The process of Course Planning: Syllabus design

4 main stages
Stage 1: Making decisions (Action plan)
Stage 2: Select and sequence the Raw content
Stage 3: Instructional Blocks/Content
Stage 4: Evaluation
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Stage 1: Making decisions (Action plan)

Step 1 (Decision 1): The Educational Philosophy (Rationale of the

course).

Educational Philosophy: a scientific view/opinion about language

and Learning. It draws/adopts specific language and learning
theories.

Language Schools:
I. Structuralism: language is a set of Grammar Rules (syntax + phonology + morphology +
phonetics + semantics). Rejected meaning as they believed that meaning does not have rules.
Grammar has primary over meaning, meaning is idiosyncratic

II. Functionalism: Languages is Grammar + Meaning; both have rules; meaning has primacy over
meaning; communication.

Meaning is defined differently:

1. Situations at the bank, at the airport, ...
2. Functions: do things; apologize, greet, appreciate, promim, thank, inform, request...: described
language as a list of functions.
3. Notions: express notions; time, duration, money, ...... described
language as a list of notions.

III. The communicative competence: language is a competence made of different skills: the ability
to use grammar rules and meaning rules together (listening, speaking, reading, writing +
grammar + vocabulary)
Learning:
1. Behaviorism: mechanical learning, they reject the concept mind; we do not think! The mind is
resumed to memory; Learning is a matter of behavior formation; repetition (Learning
process: stimulus-response: repetition)

2. Cognitivism: they believe in thinking; we use our minds to learn: Cognitivists started
describing the thinking process/learning process/mind.
i) Synthetic cognitivism (mentalist): one by one: they have a very simplistic view of the mind:
the mind is equipped with mental capacities: the mind processes one information at a time, and
uses one mental capacity at a time. Mental capacities which function independently.

ii) Holistic Cognitivism (Constructivist): the mind constructs knowledge by processing several
information at the same time using different mental capacities at the same time!

Bloom's taxonomy: The mind is equipped with a thinking system; is made of two levels thinking;
low order thinking and Higher order thinking.
Each level of thinking is equipped with processes of thinking and each process of thinking is
equipped with several mental capacities which work together.

Low order thinking: remember + understand (process information) Higher order thinking: (critical
thinking: construct knowledge): analyze + Evaluate + Apply + Internalization Personalization

* Difference between Mentalists and Constructivists:

Mentalists: they do not believe in levels of thinking. They believe that the mind is linear; one
information at a time using a single mental capacity at a time. the information is processed one time
only by each mental capacity.

Constructivists: Levels of thinking. Cyclical; the mind can process many information at the same
time, and the same information is processed many times by the same mental capacity; Exposure.
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Stage 1: Making decisions (Action plan)

Decision One: Educational Philosophy; Unit of the syllabus!

Needs analysis: adopt a specific language theory (what to learn) + a specific learning theory (how
to learn; it organizes the content). review of the existing literature about language and learning
studies.
Situation analysis: identify the potential factors/factor which has a direct impact on
accepting/validating or rejecting the decision.
Situational factor: The societal factor; the educational philosophy needs to be validated/approved
by the stake holders/decision makers; government (ministries of education/higher education) + the
owners of the institutions (private institutions).

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Deductive: direct teaching of grammar rules.
Inductive: indirect teaching of grammar (teach meaning and students will themselves form the
grammar rule).
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Example 1:
Structuralism + Behaviorism = Unit (Grammar Rules + 0 meaning rules/ communication): Deductive.
Example 2:
Functionalism (meaning: notions) + Mentalism= Unit (list of Notion + 0 Grammar rules): Inductive
Example 3:
Functionalism (meaning: functions) +Mentalism= Unit (list of functions+ 0 Grammar rules): Inductive

Eclectic: Choose more than one theory

Example 4:
Functionalism (Meaning = Functions and notions) + Constructivism - Unit (list of functions and
notions + learning process): Inductive (scaffolding).

Example 5:
Communicative competence + Constructivism = Unit (4skills; listening, speaking, reading, writing
+learning processes); inductive.

Example 6:
Structuralism + Functionalism (functions) + Mentalism = Unit (list of Grammar rules + list of
functions); deductive and inductive.
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Educational Philosophy in Oman:

Language Theory: The Communicative competence theory+ Constructivism
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Situational Analysis: (Societal, Project, Learner, Teacher, Institutional).

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Decision Two: Choose the Entry and Exit level

1) Describing the Entry and Exit levels: Why? (boundaries of the course (quantity of the
content learners will learn).
1. Needs analysis: choose a Language framework ; build on specific educational philosophies: a
measure/scale of the language which divides language into levels.

European Language Framework: beginner-intermediate-advanced:

It describes 6 levels of performance:
A1, A2 (beginner), B1,B2 (intermediate level), C1,C2 (advanced)

In Oman_ 12 levels : G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6, G7, G8, G10, G11, G12)

G1+G2 = A1 (beginners)
A1(20 language rules; rule 1 + rule 2 + rule 3 + ...... Rule 20)
G1(AI: Rule 1 - Rule 10).: Rule 1; Entry, Rule: Exit.
G2 (A1: Rule 11- Rule 20)
G3 + G4 = A2 (beginners)
G5+G6=B1 (Intermediate)
G7+G8=B2 (Intermediate)
G8 (Entry: Mid B2, Exit: End Of B2)
G7 (Entry: Beginning B2, Exit: Mid B2)
G9+G10=C1 (advanced)
G9 (Entry : Beginning C1, Exit: Mid C1)
G11+G12=C2 (advanced)

Example:
G5 (Entry: beginning B1, Exit: Mid B1)
G6 (Entry: Mid B1, Exit: End B1)

2. Situational Analysis:

Proficiency language exams: Previous proficiency level + beginning

of the new proficiency level.

Example:

G6 (Entry: Mid (2) B1, Exit: End B1)

Proficiency exam: (beginning B1 + Mid B1 + Mid 2 B1)
G5 (Function 1 + Function 2 + Function 3 +Function 4 + Function 5 + Function 6 + Function 7 +
Function 8 + Function 9 + Function 10)

G6 (Function 11, Function 12, Function 13, Function 14, Function 15, ........... + Function 20)

Exam (Function 1 to Function 10 + Function 11 to Function 15)

Results:
Scenarios:

Scenario 1: Entry (G5), Exit (beginning G6)

- No change to the entry: F10
- No change to the exit: F20

Scenario 2: G6 (10 new functions) (Entry: Mid (2) B1, Exit: End B1)
Entry: F1 to F8 are acquired, however, F9 and F10 were not taught,
- Change the entry: Mid 2 B1 +F9+F10): F9
- Exit: F18

Scenario 3: G6 (Entry: Mid (2) B1, Exit: End B1):

-Entry: change to the entry: F14 (minus 3 functions; F11-F12, F13)
-Exit: Change to the exist: F23

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Decision 3: Analysts (team group).

Needs analysis: (Educational Philosophy =language theory + learning theory) Select members of the
team based on their expertise which match the educational philosophy scientific views/beliefs

1) Linguist: based on their expertise in the language theory opted for.

2) Learning theorist/ Psycholinguist: based on their expertise in the learning theory opted for
3) Educationalist: transform the raw content prepared by the linguist and the psycholinguists into
learnable and a teachable content!

Examples: Communicative competence + Mentalism

1) Linguist: should be an expert in the communicative competence theory which views language
as a competence made of four skills.
2) Psycholinguist: should be an expert in cognitivism which believe in mentalism; which define
the mind as a synthetic process/linear process of thinking
3) Educationalist: experts in the communicative competence + mentalism

Situational Analysis: Project factor (Budget + Time)

The decision about the number of the team members is dependent of the amount of money/Fund
and timeframe.
Example: 1 month compare to 6 months to finish the project.
1 month: increase the number of the members compared to when you have 6 months.
Limited budget: decrease the number of the team members.