Syllabus design (point of departure)

 

Syllabus design ( point of departure)

* Syllabus design was concerned with the selection and grading of content.

* Curriculum has three phases:-

1- Planning phase        2- Implementation phase               3- Evaluation phase

·        There is a need to make judgments in selecting syllabus components  from all the options which are available.

Basic orientations

Syllabus designers started out by drawing up lists of:-

   1- Grammatical items       2- Phonological items      

   3- Vocabulary items

* During the 1970s, communicative views of language teaching began to be incorporated in the syllabus design.

Syllabuses began to appear in which content was specified in terms of:-

1 – The grammatical elements                               

2 – Functional skills

What is the distinction between syllabus design and methodology?

 Syllabus design is concerned with the outcomes

 Methodology is concerned with the process through which these outcomes are to be brought about.

* Syllabus contents might be specified in terms of learning tasks and activities.

Syllabus elements

A given syllabus will specify all or some of the following:

(Structure, function , notion , topics, themes, situations, activities, tasks,).

Comparison between product and process:-

     Process is a series of actions directed towards some end.

     Product is the end itself

Learning purpose:      Learner's purposes vary according to:-

     how specific they are?

       How immediately learners wish to employ their developing language skills?

* There are general and specific purpose syllabus design.

Task1:-

' I want to be able to talk to my neighbours in English'

' I want to speak English'

‘ I want to be able to communicate in Greek’.

* What is needs analysis?

* The techniques and procedures for collecting information to be used in syllabus design are referred to as needs analysis.

What are the types of needs analysis?

1- Learner analysis                        2- Task analysis

Objective and subjective information.

          Objective data is that factual information which does not require the attitudes and views of the learners to be taken into account.

          Subjective information reflects the perceptions, goals, and priorities of the learner.

* Munby developed a model about the application of needs analysis to language syllabus and this model contains nine elements which are:-

1- Participant               2- purposive domain          3- setting                     4-Iteraction

5- Instrumentality         6- Dialect          7- Target level        8- Communicative event

9- communicative key

1- The role of the learner in syllabus design

* The Munby approach has received criticism for paying too little attention to the perception of the learner.

2- Humanistic education

* It is based on the belief that the learners should have a  say in what they should be learning and how they should  learn it.

3- The nature of language

* Researchers have demonstrate that for both first and second language learners, the context in which they are called upon to use language can have a marked effect on their ability to communicate effectively in any situation.

What is the distinction between ( ESP) and (GPE)?

* Widdowson has written extensively on the distinction between general purpose English and English for specific purposes .

  ESP is training operation which seeks to provide learners with a restricted competence

GPE is an educational operation which seeks to provide learners with a general capacity.

What is definition of the term " goal"?

It is the general purposes for which a language program is being taught or learned.

Task2:-   Study the following goal statements:-

' To encourage learners to develop confidence in using the target language'.

'To develop skills in monitoring performance in spoken language'.

'To establish and maintain relationship through exchanging information, opinions and   plans'.

' To develop the ability to study , in English, at university'.

( Affective, learning, communicative and cognitive goals).

Conclusion:-

It is important to know some information about the learner and the beliefs about the learning process itself.

There are three questions depending on three perspectives:-

1- ' What linguistic elements should be taught ? ( linguistic perspective)'.

2-  ' What does the learner want to do with the language? ( learner perspective)'.

3-  'What activities will stimulate or promote language acquisition? ( Learning perspective) '.