TESL 3240 Lecture 3
Situation analysis
2009-2010 Semester 2
What is situation analysis
• Situation analysis is an analysis of factors in the
context of a planned or present curriculum,
project that is made in order to assess their
potential impact on the project.
• These factors may be political, social,
economic, or institutional.
• Situation analysis complements the
information gathered during needs analysis.
• It is sometimes considered as a dimension of
needs analysis, and can also be regarded as an
aspect of evaluation.
Societal factors
In examining the impact of societal factors on
language teaching, therefore, the aim is to
determine the impact of groups in the community or
society at large on the program.
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These groups include:
Policy makers in government
Educational and other government officials
Employers
The business community
Politicians
Tertiary education specialists
Educational organisations
Parents
Citizens
Students
In the case of projects of community or national scope, questions
such as the following may be relevant:
• What current language teaching policies exist and
how are they viewed?
• What are the underlying reasons for the project
and who supports it?
• What impact will it have on different sectors of
society?
• What language teaching experience and tradition
exist in the country?
• How do members of the public view second
languages and second language teaching?
• What are the views of relevant professionals
such as academics and teacher trainers?
• What do professional organizations such as
teachers’ unions think of the project?
• What are the views of parents and students?
• What are the views of employers and the
business community?
Project factors
The following project factors need to be considered:
• Who constitutes the project group and how are
they selected?
• What are the management and other
responsibilities of the team?
• What community resources are available to
support the innovations, such as radio,
television, and the media?
• How are goals and procedures determined?
• Who reviews the progress of the project and
the performance of its members?
• What experience do members of the team
have?
• How do members of the team regard each other?
• What resources do they have available and what
budget to acquire needed resources?
• What is the time frame of the project? Is it
realistic, or is more or less time needed?
Institutional factors
Institutional factors relate to the following kind of
questions:
1.What leadership is available within the school to
support change and to help teachers cope with
change?
2.What are the school’s physical resources,
including classroom facilities, media and other
technological resources, and library resources?
3.What is the role of textbooks and other
instructional materials?
4. What is staff morale like among English
teachers?
5. What problems do teachers face and what is
being done about them?
6. What administrative support is available
within the school and what is communication
like between teachers and the
administrations?
7. What kind reputation does the institution
have for delivering successful language
program?
8. How committed is the institution to
attaining excellence?
Teacher factors
• What kinds of teachers currently teach in the
target schools or institutions? What is their
typical background,training, experience, and
motivation?
• How proficient are they in English?
• What kinds of beliefs do the teachers
typically hold concerning key issues in
teaching?
• What teaching loads do teachers have and
what resources do they make use of?
• What are the typical teaching methods teachers
use and believe in?
• To what extent are teachers open to change?
• What opportunities do they have for retaining
through in-service or other kinds of
opportunities?
• What benefits are the proposed new syllabus,
curriculum, or materials likely to offer
teachers?
Learner factors
• What are learners’ past language learning
experience?
• How motivated are the learners to learn English?
• What are their expectations for the
program?
• Are they a homogenous or heterogenous
group?
• What type of learning approach do they
favour?(e.g.,teacher-led, student-focused, or
small-group work)
• What type of content do they prefer?
• What expectations do they have for the roles of
teachers, learners, and instructional materials?
• How much time can be they expected to put
into the program?
• What learning resources will they typically
have access to?
Adoption factors
• What advantages does the curriculum change
offer? Is the innovation perceived to be more
advantageous than current practices?
• How comparable is it? `Is the use of the
innovation consistent with the existing beliefs,
attitudes, organisation, and practices within a
classroom or school?
• Is the innovation very complicated and
difficult to understand?
• Has it been used and tested out in some schools
before all schools are expected to use it?
• Have the features and benefits of the innovation
been clearly communicated to teachers and
institutions?
• How clear and practical is it? Are the
expectations of the innovation stated in ways
which clearly show how it can be used in the
classroom? (Morris 1994,109)
Profiling the factors identified in the
situation analysis
• The goal of situation analysis is to identify key
factors that might positively or negatively affect
the implementation of a curriculum plan.
• This is sometimes known as a SWOT analysis
because it involves an examination of ‘a language
program’ internal strengths and weaknesses in
addition to external opportunities and threats to
the existence or successful operation of the
language program
Summary
• Situation analysis thus serves to help identify
potential obstacles to implementing a
curriculum project and factors that need to
be considered when planning the parameters
of a project.
Discussion questions and activities
1. Discuss a language teaching context you are
familiar with and list some of the most important
factors that are likely to influence the success of
the program.
1. How do societal factors influence or have an
impact on a language program that you are
familiar with? Which factors are negative
and which are positive? How can negative
factors be addressed?
2. How do societal factors influence or have an
impact on a language program that you are
familiar with? Which factors are negative
and which are positive? How can negative
factors be addressed?
3. Are you familiar with a situation in which a
curriculum change was attempted(e.g.., the
introduction of a new teaching approach, a new
textbook, or a new program design) and met with
difficulties? Could the problems have been
avoided?
4. List the factors that you think are most
crucial in a school or institution in creating a
favorable context for curriculum change, such
as when a new course or language program is
being offered for the first time?
5. What groups in the community or society at
large would be most relevant to consult in
your country( or the country in which you
work) in relation to planned changes in the
English-or foreign language curriculum in
public schools?
6. Have you worked as a member of a curriculum
project team( as a material writer, course planner
etc.)? Discuss your experience on the project and
whether project factors has an impact on the
dynamics and outcome of the project.
7. What can be done in circumstances where
teachers and learners have different
expectations and beliefs about the nature of
a language course?
8. What support is provided for teachers in
your teaching situation? How effective is the
support provided? What other forms of
support would you recommend?
9. Imagine that a new technology-based learning
program is to be introduced into schools in your
country or the country in which you work. The
program employs print materials but also makes
extensive use of CALL software, CD-ROMS,
videos, and other electronic media. What factors
might affect the reception of the program and
how could any negative factors be addressed?
10. Examine the situation analysis profile in
Appendix 1 and adapt it to make it applicable
to a context for curriculum change (e.g.,
introduction of a new curriculum, new teaching
methods, new textbooks, a new language
program) that you are familiar with. Identify
positive and negative factors in the situation
that will affect the curriculum change.