University of Algiers 2 \ Faculty of Foreign Languages \ Department of English\ Academic year 2022-2023

Groups: 1&11. Teacher: Ms. Salhi

Course: ESP

BASICS OF CURRICULUM AND SYLLABUS DESIGN

Preliminary knowledge

In the course of didactics, you had been introduced to the key preliminary knowledge to understand
the foundation of didactics and pedagogy. The concepts of approach, method, and technique
represent three levels of conceptualization and organization of teaching in general. These three
concepts are in hierarchical arrangement which means that a technique carries out a method which
itself is consistent with an approach.

More specifically:

An approach is a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and
learning. It is axiomatic and describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught. .. .

A Method is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which
contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected approach.
If an approach is axiomatic, a method is procedural. Within one approach, there can be many
methods.
A technique is implementational and actually takes place in a classroom. It is a particular trick,
stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective. Techniques must be consistent
with a method, and therefore in harmony with an approach as well. (Anthony 1963:63-7)

According to Anthony's model, approach is the level at which assumptions and beliefs about
language and language learning are specified; method is the level at which theory is put into practice
and at which choices are made about the particular skills to be taught, the content to be taught, and
the order in which the content will be presented; technique is the level at which classroom
procedures are described.

Curriculum and Syllabus Design

In order for an approach to lead to a method, it is necessary to develop a design for an instructional
system. Design is the level of method analysis in which we consider
(a) what the objectives of a method are;
(b) how language content is selected and organized within the method, that is, the syllabus model
the method incorporates;
(c) the types of learning tasks and teaching activities the method advocates;
(d) the roles of learners;
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(e) the roles of teachers;
(f) the role of instructional materials.

1. Aims, goals, and objectives of language teaching.

In life there are always reasons (aim or purpose) behind any task. A task without anyone of the latter
is wasteful because there is then no meaning to that task. Likewise, there are aims and objectives of
ELT. Setting goals, aims, or objectives in the foreign language classroom is essential to help focus on
the direction of learning, and make the appropriate decisions for the route or path to follow for
teaching.

In Curriculum design, it is also important to distinguish between aims, goals and objectives as in
education they are not synonyms. Their distinction is pivotal because it determines expected learning
outcomes and their evaluation and assessment.
In educational theory, these three categories have always been thought as statements of educational
purposes organized in a descending order.
The terms aims and goals are generally disregarded in favor of the term objective because of their
very vague nature. However, from the perspective of educational systems, this vagueness is an
advantage, especially in the discussion about the WHY of education in every single country. Let us
see what each of these terms means.
a. Aims
«We use the term Aims to refer to broad statements about the intent of education. They
are value-laden statements, written by panels, commissions, or policy-making groups,
that express a philosophy of education and concepts of the social role of schools and the
needs of schools and youth. In short, they are broad guides for translating the needs of
society into educational policy» Ornstein (1990, p. 84)

So, aims are:

• General statements that provide a sense of direction and serve as guiding principles for educational
policy;
• They are the translations of the general philosophy and needs of the country;
• They are designed at the national/state level by policy making groups;
• They can be based on the constitution of the country;
Even if aims seem undisputable, their discussion is unavoidable in the process of constructing goals
and objectives.
Examples of aims:
• To prepare students for democratic life;
• To strengthen ethical and spiritual values;
• To teach the rights and duties of citizenship;
• To encourage creative and critical thinking.
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More specifically, in ELT, different aims that represent different levels of expectations should be
considered: governmental aims, institutional aims, and teaching aims.
b. Goals
Goals are the translation of aims in the context of subject matter-disciplines; mathematics, science,
language,….etc. The common agreed upon definition is that : “ Goals are the statements of educational
intention which are more specific than aims but less specific than objectives .”

Goals have the following characteristics:

• Derived from aims;
• Aims become goals when they become more specific and refer to a particular school or school system
and to a specific subject area of the curriculum;
• Goals translate aims into statements that will describe what schools are expected to accomplish;
• Goals are more specific and definite than aims, but they are still non-behavioral and, therefore, non-
observable and non-measureable.

Examples of goals
 The goals of this course are to introduce you to some basic concepts of ESP, to make you
reflect on the process of Foreign Language Teaching and learning in ESP, and potentially prepare
you for running teaching sessions with ESP learners of English.”

• The development of reading skills;

• The appreciation of arts;
• The understanding of scientific and mathematical concepts.

c. Objectives

Objectives are usually specific statements of educational intention which delineate either general or
specific outcomes. Broadly speaking, general objectives are those which are attained at the end of the
year, and specific objectives are those which are attained at the end of a lesson/unit.
They generally come at the end of the curriculum development or syllabus design timeline.
Philosophy→ Aims→ Goals → objectives

Common features of objectives: SMART

S= specific M= measurable A= achievable R= relevant/realistic T=time bound

A well-written objective statement provides a clear picture of the outcome or performance expected
as a result of the lesson.
Objective statements contain three parts: behavior, conditions, and criteria.
Example:
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Objective part Description Example
Behavior What students will be able to do Students will create a time line of
the main events at Gettysburg,
Conditions How they will be able to do it after generating a graphic
organizer on Chapter 5: A
Decisive Battle,
Criteria Degree of accuracy observed with a rubric rating of 3 (out of 5)
or better.

In this example, the lesson plan would call for the students to first generate a graphic organizer about
a chapter titled “A Decisive Battle.” Then, the students will create a time line of the main events at
Gettysburg. The teacher will assess each time line using a rubric. Any students who do not earn a
rubric rating of a 3 or better will require additional instruction or reinforcement.

Learning objectives are needed :

• To provide a focus for instruction;
• To provide guidelines for learning;
• To provide targets for assessment;
• To communicate expectations to learners;
• To convey instructional intent to others;
• To provide for evaluation of instruction. (Gronlund, 2000)

d. Types of objectives ( Bloom’s Taxonomy)

Benjamin Bloom is recognized as the leader in the pursuit of defining educational objectives early
this century (1956). Developing classification system taxonomy) of educational objectives, Bloom
divided his findings into three domains;
Bloom listed six basic objectives within the COGNITIVE domain:

1. Knowledge – remembering or recognizing something previously encountered without

necessarily understanding, using, or changing it.
2. Comprehension – understanding the material being communicated without necessarily
relating it to anything else.
3. Application – using general concept to solve a particular problem.
4. Analysis – breaking something down into parts.
5. Synthesis – creating something new by combining different ideas.
6. Evaluation – judging the value of materials or methods as they might be applied in a
particular situation.

Bloom listed five basic objectives in the AFFECTIVE domain:

1. Receiving – being aware of or attending to something in the environment.

2. Responding – showing some new behaviour as a result of experience.
3. Valuing – showing some definite involvement or commitment.
4. Organization – integrating a new value into one’s general set of values, giving it some

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 ranking among one’s general priorities.
5. Characterization by value – acting consistently with the new value.

Bloom listed six basic objectives in the PSYCHOMOTOR domain:

1. Reflex movements – actions that occur involuntarily in response to some stimulus.

2. Basic fundamental movements – innate movement patterns formed from a combination
of reflex movements.
3. Perceptual abilities – translation of stimuli received through the senses into appropriate
movements.
4. Physical abilities – basic movements and abilities that are essential to the development of
more highly skilled movements.
5. Skilled movements – more complex movements requiring a certain degree of efficiency.
6. Non-discursive movements – ability to communicate through body movement.

References

Anthony, Edward M. 1963. “Approach, method and technique.” English Language Teaching 17: 63-57

Linn, R.I. & Gronlund, N.E. (2000). Measurement and assessment in teaching (8th edition):Upper Saddle
River New Jersey Prentice Hall.

Ornstein ,AC. Strategies for Effective Teaching. New York: Harper & Row, 1990

Woolfolk, A.E. Educational Psychology Fourth Edition (New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall, 1990)