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In:From Task-based Needs Analysis to Task and Syllabus Design: Insights from across educational contexts
Edited by Roger Gilabert and Aleksandra Malicka
[Task-Based Language Teaching 20] 2026
► pp. 171–196

Chapter 7
From critical needs analysis to designing task-based Spanish as a heritage language curricula

 | University of Colorado, Boulder
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This chapter discusses a small-scale, multiphase task-based critical needs analysis (Benesch, 2001; Helmer, 2013) for the design of Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) curriculum at a post-secondary institution in the US Mountain West. In Stage 1, inductive, qualitative procedures (e.g., online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews) from several data sources (students, alumni, faculty, staff) were used to identify fifteen key target tasks and thirteen course topics. In Stage 2, forty-three SHL students rated the importance of each target task and course topic on a 54-item Likert-type questionnaire. The findings were then grouped to create five pedagogic task types. This study offers empirical data alongside practical considerations for how a (critical) needs analysis can inform pedagogical task selection, sequencing, and design for SHL education.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Background
    • Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) in the United States
    • Task-based approach to (critical) needs analysis
  • Methods
    • Context of “Mountain University”
    • Participants and procedures
      • Stage 1
      • Stage 2
  • Findings
    • Stage 1: Qualitative methods
    • Stage 2: Quantitative methods
    • Topics of interest for Spanish courses
  • From critical needs analysis to task-based curriculum design
    • Pedagogic task selection
    • Pedagogic task sequencing
    • Pedagogic task design
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Reflection questions
  • Author queries
  • Note
  • Suggestions for further reading
  • References
References (50)
Suggestions for further reading
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