Course planning and syllabus design

(Richards, 2001)

UNIMINUTOTeaching practicum 2

Prof. Alexander Benito

Syllabus design vs Methodology

Syllabus design is seen as being concerned essentially with the selection and grading of content, while methodology is concerned with the selection of learning tasks and activities.

[The syllabus] replaces the concept of 'method', and the syllabus is now seen as an instrument by which the teacher, with the help of the syllabus designer, can achieve a degree of 'fit' between the needs and aims of the learner (as social being and as individual)and the activities which will take place in the classroom. (Yalden 1984: 14)

Definition

The course rationale

Who is the course for?

What is the course about?

What kind of teaching and learning will take place in the course?

Describing the entry and exit level

At which level the learners will start and the level they are expected to reach at the end of the course?

Choosing the course content

This reflects the planners’ assumptions about the nature of language, language use, language learning, what the units of language are, and how these can be organized.

This also depends on the type of syllabus framework that will be used as the basis of the course.

Determining the scope and the sequence

• Scope is concerned with the breadth and depth of coverage of items in the course, that is, with the following questions:

What range of content will be covered?To what extent should each topic be studied?

The sequence • The sequencing involves deciding which is content is needed early in the

course and which provides a basis for things that will be learned later. Sequencing may be based on the following criteria.

Simple to complexChronology e.g. Proficiency course. L, S, R, W. Writing course. (1) brainstorming; (2) drafting; (3) revising; (4) editing. Need. According to when learners are most likely to need it outside of the

classroom.e.g. • i. basid literacy skills• ii. personal identification• iii. money• iv. shopping• v. time and dates• vi. ( … )

Planning a course structure

• This step involves mapping the course structure into a form and sequence that provide a suitable basis for teaching. Two aspects of this process, required more detailed planning: selecting a syllabus framework and developing instructional blocks.

Syllabus framework• A syllabus describes the major elements that will

be used in planning a language course and provides the basis for its instructional focus and content.

Factors that influence planners: Knowledge and beliefs about the subject area. Research and theory. Common practice . Trends.

Instructional blocks• An instructional block is a self-contained learning

sequence that has its own goals and objectives and that also reflects the overall objectives for the course.

Three purposes:• to make the course more teachable and learnable• to provide a progression in level of difficulty• to create overall coherence and structure for the

course These could be planned by modules and by units.

A module

• This is a self-contained and independent learning sequence with its own objectives. E.g. a 120-hour course might be divided into four modules of 30 hours each.

• Assessment is carried out at the end of each module.

• Modules allow for flexible organization of a course and can give learners a sense of achievement because objectives are more immediate and specific.

A unit

• This teaching block is normallly longer than a single lesson but shorter than a module and is the commonest way of organizing courses and teaching materials. It is normally a group of lessons that is planned around a single instructional focus.

• A unit seeks to provide a structured sequence of activities that lead toward a learning outcome.

Factors to be considered for a successful unit

• Length: sufficient but not too much material is included.

• Development: one activity leads effectively into the next; the unit does not consist of a random sequence of activities.

• Coherence: the unit has an overall sense of coherence• Pacing: each activity withing the unit moves at a

reasonable pace. For example, if there are five activities in the unit, one does not require four times as much tim to complete as the others.

• Outcome: at the end of the unit, students should be able to know or do a series of things that are related.