotiation, risk assessment, and advocacy, particularly when learner needs challenge operational simplicity.
The principles underlying this work continue to inform my practice as a learning technologist. My early training in ESP provided a foundation for full-cycle learner needs analysis, while frameworks such as ADDIE and UDL now shape how I evaluate platforms and advise colleagues in institutional contexts. More recently, I have completed training in User Experience (UX) Design, and coordinated UX research in MHSES and COL as part of the LOUISA project’s User Experience workstream to develop institution-wide assessment workflows that are shaped by user needs. I then arranged to present the findings of this research to our College’s Technology Enhanced Learning Community. While my approach and context has shifted from ESP to ADDIE, UDL, and UX Design, I remain committed to understanding the needs of my specific learners.