Introduction

Before initiating a new language program, vital preparatory work in the

form of information gathering must take place. This fact-finding stage
provides answer to the key questions any program: who are the learners?
Who are the teachers? Why is the program necessary? Where will the
program be implemented? How will it be implemented? The answers to
these questions, in the turn, become the basis for establishing policy or
formulating goals.
The first two of these key question deal with the audience for whom the
program and materials are to be developed, the actual consumers of the
new program teachers and leaners. To know who teachers and learners
are requires thorough attention to needs assessment of a societal nature.
Just as in the business world, market research has become an essential
ingredient for commercial success, so in curriculum design, the factfinding stage ia an imperative prerequisite for effective decision making
regarding the participants.
In a country or setting where the language program planners and
designers do not know the existing conditions, the fact-finding process
must rely heavily on basic sociolinguistic research which relates to
national concerns, international ties and political trends. However, in
those places where the planners are conversant with local conditions, they
may be able to supply the answers to some of the questions themselves,
or at least be able to call on other specialists who can provide the
necessary information.
Assembling data bearing on these factors is usually carried out by means
of

two

basic

techniques:

collecting

information

that

appears

in

governmental and other institutional documents, for example in census

reports, and administering questionnaires and interviews which collect
both objective and subjective feelings and attitudes prevailing among the
members of a community. However, in those places where the planners
are conversant with local conditions, they may be able to supply the
answers to some of the questions themselves, or at least be able to call
on other specialists who can provide the necessary information.

The Curriculum Development Process

The language curriculum includes specifications for providing inputs to
syllabus design and for measuring outcomes of syllabus-based instruction.
Robert Keith Johnson (1989:28)

Design (Curriculum Planning)

In designing a curriculum, whether for a whole degree programme
or for a particular unit, you are planning an intellectual 'journey' for
your students - a series of experiences that will result in them
learning what you intend them to learn.
Typically these experiences will include attendance at lectures and
classes, work in small groups, private study, preparing work for
assessment and so on.
Curriculum design includes consideration of aims, intended learning
outcomes,

syllabus,

learning

assessment.

Develop

and

teaching

methods,

and

On of the basics of curriculum development is he continual

improvement of the outcomes the analysis of the processes and

decision to change.
Implement
A plan for implementation, including timelines and resource
required, should be created. A plan for faculty development is made
to assure consistent implementation.

Monitor
The Headteacher, Senior Leadership Team and teaching staff
undertake a programme of regular monitoring of the planning,
delivery and organisation of learning across the school.
The Governing Body's curriculum committee is responsible for
monitoring the way the school curriculum is implemented. This
committee reviews each subject area during its cycle of review and

development.
Evaluate
Without evaluation

procedure

it

would

be

hard

to

imagine

monitoring of institution progress toward desired needs. This

process necessary to provide the evidences that institution made a
step in the right direction, as well as useful information to
stakeholder. It helps in the process of identification of problem inside
curriculum and institution, solving of problems and redesigning of

certain aspects of curriculum.

Review
Curriculum Reviews provide a systematic method for acquiring
accurate and broad-based internal and external feedback regarding
the relevancy and organization of a programs curriculum. They
provide verifiable evidence for significant change within a program
when change is appropriate.
Curriculum Reviews can focus on the general (e.g. program aim and
goals), or on the specific (e.g. individual course competencies), or
both.

The Fact-finding Stage: Assessing Societal

Factors

GROUP
AND
INDIVIDU
AL
ATTITUD
ES

THE
LANGUA
GE
SETTING
The answers to these
questions determine an
educational policy
1. Who are the learners?
2. Who are the teachers?
3. Why is the program
necessary?
4. Where will the
program be
implemented?
POLITII
5. How
will it be
implemented?
CAL
AND
NATION
AL
CONTEX
T

PATTERN
S OF
LANGUA
GE USE
IN
SOCIETY

The Language Setting

The term language setting refers to the totality of communication roles
(Gumperz 1968) in any speech community. Program planners need to understand
and evaluate the significance of language setting in terms of its effect on the
learners and the learning process.

IN NEED OF SURVIVAL SKILLS

SETTLING IN A NEW
COMMUNITY

Who are the

learners?

COME FOR A LIMITED TIME,

FOR A WELL-DEFINED
PURPOSE

EFL / ESL and LWC

TL
English is spoken natively
(US/UK)

ESL/EFL
English is taught as one of
several foreign languages.
(Indonesia, China, Japan, etc)

What are the factors?

LWC
1. English is one of two or more
official
languages (OL) in a country
2. English is the only official
language but is not
a native language.
3. English is neither NL or OL, but
is given a
special status because of
historical factors.

Patterns of Language Use in Society

Among the basic types of language setting, we have distinguished
between an English speaking setting and all the others, or those places in
which English plays different roles as evident in the various types within
the EFL range in the continuum. The common element among these other
setting is the fact that English plays the role of an LWC, but this role can
vary considerably from one setting to the next. Societal needs can only be
defined for these settings on the basis of a careful investigation of the role
English as an LWC. Such an investigation must examine three major areas:
1. The role of the LWC in education
In education, for any setting where English is not native
language of most members in the community, two major aspects
need to be considered: the role of English as a means for furthering
ones education, and the effectiveness of the existing curriculum
and teaching materials. The first and broadest question relating to
the role of English in the process of furthering ones education is
whether English is the medium of instruction in the school system.
In some countries the medium of instruction is the native
language only in the early years of schooling, while English becomes
the medium in secondary school and in others English is the
medium construction only at college level. In other cases, English as
medium of instruction is limited to certain subjects for which there
may not exist suitable teaching materials.
In order to evaluate the true role of English in the school
system, it is necessary to have a full picture of all subjects taught at
school and of all available textbooks and other teaching materials.
In addition, if teachers are not native speakers it is important to
evaluate their knowledge of and ability to use English
2. The role of the LWC in the labor market
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in the collecting information about the role of the LWC in the labor
market, the researcher needs access to official assessments from
governmental or other labor agencies, but in addition it is vital to
interview and collect information from individuals in the field. Such
field reports should include employers, employees, as well as those
who are job seekers.
The researcher should inquire:
1. Which professions require a knowledge of the LWC and to what
extent:
a. the need for speaking?
b. The need for writing?
c. The need for reading professional material?
2. To what extent do the people seeking employment have the
required knowledge of the LWC?
Newspapers and advertisement columns seeking and offering
employment are another good source for checking the labor
market. In addition, advertisements of institutions of adult
education reflect what people are seeking, in terms of language
courses, once they have completed their schooling, after they
have had experience in the labor market. This data serve to
reveal the gap between the school system and actual needs that
school graduates face.
Finally, interviews with individuals who have been absorbed into
the labor market in a variety of professions, and with others still
seeking employment, should be held. Information gained from
the first group makes it possible to assess the real requirements
for the LWC in the field and learn to what extent it aids or hinders
ones professional progress.
3. Role of the LWC in furthering the process of modernization.
The important factors affecting the role of English in the
process

of

modernization

are

closely

related

to

accessibility of technological information and know-how.

Technological and scientific advancement
Instructions and catalogues
Overseas training and exposure
Dependency on foreign experts

the

Group and Individual Attitudes Toward

Language
Group Attitudes
Attitudes towards the language, people who speak it, and the culture it
represents.
Individual Attitudes
Attitude towards the learning process itself, individual needs, teachers
efficacy, materials, and school system.
The positive attitudes will reflect a high regard and appreciation
to language and culture, high personal motivation, feeling of self
fulfillment, success, and enthusiasm.
The negative attitudes are often related to historical factors,
political and national trends, social conflicts. They create psychological
distance affecting learning-teaching process.

The Political and National Context

POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The administration in power and its views of the language
NATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Promoting nationhood, patriotism, development of

national

language
In an LWC setting, national considerations might be particularly
important for countries which are still grappling with nationhood.
Forming a new political state is closely linked with establishing a
national

language.

Therefore,

during

the

early

period,

all

educational resources may need to be directed to the development

and promulgation of the national language. Priority may have to be
given to the national language at the expense of the LWC, even if, in
terms of economic efficiency it would be more advantageous to
supplement the spread the LWC.

Conclusion:
To make a good design for a new language program, as a planner
(teacher), we should know all the information about the program and
gather it all in one. The process of it is called Fact-finding Stage:
Assessing Societal Factors which consist of four major sections:
a) The language setting
b) Patterns of language use
c) Attitudes towards language
d) Political and national context

References
9

Course Design : Developing Programs and Materials for Language

Learning by Fraida Dubin and Elite Olshtain.
Hinett, K., and Thomas, J (1999) Staff Guide to Self and Peer Assessment.
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development.
http://www.bcit.ca/cas/quality/procedures/curriculumreview/

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