ENGLISH LEARNING NEEDS, TEACHING PRACTICES, AND PHILIPPINE ESL PROGRAMS IN BEIJING: BASIS FOR TEACHER TRAINING DEVELOPMENT PLAN

English is a global language, but this is not the only reason why students in Beijing need it. Because of these needs, many families send their children to English training centers outside school. The study determined the English-learning needs of K–12 students in selected English tutoring and training centers in Beijing and assessed how these needs were addressed through existing teaching and learner-support practices. It also examined the respondents’ description of short-term English-learning programs in the Philippines as a means of providing opportunities for English practice and exposure to real-life communication. In addition, the study determined whether a significant relationship existed between students’ English-learning needs and their assessment of existing English teaching practices. The findings served as the basis for developing a Training Development Plan for Chinese English teachers and trainers in selected tutoring and training centers in Beijing. This study used needs analysis and institutional theory as the basis of its conceptual framework. This study also used a quantitative descriptive-correlational research design, a methodological approach design to systematically describe the characteristics of a population while examining the statistical relationships that exist among variables without manipulating them. The study was conducted in selected tutoring and training centers across Beijing Municipality, the capital city of the People's Republic of China. The respondents of this study consisted of K-12 students enrolled in selected English tutoring and training centers in Beijing Municipality, together with their parents/guardians, the centers' English teachers/trainers, and the centers' coordinators/administrators. The student respondents were mostly aged 9–11, in Grades 4–6, and at the Intermediate level, and less than a quarter had joined an overseas program, while 14.29% in the Philippines. The results show that the students rated their overall English-learning needs as Very Important, with an overall mean of 3.39, while the parents likewise rated their children’s needs are Very Important, with an overall mean of 3.51. The results also show that that the existing English teaching practices were rated as Frequently provided by the respondents. In addition, the analysis presents students and parents judged short-term English programs in the Philippines as Very Helpful overall. The Training Development Plan was developed from the findings of the study, which focused on the areas where the findings showed a need for improvement, including the assessment of learners’ English needs, needs-based and differentiated instruction, communicative English instruction, and preparation for international English-learning experiences. Educational researchers and teacher educators may replicate the study in other cities and with other overseas destinations.