Syllabus Types
Syllabus Types
Syllabus Types
Situational syllabuses have the advantage of presenting language in context and teaching language of
immediate practical use. However, they are also subject to the following criticisms:
-Little is known about the language used in different situations, so selection of teaching items is typically based
on intuition.
-Language used in specific situations may not transfer to other situations.
-Situational syllabuses often lead to a phrase- book approach.
-Grammar is dealt with incidentally, so a situational syllabus may result in gaps in a student’s grammatical
knowledge.
The situational syllabus has recently re-entered language teaching in a different form from traditional
situational syllabuses, thanks to the emergence of ESP approaches to syllabus design
5-The topical Syllabus (content –based):
The topical syllabus is organised around themes, topics, or other units of content. With a topical syllabus,
content rather than grammar, functions or situations is the starting point in syllabus design. Content may
provide the only criterion for organising the syllabus or a framework for linking a variety of different syllabus
strands together. All language courses, no matter what kind of syllabus they are based on, must include some
form of content. But with other approaches to syllabus design, content is incidental and serves only as the
vehicle for practising language structures, functions, or skills. For example, in a grammar based lesson, a
structure is selected and then content is chosen to show how the item is used and to provide a context for
practising the structure. In a topic –based syllabus, in contrast, content provides the vehicle for the presentation
of language rather than the other way around. Maximum use is made of content to provide links and continuity
across the skill areas.
Advantages of courses based on content:
-They facilitate comprehension. -Content makes linguistic form more meaningful. -Content serves as the best
basis for teaching the skill areas. -They address student’s needs. - They motivate learners. -They allow for
integration of the four skills. -They allow for use of authentic materials.
Topic –based syllabuses have often been a feature of ESL (English as a second language) programs in
elementary or secondary schools where the teaching of English is integrated with science, mathematics and
social sciences, as well as university level.
Issues that arise in developing a topic- based syllabus are:
-How are themes, topics, and content decided on?
-What is the balance between content and grammar or other strands in the syllabus?
-Are ESL teachers qualified to teach content- based courses?
-What should be the basis for assessment- learning of content or learning of language?
Although choosing appropriate content is an issue in the design of any language course, using topics as the
overarching criterion in planning a course leaves other questions unresolved because decisions must still be
made concerning the selection of grammar, functions, or skills. It may also be difficult to develop a logical or
learnable sequence for other syllabus components if topics are the sole framework. Different topics may
require language of differing levels of complexity. As a consequence, it may not always be possible to
reconcile the different strands of the syllabus.
6-The Skills Syllabus:
The skills syllabus is organised around the different abilities that are involved in using a language for
purposes such as reading, writing, listening or speaking. The idea of approaching a language through skills is
based on the belief that learning a complex activity such as “listening to a lecture” involves the mastery of a
number of individual skills or micro-skills that together make up the activity.
Examples of skills that relate to different types of language:
Writing:
- Creating a topic sentence -Distinguishing between main ideas and supporting sentences. -Self- editing.
Listening:
-Recognizing key information. -Using discourse markers to identify the flow of discourse following rapid
speech.
Speaking:
-Recognizing turn-taking signals. -Introducing a topic. -Using communication strategies.
Reading:
-Reading for gist. -Guessing words from context. -Reading and making inferences.
Skills have traditionally been a central focus in language teaching. There have been many attempts to identify
the micro-skills underlying the use of the four macro-skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) as a
basis for syllabus design.
Skills based syllabuses have the advantage of focusing on performance in relation to specific tasks and
therefore provide a practical framework for designing courses and teaching materials. They may be more
relevant situations in which students have very specific and identifiable needs (for example, preparing students
for university studies in English). However, skills syllabuses have been criticized on the following grounds:
-There is no serious basis for determining skills. -They focus on discrete aspects of performance rather than
on developing more global and integrated communicative abilities.
7-The Task- based syllabus:
The task based syllabus is organised around tasks that students will complete in the target language.
Definition of a task: A task is an activity or goal that is carried out using language such as finding a solution
to a puzzle, reading a map and giving directions, or reading a set of instructions or assembling a toy. Skehan
1996, identified tasks as “...activities which have meaning as their primary focus. Success in tasks is evaluated
in terms of achievement of an outcome, and tasks generally bear some resemblance to real-life language use”.
Teaching makes use of tasks of different kinds
The syllabus:
The task based syllabus is built on tasks that have been specially designed to facilitate second language
learning and one in which tasks or activities are the basic units of syllabus design. While carrying out these
tasks, learners are said to receive comprehensive input and modified output, processes believed to be central
to second language acquisition.
Theorists have proposed tasks as a basis for syllabus planning; The basic claims made for a task based syllabus
are:
-Tasks are activities that drive the second language acquisition process.
-Grammar teaching is not central with this approach because learners will acquire grammar as a by- product
of carrying out tasks.
-Tasks are motivating for learners and engage them in meaningful communication.
Types of tasks:
Two kinds of tasks have been proposed as a basis for syllabus design:
-Pedagogical tasks: They are based on second language acquisition theory and are designed to trigger second
language learning processes and strategies.
-Real world tasks: The following are tasks of this kind:
-Jigsaw tasks: They involve learners in combining different pieces of information to from a whole (for
example, three individuals or groups may have three different parts of a story and have to piece a story
together).
-Information gap tasks: Where one student or group of students has one set of information and another
student or group has a complementary set of information. They must negotiate and find out what the other
party’s information is in order to complete an activity.
-Problem solving tasks: Students are given a problem and a set of information. They must arrive at a
solution to the problem. There is generally a single resolution of the outcome.
-Decision making tasks: Students are given a problem for which there is a number of possible
outcomes and they must choose one through negotiation and discussion.
-Opinion exchange tasks: Learners engage in discussion and exchange of ideas. They do not need to
reach agreement.
Criticism of the task based syllabus:
Task based syllabuses have not been widely implemented in language teaching. Among the concerns
they raise are:
-Definition of tasks: definitions of tasks are sometimes so broad as to include almost anything that involves
learners doing something.
-Design and selection of tasks: Procedures for the design and selection of tasks remain unclear.
-Development of accuracy: Excessive use of communicative tasks may encourage fluency at the expense of
accuracy.
8-The Competency based syllabus
Definition:
It is based on a specification of the competencies learners are expected to master in relation to specific situations
and activities. It is an alternative to the use of objectives in planning a program. It describes learning outcomes in terms
of competencies.
Traditionally, in language teaching, planners have focused to a large extent on the content of teaching or on the
process. The concern with content or process focuses on the means of learning rather than its ends. CBLT (competency
based language teaching) shifts the focus to the ends of learning rather than the means. This approach seeks to improve
accountability in teaching through linking instruction to measurable outcomes and performance standards.
Origins:
CBLT first emerged in the United States in the 1970s and was widely adopted in vocationally oriented and in
adult ESL programs. By the end of the 1980s, CBLT had come to be accepted as “the state –of-the- art” approach to
adult ESL by national policy makers and leaders in curriculum development. In 1986, any refugee in the United States
who wished to receive federal assistance had to be enrolled in a competency based program. CBLT has recently
reemerged in some parts of the world (e.g. Australia) as the major approach to the planning of language programs.
Characteristics:
Schneck (1978) describes CBLT as follows:
♣ It has much in common with such approaches to learning as performance based instruction, mastery learning, and
individualized instruction.
♣ It is outcome based.
♣ It is adaptive to the changing needs of students, teachers and the community.
♣Competencies differ from other student goals and objectives in that they describe the student’s ability to apply basic
and other skills in situations that are commonly encountered in everyday life.
♣ CBA is based on a set of outcomes that are derived from an analysis of tasks typically required of students in life role
situations.
Criticism of the use of competencies:
The use of competencies in program planning is not without its critics. These criticisms focus on the following
issues:
1- Definition of competencies: Tollefson (1986) argues that no valid procedures are available to develop competency
specifications. Although lists of competencies can be generated intuitively for many areas and activities, there is no
way of knowing which ones are essential. Typically competencies are described based on intuition and experience, a
process similar to the one used to develop statements of objectives. In addition, focusing on observable behaviors can
lead to a trivialization of the nature of an activity. Therefore, competencies related to effective performance on a job
will tend to include such things as “reading directions or following orders on a job” but not “to change or question the
nature of the job”.
2- Hidden values underlying competency specifications: CBLT is based on a social and economic efficiency model of
curriculum design (seen earlier) that seeks to enable learners to participate effectively in society. Consequently, the
competencies selected as a basis for instruction typically represent value judgments about what such participation
involves.