UNIT 6: SYLLABUS DESIGN

Module 1 (1 of 1)

TASKS

TASK 1

Match the names of the syllabus types with their descriptions (adapted
from Ur, A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge 1996):
Syllabus type Description
1. Grammatical/Structural a. Functions are things you do with language, as distinct from notions
you can express: examples are 'identifying', 'denying', 'promising'.
Purely functional syllabuses are rare: usually both functions and notions
are combined, as for example in Van Ek, 1990.
2. Lexical b. These syllabuses would take the real-life contexts of language uses
as their basis: sections would be headed by names of situations or
locations such as 'Eating a meal' or 'At the bank'.
3. Grammatical-Lexical c. This is the only syllabus which is not pre-set. The content of the
course is negotiated with the learners at the beginning of the course and
during it, and actually listed only retrospectively (see for example
Candlin, 1984)
4. Notional d. A list of lexical items (girl, boy, go away...) with associated
collocations and idioms, usually divided into graded sections. One such
syllabus, based on a corpus (a computerised collection of samples of
authentic language) is described in Willis, 1990.
5. Functional-Notional e. This is rather like the situational syllabus, except that the headings
are broadly topic-based, including things like 'Food' or 'The family'; these
usually indicate a fairly clear set of vocabulary items, which may be
specified.
6. Situational f. These syllabuses specify the learning tasks to be done rather than the
language to be studied. Examples of tasks might be: map-reading,
doing scientific experiments, story-writing. The best-known syllabus of
this type is that associated with the Bangalore Project (Prabhu, 1987).
7. Topic-based g. A list of grammatical structures, such as the present simple tense,
adjective comparison, relative clauses, usually divided into sections
graded according to difficulty and/or importance.
8.Mixed or multi-strand h. 'Notions' are concepts that language can express. General notions
may include 'number', 'time', 'place', 'colour', for example; specific
notions look more like vocab items: 'man', 'woman', 'afternoon'. For an
introduction to the topic of notional syllabuses see Wilkins, 1976.
9. Task-based or procedural i. Increasingly, modern syllabuses are combining different aspects in
order to be maximally comprehensive and helpful to teachers and
learners; in these you may find specification of topics, tasks, functions
and notions, as well as grammar, lexis and phonology.
10. Process j. A very common kind of syllabus: both structures and lexis are
 specified: either together, in sections that correspond to units of the
course, or in two separate lists.
TASK 2

• Take two contrasting coursebooks you've used in your work. An

example might be: one General English textbook and one Business
English or Young Learners' textbook. Other possibilities are: any kind
of ESP textbook; an older book with a more recent one; one which is
lexically-based (for example the Collins COBUILD English Course)
and/or one which is task-based (for example a book from the Cutting
Edge series).
• Analyse the introductions to the teacher's books of both coursebooks,
and identify what type/mix of types of syllabus is presented in each,
remembering that often an old-fashioned agenda may be lurking
beneath the more trendy PR.
• Examine the content of the books to determine whether it matches
what was set out in the introductions.
• Contrast the approach of the two books and say which approach you
found more effective, for which learners in which context/s, and why.

In your submission, include photocopies of relevant excerpts from the

introductions to teacher’s books and students course books, suitably
highlighted, to evidence your observations. Remember to support your
points with short quotations from your module reading.

TASK 3

Collect data from a group of your students relating to their interests,

language needs and preferred learning styles. Present this data as a
needs analysis.

TASK 4

• Design a brief syllabus or scheme of work, for a two-month period, for

a group of students. Include page references in any coursebook
 materials used. Submit photocopies of any authentic texts and/or
selfdesigned materials used.
• Please outline the tasks you plan to use, but detailed lesson plans
are not necessary (below is an example of the detail needed).

• Include recycling, feedback and assessment in your scheme,

explaining how assessment will be carried out.

Here's an example of how much detail you need to put in your scheme
of work (Task 4):
Day One: 90ms
Text: 'Wonders of the Modern World' (Headway Int. p10-11)
1. Pre-reading task: predicting and ranking / lexical input
2. Skim reading to check prediction
3. Detailed comprehension task: T/F questions
4. Language focus: revision of auxiliary verbs/ lexical spidergrams
5. Speaking: personalised discussion task on the topic
TASK 5

ACTION RESEARCH

Carry out your scheme of work and write an evaluation of it.

Were there any problems associated with it?
How would you address these in future?