TYPES OF LANGUAGE SYLLABUS
There
has been much confusion as to what types of syllabus are possible in language
teaching and to how different they are in the level of implementation. Knowing
the syllabus types will help us to decide and choose the one(s) that is
appropriate with our teaching goals and our situations and conditions. The
following are some types of language teaching syllabus that will be
distinctively discussed (Lingualinks Library, 1999).
1. A grammar or structural syllabus. The
content of the language teaching is a collection of the forms and structures of
the language being taught.
Steps:
a. We
decide on a set of forms and structures that the students have to learn and
arrange them in increasing complexity, meaning from simple to complex forms and
discourses.
b. We
decide a set of vocabulary to be learned together with forms and structures.
c. We
sequence the vocabulary, considering that concrete nouns and more common forms
should be taught.
d. We
fit the vocabulary, forms and the structures together into a set of learning
tasks.
Below
are language materials that have been developed based on grammar syllabus
(taken from SIDE BY SIDE: English through Guided Conversation by
Molinsky and Bliss, 1983).
Book
2A
1. Simple
Present Tense
Present
Continuous Tense
Pronouns
Subject
and Object
Possessive
Adjectives
2. Simple Past Tense (Regular and
Irregular verbs)
Past Continuous Tense
3. Future:
Going To
Future:
Will
Future
Continuous Tense
Possessive
Pronouns
4. Present
Perfect Tense
5. Present
Perfect Tense vs. Present Tense
Present
Perfect Tense vs. Past Tense
For,
Since
The
benefit of a grammar syllabus is that students move from simpler to more
complex structures and they may learn the structures more easily. Even though
the materials seem to consider grammar-based arrangement, activities in the
book enforce students to learn English through guided conversations. The
disadvantage of this syllabus is that students are often preoccupied with
grammar when they are learning communicative activities, which may block
natural communicative process. This syllabus may be more useful in a context in
which the students do not have immediately communication needs.
2. A
notional or functional syllabus. The content of the language teaching is a
collection of the functions or the notions that are performed when the language
is used.
Steps:
a. We
make a list of communication functions of the language that students expect to
master.
b. We
make a list of the semantic notions (meanings) based on the culture the
speakers of the language.
c. We
group the functions and the notions together into learning tasks.
The
example below is a language syllabus that has been developed based on notional
syllabus (taken from Impact: English for Social Interaction by
Watcyn-Jones, 1980).
Unit
1: Socializing
a. how
to approach the person you are meeting
b. how
to reply
c. How
to introduce yourself
d. How
to respond and reply to an introduction
e. Etc.
Unit
2: Asking and Answering Questions
a. How
to ask and answer direct questions where a short Yes or No answer is expected
b. How
to ask and answer direct questions where a longer answer than Yes or No is
expected
c. How
to ask a direct question when you already think you know what the answer will
be
d. Etc.
3. Finding
the Way
a. How
to ask someone the way
b. Etc.
The
benefit of a notional/functional syllabus is that students learn how to use the
target language to express their own ideas, notions and purposes. The
disadvantage of this syllabus is that different kinds of structures are often
used to express the same functions so that it is difficult to arrange the
structure of the target language from simpler to more complex forms. This
syllabus may trigger language learners to use the target language to express
their own emotions, ideas or purposes.
4. A situational (topical) syllabus. The
content of the language teaching is a collection of imaginary situations where
the language is used.
Steps:
a. We
make a list of communications situations that students may face.
b. We
make a list of topics, grammatical forms and vocabulary and sequence them.
c. We
group the topics, forms and structures and fit them with communication
situations.
The
teaching units below are language materials that have been developed based on
situational syllabus.
Unit
1 At
Post Office
Unit
2 At
School
Unit
3 At
the Airport
Unit
4 At
Restaurant
Unit
5 Shopping
Unit
6 At
Party
The
benefit of a situational syllabus is that students learn how to use the target
language in an authentic communication. The advantage of this syllabus is that
when unexpectable situations happen in communication language learners are not
accustomed to communicate in the language spontaneously. This syllabus is good
for language learners who are preparing to go to a country where the language
is being learned. This situational teaching has the goal of teaching specific
language content that occurs in situation.
5. A skill-based syllabus. The content of
the language teaching is a collection of specific skills in using the target
language. Examples of skills in using the target language may include reading
for the main idea, writing good paragraphs, and listening for the main idea.
Steps:
a. We
make a list of language skills that students need to acquire.
b. We
make a list of topics, grammatical forms and vocabulary and sequences them.
c. We
group the topics, forms and structures and fit them with the language skills.
The
language materials below have been developed based on skill-based syllabus
(taken from Writing Academic English by Oshima and Hogue,
1983).
Part
I: WRITING A PARAGRAPH
1 What
is a paragraph?
Paragraph
Structure
The
three parts of a paragraph
Two
additional elements
Assignment
format
How
to write a title
The
Topic Sentence
Position
of topic sentences
The
two parts of a topic sentence
Writing
topic sentences: two reminders
The
concluding Sentence
Review:
What is a Paragraph?
2 Unity
and Simple Outlining
Simple
Paragraph Outlining
Simple
outlines
The
'equivalent value" rule
The
"parallel from" rule
Review:
Unity and Simple Outlining
3 Etc.
The
benefit of a skill-based syllabus is that students can specify their learning
to reach their communicative competence, such as using telephone, booking a
hotel, and others. The disadvantage of this syllabus is that it is harder to
sequence the materials. This syllabus is good for those who want to learn
specific language skills, such as the writing skill as the example above.
6. A
task-based syllabus. The content of the language teaching includes a series
of purposeful tasks that language learners need to perform; tasks are defined
as activities that are needed when using the target language. Examples of a
task-based syllabus may include applying for a job, ordering food via the
telephone and getting housing information over the telephone. This syllabus is
similar to a situational syllabus but it focuses on more general linguistic
competence that is less culturally loaded.
Steps:
a. We
make a list of abilities or tasks that students need to acquire.
b. We
make a list of topics, grammatical forms and vocabulary and sequences them.
c. We
group the topics, forms and structures and fit them with the tasks.
The
following is a list of task-types used in a five-year project that consisted of
teaching a small number classes in primary and secondary schools in southern
India (Prabhu, 1987: 138).
1 Diagrams
and formations
a. Naming
parts of a diagram with numbers and letters of the alphabet, as instructed.
b. Placing
numbers and letters of the alphabet in relation to one another, as instructed,
to arrive at particular formations.
c. Placing
numbers and letters of the alphabet in given crossword formats;
constructing/completing such formats, as instructed.
2 Drawing
a. Drawing
geometrical figures/formations from sets of verbal instructions.
b. Formulating
verbal instructions for drawing/completing such figures.
c. Comparing
given figures to identify similarities and differences.
3 Clockfaces
a. Telling
the time from a clockface; positioning the hands of a clock to show a given
time.
b. Calculating
durations from the movement of a clock's hands; working out intervals between
given time.
c. Stating
the time on a twelve hour clock and a twenty-four hour clock; relating times to
phases of the day and night.
4 Etc.
The
benefit of a task-based syllabus is that students learn to carry out activities
using the target language. Language teaching through task-based syllabus occurs
only as the need arises during the performance of a given task. The
disadvantage is that students often learn to perform tasks and language
learning is less emphasized.
7. A content-based syllabus. A
content-based syllabus in language teaching is actually not a language
syllabus. The primary purpose of instruction is to teach subject matter of the
content course or information using the target language. The subject is primary
and language learning occurs automatically while language learners are studying
the subject. An example of a content-based syllabus is a science class that is
taught in the target language.
Steps:
a. We
make a list of topics from the content (subject).
b. We
make a list of topics, grammatical forms and vocabulary and sequences them.
c. We
group the forms and structures and fit them with the topics.
The
following is a list of topics that have been developed based on a content-based
syllabus and is designed to improve the job-specific English of non-native
speakers who are working or being trained in the telecommunications industry
(Comfort, et al, 1994).
Unit
1 Networks
Unit
2 Transmission
Unit
3 Switching
Unit
4 Computer
communications
Unit
5 Radio
communications
The
benefit of a content-based syllabus is that students feel satisfied with the
purpose of learning the target language, namely acquiring information. The
feeling of satisfaction will promote their learning. The disadvantage of this
syllabus is that the content of instruction is not organized around the
language teaching so that there is almost no teaching of the target language
even though the students will automatically learn the language. This syllabus
is often used in the immersion program, which has been addressed earlier.
Some
syllabus types may be overlapped with the others. To some extent a content-
based syllabus is similar to a skill-based syllabus, in a content-based
syllabus students are often involved in activities that link the skills. Students
might read and take notes, listen and write a summary, or respond orally to
things they have read or written (Richards and Rodgers, 2001: 208). Richards
and Rodgers suggest that the teacher or course developer has the responsibility
to identify relevant grammar and other linguistic focuses to complement the
theme of activities in a content-based syllabus. This implies that the teaching
materials are arranged a combination of skill-based and grammar syllabus and
such a teaching program may also be called an immersion program.
