Environment Analysis

The aim of this part of the curriculum design

process is to find the situational factors that will
strongly affect the course.
 
Environment analysis (Tessmer, 1990) involves
looking at the factors that will have a strong effect
on decisions about the goals of the course, what to
include in the course, and how to teach and assess
it. These factors can arise from the learners, the
teachers, and the teaching and learning situation.
Figure 2.1 Factors in environment analysis.
An Example of Environment Analysis

Young Japanese
learners stay in
The constraint
English speaking
country

Return to Japan

Young Japanese
The effect of the
learners stay in
constraints on
English speaking
curriculum design
country
 Environment Constraints

Sometimes it is necessary to consider wider aspects of the situation when carrying out an
environment analysis. the language curriculum in a situation where:
– the target language is recognised as one of a country’s official languages (the political
and national context)
– there are relatively few native speakers (the language setting)
– there are relatively few opportunities to use the language outside the classroom
(patterns of language use in society)
– majority-language speakers doubt the target language has contemporary relevance
(group and individual attitudes)
 Understanding the Constraints

• In order to understand a constraint fully, it is usually necessary to

examine the nature of the constraint in the environment you are working
in, and to examine previous research on the constraint. This research has
looked at the relative merits of group work and teacher-centred activities,
the effect of class size on learning, and indi- vidualisation.
Figure 2.2 Dubin and Olshtain’s (1986) model of sources of information for
language program policy
 The Constraint of Time
• Local information from the environment
• Useful information to gather about the constraint is how much class time is available,
how much time out of class could be given to learning, and what the goals of the
course are.
• Research information
• Useful research information would reveal what could be achieved within certain time periods.
Pimsleur (1980), for example, presents estimates of the time taken to reach various levels of
proficiency for learners of particular languages. The estimates are based on the idea that some
languages are more difficult than others for native speakers of English to begin to learn.
• The effect of the time constraint on the design of the course
• An environmental constraint can be approached in two ways – working within the constraint, and
overcoming the constraint. To work within the constraint the curriculum designer could limit the
goals of the course to fit the available time.
 Steps in Environment Analysis

The steps in environment analysis can be as follows.

1. Brainstorm and then systematically consider the range of environment factors that will
affect the course. Table 2.1 can be used as a starting point.
2. Choose the most important factors (no more than five) and rank them, putting the most
important first.
3. Decide what information you need to fully take account of the factor. The information can
come from investigation of the environment and from research and theory.
4. Consider the effects of each factor on the design of the course.
5. Go through steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 again.

 
Environment analysis involves looking at the local and wider
situation to make sure that the course will fit and will meet local
requirements. There is considerable research data on many of
the important environment factors, including class size,
motivation, learners of mixed proficiency and special purpose
goals. Good environment analysis draws on both analysis of the
environment and application of previous research and theory.
 THANK YOU

HIJRIANI AND ANILDA ROSMALA