Module 4

Conceptualizing and sequencing course content

“Developing initial ideas for course content often takes place simultaneously with
syllabus planning”
(Richards)

By the end of this module, you will be able to: Code

ü List factors concerning the choices of course content; MD4.1
ü Restate the criteria for determining the scope and
sequence of the course; MD4.2
ü List advantages and disadvantages of different syllabus MD4.3
frameworks;
ü Restate the features of two commonly used instructional MD4.4
blocks;

Learning Target

Keywords: course content, sequencing, framework, grammatical syllabus, lexical syllabus,

functional syllabus, situational syllabus, content-based syllabus, competency-based syllabus,
task-based syllabus, text-based syllabus, integrated syllabus, instructional blocks.

Core reading material:

1. Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Ernst Klett
Sprachen, pp.145-167.

Conceptualizing and sequencing course content

In this chapter we will examine the following dimensions of course development:
• choosing course content
• sequencing course content
• planning the course content (syllabus and instructional blocks)
• preparing the scope and sequence plan

1. Choosing course content MD4.1

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The question of course content is probably the most basic issue in course design. Given that a
course has to be developed to address a specific set of needs and to cover a given set of
objectives, what will the content of the course look like? Decisions about course content reflect
the planners' assumptions about the nature of language, language use, and language learning,
what the most essential elements or units of language are, and how these can be organized as an
efficient basis for second language learning. For example, a writing course could potentially be
planned around any of the following types of content:
• grammar (e.g., using the present tense in descriptions)
• functions (e.g., describing likes and dislikes)
• topics (e.g:, writing about world issues)
• skills (e.g., developing topic sentences)
• processes ( e.g., using prewriting strategies)
• texts (e.g., writing a business letter)
Similarly a speaking course could be organized around:
• functions ( expressing opinions)
• interaction skills ( opening and closing conversations, tum taking)
• topics (current affairs, business topics)
The choice of a particular approach to content selection will depend on subject-matter
knowledge, the learners' proficiency levels, and current views on second language learning and
teaching, conventional wisdom, and convenience. Information gathered during needs analysis
contributes to the planning of course content, as do additional ideas from the following sources:
• available literature on the topic
• published materials on the topic
• review of similar courses offered elsewhere
• review of tests or exams in the area
• analysis of students' problems
• consultation with teachers familiar with the topic
• consultation with specialists in the area
Rough initial ideas are rioted down as a basis for further planning and added to through group
brainstorming. A list of possible topics, units, skills, and other units of course organization is
then generated. One person suggests something that should go into the course, others add their
ideas, and these are compared with other sources of information until clearer ideas about the

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content of the course are agreed on. Throughout this process the statements of aims and
objectives are continually referred to and both course content suggestions and the aims and
objectives themselves are revised and finetuned as the course content is planned. For example, a
group of teachers listed the following initial ideas about what they would include in a course on
listening and speaking skills for a group of intermediate-level learners:
• asking questions
• opening and closing conversations
• expressing opinions
• dealing with misunderstandings
• describing experiences
• social talk
• telephone skills
• situation-specific languages such as at a bank
• describing daily routines
• recognizing sound contrasts
• using communication strategies
These topics then have been carefully reviewed and refined and the following questions are
asked:
Are all the suggested topics necessary?
Have any important topics been omitted?
Is there sufficient time to cover them?
Has sufficient priority been given to the most important areas?
Has enough emphasis been put on the different aspects of the areas identified?
Will the areas covered enable students to attain the learning outcomes?
Developing initial ideas for course content often takes place simultaneously with syllabus
planning, because the content of a course will often depend on the type of syllabus framework
that will be used as the basis for the course (discussed later in this chapter).
Activity 1:
a. List at least FOUR factors that can influence the content selection of a language course.
b. What kind of contents could a reading course be planned around?

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 2. Determining the scope and sequence MD4-2
Decisions about course content also need to address the distribution of content throughout the
course. This is known as planning the scope and sequence of the course. Scope is concerned with
the breadth and depth of coverage of items in the course, that is, with the following questions:
• What range of content will be covered?
• To what extent should each topic be studied?
For example, in relation to the course on listening and speaking skills referred to in the preceding
section, one area of potential content identified was "describing experiences". But how much will
be included in relation to this topic? And should two, four, or six class periods be devoted to it?
The sequencing of content in the course also needs to be determined. This involves deciding
which content is needed early in the course and which provides a basis for things that will be
learned later. Sequencing may be based on the following criteria.
Simple to complex
One of the commonest ways of sequencing material is by difficulty level. Content presented
earlier is thought to be simpler than later items. This is typically seen in relation to grammar
content, but any type of course content can be graded in terms of difficulty. For example, in a
reading course reading texts may be simplified at the beginning of the course and unsimplified at
later levels. Or simple skills such as "literal comprehension" may be required early on, and more
complex skills such as "inferencing" taught at a later stage.
Chronology
Content may be sequenced according to the order in which events occur in the real world. For
example, in a writing course the organization might be based on the sequence writers are
assumed to employ when composing: (1) brainstorming; (2) drafting; (3) revising; (4) editing. In
a proficiency course, skills might be sequenced according to the sequence in which they are
normally acquired: (1) listening; (2) speaking; (3) reading; (4) writing.
Need
Content may be sequenced according to when learners are most likely to need it outside of the
classroom. For example, the rationale for the sequencing of content in a social survival
curriculum is given as follows:
The topics and cross-topics in the curriculum are sequenced "in order of importance to students'
lives, ease of contextualization and their relationship to other topics and cross-topics." The
sequence is:
i. basic literacy skills
ii. personal identification

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 iii. Money
iv. Shopping
v. Time and dates
vi. Telephone
vii. Health
viii. Emergencies
ix. Directions
x. Transportation
xi. Housing
xii. Post office
xiii. Banking/bills
xiv. Social language
xv. Clarification
(Mrowicki 1986, xi)
Prerequisite learning
The sequence of concept may reflect what is necessary at one point as a foundation for the next
step in the learning process. For example, a certain set of grammar items may be taught as a
prerequisite to paragraph writing. Or, in a reading course, word attack skills may be taught early
on as a prerequisite to reading unsimplified texts at later stages of the course.
Whole to part or part to whole
In some cases, material at the beginning of a course may focus on the overall structure or
organization of a topic before considering the individual components that make it up.
Alternatively, the course might focus on practicing the parts before the whole. For example,
students might read short stories and react to them as whole texts before going on to consider
what the elements are that constitute an effective short story. Or, students might study how to
write paragraphs before going on to practice putting paragraphs together to make an essay.
Spiral sequencing
This approach involves the recycling of items to ensure that learners have repeated opportunities
to learn them.
Activity 2:
Match the criteria for sequencing course content with their explanations.

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 Explanations Criteria

1. The course content is sequenced based on a. Spiral sequencing

students’ actual needs in their context.

2. The course can be sequenced around the b. Simple to complex

different stages of the learning process.
3. Course designers need to consider the
preceding contents as they lay the basis for the c. Need
content to be learnt.
4. There must be adequate recycling and
revision in between different contents in the d. Whole to part/ part to whole
course.
5. The course content is arranged from easy to e. Chronology
difficult.

6. The course is divided into different sections f. Prerequisite learning

which together contribute to the overall
understanding of the key framework in the
course.

3. Selecting a syllabus framework MD4.3

The next stage in course development involves mapping the course structure into a form and
sequence that provide a suitable basis for teaching. Some of the preliminary planning involved
will have occurred while ideas for course content were being generated. Two aspects of this
process, however, require more detailed planning: selecting a syllabus framework and
developing instructional blocks. These issues are closely related and sometimes inseparable but
also involve different kinds of decisions.
Selecting a syllabus framework
A syllabus describes the major elements that will be used in planning a language course and
provides the basis for its instructional focus and content. For example, in planning a course on
speaking skills based on the course content discussed earlier (in the section titled "Describing the
entry and exit level"), a number of options are available. The syllabus could be:
• situational: organized around different situations and the oral skills needed in those
situations
• topical: organized around different ,topics and how to talk about them in English
• functional: organized around the functions most commonly needed in speaking
• task-based: organized around different tasks and activities that the learners would carry
out in English

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In choosing a particular syllabus framework for a course, planners are influenced by the
following factors:
• knowledge and beliefs about the subject area: a syllabus reflects ideas and beliefs about
the nature of speaking, reading, writing, or listening
• research and theory: research on language use and learning as well as applied linguistics
theory sometimes leads to proposals in favor of particular syllabus types
• common practice: the language teaching profession has built up considerable practical
experience in developing language programs and this often serves as the basis for
different syllabus types
• trends: approaches to syllabus design come and go and reflect national or international
trends
In the 1980s and 1990s, the communicative language teaching movement led to a reexamination
of traditional approaches to syllabus design and a search for principles for the development of
communicative syllabuses. A communicative syllabus is either an attempt to develop a
framework for a general language course, such as a Threshold Level syllabus, or one that focuses
on communication within a restricted setting, such as English for Specific Purposes. Because
many different syllabus approaches are available in developing "communicative" courses, many
different syllabus frameworks can make a claim to be versions of a communicative syllabus: for
example, competency-based, text-based, and task-based syllabuses. Other approaches to syllabus
design are also possible and we will consider now the nature of these different syllabus options.
Grammatical (or structural) syllabus: one that is organized around grammatical items.
Traditionally, grammatical syllabuses have been used as the basis for planning general courses,
particularly for beginning-level learners. In developing a grammatical syllabus, the syllabus
planner seeks to solve the following problems:
• to select sufficient patterns to support the amount of teaching time available
• to arrange items into a sequence that facilitates learning
• to identify a productive range of grammatical items that will allow for the development of
basic communicative skills
Choice and sequencing of grammatical items in a grammar syllabus reflect not only the intrinsic
ease or difficulty of items but their relationship to other aspects of a syllabus that may be being
developed simultaneously. The syllabus planner is typically mapping out grammar together with
potential lesson content in the form of topics, skills, and activities, and for this reason
grammatical syllabuses often differ from one course to the next even when targeting the same
proficiency level.
Grammatical syllabuses have been criticized on the following grounds:
• They represent only a partial dimension of language proficiency.

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 • They do not reflect the acquisition sequences seen in naturalistic second language
acquisition.
• They focus on the sentence rather than on longer units of discourse.
• They focus ·on form rather than meaning.
• They do not address communicative skills.
These objections are true for traditional grammar-based courses and few language courses today
are planned solely around grammatical criteria. Indeed, it is doubtful if they ever were. However,
grammar remains a core component of many language courses. There are several reasons for
this:

• Teaching a language through its grammar represents a familiar approach to teaching for
many people. In many parts of the world, teachers and students expect to see a grammar
strand in a course and react negatively to its absence.
• Grammar provides a convenient framework for a course: grammar can readily be linked
to other strands of a syllabus, such as functions, topics, or situations.
• Grammar represents a core component of language proficiency: communicative
competence includes the ability to use grammar and therefore deserves a place in the
curriculum.
Grammatical syllabuses thus continue to be widely used in language teaching. Typically,
however, they are seen as one stream of a multiskilled or integrated syllabus rather than as the
sole basis for a syllabus.
Lexical syllabus: one that identifies a target vocabulary to be taught normally arranged
according to levels such as the first 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 words. We saw in Chapter 1 that
vocabulary syllabuses were among the first types of syllabuses to be developed in language
teaching. Today there is a large degree of consensus in English-language teaching concerning
targets for vocabulary teaching at different levels and textbook and materials writers tend to keep
materials within target vocabulary bands. Typical vocabulary targets for a general English course
are:
Elementary level: 1,000 words
Intermediate level: an additional 2,000 words
Upper Intermediate level: an additional 2,000 words
Advanced level: an additional 2,000+ words
(Hindmarsh 1980; Nation 1990)

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An example of a course planned systematically around lexical targets isthe Collins Cobuild
English Course (Willis and Willis 1988), of which Willis(1990, vi) comments:
The 700 most frequent words of English account for around 70% of all English text. That is to
say around 70% of the English we speak and hear, read and write is made up of the 700 most
common words in the language. The most frequent 1,500 words account for 76% of text and the
most frequent 2,500 for 80%. Given this, we decided that word frequency would determine the
contents of our course. Level l would aim to cover the most frequent 700 words together with
their common patterns and uses. Level 2 would recycle these words and go on to cover the next
800 to bring us up to the 1,500 level, and Level3 would recycle those 1,500 and add a further
1,000.
Because vocabulary is involved in the presentation of any type of language content, a lexical
syllabus can only be considered as one strand of a more comprehensive syllabus.
Functional syllabus: one that is organized around communicative functions such as requesting,
complaining, suggesting, agreeing. A functional syllabus seeks to analyze the concept of
commucative competence into its different components on the assumption that mastery of
individual functions will results in overall communicative ability. Functional syllabuses were
first proposed in the 1970s as part of the communicative language teaching movement and have
formed the basis for many language courses and textbooks from that time. They were one of the
first proposals for a communicative syllabus, that is, one that addresses communicative
competence rather than linguistic competence. In Threshold Level English, basic functions were
identified through analysis of the purposes for which learners use English, particularly younger
learners up to the intermediate level using a language for social survival and travel purposes.
This resulted in a widely used functional syllabus that consists of 126 functions grouped into the
following categories:
• imparting and seeking factual information
• expressing and finding out attitudes
• deciding on courses of action
• socializing
• structuring discourse
• communication repair
Activity 3:
List at least 5 functions for each category below:
Order Category Functions
1 imparting and seeking factual
information
2 expressing and finding out attitudes

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3 deciding on courses of action
4 socializing
5 structuring discourse
6 communication repair

Functional syllabuses provided the first serious alternative to a grammatical syllabus as a basis
for general-purpose course design, and major courses published from the 1980s increasingly
employed functional syllabuses, sometimes linked to a parallel grammatical syllabus. Because
they often focus on communication skills, functional syllabuses are particularly suited to the
organization of courses in spoken English. Functional syllabuses have proved very popular as a
basis for organizing courses and materials for the following reasons:
• They reflect a more comprehensive view of language than grammar syllabuses and focus
on the use of the language rather than linguistic form.
• They can readily be linked to other types of syllabus content (e.g., topics, grammar,
vocabulary).
• They provide a convenient framework for the design of teaching materials, particularly in
the domains of listening and speaking.
Functional syllabuses have also been criticized for the following reasons:
• There are no clear criteria for selecting or grading functions
• They represent a simplistic view of communicative competence and fail to address the
processes of communication.
• They represent an atomistic approach to language, that is, one that assumes that language
ability can be broken down into discrete components that can be taught separately.
• They often lead to a phrase-book approach to teaching that concentrates on teaching
expressions and idioms used for different functions.
• Students learning from a functional course may have considerable gaps in their
grammatical competence because some important grammatical structures may not be
elicited by the functions that are taught in the syllabus.
These objections can be regarded as issues that need to be resolved in implementing a functional
syllabus. Since their inception and enthusiastic; reception in the 1980s, functional syllabuses are
now generally regarded as only a partial component of a communicative syllabus. Alternative
proposals for communicative syllabus design include task-based and text-based syllabuses.
Situational syllabus: one that is organized around the language needed for different situations
such as at the airport or at a hotel. A situation is a setting in which particular communicative acts
typically occur. A situational syllabus identifies the situations in which the learner will use the
language and the typical communicative acts and language used in that setting. Situational

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syllabuses have been a familiar feature of language teaching textbooks for centuries and are often
used in travel books and books that focus on mastering expressions frequently encountered in
particular situations. An example of a recent situationally organized textbook on English for
travel is Passport (Buckingham and Whitney.1995), which contains the following situational
syllabus:

Situational syllabuses have the advantage of presenting language in context and teaching
language of immediate practical use. However, they are also subject to the following criticisms:
• Little is known about the language used in different situations, so selection of teaching
items is typically based on intuition
• syllabus seeks to analyze the concept of communicative competence into its different
components on the assumption that mastery of individual functions will result in overall
communicative ability.
• Language used in specific situations may not transfer to other situations.
• Situational syllabuses often lead to a phrase-book approach.
• Grammar is dealt with incidentally, so a situational syllabus may result in gaps in a
student's grammatical knowledge.
The role of situations in syllabus design has recently reentered language teaching, albeit in a
different form from traditional situational syllabuses, with the emergence of communicative
approaches to syllabus design and ESP. ESP approaches to curriculum development attribute a
central role to the situation or setting in which communication takes place and to the following
elements of the situation (Munby 1978; Feez 1998):
• the participants
• their role relations
• the transactions they engage in
• the skills or behavior involved in each transaction
• the kinds of oral and written texts that are produced

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 • the linguistic features of the texts
Competency-based language teaching is an approach to teaching that focuses on transactions that
occur in particular situations and their related skills and behaviors. Text-based syllabus design
focuses on transactions, the texts that occur within transactions, and the linguistic features of the
texts. The notion of situation has thus been incorporated as an element of more comprehensive
approaches to syllabus design.
Topical or content-based syllabus: one that is organized around themes, topics, or other units of
content. With a topical syllabus, content rather than grammar, functions, or situations is the
starting point in syllabus design.
Content may provide the sole criterion for organizing the syllabus or a framework for linking a
variety of different syllabus strands together. "It is the teaching of content or information in the
language being learned with little or no direct effort to teach the language separately from the
content being taught" (Krahnke 1987, 65). All language courses, no matter what kind of syllabus
they are based on, must include some form of content. But with other approaches to syllabus
design, content is incidental and serves merely as the vehicle for practicing language structures,
functions, or skills. In a typical lesson in a grammar-based course, for example, a structure is
selected and then content is chosen to show how the item is used and to provide a context for
practicing the structure. In a topic-based syllabus, in contrast, content provides the vehicle for the
presentation of language rather than the other way around. Maximum use is made of content to
provide links and continuity across the skill areas. Claims made for the advantages of courses
based on content-based syllabuses are:
• They facilitate comprehension.
• Content makes linguistic form more meaningful.
• Content serves as the best basis for teaching the skill areas.
• They address students' needs.
• They motivate learners.
• They allow for integration of the four skills.
• They allow for use of authentic materials.
(Brinton, Snow, and Wesche 1989; Mohan 1986)
Topic-based syllabuses have often been a feature of ESL programs in elementary or secondary
schools where the teaching of English is integrated with science, mathematics, and social
sciences, as well as of ESL programs for students at the university level. Brinton et al. (1989, 27)
give the following example of how a content-based course can be organized: In a theme-based
course, a high-interest topic such as "culture shock" could serve as the organizing principle for a
2-week integrated skills course, with the linguistic focus of the instruction determined by the

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students' needs, their proficiency level, and (last but not least) the degree to which the content
"maps" onto the course objectives.
This approach was used in a German university program described in Brinton et al. (1989) that
was built around the following themes:

Issues that arise in developing a topic-based syllabus are:

• How are themes, topics, and content decided on?
• What is the balance between content and grammar or other strands in the syllabus?
• Are ESL teachers qualified to teach content-based courses?
• What should be the basis for assessment - learning of content or learning of language?
Although choosing appropriate content is an issue in the design of any language course, using
topics as the overarching criterion in planning a course leaves other questions unresolved
because decisions must still-be made concerning the selection of grammar, functions: or skills. It
may also be difficult to develop a logical or learnable sequence for other syllabus components if
topics are the sole framework. Different topics may require language of differing levels of
complexity and, as a consequence, it may not always be possible to reconcile the different
strands of the syllabus.
Competency-based syllabus: one based on a specification of the competencies learners are
expected to master in relation to specific situations and activities (see Chapter 5 for an extended
discussion). Competencies are a description of the essential skills, knowledge, and attitudes
required for effective performance of particular tasks and activities. For example, the work-skills
curriculum in Mrowicki (1986) is organized according to topics and competencies.
The curriculum's language competencies are divided into topic and cross-topic areas. A topic
refers to the context in which language is used. For example, the competency "Report basic
household problems" is found in the topic "Housing." A cross-topic is a topic which can occur in
other topic areas. For example, the competency "Read and write dates" from the cross-topic
"Time and Dates" also occurs in the topics "Shopping" (reading expiration dates of food),
"Health" (reading appointment times), "Banking and Bills" (reading the date due on bills), etc.
(Mrowicki 1986, ix)
Examples of competencies related to the topic of "telephoning" are:
1. read and dial telephone numbers
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 2. identify oneself on the telephone when answering and calling
3. request to speak to someone
4. respond to request to hold
5. respond to offer to take message
Competency-based syllabuses are widely used in social survival and work-oriented language
programs.
Skill-based syllabus: one that is organized around the different underlying abilities that are
involved in using a language for purposes such as reading, writing, listening, or speaking.
Approaching a language through skills is based on the belief that learning a complex activity
such as "listening to a lecture" involves mastery of a number of individual skills or microskills
that together make up the activity. Examples of skills that relate to different types of language
use are:

Skills have traditionally been a central focus in language teaching and there have been attempts
to identify the microskills underlying the use of the four macroskills of reading, writing,
listening, and speaking as a basis for syllabus design (e.g., Munby 1978). Yalden (1983) gives
the following example of a skills syllabus for the teaching of study skills:
Basic reference skills: understanding and use of
• graphic presentation, namely, headings, subheadings, numbering, indentation, bold print,
footnotes
• table of contents and index
• cross-referencing
• card catalog

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 • phonetic transcriptions/diacritics
• Bibliography
• Dictionaries
Skimming to obtain
• the gist of the text
• a general impression of the text
Scanning to locate specifically required information on
• a single point
• more than one point
• a whole topic
Transcoding information presented in diagrammatic display, involving
• completing a diagram/table/graph
• constructing one or more diagrams/tables/ graphs
Note-taking skills
• completing note-frames
• deletions
• use of diagrams
Claims made in support of skills-based syllabuses are:
• They focus on behavior or performance.
• They teach skills that can transfer to many other situations.
• They identify teachable and learnable units.
Skills-based syllabuses have the advantage of focusing on performance in relation to specific
tasks and therefore provide a practical framework for designing courses and teaching materials.
They may be more relevant to situations in which students have very specific and identifiable
needs (such as preparing for university-level studies in English). Skills syllabuses have been
criticized, however, on the following grounds:
• There is no serious basis for determining skills.
• They focus on discrete aspects of performance rather than on developing more global
and integrated communicative abilities.

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Task-based syllabus: one that is organized around tasks that students will complete in the target
language. A task is an activity or goal that is carried out using language such as finding a
solution to a puzzle, reading a map and giving directions, or reading a set of instructions and
assembling a toy.
"Tasks are activities which have meaning as their primary focus. Success in tasks is evaluated in
terms of achievement of an outcome, and tasks generally bear some resemblance to real-life
language use" (Skehan 1996, 20).
All teaching makes use of tasks of different kinds. A task-based syllabus, however, is one based
on tasks that have been specially designed to facilitate second language learning and one in
which tasks or activities are the basic units of syllabus design. While carrying out these tasks,
learners are said to receive comprehensible input and modified output, processes believed central
to second language acquisition. A number of second language acquisition theorists have
proposed tasks as a basis for syllabus planning. Long and Crookes (1991, 43) claim that tasks:
"provide a vehicle for the presentation · of appropriate target language samples to learners –
input which opportunities of negotiable difficulty."
The basic claims made for a task-based syllabus are:
• Tasks are activities that drive the second language acquisition process.
• Grammar teaching is not central with this approach because learners will acquire
grammar as a by-product of carrying out tasks.
• Tasks are motivating for learners and engage them in meaningful communication.
Two kinds of tasks have been proposed as a basis for syllabus design: pedagogical tasks and
real-world tasks. Pedagogical tasks are based on SLA theory and are designed to trigger second
language learning processes and strategies. The following are tasks of this kind:
• jigsaw tasks: These tasks involve learners in combining different pieces of information to
form a whole ( e.g., three individuals or groups may have three different parts of a story
and have to piece the story together).
• information-gap tasks: Tasks in which one student or group of students has one set of
information and another student or group has a complementary set of information. They
must negotiate and find out what the other party's information is in order to-complete an
activity.
• problem solving tasks: Students are given a problem and a set of information. They must
arrive at a solution to the problem. There is generally a single resolution of the outcome.
• decision-making tasks: Students are given a problem for which there a number of
possible outcomes and they must choose one through negotiation. and discussion.
• opinion exchange tasks: Leaders engage in discussion and exchange of ideas. They do
not need to reach agreement.

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Although communicative activities of the type just described have long been a feature of
communicative language teaching, advocates of task-based syllabuses propose them as the
central feature of a syllabus rather than playing an incidental role. Real-world tasks are designed
to practice or rehearse those activities that are found to be important in a needs analysis and that
turn out to be important and useful in the real world. There is little difference between these
kinds of tasks and those made use of in other situationally based approaches to syllabus design,
such as Competency- Based Language Teaching.
At present, however, task-based syllabuses have not been widely implemented in language
teaching. Among the concerns they raise are:
• definition of task: Definitions of tasks are sometimes so broad as to include almost
anything that involves learners doing something.
• design and selection of tasks: Procedures for the design and selection of tasks remain
unclear.
• development of accuracy: Excessive use of communicative tasks may encourage fluency
at the expense of accuracy.
Although the notion of task appears useful as a component of methodology, it has yet to be
widely adopted as a unit of syllabus design.
Text-based syllabus: one that is built around texts and samples of extended discourse. As already
noted, this can be regarded as a type of situational approach because the starting point in
planning a syllabus is analysis of the contexts in which the learners will use the language.
This approach starts with the texts which are identified for a specific context or which have been
identified by students. This approach is often used when an overall context for language learning
has been defined, such as in a specific workplace or a university or other further study context.
Units of work are then developed in relation to the texts. For example, the spoken texts identified
for a group of engineers in a workplace were: spoken instructions to field staff, presentations of
report findings at meetings and telephone negotiations with contractors. (Burns and Joyce 1997,
17)
A text-based syllabus is a type of integrated syllabus because it combines elements of different
types of syllabuses. The following are examples of text types that can be used in planning a text-
based syllabus (Feez 1998, 85-86):
exchange simple exchanges relating to information and goods and services
complex or problematic exchanges
casual conversation
forms simple formatted texts
procedures instructions
procedures
protocols
information texts descriptions

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 explanations
reports
directives
texts that combine more than one text type
story texts recounts
narratives
persuasive texts opinion texts
expositions
discussions

In teaching from a text-based syllabus a five-part cycle is proposed that involves:

1. building the context for the text
2. modeling and deconstructing the text
3. joint construction of the text
4. independent construction of the text
5. linking related texts:
The following advantages are suggested for a text-based syllabus:
• It teaches explicitly about the structures and grammatical features of spoken and written
texts.
• It links spoken and written texts to the social and cultural contexts of their use.
• It allows for the design of units of work that focus on developing skills in relation to
whole texts.
• It provides students with guided practice as they develop language skills for meaningful
communication through texts.
(Feez 1998, v)
Criticisms of this approach are similar to those made of competency-based approaches, namely:
• It focuses on specific skills rather than a more general language proficiency.
• It may be impractical in many situations.
An integrated syllabus: Decisions about a suitable syllabus framework for a course reflect
different priorities in teaching rather than absolute choices.
The issue is, which foci will be central in planning the syllabus and which will be secondary? In
most courses there will generally be a number of different syllabus strands, such as grammar
linked to skills and texts, tasks linked to topics and functions, or skills linked to topics and texts.
In arriving at a decision about which approach to syllabus planning to take, the course planners

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need to decide between macrolevel and microlevel planning units in the course. For example, a
reading course might first be planned in terms of reading skills (the macro level planning
category) and then further planned in terms of text types, vocabulary, and grammar (the
microlevel planning category). A syllabus might be organized grammatically at the first level and
then the grammar presented functionally. Or the first level of organization might be functional
with grammar items selected according to the grammatical demands of different functions. In
practical terms, therefore, all syllabuses reflect some degree of integration. Krahnke (1987, 75)
concludes:
For almost all instructional programs, it is clear that some combination of types of instructional
content will be needed to address the complex goals of the program for most general teaching
applications, whose goal is functional ability in broadly defined settings and structural
knowledge and communicative ability in specific situations, a combination of functional,
structural, situational, and skill-based instruction is the probable choice. On the other hand, in
some second language teaching settings, skills and tasks can be more narrowly specified,
instructional resources are richer, or specific structural or formal knowledge is not required by
the program for students to succeed, and a combination of task-based, skill-based, situational,
functional, and content instruction may be chosen.
Activity 4:
1. Decide which type of syllabus the following listening course uses:

A day at school Camping gear

Casino gambling
A fun day

Acting school and movie stars Clothing styles

Apartments for rent College life

Bookstore shopping Class reunion

(source: https://www.esl-­‐lab.com/easy/)
2. Decide which type of syllabus the following speaking course uses:

1 Agreeing and disagreeing

2 Asking a favour

3 Keeping a conversation going

4 Meeting face-to-face

5 Responding to news
(source: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/speaking/intermediate-­‐b1)

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4. Developing instructional blocks MD4.4
So far we have described the processes used to make decisions about the content of a course as
well as its syllabus framework. A course also needs to be mapped out in terms of instructional
blocks or sections. An instructional block is a self-contained learning sequence that has its own
goals and objectives and that also reflects the overall objectives for the course. Instructional
blocks represent the instructional focus of the course and may be very specific (e.g., a single
lesson) or more general (e.g., a unit of work consisting of several lessons). Planning the
organizational structure in a course involves selecting appropriate blocks and deciding on the
sequence in which these will appear. In organizing a course into teaching blocks one seeks to
achieve the following:
• to make the course more teachable and learnable
• to provide a progression in level of difficulty
• to create overall coherence and structure for the course
Two commonly used instructional blocks are planning by modules and by units.
Modules: This is a self-contained and independent learning sequence with its own objectives. For
example, a 120-hour course might be divided into four modules' of 30 hours each. Assessment is
carried out at the end of each module. Modules allow for flexible organization of a course and
can give learners a sense of achievement because objectives are more immediate and specific.
Care needs to be taken, however, to ensure that the course does not appear fragmented and
unstructured.
Units: This teaching block is normally longer than a single lesson but shorter than a module and
is the commonest way of organizing courses and teaching materials. It is normally a group of
lessons that is planned around a single instructional focus. (Sometimes units are referred to as a
scheme of work.) A unit seeks to provide a structured sequence of activities that lead toward a
learning outcome. The factors that account for a successful unit include:
• Length: Sufficient but not too much material is included.
• Development: One activity leads effectively into the next; the unit does not consist of a
random sequence of activities.
• Coherence: The unit has an overall sense of coherence.
• Pacing: Each activity within the unit moves at a reasonable pace. For example, if there
are five activities in the unit, one does not require four times as much time to complete as
the others.
• Outcome: At the end of the unit, students should be able to know or do a series of things
that are related.
The following comments by a learner indicate that the organization of the course units was not
successful:

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We did lots of different things in the course and many of them were quite useful. But it is hard to
see where all the separate things fit together. Also, I never knew quite what to expect, where we
were going from day to day.
The issue of unit structure is also crucial in developing instructional materials.
Activity 5:
Identify the way that units and lessons in the book “Mindset for IELTS – Student’s book 1” are
organized and point out the links between factors of each unit.
What syllabus framework did the course designer employ in this course?

Quiz and Performance Task

1. Quiz MD4.1-5
Activity 6:
For each question from 1 – 5, choose the best answer, and write A, B, C.
1. The proficiency course which sequences the teaching steps of four skills (speaking, writing,
listening, reading) in the way that they are naturally acquired is based on ______.
A. Simple to complex
B. Chronology
C. Need
D. Spiral sequencing
2. Which is the type of syllabus specifying the competencies learners are expected to master in
relation to specific situations and activities?
A. Situational syllabus
B. Functional syllabus
C. Skill-based syllabus
D. Competency-based syllabus
3. A course in which content is sequenced according to when learners are most likely to need it
outside of the classroom is based on:
A. Simple to complex
B. Chronology
C. Need
D. Spiral sequencing

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4. Fill in the blank: A ______ syllabus is organized around the different underlying abilities that
are involved in using a language.
A. skill-based
B. situational
C. functional
D. topical
5. Fill in the blank: A ______ is organized around themes, topics, or other units of content.
A. skill-based
B. content-based
C. functional
D. Competency-based syllabus

Activity 7:
Decide whether these statements are true or false.
1. A lexical syllabus is always arranged according to levels.
2. A lexical syllabus can only be considered as one strand of a more comprehensive
syllabus.
3. A task-based syllabus focuses on performance in relation to specific tasks.
4. Content, rather than grammar or vocabulary is the starting point in designing a topical
syllabus.
5. A functional syllabus is organized around the functions most commonly needed in
speaking.
6. All syllabuses reflect some degree of integration.
7. There is always one right way to organize a course.

Activity 8:
Fill each gap in the following summary with NO MORE THREE WORDS.
How a course content is selected often reflects the designers’ 1_____________ about what
language involves and how it is learned. There are various factors that need to be taken into
consideration while deciding course content such as current research on language learning and
teaching, subject-matter knowledge, or 2_____________. The process that takes into account the

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content that needs to be learnt before the others is called course 3_____________. Another
important step in course development involves choosing a framework of organizing contents to
provide the foundation for teaching activities. While initial planning may occur, the two essential
aspects include selecting a 4 ______________ and developing 5________________. While the
former refers to the key components employed in course development which serves as the
foundation for teaching, the latter is used to represent the instructional, specific focus of the
course. The latter can be organized into two ways: by 6___________ or by 7___________.

2. Performance Task MD4.1-5

Activity 9:
Examine one English textbook currently in use in Vietnamese school. Identify the type of
syllabus the book designers use for different skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking) and
language components (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary).

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