Types of syllabuses in English Language

Teaching

Here's a list of syllabus types:

Syllabus Description Typical content

Structural A 'traditional' syllabus, Such a syllabus will usually contain
listing formal language lists of grammar, structures, lexis and
items to be learned. phonological features to be covered.
The ordering of items For example,
usually depends on a First conditional
Gerunds after verbs
judgement concerning going to for intentions/plans
their complexity rather have got (possession)
Imperatives
than communicative let's + bare infinitive.
utility. Simple forms Past simple vs. Past progressive
Present perfect with for, since etc.
are handled first, more Words to describe the appearance of people
complex ones later. Schwa and other common weak forms

Skills-based This kind of syllabus Usually a list of skills to be

targets language demonstrated and taught. For
abilities rather than the example,
formal aspects of Delivering a short talk
Writing a letter of complaint
language. Understanding a lecture
This is sometimes Reading an academic article
Maintaining and giving up turns
called a process Backchannelling
syllabus and is often
combined with (or
mistaken for) a
procedural or topic-
based syllabus.
Situational This kind of syllabus Typical content will include items
will cover the settings such as:
in which learners will At the doctor's
In the post office
have to deploy Travelling by air, train, car
appropriate language. Renting a flat
A key distinction is
made in such
syllabuses between
structural and lexical
words (by, be,
which etc. vs. house,
table, gasp etc.)
Topic-based This is a syllabus Typical topics in such a syllabus
organised around topic might include:
rather than language Lifestyles
Personal relationships
structure which has School
similarities to both a Technology
Religion
lexical and a situational The weather
syllabus (with both of Negotiating a contract
TV quiz games
which it is often Global heating
combined).
These sorts of
syllabuses are often
designed with a
specific group (or age
group) in mind or when
teaching English for
Special Purposes.
Lexical This kind of syllabus Typical items would include:
focuses on lexical Collocational patterns: adjective + noun, adverb +
verb etc.
patterns and common Delexicalised verb patterns with make and do
ways to express by: expressing who, how, when, where
would: expressing past habit, unlikelihood
meaning. It usually
draws on corpus
research to discover
patterns and
frequencies in the
language.
Notional A syllabus which Typical content will cover lists such
focuses on learning the as:
language to describe adequacy/inadequacy
desirability/undesirability
universal concepts, texture
notions such as size, delay/earliness
frequency
temperature, speed
frequency, likelihood
etc.
Functional / A syllabus which Typical content will cover lists such
Communicat focuses on learning the as:
ive language to perform Asking about/expressing likes and dislikes
Greetings and introductions
certain functions in the Offering/accepting/declining refreshment
language such as Expressing forgetfulness
Expression political opinion
asking for and giving Granting forgiveness
information, Service encounters and politeness routines
Asking for/offering help
apologising etc.
Such a syllabus may
subsume within it a
notional approach but
that is not common.
It is common to find it
combined with a
Situational Syllabus,
however.
Task-based / This kind of syllabus Task types are usually listed and
Procedural focuses on using tasks sometimes particularly tasks are
to help learners deploy prescribed. For example,
language Negotiation tasks: reaching a consensus
Forward planning tasks: planning an excursion
communicatively. It is Judgement tasks: writing a review of a film
important that the tasks Prioritisation tasks
represent real-world There is a guide to task-based
language. approaches on this site linked in the
This kind of syllabus is list of related guides at the end.
often combined with a
skills-based or process
syllabus.
Learner- This relies on learners Typically, these syllabuses end up as
generated knowing what they lists of concepts, topics, skills and
need to do in English structures such as:
and what they need to Using the present perfect
Writing an email
learn to master the Interacting informally
skills they need. The Giving a presentation at work
syllabus is then
negotiated between the
students and the
teacher/institution.
Mixed This is possible the Typical content will include items from
most common type of any of the areas above.
syllabus and focuses In many cases, a mixed syllabus will
on combining elements be a combination of a structural,
of all syllabus types so functional and topic syllabus.
that each lesson or Language will be set in a topic area,
series of lessons the structure will be presented and
focuses on different practised and then the learners will
aspects of what is to be focus on using the language to
learnt. communicate.
Many coursebooks prescribe this type
of syllabus for reasons explained
below.

This is not, as you would imagine, the end of the story. There are other
components of syllabuses which, while not forming a syllabus in themselves,
are often inserted into the syllabus. Two of most common ones are

• cultural syllabuses

which list the sorts of things learners need to know about the speech
community's shared values and knowledge (for example, systems of
government, cultural icons etc.). This kind of syllabus often forms a
considerable part of the programme for teaching, for example,
immigrant populations. It is often, for obvious reasons, combined with
Situational and Topic-based syllabuses.
• content syllabuses

in which the language to be taught is drawn from the need to teach and
learn a different topic – teaching English through the teaching of other
knowledge and skills such as happens in English-medium schools
situated in many settings where English is not the official language, for
example, teaching sciences in English because the majority of relevant
texts are in that language.

Another term for this kind of syllabus is Content and Language
Integrated Learning or CLIL, to which there is a guide on this site linked
from the list of related guides at the end.