TSLB2073R

Curriculum Studies in ESL for

Primary Schools
Concepts and Issues in Curriculum
- Fundamental concepts, definitions and terminology
Curriculum (official, negotiated, hidden)
Syllabus
- Programme, course, scheme of work, learning objectives and their design
- The impacts of the historical English language syllabus development on the Malaysian Curriculum
 Albert Oliver…
Curriculum is an educational program with four
basic elements
1. The program of studies
Definition: 2. The program of experiences
3. The program of services
What is a 4. The hidden curriculum

curriculu Robert Gagne…

Curriculum encompasses
m? 1. Subject matter (content)
2. Statement of ends (end objectives)
3. The sequencing of content
4. Pre-assessment of entry skills
 • Hass… all of the experiences that individual
learners have in a program of education whose

Definition: purpose is to achieve broad goals and related

specific objectives, which is planned in terms of a
framework of theory and research or past and
The present professional practice.

curriculum • Kerr… all the learning which is planned and guided

by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or
is… individually, inside or outside the school.

• What is your take (in one sentence)?

 Short Answer Submissions (all)

Fatin Plan

Suhailie curriculum is subject teach

Suhaila Central guide for teachers

Syazwan curriculum is a plan of action that is aimed at achieving desired goals and objectives.

Nurul Farhanah Curriculum is the scheme and plan the teacher use to teach throughout the year.

Aqidah Curriculum is a standard based guide of planned programmes for the students to achieve the desired goals.
 Short Answer Submissions (all)

Nurul Izzati A plan to guide teachers.

Dharshini A program that aids daily lesson plan and execution.

Hanisah As a guidance for the teacher to plan and design their lesson.

Aida The standard in teaching and learning

Nadia Curriculum is the guidelines to achieve the objectives.

Fatihah Lessons that will be studied according to desired goals

 Short Answer Submissions (all)

A timely and organized program that is expected to be followed in order to achieve a particular level and
SYUHADA
objectives
Curriculum is…
• That which is taught in school;            • Everything that goes on within a school; 
• A set of subjects;  • Everything that is planned by school
personnel;
• Content;
• That which is taught both inside and
• A programme of studies; outside of school directed by the school;
• A set of materials;  • A series of experiences undergone by
Sequence of courses;  learners in school; and 
•
• That which an individual learner
• A set of performance objectives; experiences as a result of schooling.
• A course of study;
 … Curriculum is a statement of….

Despite varying i. what students should know (knowledge or

definitions of content); 
curriculum, there ii. what students should be able to do (skills); 
seems to be a iii. how it is to be taught (instruction); 
consensus  that… iv. how it is to be measured (assessment); 
v. how the educational system is organised
(context).   
Thus, Curriculum is…
a structured plan of intended learning outcomes, involving knowledge, skills, behaviour and
associated learning experiences organised as a sequence of events that a student acquires
through education and training. 

How we conceive of the curriculum is important because our conceptions and ways of
reasoning about curriculum reflect how we think, study and act on the education made
available to students.

In short, how we define the curriculum reflects our assumptions about the world.

(Cornbleth, 1990).
Official Curriculum
(Planned/Overt/Explicit/Intended)
The overt curriculum is the open, or public dimension  and
includes current and historical interpretations, learning
experiences, and learning outcomes.

the intended curriculum is captured most explicitly in

content standards.
Official Curriculum
(Planned/Overt/Explicit/Intended)
• statements of what every student must know and be able to
do by some specified point in time. What students are
supposed to learn.
• Openly discussed, consciously planned, usually written
down, presented through the instructional process
• Textbooks, learning kits, lesson plans, school plays etc.
 Negotiated curriculum, also known as integrated,
co-designed or co-constructed curriculum, is “a
dynamic process in which what is taught and
learned (the curriculum) is negotiated between
teacher and students, rather than being solely
pre-determined by the teacher” (Edwards, 2011).
Negotiated
Curriculum Negotiating the what, how, when and where of a
course gives students greater ownership of their
learning experience, increases student motivation
and fosters heightened engagement in the
learning process.
 Harris (2010) explains: “the idea is that dialog
will encourage learners to understand their
responsibility in their own learning process,
motivating them to engage positively in its
activities so that they can accomplish the
objectives they have helped determine”.
Negotiated
Curriculum Negotiated curriculum increases students’
self-responsibility for learning in a format that
offers greater flexibility in terms of scheduling
and how learning time is spent (Yazid, Musa,
Ghaffar, Noor, Azamri, & Majid, 2013)
Hidden Curriculum
[ Covert / Invisible ]
• A hidden curriculum is a side effect of an education,
"[lessons] which are learned but not openly intended” such
as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in
the classroom and the social environment. Any learning
experience may teach unintended lessons.
• The processes…the “noise” by which the overt curriculum is
transmitted
Hidden Curriculum
[ Covert / Invisible ]

“they are also learning and modifying attitudes,

motives, and values in relationship to the
experiences…in the classroom.”

The non-academic outcomes of formal education

are sometimes of greater consequence than is
learning the subject matter.
 • The enacted curriculum refers to instruction
(e.g. what happens in classrooms).
• the content actually delivered during
Enacted instruction (i.e., instructional content), as
well as how it is taught (i.e., instructional
Curriculum practices). Typically, the content targets are
based on the official/intended/planned
curriculum.
 • In other words, the enacted curriculum is
what students get the chance to learn, as
well as how teachers "deliver" the content. 
Enacted • The “Enacted Curriculum” reflects the daily
curricular experience of a student within
Curriculum instructional settings exemplified by
assignments, instructional practices, and
managed content.
Syllabus
• A syllabus describes the whole
academic content covered in a
particular subject. It might be
explained as a curriculum's practical
implementation plan, designed by the
subject.
• A syllabus is provided to students at
the beginning of the study process as
a detailed outline of everything they
will learn and submit within the
subject.
Curriculum vs Syllabus
Relationships between Curriculum, Syllabus, Course
and Programme
Curriculum Syllabus Programme Course
Concerned with A framework within A programme written A unit of teaching that
general statements which activities can be by the institution or typically lasts one
about learning, carried out; a teaching ministry of education academic term. It is
learning purpose, & device to facilitate which determines the usually an individual
experience, evaluation, learning. learning progress of subject. Students may
and the role It only becomes a each subject in all the receive a grade and
relationships of threat to pedagogy stages of formal academic credit after
teachers and learners.  when it is regarded as education completion of the
They will also contain absolute rules for course.
banks of learning items determining what is to
and suggestions  about be learned rather than
how these might be points of references
used in class. from which bearings
can be taken
 •  A scheme of work is a document which
summarises the content of a course of
instruction (curriculum/syllabus), and which
divides the course content into manageable
portions for logical and organised teaching
Scheme of and assessment.
• Syllabus documentation may not always be
Work arranged into a sequence which provides
well for incremental learning, for a journey
through the course materials in a way which
makes sense to the teacher and the learners
alike; part of the function of the scheme of
work is to provide this structure.
 • The scheme of work will also consider
formative and summative assessment, and
will build in appropriate time into the course
design for related elements such as revision
before final examination-based assessments.
Scheme of • Any scheme of work will need to take into
consideration external limiting factors: the
Work length of time in a week, the number of
sessions per week, the length of those
sessions, and calendar-related aspects such
as timings of holiday periods and of
examination and other fixed assessment
dates.
What should
be included
in the
Scheme of
Work
 Short Answer Submissions (all)

Nurul Izzati Learning standard

Aida Moral values

Nadia Lesson objectives

SYUHADA content standard

Suhailie learning outcomes

Fatihah Moral values

 Short Answer Submissions (all)

Hanisah Content standard and learning standard.

Nabila Objectives

Aqidah Activities

Fatin Types of assessment

Nurul Farhanah Language/grammar focus

Suhaila Learning and content standard, objectives, period covered

 • General course information
• Aims, objectives, learning outcomes
•  Course content
What should • Learner activity
be included • Teaching and learning methods
in the • Assessment methods
Scheme of • Homework/set texts
• Resources
Work • Contextual learning opportunities
• Any other possible item?
 Aim vs Objective

An aim is a general statement

An objective is a more
of intent. It describes the
specific statement about
direction in which the learner
what the learner should or
will go in terms of what they
will be able to do after the
might learn or what the
training experience.
teacher/training will deliver.
Aim and Objective
AIM
The English Language Curriculum for Primary Schools
aims to equip pupils with basic language skills to enable
them to communicate effectively in a variety of
contexts that are appropriate to the pupils’ level of
development.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of Year 6, pupils are able to achieve the
following objectives:
1. Communicate with peers and adults confidently and
appropriately in formal and informal situations.
2. Read and comprehend a range of English
texts for information and enjoyment.
3. Use appropriate language, style and form to
write for different purposes through a
variety of media.
4. Appreciate and demonstrate understanding
of English language literary or creative works
for enjoyment.
5. Use correct and appropriate rules of
grammar in speech and writing.
6. Appreciate and inculcate values, positive
attitudes and patriotism.
 Historical English Language Syllabus
Development on the Malaysian Curriculum

• The role and status of the English language is institutionalized as an important

Second language (English as a second language) in the Education Ordinance since
1957 and reaffirmed in the Education Act (GoM 1961 and 1996) and the National
Education Policy issued in 1970 (MoE 2012).
• The Government of Malaysia had rolled out several notable reforms spanning more
than thirty years of English language education in the country, namely
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach in KBSR (1982), the SMART
School approach (1999), Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (2012), English
Language Education Roadmap for Malaysia 2015-2025 (2015)
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
approach in KBSR

• Emphasized on learning language for communicative purposes and not for

grammatical knowledge.
• The fundamental principles in CLT was learner centeredness and contextualized
language use (Nunan, 2003).
• by early 1990s, differing results were reported in terms of teaching the
communicative way, mismatch between syllabus objectives and CLT principles with
actual classroom practices as well as language assessment (Musa et al. 2012).
 SMART School approach
• Emphasized that advancements in information and communication technologies
(ICT) and portable information has made English “the language of globalization,
internet, trade and science”.
• Towards equipping students with computer literacy and ICT skills MoE adopted the
SMART School approach conceived by Perkins and his colleagues at Harvard (Perkins
1992).
• Unfortunately, this initiative was inundated with hardware and software problems
right from the beginning. Time factor, limited computer literacy, lack of instructional
design resulting in irrelevant content, technical malfunctions, inefficient ICT
infrastructure and insufficient hardware were found to be the major reasons that
caused teachers not to aggressively adopt and integrate ICT in their teaching (Azizah
et al. 2005, Selvaraj 2010, Mirzajani et al. 2016).
 Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025

• a comprehensive review of the national education system conducted in 2011, led

to the development of the new Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.
• The implementation of the MEB brought about the third education reform for
primary education with the introduction of the Primary School Standards-Based
Curriculum or KSSR in 2013.
• the inclusion of English literacy in the Literacy and Numeracy Screening or LINUS
programme.
• The LINUS programme underlined the imperative to ensure 100% of primary
school children is literate in Bahasa Melayu and not less than 90% in English
Language by the end of year 3.
 English Language Education Roadmap for
Malaysia 2015-2025

• It is extended from the MEB.

• The roadmap which is progressively aligned with the MEB serves as a guide for
English language curriculum developers and teachers to ensure that students
achieve proficiency levels aligned to international standards, benchmarked against
the Common European Framework of Reference or CEFR.
• Aligning the system with an international standard (CEFR) is an element in the
Malaysia Education Blueprint that aims to boost the level of education in the country
to international standards
 • The fact remains that even in its contested
position since independence, English language
is maintained as an important ‘second language’
constitutionally. Moreover, high competency in
English literacy skills are valued and fully
appreciated.
Impacts • Ironically, in spite of the emphasis given to the
teaching and learning of this language, as
evident in the upscaling of English language
education standards embodied in each new
reform introduced, English language
performance amongst school going and tertiary
students remain inadequate.
 • The learning design and underlining emphasis
of the reforms proffered have shifted from
subject or skills specific outcomes in the 1980s
to outcomes that promotes ways of learning,
applying and regenerating knowledge, as well as
internationally benchmarked competencies.

Impacts • However, language rich content which is

critically important for language uptake remains
limited. Hence, students find themselves
engaged in communicative activities
unprepared as fundamental enabling language
skills such as vocabulary, grammar, phonetics
and basic aural-literacy skills are not directly
taught to prepare them.
 • The growing influence of social constructivism learning
theory perspective on education. Social construction
theory dictates that knowledge construction is
dependent on the context in which the learning occurs
(Street 1994, Howell 2012).
• This means that students need to experience authentic
and meaningful learning experiences across a variety of
Impacts real contexts. The MEB, and SBELC for example advocate
integration of ICT to facilitate learning, while encouraging
student-centred learning as well as interactions with
others within and outside of the learning community to
create meaning and develop knowledge.
• But how do you create ‘authentic experiences’ for English
language in a target-language-deprived context
juxtaposed against a multilingual rich environment?
Tutorial Task

1. Based on the changes (curriculum) that have taken place in the

education system, discuss how these changes will lead to a better
future for the new generation (in terms of English language). Relate to
CEFR Framework
2. Study the DSKP KSSR English and the revised one (CEFR Aligned DSKP
KSSR English) and analyse the changes made.
3. Analyse the Malaysian curriculum in the 3 different eras:
- Pre-independent (Before 1957)
- Post-independent (1958 – 1970)
- Post 1970