Syllabus and Curriculum Design for a Second Language Teaching
Deciding on goals and objectives
Goals
We plan the goals of the course based on what we know about learners' needs and the context, and based on our own understandings of language, learning, and language learning.
Objectives
Objectives are specific statement of what learners will know and be able to do. They are obtainable and measurable to the extent that learners should have some way go knowing whether the objective has been reached.
How to design a syllabus?
Processes of designing a syllabus
Designing a syllabus forces us to think about both the whole and all the parts of a course-how the trees make up the forest.
Context analysis
The process of context analysis involves identifying the resources and contraints that will have an impact on the course and making decisions about how to account for factors that are particularly challenging.
Factors to consider in a context analysis
Time
Physical resources
Human Resources
Educational Requirements
Social, cultural, and political factors
Needs assessment
The purpose of needs assessment is to have as much information as possible about the learners, their needs, and their purposes to set realistic learning targets.
Types of information
Demographic information
Age, gender, nationality, first and other languages
Educational background information
Length, place, and focus of education; expectations of teacher/learner roles
Interests and life experience
Purposes for study
What is a curriculum?
What is a syllabus?
Syllabus types
Determining syllabus content
As we discussed in the section on syllabus types, the nature of language and language learning makes defining goals and deciding on the content that will enable learners to achieve the goals challenging.
Syllabus content
Consists of what students are expect to learn and learn how to do in the course. The purpose of determining the content is to ensure that what the course focuses on is appropriate for the students.
Syllabus content categories
Macro skills
Topics, themes
Specific content areas
Text types (genres)
Task
Projects
Metacognitive skills and learning strategies
Grammar
Vocabulary
Cultural/pragmatic knowledge and skills
Sociopolitical skills
Syllabus is our guide to a course and what will be expected of you in the course
basic elements of a course including:
Topics
Weekly schedule
List of tests
Assignments
Your syllabus is provides students with a comprehensive overview of the course´s aims and objectives learning outcomes and assessment strategies
A course of a study that will enable the learner to acquire specific knowledge and skills.
Is the combination of instructional practices, learning experiences and students performance assessment that are designed to bring out and evaluate the target learning of a particular course
The three main curricular process are
Planning
Enacting
Evaluating