11-9009 Topic II. Language Curriculum Presentation.

11-9009 Topic II. Language Curriculum Review Key Concepts.

By Caroll Barrios Molina

Considerations as part of the theory and research.

Parts of the Curriculum Design Process

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Multiple Select

According to the some parts of the curriculum design are the following:

• Principles

  Needs

  Environment

• Content

  and Sequencing

• Format and presentation

• Monitoring and Assessment

1. Factors of the situation in whichg the course will be used.​

Environment Analysis.

2. Determing how the course should take account on them.​

Environment Analysis.

Multiple Choice

"One way of approaching environment analysis is to work from a list of questions which focus on nature the nature of ......................... " (Language Curriculum, p. 2).

• Teachers

• Learners

• Syllabi

• Goals

Open Ended

Choose Three factors which will have the strongest effect on design of your course.

Poll

Rank them according to the influence each factor should have.

• Interest or lack of interest in learning English

• Learner´s plan to move from styding highschool to studying at the university.

• External design and administration of the course.

• Small amount of time available for the course

• Large size of classes

The teachers´ lack of experience and training.

​

The learners´ use of the first language in the classroom.

​

The need for the learners to be more autonomous. ​

The wide range of profiency in the class.

​

The inmediate survival needs of the learners.

​

The lack of appropriate reading material. ​

List of factors the teachers consider more important

Languega Curriculum: An Overview.

Multiple Choice

"The importance of environment analysis is that it makes sure that the course will really be..." (Language Curriculum, p. 5).

• function based

• teachers recalling previous knowledge

• suitable, practical and realistic

• content and materials based

Discovering Needs

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

​- Hutchinson and Waters (1987)

" Learner´s needs, necessities, lacks and wants (...) may act as the learning goals of the course. " 

what the learner hast to know to function effectively.

Necessities

​

​what the learner knwos and does not know already.

Lacks

​

what the learners think they need.

Wants

​

"Ways of doing needs analysis can be evaluated by the same general criteria used to evaluate tests: reliability, validity, and practicality" (L.C, p.7)​.

Follow Principles

The principles research include principles on the importance of repetition and thoughtful processing of material, individual differences and learning styles, attitudes and motivation. ​

Multiple Select

Choose an option: Curriculum design makes the connection between...

• research and theory of language learning

• the practice of designing lessons and courses

• the interference and course books

Goals

It is essential to decide why a course is being tought and what the learners need to get from it. Examples of goals that have been set for language courses.

​

1. The aim of curriculum design is to encourage students to exploit all the elements of the language curr​iculum design that they know inorder to make their meaning clear.

Multiple Select

"Having a clear statement of goals is important for..." (Language Curriculum, p. 7)

• determining the content of the course

• deciding on the focus in presentation

• in guiding assessment

• none of those.

Content and Sequencing

​The content of language courses consists of...

language items, ideas, skills and strategies that meet goals of the course.

One way to provide a systematic and well-researched basis for a course is to make use fo frequency lists and other lists of language items or skills. These should be chosen and adapted as a result of the needs analysis in order to set language learning content of the course. ​

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

It should cover the important high frequency vocabulary and structures, and still consist of a series of very free task-based conversation activities (Joe, Nation and Newton, 1996)

A conversation course

A list may be used as a way of checking the content of a course, but this does not mean that the lessons have to consist of item by item teaching.

Example

Content and Sequencing

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Multiple Select

"Working from lists makes sure that what should be covered is covered and is not left to chance. A typical conversation course list include..." (Language Curriculum, p. 9)

• Frequency-based vocabulary lists

• Frequency lists of verb forms and verb groups

• List of functions and topics

• Lists of subskills and strategies

• Lists of tasks, topics, and themes

Finding a format and presenting material

Language Curriculum: An OVerview.

Finding a Format and Presenting Material

​The presentation of material will involve...

...the use of suitable teaching techniques and procedures, and these need to be put together in lessons.

​

​...an unpredictable series of activities and the same sequence of activities in most of the lessons.

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Lessons, in a course, are easier to make because each one does not have to be planned separately.

​

Lessons, in a course, are easier of monitor, to check if all and that accepted principels are being followed. ​

​

Lessons, in a course, are easier to lear from because the learner can predict what will occur and are soon familiar with the learning procedures. ​

​

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

​Advantages to having a set of format for lessons

​

The lesson format needs to be checked against the environment analysis of the course to make sure that the major environmental factors are being considered.

​

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Important

​

Open Ended

"Because curriculum design is not a linear process, it may be necessary to alter the content or sequencing to suit the lesson format and to reorder the list of environmental factors" (Language Curriculum, p. 10). According to curriculum design, what is the most difficult task with that process?

​Monitoring and Assessing

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Achievement tests ​

Measure what has been learned from a particular course. ​

Course and items: goals and content​

Proficiency tests​​

Measure what a learner knows of the language.​

Level of language knowledge​

​

The aims of curriculum design are to make a course that has useful goals that achieves its goals, that satisfies its users, and that does all this in an efficient way.

Monitoring and Assessing

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Multiple Choice

"Short-term achievement tests are tests that occur at the end of each lesson or at the end of a group of lessons" (Language Curriculum, p. 10)

• They provide the teacher and learners with information about how much has been learned

• They provide teachers a well designed course which includes short term achievement tests

• They provide a curriculum design and perhaps an useful evaluating course

Multiple Choice

"Larger achievement tests can occur...

• at the beginning of a course and a the end of a course.

• at the end of a course and halfway through the course.

• none of those.

Multiple Choice

"Placement tests help to..."

• test if the learners can continue with a specific topic studied before

• see if the course has limitations on content and sequence

• see if the course is suitable for a prospective learner or to see where a learner should begin

Multiple Choice

"Diagnostic tests help..."

• to see if learners have particular gaps in their knowledge

• to see if teacher get learners talk about what they studied long ago

• to see if learners langauge learning is part of the curriculum design

Multiple Select

"Testing is..."

• a way of gaining information about the progress of learners.

• a way of monitor the effectiveness of the course.

• observing and monitoring using checklists and report forms.

Multiple Select

"Other ways of testing include..."

• diaries and learning logs

• collect samples of their work in folders

• get learners talk about their learning.

Multiple Choice

"Curriculum design can..."

• include planned opportunity for a kind of data gathering.

• include only a way of testing.

Evaluating a course

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Evaluating a course

​Information gained from assessment is a useful source

"Is it a good course?" A good course could be one that:

​

• attracts a lot of students

• makes a lot of money

• satisfies the learners​

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Evaluating a course

​Information gained from assessment is a useful source

"Is it a good course?" A good course could be one that:

​

• satisfies the sponsors

• helps learners gain high scores in an external test

• results in a lot of learning​

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Evaluating a course

​Information gained from assessment is a useful source

"Is it a good course?" A good course could be one that:

​

• applies state-of-the-art knowledge about langauge teaching and learning

• is held in high regard by the local or international community

• follows accepted principles of curriculum design.

Language Curriculum: An Overview.

Poll

Evaluation of a course can have many purposes. Which are the most important?

• continue or discontinue the course and bring improvements in the course

• examine the environment and include assessment procedures

• assess needs and design a lesson format

• decide on principles and set goals, sequence and content