Syllabus Design

Syllabus Design

Professor. Estela Aracely García Cruz

Didactics of English II

Teaching Degree in English Language

Open Ended

What's the difference between curriculum and syllabus?

Open Ended

Why is the curriculum prescriptive and the syllabus descriptive?

a)

Introduction

b)

Syllabus

c)

Curriculum vs Syllabus

d)

Types of Syllabi

e)

Student Factors Affecting Syllabus Choice and Design

f)

D. Combining and Integrating Syllabus Types

g)

Complementary resources

h)

Evaluation

Developement of

the content

Introduction

We will start by outlining the scope of

syllabus design and relating it to the

broader field of curriculum development.

Within the literature, there is some

confusion over the terms 'syllabus' and

'curriculum'. It would, therefore, be as

well to give some indication at the outset

of what is meant here by syllabus, and

also how syllabus design is related to

curriculum development.

Candl

in(1984)

suggests

that

curricula

are

concerned with making general statements about

language

learning,

learning

purpose

and

experience, evaluation, relationships of teachers

and learners. According to Candlin, they will also

contain banks of learning items and suggestions

about how these might be used in class. Syllabi, on

the other hand, are more localized and are based

on accounts and records of what actually happens

in the classroom level as teachers and learners

apply a given curriculum to their own situation.

Open Ended

Now, that we discussed a few definitions write your own definition about syllabus?

Curriculum

and

syllabus

are

two

major

documents necessarily prepared in a course

design task. Where a curriculum describes the

broadest

contexts

in

which

planning

for

language instruction takes place, a syllabus is a

more

circumscribed

document,

usually

one

which has been prepared for a particular group

of learners (Dubin and Olshtain, 1986).

Curriculum vs Syllabi

In other words, a syllabus is more specific and more

concrete than a curriculum, and a curriculum may

contain a number of syllabi. A curriculum may specify

only the goals what the learners will be able to do at

the end of the instruction while the syllabus specifies

the content of the lessons used to lead the learners to

achieve the goals (Krahnke, 1987).

Content or what is taught is the single aspect of

syllabus design to be considered. It includes

behavioral or learning objectives for students,

specifications of how the content will be taught

and how it will be evaluated.

The aspects of language teaching method which

are closely related to syllabus are the theory of

language, theory of learning and the learner type.

The choice of syllabus should take those three

aspects into consideration.

Multiple Choice

This is the guideline of the whole academic content covered during a specific course or program. It shows what professors should teach, how and why?

• Curriculum

• Syllabus

• Evaluation process

• Education

Multiple Choice

This document specifies the content of lessons used to lead the learners to achieve goals. It is more specific and concrete:

• Curriculum

• Syllabus

• Tests

• Diagnostic evaluation

Types of syllabi

1. A structural (or formal) syllabus. It is

one in which the content of language

teaching is a collection of the forms and

structures,

usually

grammatical,

ofthe

language being taught. The structural or

grammatical syllabus is doubtless the most

familiar of syllabus types.

2. A notional/functional syllabus.

It is one in which the content of language teaching is a

collection of the functions that are performed when language is

used, or of the notions that language is used to express.

Examples

of

functions

include:

informing,

agreeing,

apologizing, requesting, promising, and so on.

Examples of notions include size, age, color, comparison, time,

and so on.

3. A situational syllabus.

It is one in which the content of language teaching

is a collection of real or imaginary situations in

which language occurs or is used. A situation

usually involves several participants who are

engaged in some activity in a specific setting.

Examples of situations include: seeing then

dentist, complaining to the landlord, buying a

book at the bookstore, meeting a new student,

asking directions in a new town, and so on.

4. A skill-based syllabus.

It is one in which the content of language teaching is a collection of specific

abilities that may play a part in using language. Skill-based syllabi group

linguistic competencies (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, sociolinguistic,

and discourse) function together into generalized types of behavior, such as

listening to spoken language for the main idea, writing well-formed paragraphs,

giving effective oral presentations, taking language tests, reading texts for main

ideas or supporting details, and so on. The primary purpose of skill-based

instruction is to learn a specific language skill. A possible secondary purpose is

to develop more general competence in the language, learning only incidentally

any information that may be available while applying the language skills.

5. The Task-Based Syllabus

The intent of task-based learning is to use

learners' real-life needs and activities as learning

experiences,

providing

motivation

through

immediacy and relevancy.

The defining characteristic of task-based content

is that it uses activities that the learners have to

do for noninstructional purposes outside of the

classroom as opportunities for language learning.

Language learning is subordinated to task performance, and language teaching occurs only as the

need arises during the performance of a given task.

6. A content-based syllabus. It is not really a

language teaching syllabus at all. In content-based

language teaching, the primary purpose of the

instruction is to teach some content or information

using the language that the students are also

learning. The students are simultaneously language

students and students of whatever content is being

taught. The subject matter is primary, and language

learning occurs incidentally to the content learning.

Open Ended

Mention the differences between Task-Based Syllabus and Content-Based Syllabus:

Key Functions and Components of a Syllabus

A syllabus has several functions.

§ The first function is to invite students to your course—to inform them of

the objectives of the course and to provide a sense of what the course will

be like.

§ The second function is to provide a kind of contract between instructors

and students —to document expectations for assignments and grade

allocations.

§ The third function is to provide a guiding reference—a resource to which

students and instructional staff can refer for logistical information such as

the schedule for the course and office hours, as well as rationale for the

pedagogy and course content.

Student Factors Affecting Syllabus Choice and Design

Facts

about

students

also

affect

what

instructional content can be used in an

instructional program. The major concerns

here are the goals of the students, their

experience,

expectations,

and

prior

knowledge,

their

social

and

personality

types, and the number of students in a given

class.

Ideally, the goals the students themselves

have for language study will match the goals

of the program.

Multiple Choice

How do we decide which syllabus to use?

• We should consider the goals of students, expectations, prior knowledge, number of students, etc

• We should ask the principal what to do.

• It is not necessary to identify all the factor that affect syllabus choice and design.

• It does not matter which one to use.

D. Combining and Integrating Syllabus Types

In practice, few instructional programs rely on only one type but combine types in various ways.

Combination is the inclusion of more

than one type of syllabus with little

at-tempt to relate the content types to

each other. For example, a lesson on

the

function

of

disagreeing

(functional) could be followed by one

on listening for topic shifts (skill) in

which the function of disagreeing has

no significant occurrence.

Integration is when some attempt is made to interrelate content

items. For example, if, after a structural lesson on the

subjunctive, students were asked to pre-pare stories on the

theme, "What I would do if I were rich," the two types of

instruction would be integrated.

Integration

isobviously

more

difficult

and

complex

to

undertake than combination. Integration may seem to be the

preferred way to use different syllabus or content types, and in

some ways this perception is accurate.

Poll

Mark only the elements or components of the syllabi :

• General information, Description, objectives, course contents, methodology, evaluation guidelines.

• General information of the course and contents.

• Objectives, contents and methodology.

• None.

Activity Chart

Name of the activity
Syllabus- 50% lab 1

Type of activity
Collaborative (2 people)

Competence of the
subject

Apply strategies and practices based on competences, planning, implementation, management of
instructions and evaluation for the development and integration of linguistic skills as well as selection
and adaptation of didactic resources, complying with the established regulations by Education,
Science and Technology Department of El Salvador.

Instructions

-Look for a partner

-Use the template your teacher is providing during class.

-Design a syllabus for one of the following levels: First, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade.

-Follow your teacher instrutions during class.

-When you finish, upload the file to Canvas (each participant has to send it).

Due date
We start working on this during class, but it will be presented on Sunday, March 12 th 2023
Time: 11:59 pm

Evaluation instrument
Rubric

Grade
Lab 1-50%

Open Ended

Doubts or questions?

Complementary Resources

Resource

Title

Reference

PDF

English syllabus

ingles_tercer_ciclo.pdf

Website

Template

https://ugbedu-

my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/pers
onal/egarcia_ugb_edu_sv/EWh
cvGreiIBDklXYHaELii8B5VrJGC5
3elja0pWCA-Sbbw?e=cMr9CW