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A Book Review : Curriculum Development in Language Teaching

Patama Kittidhaworn The book is Dr. Jack Richards latest version of Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. It is aimed at a systematic introduction to the issues and practices dealing with developing, managing, and evaluating an effective program. Regarding the authors major purposes, it is planned to acquaint language teachers and teachers-in-training with fundamental issues and practices in language curriculum development through description and examination of its processes in language teaching; to present a variety of examples of practical problems addressed by practitioners and researchers in various parts of the world; to provide resources for use in in-service courses and workshops; and to serve as a sourcebook for teachers, program administrators, and other language teaching professionals. The author emphasizes that curriculum development as used in this book refers to the range of planning and implementation processes involved in developing or renewing a curriculum. These processes focus on needs analysis, situational analysis, planning learning outcomes, course organization, selecting and preparing teaching materials, providing for effective teaching, and evaluation (p. 41). Moreover, the book also concentrates on methodological issues that most likely to have a significant impact on language curriculum practices. This book consists of nine chapters, each of which provides essential elements of curriculum development in language teaching that language teachers need to have a clear understanding. Nunan (1984) has justified the authors curriculum development in language teaching as a set of process and procedures which are both systematic and interrelated (p. 18). This set has been professional-oriented and comprises these elements: needs analysis, [materials], objectives setting [to address the learners needs], content and methodology, and evaluation (Nunan, 1984, p.18). Chapter One deals with the origins of language curriculum development relating to its brief and precise historical background specifically on changes in teaching methods and approaches. With respect to the authors notions of curriculum development and syllabus design, he explains that

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[c]urriculum development is a more comprehensive process than syllabus design. It includes the processes that are used to determine the needs of a group of learners, to develop aims or objectives for a program to address those needs, to determine an appropriate syllabus, course structure, teaching methods, and materials, and to carry out an evaluation of the language program that results from these processes (p. 2). On the other hand, [s]yllabus design is one aspect of curriculum development but is not identical with it. A syllabus is a specification of the content of a course of instruction and lists what will be taught and tested (p. 2). This chapter also focuses on vocabulary and grammatical selections and gradation that can be accomplished through different approaches to support language teaching formerly used until the 1950s, and leads to the development of the language curriculum development in the next phase as presented and discussed in Chapter Two. Chapter Two refers to changes and approaches from syllabus design to curriculum development in relation to the quest for new methods in order to meet the changing needs of the learners (p. 24), developing from the Structural-Situational Approach to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). In addition, the needs and goals of English-language teaching in terms of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) implemented through the ESP approach are also presented. Chapter Three provides a basic assumption of curriculum development based on an analysis of learners needs, specifically in terms of communicative needs. This chapter discusses the important aspects of needs analysis, the purposes, the definition, the courses, the target population, administrating needs analysis, different procedures for conducting needs analysis, and designs and examples of needs analysis. Chapter Four relates to situation analysis that provides several key factors to be essentially considered: social factors, project factors, institutional factors, teacher factors, learner factors, and adoption factors. The goal of the situation analysis is to identify key factors that might positively or negatively effect the implementation of a curriculum plan (p. 105). Chapter Five focuses on the procedures for using the information collected during the needs analysis and situation analysis page 84 SLLT

85 to develop program/ planning goals and objectives that result in the learning objectives. The author proposes the key assumptions about the goals in curriculum planning namely: People are generally motivated to pursue specific goals; the use of goals in teaching improves the effectiveness of teaching and learning; and a program will be effective to the extent that its goals are sound and clearly described (p. 112). Chapter Six deals with "course planning and syllabus design including developing a course rationale, describing entry and exit levels, choosing course content, determining the scope and sequence, planning the course structure, and preparing the scope and sequence plan. The syllabus including major elements used in planning a language course and providing the basis for its instructional focus and the content could thereby be based on several options: situational syllabus, topical or content-based syllabus, functional syllabus, taskbased syllabus, and grammatical or structural syllabus. Chapter Seven involves in creating conditions for effective teaching of a course by considering from four main factors: the institution, the teachers, the teaching process, and the learning process. Additionally, each factor is discussed as to its influence as well as implementation to effective teaching and learning in a language program. Chapter Eight deals with the role and design of institutional materials as a key component in most language program. Several topics regarding teaching materials that normally play a role in the current curriculum planning are delineated and discussed in relation to authentic versus created materials, textbooks, evaluating textbooks, adapting textbooks, preparing materials for a program, managing a materials writing project, and monitoring the use of materials. Chapter Nine provides approaches to evaluation dealing with purposes of evaluation: formative, illuminative, and summative evaluations; issues in program evaluation; and procedures used in conducting evaluation. Regarding the discussion questions and activities included as the final topics of each chapter, they seem likely to stimulate further discussions and can be incorporated as part of cooperative learning in pairs, in groups, or within the whole language classroom for teachersin-training. Also, at the end of each chapter are Appendices that seem to provide functional and excellent tools as guidelines or for SLLT page 85

applications in language curriculum development. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages provided for different modes under several topics (such as. procedures for conducting needs analysis in Chapter Three) are obviously helpful for appropriate selections of the key elements for a language-teaching curriculum. On the whole, this book under review seems to offer a great deal to language teachers, practitioners and program administrators with regard to planning and implementation processes for developing or reviewing a curriculum. All in all, prior to his systematic introduction to the issues and practices as such, Dr. Richards has implicitly given an important caveat on the basis of his expertise in language teaching and authority on the methodology, teacher development and material designs for teacher professionals in language teaching as follows: [B]eing an effective teacher meant much more than becoming a more skillful and knowledgeable classroom practitioner. It meant learning how to develop and adapt materials, to plan and evaluate course, to adapt teaching to students' needs, and to function within an institutional setting. It became clear that effective teaching was dependent on understanding the context for teaching, the needs of teachers and learners, the careful planning of courses and materials, as well as the monitoring of teaching and learning (p. xi). References Nunan, D. (1984). The Learner-centered curriculum. New York: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press. About the author Patama Kittidhaworn is currently Chair of the M.A. Program Committee in Applied Linguistics and an instructor in the Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate students at Mahidol University.

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