English at Work

Sample Needs Assessment Questions

I. For Limited English Proficiency Employees (translated into English)
1. How do you feel about working here?
2. What do you like about working here?
3. What problems do you encounter?
4. How often do you use English?
5. With whom do you use English?
6. Imagine you’ve been taking English class for one year; what does your life look like? In two years? In five?

II. For Managers, Owners, and English-speaking Employees
1. When is it most important that English-speaking and Spanish-speaking employees understand each other?
2. In what situations do you use Spanish to get your point across?
3. What can the English speakers do to help Spanish speakers learn English?
4. What can Spanish speakers do to help English speakers learn Spanish?
5. What resources does the business already have that aid language acqusition?
(i.e. bilingual posters and employees, informal mini-lessons among employees, etc)

III. For Customers (when applicable)
1. What do you see are the language needs of this business?
2. How would this business be different if some or all of those needs were met?