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Isi Grammatical Syllabus

1) The document discusses the grammatical syllabus, which is a traditional and common type of syllabus that focuses on teaching language as a set of rules. 2) It provides criticisms of the grammatical syllabus approach, such as that it misrepresents the complexity of language and ignores functional meaning. 3) The major characteristics of the grammatical syllabus are described, including its theoretical basis in teaching one grammatical item at a time, and its sequencing of items from simple to complex.

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Sintia Devi Anindia
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2K views4 pages

Isi Grammatical Syllabus

1) The document discusses the grammatical syllabus, which is a traditional and common type of syllabus that focuses on teaching language as a set of rules. 2) It provides criticisms of the grammatical syllabus approach, such as that it misrepresents the complexity of language and ignores functional meaning. 3) The major characteristics of the grammatical syllabus are described, including its theoretical basis in teaching one grammatical item at a time, and its sequencing of items from simple to complex.

Uploaded by

Sintia Devi Anindia
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHAPTER II

DISCUSION

A.Definition of Grammatical Syllabus

Structural syllabus, also known as the grammatical syllabus, is the most common
and traditional syllabus type. It has been in use by language teachers for many
years. It is a product oriented, content based syllabus in that the focus is on
knowledge and skills which learners should gain as a result of instruction, not on
how they can attain them. Synthetic approach to syllabus designing is essential to
produce such a syllabus. Most grammatical syllabus seems to be that language
consists of a finite set of rules and these rules can be learned one by one in an
additive fashion. During the 1970s, the use of structural syllabuses came under
increasing criticism. Let us look at some of the criticisms:

1) One early criticism was that structurally graded syllabuses misrepresented the
nature of that complex phenomenon of language.
2) SLA researchers state that grammatical grading of content interferes with
language acquisition which is more a global than a linear process.
3) Form and meaning are emphasized and therefore, functional aspect of meaning is
ignored.
4) Meaning of words and sentences is taught in isolation within a particular
grammatical form.
5) What is taught within this view is items present in a structure.
6) The attack on grammatical syllabus is in part an attack on the view that language
must be taught as a body of knowledge, a package that the teacher passes to the
learner.
Structural / grammatical syllabus is the commonest type of syllabus both
traditionally and currently. It has been used with success over a long period;
recently many methodologists have come to see grammar as the wrong organizing
principle for a syllabus and have proposed a number of alternatives as frameworks
to hang a language program on.

B.Major Characteristics

The major characteristics of grammatical syllabus are as follows:

Theoritical Bases: The underlying assumptions behind the grammaticall


syllabus are that:

 Language is a system which consists of a set of grammatical rules;


learning language means learning these rules and then applying them
to practical language use.
 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.
 This type of syllabus maintains that it is easier for students to learn a
language if they are exposed to one part of the grammatical system at
a time.

Content: The content of the syllabus is determined by giving top priority


to teaching the grammar or structure of the target language. The
Structural Syllabus generally consists of two components:

 A list of linguistic structures, that is, the grammar to be taught, and


 A list of words, that is, the lexicon to be taught.

Sequencing and Grading: Very often the items on each list are arranged in order
showing which are to be taught in the first course, which in the second, and so on.
The criteria for sequencing are various. The teacher regards the items from the
point of view of levels or stages. For example, beginning, intermediate, advanced,
or grades, 1,2,3, etc.
Objectives: Grammar makes up the core of the syllabus. Whatever rules are
followed, learning a language means learning to master the grammar rules of the
target language. In addition it also expected that the students will learn adequate
basic vocabulary.The teacher in following the syllabus may use either Audio-
Lingual method or Grammar Translation method or a combination of the two or
an eclectic approach.Whichever he uses,the content of the syllabus is determined
by giving top priotiry to teaching the grammar or structure of the language.

Procedure

In the initial stage of teaching the linguistic components of type of performance


desired are alayzed. Next the language is broken down into small grammatical
components and presented in a strictly controlled sequence. The sequence is
arranged accordance with increasing complexity,from simple grammatical
structure to more complex grammatical structure. The learners are exposed at one
time to a limited sample of the target language.The teacher moves progressively
through the syllabus until theoretically,all the structures of the target language
have been taught.The learner’s job is to re-synthesiz language that has been taken
apart and presented to him in small parts.This synthesis takes place only in the
final stage of learning,the so called the advanced stage

C.Advantages and Disadvantages of Grammatical Syllabus

 Advantages

Many learning principles implicit in a structural approach are sound. The merits of
a Structural Syllabus are as follows:

 The learner moves from simpler to more complex grammatical


structures and may grasp the grammatical system more easily.
 Teaching and testing are relatively simple, because teachers deal with
discrete-point knowledge and skills. The teachers need not be fluent in the
language they teach, since grammatical explanations and drills do not require
a high level of language proficiency.

 It is very much helpful to develop writing skills.

 It enriches student’s basic vocabulary.

 Sequencing and selection of teaching items is not as difficult as it with


other syllabuses.

 Disadvantages

Despite its numerous advantages it has few shortcomings too. The drawbacks of a
Structural Syllabus are as follows:

 The potential disadvantage of the Structural Syllabus is that it over-


emphasizes language structure and neglects communicative competence. It
does not address the immediate communication needs of the learner who is
learning a language within the context of a community where the language is
spoken. In fact, the sociolinguistic aspects of communicative competence are
not in focus at all in a strictly structural syllabus. It is therefore more useful in
a context where the language learner does not have immediately
communication needs.
 It hampers the student’s creative sides because it confines him/her
within the walls of some specific rules.

 Here the role of the student is passive, since it is the teacher who is
deciding what to teach in which stage. It is, thus, a teacher dominated
syllabus.

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