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Final Curriculum Project

With English being the main language used for international communication, more

and more English learners begin realizing the significance of having strong speaking skills.

However, even at such high proficiency levels as the upper intermediate (B2), learners still

seem to lack confidence in their ability to speak accurately and fluently. As a result, they seek

to enrol in English programs which would provide many opportunities to practice using the

language in an immersive environment, thus improving their overall communication skills.

This project describes the curriculum design of a Grammar in Speaking course that

directly addresses the learners’ needs to be successful in oral communication. This three-

week course recognizes the importance of integrating grammar into speaking as a means to

increase learners’ ability to perform various communicative tasks effectively. The curriculum

also includes a focus on fluency that contributes to comprehensive learner growth. The course

design is described by first situating the course in terms of the teaching context and the

learners. The learners’ needs are discussed to explain the rationale for decisions made in the

curriculum design. In addition, the curriculum description includes course goals, scope and

sequence, assessments and materials to demonstrate how learners needs will be met during

the course. Finally, the process and suggestions for adaptations are discussed in case the

course is considered for other teaching contexts.

Teaching Context

The Summer Language Institute (SLI) is an intensive English language program,

organized by LCC International University in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The program runs for

three weeks in July and is an annual event. SLI is an integral part of the university, because it

was the first program hosted by LCC in 1991. Consequently, it predates all degree programs

and its goals are representative of the educational culture and mission of the institution. SLI

participants attend approximately six hours of English classes per day, five days a week. The
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lessons cover a variety of different aspects, ranging from integrated skills to more specific

skills-oriented classes such as grammar, speaking, reading and others. In the afternoon, the

learners typically have classes that are more content based, for example, English in movies,

poetry, citizenship, etc. Extra-curricular activities are organized in order to enhance the

immersive experience and contribute to community-building.

Learners

Learners usually come from a number of different non-English speaking countries

such as Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland. It is expected that approximately 90

participants will sign up for SLI this year, which means one group will contain 15-16

learners. Learner proficiency ranges from A2 to C1 level, with the biggest learner

concentration being in the B2 level. Most of the learners are high school students in grades 9-

12 (ages 15-18), and only a few are studying in university. Consequently, SLI as a program is

mainly focused on working with teenagers and young adults. As high school students,

learners usually have some L2 learning experience and English is not the only foreign

language they speak. This is an important factor, because previous L2 learning experience

enables the learners to use their background knowledge to relate to and make connections

with new lesson content. It is important to note that most of the learners come from

educational systems, where there is little emphasis on the development of communication

skills and few opportunities to practice English outside of the classroom. Thus, improving

their communicative competence as well as gaining more confidence in speaking English are

some of the main motivating factors for enrolling in SLI.

Needs Analysis

The needs analysis was conducted by surveying and interviewing the main

stakeholders: target learners, a former SLI teacher and the program director. This was done in

order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the learners’ needs, interests, and motivating
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factors. The online survey for the learners included questions about their language

proficiency level, reasons for enrolling in SLI, and use of English. It also asked the learners

to name the most difficult aspects of learning English and grammar, their confidence level in

each skill, and preferred learning methods. To gather additional information about learner

preferences and difficulties, a former SLI instructor was interviewed. What is more, an

interview with the SLI director was conducted in order to gather information about the

program’s goals and expectations for the teachers.

The needs analysis results showed that target learners predominantly use English for

communication purposes, and the main motivational factor for enrolling in SLI was to

improve their English communication skills. However, the learners indicated that grammar

was the area in which they felt least confident. Both the learners and the SLI teacher provided

me with very similar answers, suggesting that their understanding of needs and expectations

corresponds. The results confirmed my assumption that even at the upper intermediate level,

such structures as narrative tenses, the passive voice and conditionals would be among the

most difficult aspects of grammar. Considering these results, I have designed the course in a

way that would address two major learner needs: to improve existing grammatical knowledge

and to receive sufficient speaking practice in authentic situations. Due to the fact that the

course duration is three weeks, it made sense to focus only on three structures rather than try

to cover many grammatical topics in less detail. Such distribution of content will allow the

learners enough practice using the target structures in various communicative situations, thus

reducing speaking anxiety which some have mentioned having and developing confidence in

spoken language production.

In order to ensure learner motivation and engagement, the course curriculum will take

into account the learners’ interests and preferred learning methods. The needs analysis results

revealed that the majority of learners are interested in travelling, music, news and media.
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Other interesting topics include science and discoveries, entertainment and body language.

The least interesting topics are global politics and human rights, environmental issues, illness

and treatment, money, and extreme conditions and survival. Based on the expressed areas of

interest, the course will be divided into three thematic units. Furthermore, the learners seem

to prefer a balance between written exercises, realistic speaking situations and inductive

learning. There was also a clear preference for pair-work or small-group activities.

Consequently, the course will have to use a variety of methods in order to target different

development areas. Activities such as reading authentic articles, completing multiple choice

exercises, role-plays, pyramid discussions and impromptu speeches are some of the activities

that the learners might enjoy doing.

Finally, the interview with the program director provided information regarding the

main goals of the program, the expectations for teachers and resources available. The director

was able to make some helpful insights regarding the focus of the course and suggested that I

focus on three to four grammar structures in order to help the learners to achieve mastery,

instead of trying to cover too many topics in three weeks. In addition, I was able to find out

that there are no prescribed textbooks, which means that teachers are given freedom to select

the materials they consider effective.

Conducting this needs analysis project has allowed me to learn more about who the

learners in SLI are. It also confirmed my initial assumptions about what is important for

learners at B2 level in terms of expectations, language and social needs. I intend to keep my

course goals focused on improving the learners’ existing grammar knowledge as well as

developing their fluency and accuracy through both written and oral tasks. I think one of the

course goals should also be to increase learner awareness of their own errors and to teach

them self-correction. An objective of this goal, which would also contribute to community-

building, could be to have the learners provide and receive feedback on their own and their
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peers’ speaking performance. Although this might not be the primary goal, it would help

ensure holistic learner growth. Another key issue that this course will have to address is

building learners’ confidence not only in speaking, but also in their grammar use. I hope that

sufficient practice in the classroom, use of various approaches (e.g., inductive reasoning,

role-plays, prepared and impromptu speeches, interactive activities, etc.) and an ongoing

discussion of speaking anxiety management will contribute to achieving this goal.

Overview

During my interview with the director of SLI, she noted that one of SLI’s goals is to

help the participants to improve their English communication skills in an immersive

environment. My course directly relates to this goal, as it is part of an intensive English

program, where all communication is taking place in English only and learners use the

language to problem-solve, negotiate, discuss, collaborate. What is more, the course

curriculum includes a number of authentic speaking tasks, during which the learners work

with authentic materials and engage in meaningful communication. The curriculum also

targets both fluency and accuracy skills in order to ensure growth in communication skills.

As the learners work with grammar structures which they are familiar with, they will gain

more confidence in using them to accomplish a variety of communicative tasks.

Another important goal of SLI is building a community of English speakers. The

grammar in speaking course will include a number of opportunities for learners to collaborate

on tasks, work in different groups. The learners will also work on a group project that they

will present at the end of the course. This way they will be able to engage in metalinguistic

discussions, problem-solve and use English in authentic context. In addition to that, the

learners will also learn how to provide feedback to their peers, thus helping create a sense of

community.
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The course curriculum is a reflection of my beliefs and priorities as a teacher.

Specifically, I believe that learners should be given opportunities to take ownership of their

learning and gradually develop autonomy. Therefore, the tasks in the course will allow the

learners to make decisions about what topics they wish to explore further and what they wish

to focus on in their speeches. Another important belief that is represented in this curriculum

design is that learners should be included in the assessment process. They will be conducting

both self-evaluations and peer-reviews after their speeches in order to improve their ability to

self-correct and use critical thinking to assess their learning. What is more, the course will

target both fluency and accuracy skills, because I believe that both are equally important in

ensuring the effectiveness of communication.

In terms of activities, the materials for this course are designed according to the

principles which I believe are essential in this specific teaching context. The main criteria for

materials design were inspired by guidelines such researchers as Graves (2000), Howard and

Major (2004), Nation (2007). First, the activities and tasks will be as authentic as possible.

While the main priority is to use original sources that contain real-life language that the

learners will encounter outside of the classroom (e.g., real news articles, excerpts from TV

shows and radio interviews, etc.), some of them might need to be edited to ensure they

contain the necessary target language. For instance, in the sample materials in Appendix B, I

had to supplement the new article with several past continuous and past perfect simple

structures to provide enough examples for the learners. However, the rest of the language was

left intact. Second, the materials will be relevant and meaningful to the learners. This means

that the learners not only should encounter authentic language in the learning materials, but

also be able to use their own personal experience and knowledge to communicate about what

is important for them and their lives. For instance, when determining the topics for the

personal anecdote activity (Appendix D), I made sure that they would include experiences
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that teenagers could have gone through. These two aspects will help ensure that learners are

motivated to engage in the learning process. Furthermore, the activities will provide the

learners with sufficient language and skills they need outside of the classroom. Finally, the

activities are meant to help the learners to reduce speaking anxiety and build their confidence.

Goals

The Grammar in Speaking course is intended for B2 level (upper-intermediate)

learners who wish to improve their speaking skills and be able to use specific grammatical

structures effectively to achieve various communicative tasks. This is a three-week intensive

course, during which the learners will revise the forms and use of the following: the

narrative tenses, the passive voice and the conditionals by completing written and oral tasks.

The learners will engage in a number of speaking activities on such topics as storytelling,

science, music and travelling, which will help develop their fluency and accuracy in

authentic communicative situations. At the end of each unit, the learners will deliver one

prepared speech and then use self-evaluation and peer-review forms to assess their own and

peers’ progress. The course includes a final project that the learners will begin working on

in groups from the start of the course and then present during the final week.

The course has the following goals:

Knowledge:

1. By the end of the course, students will have gained a better understanding of the

meaning and use of targeted grammar structures in various speaking contexts.

2. By the end of the course, students will have become familiar with the main

causes of public speaking anxiety and strategies to reduce it.

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Awareness:

3. By the end of the course, students will be able to assess their own and others’

speaking accuracy and fluency and identify areas for improvement.

4. By the end of the course, students will have become more aware of their

grammatical errors and able to self-correct.

Skills:

5. By the end of the course, students will be able to create and use targeted

grammar structures to achieve a variety of communicative tasks.

6. By the end of the course, students will have improved their oral fluency and

become able to produce stretches of language at an even tempo, without long,

noticeable pauses.

Attitude:

7. By the end of the course, students will have gained confidence in their speaking

skills.

In creating the course curriculum and goals, I have taken into consideration the

learners’ needs and interests that were expressed during the needs analysis. To begin with, the

majority of the learners said they were feeling least confident in their grammar skills and

some even mentioned feeling anxious when speaking in English. Therefore, the knowledge

goals are meant to directly address these two essential learner needs. Because the learners

will be working with familiar grammar points, they will be able to deepen their understanding

and expand their ability to apply those structures in a bigger variety of contexts. The course

will also introduce them to causes of speaking anxiety and enable them to create a list of

anxiety management strategies.

The awareness goals are included to train the learners’ ability to reflect on their own

performance. By watching their own recorded speeches and completing self-evaluation

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forms, the learners will gain more awareness of their errors and become more confident in

self-correction. They will also practice giving positive feedback to their peers as well as

making suggestions for improvement, thus sharing a sense of community and togetherness.

As this course integrates grammar into spoken language production, it is important the

learners have the necessary skills and target language to convey their intended meaning. The

skills goals reflect the fact that the learners will be working both on their accuracy and

fluency during the course, as both aspects are equally important in ensuring effective

communication.

Finally, the attitude goal is included because it is expected that the achievement of the

above-described goals will lead to the learners feeling more confident in their ability to use

English for communication purposes. By equipping the learners with the necessary

knowledge, skills and awareness, the course will also promote confidence in learners,

something they have mentioned lacking during the needs analysis.

Assessments

Formative Assessments

The course curriculum is divided into three thematic units, one per each course week.

At the end of every unit, the learners will deliver a prepared speech on a topic that relates to

the theme of the unit. An example of this task is provided in Appendix E. The task

description will provide guidelines and technical requirements for the speech, but the learners

will be able to select the content of their speech themselves. The prepared speech task is an

element that ties together such important learner needs as increasing confidence in using

grammar structures, developing fluency, communicating a message, allowing to apply

strategies to reduce public speaking anxiety. It is a reoccurring task that will be used for

assessment throughout the course, so the learners will become more comfortable with it as

the course progresses.

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This formative assessment will be used as a tool to measure the learners’ progress

towards achieving course goals. While the teacher will be assessing the learners’ performance

by completing an evaluation rubric with the focus on content, accuracy, fluency and delivery,

the learners will also be included into the assessment process. Before presenting their

speeches, the learners will be divided into groups of 3-4. They are going to complete peer-

review forms for those speakers who are in their group. The rationale behind such grouping is

to limit the number of reviews a learner must complete and to ensure that all speakers receive

the same amount of peer feedback. In addition, in the peer-review form, I am asking the

learners to identify different uses of narrative tenses and to judge their grammaticality. I have

also included a general feedback section that asks the learners to give positive feedback about

the speeches as well as make suggestions for the future. This is because positive

reinforcement is an important role in maintaining learner motivation. The completed forms

will be used as a basis for the feedback review session during the next lesson.

While giving their speeches, the learners will also be recorded by the teacher using a

video camera, cell phone or other recording equipment available. The videos will then be

uploaded to a private online database and shared with individual learners. As part of their

homework, the learners will be asked to complete a self-evaluation form. Similar to the peer-

review form, this one also requires them to identify grammar structures used in their speech

and to reflect on their performance. Combined with the peer-review, the self-evaluation

process draws the learners’ attention to self-correction.

Following the speech presentations, the teacher will hold a feedback session, during

which the learners will share feedback in their small groups, recognizing strengths in each

other’s speeches as well as considering possible corrections for the future. They will also

reflect on the self-evaluation process and discuss what they have learned. The teacher will
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listen to their feedback and deliver collective feedback to highlight positive aspects of their

speeches and areas that still need work.

Summative Assessment

Since there is no formal assessment in SLI, I have decided to use a group project to

assess the learners’ overall achievement of the course goals. The project will require the

learners to work in small groups and identify an area in grammar which they would like to

explore further. The learners will then assume the role of teachers and have to prepare and

deliver a presentation on their selected grammar topic. They will begin working on their

projects on the first week of the course, and will present it in the final week. The teacher will

evaluate how well the learners are able to use grammar structures in an authentic speaking

situation; how confident they feel while speaking to an audience; how accurate and fluent

their speech is.

Scope and Sequence

I have designed the scope and sequence by taking into consideration the following

factors: the course length, program and course goals, learners’ needs and interests. The course

is divided into three thematic units that represent learners’ areas of interest. I thought it was

important to include a theme in each unit so that there was an element of continuity between

individual lessons and that learners felt more engaged with the course content. What is more,

such distribution of units works well with the language focus areas that were identified as the

most difficult aspects of grammar during the needs analysis. Since one of the main goals in

SLI is to improve the participants’ communication skills, the scope and sequence represents

what I believe the key elements of successful communication. The scope and sequence table

(Appendix A) depicts the target areas in the order in which they will be covered, starting

from public speaking skills and ending with working on the final project. The scope and

sequence allows some flexibility in terms of how the unit content will be distributed
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throughout the week. However, it is important to note that such elements as focus on fluency,

the target activity and working on the final project should be separate lessons in order not to

compromise the achievement of course goals.

At the beginning of every unit, the learners will look at how different public speaking

skills can be applied to improve their confidence as English speakers. This directly relates to

two of the course goals of reducing public speaking anxiety and building confidence. The

reason why I have decided to include this element first is because I want the learners to

become aware of possible public speaking strategies prior to engaging in any speaking

activities and to allow them sufficient practice throughout the week. These skills are more

abstract, and therefore, might require more explicit instruction and practical application.

The next section in the scope and sequence focuses on fluency development. The

activities included in this part of the course will be used to get the learners thinking about the

theme of the unit. They will also present some authentic speaking contexts in which the target

structure use might occur naturally. As fluency is an important aspect of this course and also

one of the goals, I wanted to make sure that learners have enough opportunities to engage in

meaningful exchanges, where they are not asked to focus on specific vocabulary or grammar.

Instead, they are expected to prioritize conveying their message. I expect that repeated

fluency activities will allow the learners to produce increased lengths of speech at an even

tempo and will reduce the amount of hesitation.

The focus on form and accuracy are closely related, because one is meant to equip the

learners with the necessary knowledge about each target structure and the other is included to

provide opportunities for controlled practice in using that structure. The first unit focuses on

narrative tenses, because this grammar structure was chosen by the learners as the most

difficult one. I decided to begin the course with the most difficult grammar structure so that I

could make adjustments to the course curriculum in case the learners needed additional input
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or support to fully grasp the use and forms. The passive voice follows after narrative tenses

because this is also a tensed structure, which requires understanding of how different tenses

are used. I hope that revising such narrative tenses as the past simple and continuous, past

perfect simple and continuous will aid the learners in forming the passive voice. Final unit

will include the first, second and third conditionals, which will be used to consider real or

unreal situations in the context of travelling, a topic well-suited for the end of the course.

As shown in the scope and sequence, all units contain a target activity. This activity is

used in the curriculum as a formative assessment. The learners will prepare and deliver their

speeches towards the end of the unit, having spent time practicing using the grammar

structures. I wanted to include the prepared speeches into the curriculum as a repeated form

of assessment for several reasons. First, conducting the same type of formative assessment at

regular intervals during the course makes the learners become more comfortable with the

assessment itself. I expect that with every speech, they will become increasingly autonomous

and have the chance to identify strategies that are effective and make adjustments for

improvement as needed. Second, the prepared speeches serve as boundaries between the

units, where the learners become familiar with the pattern of work and know that after their

speeches, they will be looking at a different topic. The assessment methods of the target

activity are presented in the scope and sequence chart.

The last element of a unit is the final project. This section in the scope and sequence

was included to demonstrate that learners begin working on their projects starting from the

first week. What is more, I included the key progress points such as topic selection, research,

project outline, etc. to ensure that this is a process that continuous throughout the course, and

learners are accountable for meeting the main milestones.

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Materials Design

This section will discuss an example set of materials that was designed specifically

for this course. This set of materials consists of four parts: focus on fluency, focus on form,

focus on accuracy, assessment (discussed in the previous section). They are part of the first

unit that is designed to improve the learners’ ability to use narrative tenses to tell stories. As

this is the beginning of the course, the learners may require additional instruction time to be

introduced to the work patterns and tasks themselves. However, these materials are designed

to be used in the first unit only, and although the key elements (i.e., practicing fluency,

focusing on form, focus on accuracy and assessment via prepared speeches) will be included

in the other two units, the teacher will need to adapt different materials.

The materials are to be used over the course of three 90-minute lessons. The

remaining two lessons in the first week are meant for developing public speaking strategies

(e.g., anxiety management), working on the final project in groups and sharing feedback on

the prepared speeches. The first lesson in this unit begins with building learner interest in the

topic and practicing fluency, then moves on to instruction and practice of the target

structures. The second lesson proceeds to practical application and speech preparation. The

third lesson is dedicated for delivering speeches.

Part I: Focus on Fluency

Before using the materials, the teacher should increase the learners’ interest in the

topic and assess the level of their background knowledge. This could be done with a warm-up

activity, asking the learners to briefly share the most recent news story they have read or

heard and on what type of media (TV, social media, online portals, etc.). The activity should

take no longer than ten minutes, and could be done in pairs, small groups or as a whole class.

The teacher should then transition to the fluency activity (Appendix B). For this part, I

have decided to adapt an online news article by McKinley Corbley (2019). This article is the
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foundation of the majority of activities in these materials and more information about the

application of this source will be provided in the next section. The purpose of the fluency

activity directly relates to one of the course goals - to improve the learners’ speaking fluency

and have them practice producing stretches of language at an even tempo and reduce

hesitation.

The learners are asked to use a provided list of words to create their own story.

Because some of them might have never done an activity like this before, they might require

assistance from the teacher or modelling in order to grasp the expectations. It is also

important to note that the learners should be told explicitly not to write down full sentences,

but rather to make notes (bullet points) to help them remember the key points. There is

virtually no context provided, therefore, the learners are encouraged be creative in order to

think of a logical connection between the given words. Following Nation’s (2004) description

of the fluency strand, I have created an activity that: requires the learners to tell the same

story repeatedly and to convey a message; does not include unknown vocabulary; does not

focus on a specific grammar structure (p. 7-8). First, the learners practice silently to

themselves, then they tell it to a partner, then to a bigger group of learners, and, if their story

is selected by their peers, they tell it to the whole class. Kathleen Graves (2000) also

mentions the importance of activities helping the learners to build confidence so that they

could transfer what they have learned to real-life situations (p. 152). As a result, each time

they tell the same story, they should grow more confident and be able to hesitate less.

Including fluency activities where the learners have to speak with little preparation should

also contribute to reducing speaking anxiety which some learners have indicated having in

the needs analysis survey.

In addition to telling each other their stories, the learners are asked to discuss how

similar or different they are. This part of the activity involves using language in a
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communicative situation, where they need to interact with a partner, listen and respond

appropriately.

As a final step at this stage, the teacher should distribute the original article, have the

learners read it and discuss as a whole class how their stories compare to the actual story. I

recommend that the teacher asks several reading comprehension questions in order to ensure

the learners understood the sequence of events that will be important for the focus on form

part.

Part II: Focus on Form

Having practiced fluency, the learners then move on to the language focus of this unit

– narrative tenses (Appendix C). The activities in this part do not have much instructional

content and are not designed to introduce a new concept, because, at the upper intermediate

level, the learners should already be familiar with the use of these four tenses to talk about

past events. Instead, the materials are meant to help the learners improve their existing

knowledge and skill. However, as mentioned before, the target learner group had listed tenses

as one of the most difficult part of grammar, therefore, I have decided to place equal

emphasis on form, meaning and use, as suggested by Mihai and Purmensky (2016, p. 234).

What is more, learning grammar structures in isolation seems to be considerably less

effective, as learners may struggle to build connections between the three dimensions.

There are several reasons why I have chosen to use Corbley’s (2019) article as the

main source for my materials. First, authenticity plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of

learning materials. By working with authentic texts, the learners are exposed to language that

they will encounter outside of the classroom (Graves, 2000; Howard & Major, 2004).

Furthermore, in the needs analysis, a number of respondents said they preferred to work with

authentic texts and use inductive reasoning to learn how grammar structures are used there.

While I would have preferred to give the learners a direct link to the article, I had to make
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some adjustments such as adding several past perfect simple or past perfect continuous

structures to the original text in order to provide more examples. Nevertheless, I have

formatted the handout to resemble an online article as much as possible. The second reason

for choosing this specific text was the topic and content. The article talks about two

teenagers, and delivers a positive message of hope and faith. As my target learners are also

teenagers, I expect that they will be able to relate better to people from their age group. In

addition, the learners expressed interest in news and media; therefore, this activity could be

expanded into a discussion of what types of news the learners prefer to read/watch in the

media (e.g., sports, celebrity gossip, entertainment, international news, movie reviews, etc.)

and why.

In the first activity, the teacher should ask the learners to read the article again, but

this time, they should focus on the four tenses: past simple, past continuous, past perfect and

past perfect continuous. At this point, the teacher should not discuss meaning, but rather

focus on getting the learners to recognize grammatical forms. While reading, the learners

complete the table in their handout. If needed, the teacher could model with one example

from each column. Another version of this activity would be to highlight the tenses with

different colors directly in the article. By doing so, the learners would have a quicker access

to the context in which the structures are used. During the feedback stage, the teacher should

have the learners compare answers with a partner and look for any errors involving the past

forms of the passive voice.

The second activity involves working with meaning. At this point, the learners have

revised the forms and are now trying to use inductive reasoning to understand how each tense

is used in the article and what kind of action it describes. It is recommended that this activity

is done in pairs, so that the learners can engage in metalinguistic discussions and collaborate.

What is more, the activity requires the learners to analyze and use critical thinking, thus
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developing their language use strategies (Graves, 2000, p. 153). For the descriptions of the

four uses, I have referred to the New English file: Upper-Intermediate: Student's Book

(Oxenden & Latham-Koenig, 2016). During the feedback stage, the teacher should use

concept checking questions as a means of assessing learner understanding and should provide

additional input if needed. It is crucial that the teacher refers to the text when giving feedback

to ensure that learning occurs within a context.

The last two activities in this part of the materials are meant to provide controlled

practice of using narrative tenses. They address the learners’ preference to study grammar by

doing exercises from a worksheet, which they have indicated in their needs analysis. Due to

the fact that the learners have a lot of experience with similar tasks (from their formal

education) and are comfortable with them, I have included these activities as a transitional

stage before asking them to produce target language in a less controlled setting. The activities

are constructed in the same context that relates to the article. The learners can complete the

exercises individually and then check their answers with a partner before sharing them with

the rest of the class.

Part III: Focus on Accuracy

At this stage, the learners explore the use of narrative tenses in a slightly different

context – personal anecdotes (Appendix D). This part of the materials is designed to satisfy

the learners’ need for successful communication. Personal anecdotes are very common in real

life; therefore, the learners will be practicing using target structures to talk about themselves

in an authentic communicative situation. This activity meets multiple suggested

considerations for materials design, such as the need for being authentic and relatable as well

as helping the learners to develop specific language they will need for successful

communication outside of the classroom (Graves, 2000).

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In order to introduce the concept of an anecdote, the teacher should provide a model

at first and then check the learners’ understanding by asking concept checking questions. As

indicated in the activity instructions, the learners are given a choice of which topic they wish

to talk about. This should increase the learners’ motivation, as they will be able to use their

previous experience and talk about themselves. To assist with language production, a list of

prompting questions is provided below the possible topics. The questions are phrased in a

way that would implicitly prompt the learners to use different narrative tenses. Because this

activity is focused on accuracy, the teacher should allow the learners time for preparation.

Learners share their anecdotes in a small group, which creates a semi-realistic

speaking situation. While others are talking, the listeners have to ask one or two follow-up

questions. This should help simulate real-life exchange, and prepare the learner to provide

more information or clarification.

As a formative assessment, the teacher should listen to the personal anecdotes and

follow-up questions in order to determine whether the learners use the narrative tenses

correctly or they require more practice.

Process Reflection

The curriculum design is a multistep process, involving research, data collection,

analysis and application. In developing this course, I was able to gain valuable experience

about analyzing learners’ needs and using that data to shape the entire process of curriculum

design. As I moved through the process of curriculum design, I realized how significant the

needs analysis was. Not only did it provide important information about the learners needs,

but it also provided valid support for my decisions.

The main principle of building the curriculum for this course was to make sure that it

meets the learners’ needs effectively. Although I initially assumed that the learners will report

higher levels of speaking anxiety and that a bigger part of the course will be dedicated to
 20

developing their confidence in speaking, the needs analysis results showed that learners felt

more confident in their speaking skills rather than grammar. As a result, this made me

reconsider the curriculum goals so that more emphasis would be placed on improving

existing grammar knowledge and providing opportunities for its practical application in

speaking. What is more, the needs analysis allowed me to gain insight on which topics the

target learner group is interested in. For example, I was surprised that a big number of

learners said they are interested in such topics as science, news and media, but not in money,

sports or extreme survival. Based on their expressed preferences, I could incorporate the

themes into the units so that the learners would be motivated to actively engage with the

course content. While I initially hoped to include more than three grammar structures into the

course, talking with the program director made me reduce that number to one structure per

week. I realized that it would not have been effective for learners to quickly move through

multiple grammar points, even though they were already familiar with them. Instead, I

switched the course focus to identifying the most troublesome areas and targeting them.

In terms of materials design, I first had to draft a version of the scope and sequence so

that I could better envision the flow and rhythm of the course. By doing so, I was able to add

considerably more structure to my course design and determine the fact that my design allows

for a repeated target activity and assessment. Having drafted the scope and sequence, I began

looking for available teaching resources that would meet specific criteria. These criteria were

based on the guidelines by Graves (2000); Howard and Major (2004) and Nation (2007), who

proposed such criteria as authenticity, relevance to the target group, language focus based on

form, meaning and use, confidence development, the fluency strand. Since I was not able to

find a set of materials that would meet all of the set criteria, I decided to create my own. The

fact that I had the needs analysis to refer to made it considerably easier to build my materials,
 21

as I could check whether each activity meets the learners needs and how it relates to the

program goals.

Another factor that had influence on the overall design was that learners confirmed

my assumption about preferring to work with authentic materials and using inductive

reasoning when learning grammar. Consequently, one of the most important criteria in

selecting learning materials was authenticity. As suggested by Graves (2000), authentic

materials expose the learners to real language which they will encounter outside of the

classroom. Because learners said in their survey that they needed English for communication,

I felt it was crucial to ensure that they are familiar with how it is used in real-life situations.

Moreover, although I did not initially plan to include an aspect of fluency into the course, I

changed that decision after reading Nation’s (2004) description of significance of the fluency

strand in language teaching.

Drafting the scope and sequence was extremely useful, as I could clearly see where

the main formative and summative assessments need to be placed in order to ensure a logical

progression of the course. I realized that it was important to include a repetitive form of

assessment, since it would not only serve as a boundary between the units, but it would also

contribute to the course goal of building learner confidence. Moreover, in designing the

assessment I was able to implement my belief that learners need to be involved in the

evaluation process. This led me to include the peer-review and self-evaluation steps, which

contributed to the achievement of the awareness-raising course goals. The summative

assessment also was strategically divided in order to give learners enough time to prepare for

the culminating project.

I thought the curriculum design process went smoothly, mainly because I conducted a

thorough research prior. For teachers who are planning to build their own curriculum, I

strongly advise to investigate who their learners are, what they are interested in, for what
 22

purposes they use the language and what they themselves believe to be their language needs.

This information will be essential in making sure that the course accurately meets their

expectations. Another important factor that helped me was to identify how the course I am

designing represents my beliefs as a teacher. For example, the fact that I think learners should

become more confident in their grammar use in spoken production has shaped the way I

designed the assessments in the course. Furthermore, having at least a draft version of the

scope and sequence at the beginning is very effective in checking whether the course actually

leads to the achievement of course goals or whether any adjustments are required. Finally, it

is important to understand that curriculum design is an organic process which might be due to

change once more information about the learners’ needs becomes available. I suggest that

while the curriculum should be as specific as possible, it should also be flexible.

Conclusion

The Grammar in Speaking course curriculum is designed to assist learners in

becoming more confident in their communication skills. It does so by increasing their

grammatical knowledge and giving opportunities to apply it in various communicative

situations. This project describes the main stages in the process of designing a three-week

course for an intensive language program. The discussion of the teaching context, needs

analysis, course goals, scope and sequence, materials and assessment should provide

sufficient information on how this course could be practically implemented.

While this course was designed for a specific teaching context, it could be adapted to

other teaching situations. If teaching a different age group, other themes could be integrated

into the course units to better reflect the learners’ interests. Moreover, the teacher could

choose different language sources that are appropriate for their particular age group. In terms

of proficiency level, the language focus aspect could also be adjusted. For instance, for

lower-level learners this would mean either providing more grammar input or excluding those
 23

structures with which the learners are not yet familiar. Meanwhile, for more proficient

learners, the teacher could expand the language focus to include more grammar structures

(e.g., adding would and used to to the narrative tenses unit) and explore more contexts in

which they are used. Reoccurring tasks and assessments, such as the peer-review and self-

evaluation activities could also be adapted by either providing more support from the teacher

(e.g., modelling) or giving the learners more autonomy (e.g., creating their own evaluation

criteria). The repetitive patterns in the course structure make it possible to expand the

duration from three weeks to considerably more by adding a new grammar structure to the

language focus every week. This course is also highly adaptable to an online setting, since

such online platforms as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and others allow for the same grouping

strategies as in the original course design. What is more, the course content could also be

made interactive through Google Jamboard, Quizizz or Kahoot! For assessment tasks, the

teacher could record the speeches or have the learners record themselves and then upload the

videos to video-sharing platforms like Flipgrid, VoiceThread or YouTube. The above-

mentioned options are provided only as examples to suggest that there are multiple ways this

course can be adapted, yet teachers are encouraged to make individual decisions based on

their specific teaching context.

 24

References

Corbley, M. K. (2019, May 11). Teen Swimmers Drifting in the Ocean Prayed for Help –

And Suddenly are Rescued by Boat Named 'Amen'. Good News Network.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/teen-swimmers-praying-for-help-rescued-by-boat-

named-amen/

Graves, K. (2000). Designing language courses: A guide for teachers. Heinle & Heinle.

Howard, J. & Major, J. (2004). Guidelines for Designing Effective English Language

Teaching Materials. Retrieved May 19, 2021, from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237476568_Guidelines_for_Designing_Effec

tive_English_Language_Teaching_Materials

Mihai, F. & Purmensky, K. (2016). Course Design for TESOL: A guide to integrating

curriculum and teaching. University of Michigan Press.

Nation, P. (2007). The Four Strands. International Journal of Innovation in Language

Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 2–13. https://doi.org/10.2167/illt039.0

Oxenden, C., & Latham-Koenig, C. (2016). New English file: Upper-Intermediate: Student's

Book (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

 25

Appendix A

Scope and Sequence

Unit 1: What a story! Unit 2: Science meets art Unit 3: Amazing journeys
Public Speaking Causes of public speaking anxiety Confident body language Using speech notes
Strategies for anxiety management
Focus on Fluency Repeated retelling: create a story and Role-play: you are a famous Ranking: in pairs, rank the most
tell it to your classmates several musician/artist who has been invited common problems while travelling.
times. to a talk show on television. Answer Compare your list with another pair.
questions from the audience about Provide solutions to each problem.
your life and work.
Focus on Form Narrative tenses: review of forms and Passive voice: review of forms and Conditionals (I, II, III): review of
use. use. forms and use.
Focus on Accuracy Using narrative tenses: tell a personal Using the passive voice: Using conditionals: compile a list of
anecdote. Find someone who… (science and items to take with you to one of the
music) suggested holiday destinations. Reach
a consensus as a group at different
stages.
Target Activity Talk about an exciting or frightening Think of an invention that would Talk about one thing that is happening
event in your life. significantly improve people’s daily in the world right now. Speculate
lives. Present it to your classmates. what is likely or unlikely to happen in
the future. Imagine and describe a
different past.
Assessment Prepared speech Prepared speech Prepared speech
Peer-review Peer-review Peer-review
Self-evaluation Self-evaluation Self-evaluation
Final Project Topic selection Topic research Final revisions
Brainstorming ideas Presentation outline Project presentations
 26

Appendix B

PART I: Focus on Fluency

1. Creating a story

Below is a list of words from a news story about two teenagers, Tyler and Heather, but the
story itself is missing. What do you think happened to Tyler and Heather? Use all the words
from the list and think of your own story. You can write short notes to help you.

 Amen
 away from land
 boat
 ocean
 one hour
 panic
 started praying
 rescued
 were swimming
 Tyler and Heather

2. Telling a story

1. Tell your story to a partner and then listen to theirs. Compare your stories and discuss
what was similar and what was different.

2. Join another pair and take turns telling your stories. Choose one story to share with the
rest of the class.

1.
 27

Teen Swimmers Drifting in the Ocean Prayed for Help –

And Suddenly are Rescued by Boat Named ‘Amen’
By McKinley Corbley – May 11, 2019

A pair of desperate young swimmers had been

floating in the sea for an hour before being
rescued just in the nick of time thanks to an
aptly-named boat.

Tyler Smith and Heather Brown were hanging

out at Vilano Beach in Florida last month
when they decided to go for a swim in the
ocean.

The high school teens from Christ’s Church

Academy had been trying to swim towards an
offshore island when the ocean’s current Photo by Eric Wagner
pulled them into a tricky spot. The youngsters
tried to change course and swim towards a
nearby lighthouse — but they eventually realized they were getting farther away from land,
and began to panic.

The friends linked arms and floated in place so they wouldn’t expend any more energy on
swimming. They were growing weaker and feared they wouldn't make it, so they started
praying. “I cried out, ‘if you really do have a plan for us, like, come on. Just bring
something.’” Smith said.

30 minutes after they had cried out for divine intervention, they were stunned to see a boat
sailing towards them.

“It came out of nowhere,” Brown told CBS News in the interview below. “When I saw it, I
knew we were getting out of here.”

The boat had been en route from South Florida to New Jersey when it spotted the teens in the
water. If that wasn’t surprising enough, the teens were shocked to see that the boat’s name
was “Amen”.
 28

Adapted from: www.goodnewsnetwork.org

 29

Appendix C

PART II: Focus on Form

Language focus – narrative tenses

1. Read the news article again and complete the table with examples from the text.

Past Simple Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous

2. Complete the sentences with: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect
Continuous.

1. _______________________ is used for consecutive actions in the past; the main

events in a story.
2. ______________________ is used to talk about an action in the past that happened
before the main event.
3. ______________________ is used to talk about a longer action in the past that was in
progress before the main event.
4. ______________________ is used for a longer action in the past that was in progress
when another action happened.
 30

3. Circle or underline the correct form.

1. The captain and his crew sailed/were sailing from Florida to New Jersey when they

heard a cry for help.

2. Suddenly, the captain saw two people in the water, so he raced/was racing the boat

closer and threw/had thrown lifejackets to them.

3. By the time Tyler and Heather were rescued, they had developed/had been

developing hypothermia.

4. The two teenagers shook/were shaking, so the crew gave them hot water to drink.

5. The captain told the reporters that he was thinking/had been thinking about renaming

the boat, but now he’s going to keep it.

4. Complete the sentences. Use narrative tenses.

1. I was eating breakfast when __________________________________.

2. She woke up tired, because __________________________________.

3. Alex was exhausted. He __________________________________ for nine hours.

4. Why __________________________________ when I saw you?

5. I came home, then I ________________________ and ________________________.

6. After we got out of the taxi, I realized that __________________________.

 31

Appendix D

PART III: Focus on Accuracy

Telling personal anecdotes

1. Choose one of the topics from the list and tell your classmates a short anecdote about:

1. your best holiday

2. a time when you broke a promise

3. a time when you found something valuable on the street

4. your favourite childhood memory

5. a time when you met or saw a celebrity in person

6. your worst day in school

7. a time when you helped someone in trouble

8. a time when your parents caught you lying

Use the questions below to tell your anecdote:

 Where were you? Who were you with?

 What were you doing?
 What had happened before?
 Had anything similar happened to you before?
 What action did you take?
 What happened in the end?
 Did everything turn out well? How?
 What did you or the other person (people) say?
 Did you learn anything from this experience? What?

2. Listen to your classmates tell personal anecdotes. After they have finished, ask them 1-2
follow-up questions to get more details. Ex.: What did the old lady say when you helped
her cross the street? Were your parents angry when they found out that you had been
lying?
 32

Appendix E

PART IV: Assessment

Prepared Speech

Prepare to give a speech about a frightening or exciting event that you happened in your life.

 Use the prompt questions from the personal anecdotes activity to guide your speech.

 Aim to use all four narrative tenses in your speech.

 You should begin your speech with I’m going to tell you about a time when…

 You can use short notes to help you remember, but don’t read your speech.

 The speech should be 2-3 minutes long.

 33

Group no. ____ Speaker’s name ___________________

Peer-review 1

Listen to your classmate’s speech. Notice how he/she uses narrative tenses. For each tense,
write down one example from the speech. If the tense was used correctly, put a tick ( ✓) next
to it. If you think there was a mistake, put a cross (✕). Be ready to explain why you think
each example is correct or incorrect.

1. Past Simple
___________________________________________________________________________

2. Past Continuous
___________________________________________________________________________

3. Past Perfect
___________________________________________________________________________

4. Past Perfect continuous

___________________________________________________________________________

Write two things that the speaker did well:

1.

2.

Write two suggestions for next time:

1.

2.
 34

Name ___________________

Self-evaluation 1

Watch the video of your speech, preferably several times. Answer the following questions:

1. Did you use the past simple? (transcribe one example, write down the time stamp)

2. Did you use the past continuous? (transcribe one example, write down the time stamp)

3. Did you use the past perfect? (transcribe one example, write down the time stamp)

4. Did you use the past perfect continuous? (transcribe one example, write down the time
stamp)

5. Did you make any mistakes? If yes, list them here and explain how you would correct
them.

List two things that you did well. List two things that you would improve.

1. 1.

2. 2.