09-Aug-19

Module 4:
Approaches to Curriculum/ Syllabus Design

Main Contents

1. Setting aims, objectives and

learning outcomes
2. Deciding on organising principles
3. Selecting methods and
teaching/learning strategies

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Part 1: Setting language aims

•Aims
•Goals
•Learning outcomes

Aim vs. Objectives

 AIM: a statement of a general change that

a program seeks to bring about in learners
 OBJECTIVE: a statement of specific changes
a program seeks to bring about and results
from an analysis of the aim into its
different components

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An objective should:

Describe a learning outcome

Be consistent with the curriculum
aim
Should be precise/specific
Should be feasible

Example: Handout 1

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Example: Handout 2

Mini-presentations 1-3

 Developthese course aims into 3-5

objectives:
To help students speak English more accurately
at an elementary level.
To develop reading skills of students when
dealing with academic texts
To help learners write different types of emails
in business contexts

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Learning outcomes

Domains Bloom’s Taxonomy

 Personal
 Social
 Cultural
 Occupational

 Knowledge
 Skills
 Attitudes

Competency-based outcomes Nonlanguage outcomes

 Linguistic competence
 Strategic competence
 Sociocultural competence
 Actional competence
 Discourse competence
 Soft skills
 Thinking skills
 Employability skills
 Learning skills
 Mannerism
 Attitudes/ Graduate attributes

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Stating Curriculum Aims/Outcomes (3/3)

Investigation
 Process objectives

Cooperation with Decision making

others

Making choices Reflection

Interpretation Discussion

Focus on: Competencies , Non-language

outcomes & Process outcomes
 Competencies: observable behaviors that are
necessary for the successful completion of real-
world activities.
 Example: Handout 3 >>
 Non-language outcomes: what goes beyond the
content of a linguistically oriented syllabus
 Example: Soft skills, Thinking skills, Mannerism,
Attitudes
 Process objectives: describe learning experiences
rather than learning outcomes
 Example: Handout 4 >>

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Example: Handout 3

Example: Handout 4

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Mini-presentations 4-5

 Name some possible competencies you

can develop for a course on
telephoning in English.
 Give some examples of non-language
outcomes and/or process outcomes on
a course on presentation skills in
English.

Main Contents

 Setting goals, objectives and learning

outcomes
 Deciding on organising principles
 Selecting methods and
teaching/learning strategies

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Part 2: Deciding on organising principles

•Typesof syllabi
•Sequencing principles

Types of syllabi
 Structural
 Functional-notional
 Situational
 Lexical
 Skill-based
 Topic-based
 Task-based
 Multiple-syllabus

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Mini-presentations 6

 For a course on business English, give

examples of a:
Skill-basedsyllabus
Topic-based syllabus
Task-based syllabus

Sequencing

 Simple to complex
 Chronology
 Need
 Prerequisite learning
 Whole to part or part to whole
 Spiral sequencing

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Mini-presentations 7-8
 Giveexamples of how you can organize a
syllabus according to these sequencing
principles:
Simpleto complex
Chronology
Need
Prerequisite learning
Whole to part or part to whole
Spiral sequencing

Main Contents

 Setting goals, objectives and learning

outcomes
 Deciding on organising principles
 Selecting methods and
teaching/learning strategies

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Part 3: Selecting methods and

teaching/learning strategies

ELT Methods
Learning theories

Notable approaches and methods in ELT

 1. Grammar – Translation
 2. Direct method
 3. Audio-lingual method
 4. The silent way
 5. Suggestopedia
 6. Community language learning
 7. Total physical response
 8. Communicative language teaching
 9. Content-based approach
 10. Task-based approach
 11. Participatory approach

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8. Communicative language teaching

 Language is communication  to develop “communicative competence”

 (1) discourse competence (textual knowledge: selection,

sequencing, arrangement of words, structures, sentences and
utterances)
 (2) linguistic competence (grammar knowledge + lexical knowledge)
 (3) actional competence (functional knowledge: match actional
intent + linguistic form)
 (4) social-culture competence (sociocultural knowledge)
 5) strategic competence (metacognitive strategies: coping
strategies to repair breakdown in communication)

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9. Content-based approach

Content: information/ subject matter

that we learn or communicate
through language
Content-based learning: Decisions
about content are made first, others
later

10. Task-based approach

 Task: activities where the target of
language is used by the learner (1) for
communicative purposes to (2) achieve
an outcome.
 Framework:
 (1) Pre-task
 (2) Task cycle
 (3) Language focus

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MINI-PRESENTATIONS 9

Give a sample lesson using

Task-based learning/teaching

Other theories

Behaviourism
Cognitivism
Constructivism

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Other theories

Behaviourism Cognitivism Constructivism

Learner-centered approach

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Multiple intelligences

MINI-PRESENTATIONS 10

What are the

implications of
MI theories in
teaching
English?

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OVERVIEW

1. Setting aims, objectives and

learning outcomes
2. Deciding on organising principles
3. Selecting methods and
teaching/learning strategies

Project Progress

 By this week, you should:

Define the aims and objectives of the
syllabus
Decide on the organizing principle, and
Select the main method(s) underlying the
syllabus

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