It can be found that a great deal of research has been done on needs analysis and its role in the teaching and learning of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). While linguists and language teachers differ in their perspective on needs analysis, they generally share the view that needs analysis plays an integral part in the process of designing, teaching and evaluating ESP courses. With regards to the design of an English course for Academic Purposes (EAP), this paper describes and critically examines two existing approaches to needs analysis: target situation analysis and learning situation analysis in relation to a particular group of Vietnamese learners. These se two approaches have been combined in order to create an EAP course that is appropriate to a particular group of learners with particular needs in a specific learning context - that of a teaching and learning situation in an English speaking nation.