Syllabus Design
SYLLABUS DESIGN
Introduction
A syllabus is a specification of the content of the course of instruction
and lists what will be taught and tested (Richard 2001:2). Thus the syllabus
for speaking course might specify the kinds of oral skills that will be taught
practiced during the course, the function, topics, or other aspects of
conversation that will be taught and the other in which they will appear in the
course. Nunan, (2001) defines a syllabus is a statement of content which is
used as the basis for planning courses of various kinds.
Therefore,
a syllabus is a statement of content of a course of instruction and list what
will be taught and tested during the course. It means that syllabus give information
about what will be the content of the course.
Nunan
(2001) states that syllabus is concerned with the selection, sequencing and
justification of the content of the curriculum. Traditional approaches to
syllabus developed were concerned with selecting lists of linguist features
such as grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary as well as experiental content
such as topic and themes. These sequenced and integrated lists then presented
to the metodologist, whose task it was to develop learning activities to
facilitate the learning of the prespecified content.
A
well-designed course syllabus is a necessary component of a successful course
from both the teacher’s and student’s points of view. For teachers, the course
syllabus provides direction and guidance in the scope, sequence and pacing the
classroom activities. For students, the syllabus provides at a glance the
profile of the course’s work and the expectations for successful completion of
that work.
Wello
and Nur (citied by Nurpahmi) argued that up to now there have been at least
seven different kinds of syllabus commonly found in current ESP course and
materials such as structural syllabus, situational syllabus, topical syllabus,
functional syllabus, national syllabus, skill-based syllabus, and task-or
activity-based syllabus.
Discussion
In regard of what syllabus is, McKey (1978: 11) states that a syllabus
provides a focus for what should be studied, along with a rationale for how
that content should be selected and ordered.
Not
only is syllabus “a document which presents information on what topics or
content are to be covered in a course of study”, as suggested by (Ur, 2012, p.
185), but also “a list that specifies all the things that are to be taught in a
course”. This point is also agreed by Breen (2001, ch. 9) who elaborates at a
more macro level that a syllabus “is a plan of what is to be achieved through
teaching and learning” and “provides a clear framework of knowledge and
capabilities selected to be appropriate to overall aims”. Added to this, Nunan
(1988, p. 3, cited in Lockwood, 2012, p. 19), states that “it is important
that, in the planning, implementation and evaluation of a given curriculum, all
elements be integrated, so that decisions made at one level are not in conflict
with those made at another”.
Van
Ek and other associated in his project developed a syllabus known as the
Threshold leel, which specify the component of communicative competence that
should be known learners reaching a “threshold” level of foreign language
proficiency, that is the level in which the learners could use a foreign
langusge for everyday oral communication in basic social survival situation.
1. Determine
language-learning objectives
Van Ek (1987) states
that language-learning objectives, like other learning objectives, are define in term
of behaviour. The aim of learning is
always to enable the learner to do something which he could not do at the
beginning process. Moreover, learning-objectives must be geared toward
learners’ needs. This means that before defining an objective we must define
the group of learners whose needs we wish to cater for, the target-group.
To sum up the model for the definition of
language learning objectives specifies the following components:
a. The
situation in which the foreign language will be used, including the topics
which will be dealt with;
b. The
language activities in which the learner will engage;
c. The
language functions which the learner will fulfill;
d. What the
learner will be able to do with respect to each topic;
e. The general
notionswhich the learner will be able to handle;
f. The
specific (topic related) notion which the learner will be able to handle;
g. The
language forms which the learner will be able to use;
h.
The degree of skill which the learner will be able to
perform.
2. Specify
Situations
By
situation we mean the complex of the extra linguistic conditions which
determiners the nature of a language-act. For our purposes, however the
definition of a level of general language-ability will be an objective for a
very large and heterogeneous population-we must ignore strictly individual
conditions and we may concentrate on four components of situations, which,
together, provide a sufficient basis for the further steps in the procedure.
a.
The social roles
which the learner will be able to play.
The principal social roles for which T-level learners have to be prepared
are:
·
Stranger/stranger
·
Friend/friend
The
inclusion of role 2 (friend/friend) has
important consequences for the definition of the T-level.it raises this level
above that required for purely physical survival in a foreign-language
environment. It will prepare the learner for the establishment and maintenance
of social relationships with the foreign- language speakers. Only when this
need is fulfilled can our level be called “threshold level” in a meaningful
way: it will enable the learner to sross the threshold into the foreign
language community.
b. The psychology roles which the learner will
be able to play;
On the basis of the characteristics of the
target-group we select from Richterich the following roles:
·
Neutrality
·
Equality
·
Sympathy
·
Antipathy
These role are the more neutral roles and
they are appropriate in a large variety types of linguistic interaction.
c. The settings in which the learner will be
able to use the foreign language
On
the basis of the characteristics pf the target group, we may draw up a long
list of settings in which the learners may want to use the foreign language.
The settings have been selected from lists provided by Richterich (op. cit) and
by Pect (private communication). It is assumed, however that is sufficiently
comprehensive
to produce-together with the other components of situations- specifications of
language ability which enable the learners to behave adequately also in various
settings which have not been listen (transfer) geographical location; place
such as outdoors, indoors.
d.
The topics which
the learner will be able to deal with in the foreign language. On the basis of
the characteristics of the target-group, the following list of topics has been
drawn up. A similar list provided by Peck has been used as the main source. In
the composition of the list the social roles we have selected have been used as
criteria for inclusion. With respect to this list the same remark applies which
was made a propos of the list of settings: a certain measure of arbitrariness
in the classification does not affect the value of the list as long as all the
more important topics are included somewhere. It may be assumed that a listed
will also be able to deal with several other topics for which he has not
necessarily been prepared.
e. Set
Language Function
In setting up list of language functions it
has been distinguished six main categories of verbal communication:
· Imparting
and seeking factual information;
· Expressing
and finding out intellectual attitudes;
· Expressing
and finding out emotional attitudes;
· Expressing
and finding out moral attitudes;
· Getting
things done (suasion)
· Socializing
Each
of these six main categories, and, indeed, each of the functions, may be
realized separately in language-acts. Often, however two or more of them will
be combined in a single language-act. Thus, one may seek factual information
while at the same time expressing surprise (emotional attitude). Yet, it is
convenient to deal with each function separately and to specify just what each
function involves by way of language-content (Van ek 1987).
·
An integrated approach to syllabus design
Unfortunately,
the need for an integrated approach to syllabus design has seldom been
recognized by advocates of both ESP and SFL frameworks. Following
Larsen-Freeman’s (2001, cited in Nunan, 2004, pp. 22-23) suggestion that
learners need to understand the interrelationships between “form”, “meaning”
and “use”, Nunan (2004) takes it further by adopting the concept of three
“macrofunctions” (known as metafunctions in SFL literature) from the SFL
framework into his own task-based language teaching framework. It is a good
example of sharing applied linguistic research findings in order to inform and
improve English language pedagogy not only within the same (ESP) linguistic
framework as much endorsed by Chan (2009 & 2017), but also across different
conceptual underpinnings and academic territories (ESP and SFL).
Innovative
as it is in the traditional boundaries of a task-based syllabus design, Nunan’s
(2004) framework duplicates efforts by only taking on board certain
“functional” features from the SFL framework and using them in an integrated
way in everyday interactions. He fails to provide a clear rationale and
systemic framework for explicitly utilizing the dynamic relations between form,
function and meaning within different contexts. In fact, the SFL framework is
much more dynamic and powerful in offering three semantic levels: “social
functions of language” (also known as “metafunctions”), “social context
variables” (known as Mode, Tenor and Field) and “lexicogrammar”.
A
good syllabus will account for at least five components. First, the goals and objectives of the course. Second, the instructional materials and media: instructional
materials deal with what material being taught to the learners during the
course. The materials should be in line with the learners’ needs and interests.
It also deals with the goals and objective of the course. In contrast, media
deals with the media used in teaching and learning process in order to help the
teachers to accomplish the goals and objectives of the course. It accounts for
books, blackboard, LCD, computer/ laptop, disks, CD-Rom’s, flash drives, lab
supplies, and so forth. Third, the
teaching and learning activities: It deals with what strategies being implemented in the teaching and
learning activities such as discussion, role-play, presentation, lecture,
service learning, cooperative learning, group projects, group grades, peer
evaluation, practicum, and so forth. Fourth, assessment: it deals with how to evaluate
the teaching and learning processes. It accounts for assignments, weight
of each assignment or exam, kinds of papers or projects, format, due dates,
kinds of exams due dates, reading assignments, due dates, rewrite and make-up
policies, acceptability of handwritten work, grading criteria, and policy on
late assignments. Fifth, time allotment: it deals with the duration of each material being taught, or how many meetings
for each material.
Regarding
to the approaches of syllabus design for foreign language teaching, Brown
(1995:7) divides syllabus into seven classification; a) structural syllabus, b)
situational syllabus, c) topical syllabus, d) functional situational syllabus,
e) notional syllabus, f) skill- based syllabus, and g) task-based syllabus.
While
syllabus design is a notion with which the history of curriculum development
starts in Teaching English as a second language (TESL) or English Language
Teaching (ELT) in general, the “method concept in teaching becomes powerful if
it is derived from a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular
theory of language and language learning” (Richards, 2001, p. 2). That said,
discussions on syllabus design have been heated and vibrant over the past two
decades, and have also opened up areas for different theories providing
insights into “what” (e.g. content of teaching and language needs) and “how”
(e.g. pedagogies and learning needs).
However, there are concerns with traditional ELT courses that learners
are not explicitly encouraged to develop a critical awareness of workplace
practices or the context in which the target language operates, whether they
are task-based, text-based or content-based (Nunan, 2004; Flowerdew, 2005;
Hyland, 2003, 2007; Christie & Derewianka, 2008; Lockwood, 2012; Chan,
2017). This means that learners are not able to relate language (e.g.
lexicogrammar and linguistic forms) to meanings for different genres in various
contexts involving specific purposes of communication.
Conclusion
According to Nunan (1985:7), in designing a syllabus the most important
step is analyzing the learners needs. The step in demonstrating syllabus are
need analysis, formulating goal, selecting and grading content, selecting and
grading task, selecting and grading objectives. In line with Nunan, Yalden
(1983) also has the same idea. He also suggested 5 following steps in designing
syllabus: needs analysis, determining objectives and aims, sequencing, teaching
method, and testing and evaluation.
1)
Formulating goal from need analysis data
Based data got from need analysis, the syllabus designer formulates
objective. According to Nunan (2006) goal can refer to cognitive and affective
aspects of the learner’s development, what the teacher hopes to achieve in the
classroom, the real world communicative tasks the learners should be able to
perform as a result of instruction, and so on. Product-oriented goals can be
derived directly from the learners them-selves, that is, by asking the learners
why they are learning the language. Alternatively, they can be derived by
syllabus designers through a process of introspecting on the sorts of
communicative purposes for which language is used. These can either relate to a
restricted domain (as in ESP) or to the more general purposes for which
language is used. The list of functional items developed by people such as
Wilkins and Van Ek where the result of attempts to describe and categorize all
the different things that users of a language might want to do with that
language.
2)
Selecting content based on the objective
After formulating the goals, the syllabus designer select content which
is suitable with the objective. Selecting process must be based on the syllabus
approach. If the syllabus designer select grammatical approach, so it must
select and
3)
Grading the content
After
selecting the content that suitable with the syllabus approach used, then the
content graded based on the suitabe approach as well. For example if the
syllabus designer apply grammatical syllabus, so the content graded according
to grammatical notions of simplicity and complexity.
References
Anthony
Ng. An integrated approach to syllabus
design(ESP and SFL Perspectives). file:///C:/Users/ASUS-PC/Downloads/AnIntegratedApproachtoSyllabusDesign.pdf.
Dahniar. “Developing A Task-Based
Syllabus Based on Needs Analysis for Midwifery at UIN Alauddin Makassar”.
ESP Resources. “Syllabus Design”.
https://whichmethods.com/categories-2/syllabus-design/ Sitti
Nurpahmi. (2014). English for specific
purposes an integrated approach. Makassar:
Alauddin University Press.
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