7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
1/19
Course Planning and Syllabus
Design
Group 6: Bch Hng NguynHong H Thy TinPhm Nguyn Ngc PhngTrng Th Hng Nhung
HCM CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
DIPTESOL 13B
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
2/19
Planning the Course Structure
Topical (content-based) syllabus
WHAT?
organized around themes, topics, or other units
of content
starting point is content rather than grammar,functions, or situations
framework for linking different syllabus strands
together
each syllabus must include some content
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
3/19
Planning the Course Structure
Topical (content-based) syllabus
PROS
A case study of why a Topical syllabus was
preferred in developing speaking materials
Functionallyorganized
Topics/content-basedorganized
Places and Directions
Cities and Places
Leisure and Entertainment
Music
Movies
TelevisionOn vacation
Shopping
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
4/19
Planning the Course Structure
Topical (content-based) syllabus
PROS
facilitates comprehension
content makes linguistic form more meaningful
best basis for teaching the skills areas
integration of the four skills
addresses students needs motivating
allows usage of authentic materials
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
5/19
Planning the Course Structure
Topical (content-based) syllabus
CONS proper decisions about the themes, topics and
content are critical
striking balance between content and itsvocabulary and grammar may be difficult
ELT teachers may not be qualified to teach the
content
assessment is difficult test the learning oflanguage or test the learning of content?
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
6/19
Planning the Course Structure
Competency-based syllabus
WHAT?
focuses on a list of abilities (competencies) the
student must be able to master in specific
situations and activities competencies are a description of the essential
skills, knowledge and attitudes which must be
acquired to be able to effectively perform tasks
and activities used in ESP, work-skills and social survival
language programs
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
7/19
Planning the Course Structure
Competency-based syllabus
WHAT?
Oxford Word Skills (OUP)
Examples of competencies
related to the topic Food anddrink in Basic:
I can name meat and fish
I can name fruit and vegetables
I can buy food in a shop
I can order in a caf
I can order in a restaurant
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
8/19
Planning the Course Structure
Competency-based syllabus
PROS
learners are centred, learning process is central
outcome-based, adaptive to the changing needs
of students, teachers and the community
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
9/19
Planning the Course Structure
Competency-based syllabus
CONS
no valid procedures to develop competency
specifications
hidden values underlying competencyspecifications
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
10/19
Planning the Course Structure
Skills syllabus
WHAT?
focuses on the different underlying abilities
(micro-skills) required to be proficient at the four
macro-skills: reading, writing, speaking andlistening
an example of "part to whole" sequencing
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
11/19
Planning the Course Structure
Skills syllabus
WHAT?
Active Skills for Reading
(Thomson)
Examples of micro-skills of
Reading in the first 4 units of
Book 1:
predicting
scanning
reading for details
using subtitles to predict content
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
12/19
Planning the Course Structure
Skills syllabus
WHAT?
Active Listening (second
edition) (CUP)
Examples of micro-skills ofListening volume 2:
listening for main idea
listening for details
making inferences
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
13/19
Planning the Course Structure
Skills syllabus
PROS
focuses on behaviour or performance
teaches skills that are transferable to many
situations identifies a framework that can be broken into
teachable and learnable units
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
14/19
Planning the Course Structure
Skills syllabus
CONS
no serious basis for determining skills
focuses on discrete aspects of performance
rather than global and integrated communicativeabilities
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
15/19
Planning the Course Structure
Task-based syllabus
WHAT?
organized around tasks that the student will be able to
complete in the target language
Tasks "provide a vehicle for the presentation of
appropriate target language samples to learners input which they will inevitable reshape via application of
general cognitive processing capabilities and for the
delivery of comprehension and production opportunities
of negotiable difficulty." (Long and Crookes, 1991, 1993) not widely used as core syllabus
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
16/19
Planning the Course Structure
Task-based syllabus
WHAT?Two types of tasks:
Pedagogical and real-world tasks
Pedagogical tasks are based on second languageacquisition (SLA) theory and are designed to trigger
language learning processes and strategies.
Examples of pedagogical tasks:
jigsaw tasks information-gap tasks
problem solving tasks
decision-making tasks
opinion exchange tasks
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
17/19
Planning the Course Structure
Task-based syllabus
PROS
tasks are activities that drive the language
learning process
tasks are motivating and engage in meaningfulcommunication
grammar is not central though it will be learned
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
18/19
Planning the Course Structure
Task-based syllabus
CONS
definitions of tasks are sometimes too broad
procedure for design and selection of tasks are
unclear excessive use of communicative tasks may
encourage fluency at the expense of accuracy
7/30/2019 Phuong 09July
19/19