Syllabus vs.

Curriculum
Curriculumis a very general concept which involves consideration of the whole
complex of philosophical, social and administrative factors which contribute to
the planning of an educational program.
Syllabus, on the other hand, refers to that subpart of curriculum which is
concerned with a specification of what units will be taught (as distinct from how
they will be taught, which is a matter for methodology). (Allen 1984: 61)
Syllabus vs curriculum1
Candlin(1984) suggests that curricula are concerned with making general
statements about language learning, learning purpose and experience,
evaluation, and the role 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.
Syllabus vs curriculum2
Syllabuses, on the other hand, are more localized and are based on accounts and
records of what actually happens at classroom level as teachers and learners
apply a given curriculum to their own situation.
These accounts can be used to make subsequent modifications to the curriculum,
so that the developmental process is ongoing.
Syllabus designing
language is highly complex and cannot be taught all at the same time,
Successful teaching requires that there should be a selection of material
depending on the prior definition of objectives, proficiency level, and duration of
course.
This selection takes place at the syllabus planning stage.
Syllabus designing
The curriculum has at least three phases:
a planning phase,
an implementation phase,
and an evaluation phase
Need analysis
Need Analysis

Need Analysis is the process of identifying and evaluating needs (see sample
definitions below) in a community or other defined population of people. The
identification of needs is a process of describing problems of a target
population and possible solutions to these problems.
A need has been described as:
A gap between what is and what should be. (Witkin et al., 1995)
A gap between real and ideal that is both acknowledged by community values
and potentially amenable to change. (Reviere, 1996, p. 5)
May be different from such related concepts as wants (something people are
willing to pay for) or demands (something people are willing to march for).
(McKillip, 1987)
Need analysis focuses on the future, or what should be done, rather than on what
was done as is the focus of most program evaluations.
Some people use the related term needs assessment
We can gather information about learners needs through different media
(Hutchinson and Waters 1987:58; Palacios Martnez 1994:143):
surveys, questionnaires, interviews, attitude scales, intelligence tests, language
tests, job analyses, content analyses, statistical analyses, observation, data
collection, or informal consultation with sponsors, learners and others.
Furthermore, needs analysis should not only be considered as a pre-stage for the
design of language courses; in fact, it is an on-going process (White 1998:91)
and, as evaluation, it can be used to design, improve and implement language
programmes.
Needs analysis is a complex process which has to take into account what
Hutchinson and Waters (1987:54-63) define as target needs, what learners
need to do in the target situation i.e. language use, and learning needs, what
learners need to do in order to learn i.e. language learning.
In a more modern view, we should not only take into account target needs and
learning needs i.e. objective needs but also learners subjective needs, that
is, their affective needs, such as their interests, wishes, expectations and
preferences (Nunan 1988).

Two Broad Categories/Types

1-PRODUCT-ORIENTED emphasizes the product of language learning
e.g. structural approach, situational approach, notional/functional approach
2-PROCESS ORIENTED to enhance communicative skills, focuses on the
specification of the learning task and activities that she/he will undertake
e.g. procedural/task based approaches, learner-led syllabus,
Product oriented( Synthetic ):
1 The Structural Approach
Historically, the common syllabus type is perhaps the grammatical syllabus.
Selection and grading of the content is based on the complexity and simplicity of
grammatical items. The learner moves from one step to the next as he or she
masters it.
2 The Situational Approach
Limitations associated with the structural approach led to an alternative where
the point of departure became situational needs rather than grammatical units.
Here, the principal organizing characteristic is a list of situations which reflects
language and behavior outside the classroom (i.e., in everyday life).
3 Notional/Functional Approach
the starting point for a syllabus is the communicative purpose and conceptual
meaning of language i.e. notions and functions, as opposed to grammatical items
and situational elements which remain but are no longer the most important
focus.
Process oriented(Analytical):
1 Procedural syllabuses -derive from the Bangalore Project where the syllabus
was constructed around a series of problem-solving tasks. Sequencing in the
syllabus was based on the amount of reasoning required to solve the task, and
teachers feedback focused solely on meaning not on language.
2 Process syllabuses- are associated with the work of Breen and Candlin.
Process courses revolve around a series of problem-solving tasks. In contrast,
however, process syllabuses place a heavy emphasis on procedural knowledge
rather than declarative knowledge (i.e. how to learn, not what to learn).
Task-based syllabuses- view tasks as a necessary for presenting appropriate
language to learners. Tasks can be selected according to the extent to which they
reflect the real-world behaviors that learners will have to engage in.

In vogue types of syllabuses:

1 Grammatical Syllabuses:
The syllabus input is selected and graded according to grammatical notions of
simplicity and complexity. These syllabuses introduce one item at a time and
require mastery of that item before moving on to the next.
2 Lexical Syllabuses:
Lexical syllabuses identify a target vocabulary to be taught normally arranged
according to levels such as the first 500, 1000, 1500, 2000 words.
3 Skills Syllabuses:
Skills syllabuses are organized around the different underlying abilities that are
involved in using a language for purposes such as reading, writing, listening, or
speaking
4 Content Syllabuses:
In content syllabuses, the content of language learning might be defined in terms
of situations, topics, themes, or other academic or school subjects.
5 Functional-Notional Syllabuses:
In functional-notional syllabuses, the input is selected and graded according to
the communicative functions (such as requesting, complaining, suggesting,
agreeing) that learners need to perform at the end of the language program.
6 Task-based Syllabuses:
Task-based syllabuses are more concerned with the classroom processes which
stimulate learning. These syllabuses consist of a list of specification of the tasks
and activities that the learners will engage in class in the target language.
Planning a course typically involves five stages
Determining the relationship of the course to the curriculum
Identifying course objectives
Dividing the course into logical units or segments
Identifying learning experiences and methods appropriate to help students
achieve course goals
Determining how best to evaluate student performance
Steps in preparing a practical language teaching syllabus choice

Steps in preparing a practical language teaching Syllabus Choice:

1. Determine, to the extent possible, what outcomes are desired for the students
in the instructional program i.e. what the students should be able to do as a
result of the instruction.
2. Rank the syllabus types presented here as to their likelihood of leading to the
outcomes desired. Arrange the six types with preference you going to give to
each type.
3. Evaluate available resources for teaching, needs analysis, materials choice and
production and in training for teachers.
4. Rank the syllabi relative to available resources. That is, determine what
syllabus types would be the easiest to implement within available resources.
5. Compare the lists made under Nos. 2 and 4. Making as few adjustments to the
earlier list as possible, produce a new list of ranking based on the availability of
resources.
6. Designate one or two syllabus types as dominant and one or two as secondary.
7. Review the question of combination or integration of syllabus types and
determine how combinations will be achieved and in what proportion.
Suggested Steps for Planning Syllabus:
Develop a well-grounded rationale for your course.
Decide what you want students to be able to do as a result of taking your course,
and how their work will be appropriately assessed.
Define and delimit course content.
Structure your students active involvement in learning.
Identify and develop resources.
Compose your syllabus with a focus on student learning.
Suggested principles for designing a syllabus that fosters critical
thinking
Critical thinking is a learnable skill; the instructor and class fellows are resources
in developing critical thinking skills.
Problems, questions, or issues are the point of entry into the subject and a source
of motivation for nonstop inquiry.

Successful courses balance the challenge to think critically with supporting

students developmental needs.
Courses should be assignment centered rather than text and lecture centered.
Goals, methods and evaluation emphasize using content rather than simply
acquiring it
Students are required to formulate their ideas in writing or other appropriate
means.
Students should collaborate to learn and to stretch their thinking, for example, in
pair problem solving and small group work.
The developmental needs of students are acknowledged and used as information
in the design of the course. Teachers in these courses make standards explicit
and then help students learn how to achieve them.
Syllabus Functions:
Establishes an early point of contact and connection between student and
instructor
Describes your beliefs about educational purposes
Acquaints students with the logistics of the syllabus
Contains collected handouts
Defines student responsibilities for successful course work
Describes active learning
Helps students to assess their readiness for your syllabus
Sets the course in a broader context for learning
Provides a conceptual framework
Describes available learning resources
Communicates the role of technology in the course
Can improve the effectiveness of student note-taking
Can include material that supports learning outside the classroom
Can serve as a learning contract
Testing is for
-- assessing the attainment of teaching objectives;
-- getting feedback about where the students are;
-- helping the students review what has been learned;

-- identifying areas of difficulty and problem;

-- giving the students a sense of progress and achievement;
-- motivating the students;
Testing is not for
-- punishing students;
-- replacing instruction;
-- encouraging competition among students;
-- increasing pressure for learning
Achievement test -- a test which measures how much of a language someone
has learned with reference to a particular course of study or program of
instruction.
Proficiency test -- a test which measures someone's general level of language
mastery.
Standardized test -- a test (a) which has been developed from tryouts and
experimentation to ensure that it is reliable and valid, (b) for which norms have
been established, and (c) which provides uniform procedures for administering
and for scoring the test.
Diagnostic test -- a test which is designed to show what skills or knowledge a
learner knows and doesn't know.
Prognostic test -- a test which is designed to predict how well one is likely to do
in a language course.
Placement test -- a test which is designed to place students at an appropriate
level in a program or course.
Discrete-point test -- a language test which measures knowledge of individual
language items, such as a grammar test which has different sections on tenses,
adverbs, and prepositions.
Integrative test -- is a test which requires a learner to use several language
skills at the same time, such as a dictation test, because it requires the learner to
use knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and listening comprehension.
Criterion referenced test -- a test which measures a student's performance
according to a particular standard or criterion which has been agreed upon.
Norm referenced test -- a test which is designed to measure how the
performance of a particular student or group of students compares with the
performance of another student or group of students whose scores are given as
the norm.

Types of Test Items

Alternate response item -- one in which a correct response must be chosen
from two alternatives, e.g., True/False.
Fixed response item -- one in which the correct answer must be chosen from
among several alternatives, e.g., multiple-choice.
Free response item -- one in which the student is free to answer a question as
he or she wishes without having to choose from among alternative provided, e.g.,
composition.
Structured response item -- one in which some control or guidance is given for
the answer, but the students must contribute something of their own. e.g., I (go)
____ to the market for some fruit.
What is a good test?
Validity -- the degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
Reliability -- the degree to which a test gives consistent results. (test and scorer
reliability)
Discrimination -- the degree to which a test can distinguish testees of different
proficiency or achievement levels.
Practicality (feasibility) -- the degree to which a test can be designed and
administered within the means of available resources, such as financial
limitations and time constraints.