Paper Title
Students’ Perceptions Towards the Improvement of English Skills Through Researching Target Needs Analysis

Abstract
Although Thai students have studied English for a long time, they still have a problem in learning English and improving their English skills. It might due to a lack of opportunities to be exposed to English-speaking contexts. This study, however, argues that another possible reason might due to a lack of direct experiences in how English is necessary in the real working contexts. Therefore, this study aims to examine students’ perceptions towards the improvement of English skills through researching target needs of English in their prospective careers. 60 undergraduates majoring in Business English program at SuanSunandhaRajabhat University were the subjects of this study. They were asked to do the target needs analysis of English in business careers by interviewing current workers in the careers that they intend to work after graduating. Then, their perceptions towards the improvement of English skills were collected and investigated. In essence, the investigation reveals that to improve their English skills, they think that their personalities and learning styles have to be changed. Particularly, they learned that they need to become lifelong and insightful learners. Guidelines and suggestions for teachers to integrate researching as a part of learning activities in specific business English courses are also discussed. Index Terms - Business English, Research-Based Learning, Students’ Perceptions, Target Needs Analysis