Environment Analysis

Environment Analysis

1. "situation analysis" or “constraints analysis”

   • Environment analysis is an important part of curriculum design because atits most basic level it ensures that the course will be usable.
     • There are many factors that could affect curriculum design, so as a part of the procedure of environment analysis, the curriculum designer should decide which factors are the most important. The importance of a factor depends on:
       • whether the course will still be useful if the factor is not taken intoaccount
         • how large and pervasive the effect of the factor is on the course.
       • Environment Constraints
         • Environment constraints and effects
           • The learners
             • How old are they? Can the learners do all kinds of learning activities? Do they share a (first) language?Can their first language be used to help learning? Do they have preferred ways of learning? Do they have to learn English?
           • The teachers
             • Do they have time for preparation and marking? Can they prepare some of their own material? Can they produce their own spoken or written material?Can they correct spoken or written work? Can they provide good models?
           • The situation
             • Is there a suitable classroom?Can the arrangement of the desks be changed for group work? Is the blackboard big enough and easily seen? Can the learners reach the goals in the available time?Is the course intensive?Can the learners give all their time to the course? Do learners meet English outside class?Will the course be run several times?
         • Sometimes it is necessary to consider wider aspects of the situation when carrying out an environment analysis. There may, for example, be institutional or government policies requiring the use of the target language in schools
           • Understanding the Constraints
             • There has been considerable research on and examination of teaching large classes. This research has looked at the relative merits of group work and teacher-centred activities, the effect of class size on learning, and individualisation.
               • The Constraint of Time
                 • In many courses the time constraint is very important. The time may be severely limited, or the desired goals might not fit into the time available. The steps followed include:
                   • (1) examining the local environment, (2) looking at previous research, and (3) considering the effect of the constraint on the design of the course.