Towards Developing a Language Course for Hajj Guides in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, A Needs Assessment

Hajj guides in the second holy city in Islam deal with some million visitors and pilgrims to the holy Prophet's mosque. Although they are well trained in terms of hospitality and guidance, they seem to lack the basic communication skills in English. As most of the visitors and pilgrims resort to English as an international language, the need arises for developing a systemic ESP course for these Hajj guides. This study assesses the English language needs of these guides. Data gathering methods--including a questionnaire, a proficiency test and unstructured interviews--allowed testing of the questions via triangulation to validate the results.