Hazırlayan Ayhan YAVUZ: ANKARA-2012

T.C.
ATILIM ÜNİVERSİTESİ
SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ
MÜTERCİM TERCÜMANLIK ANA BİLİM DALI
ÇEVİRİ BİLİM BİLİM DALI
FUNDAMENTALS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR TRANSLATION

COURSES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSLATION AND
INTERPRETATION
YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ
Hazırlayan
Ayhan YAVUZ
Tez Danışmanı
Yrd. Doç. Dr. İsmail ERTON
ANKARA-2012
T.C.
ATILIM ÜNİVERSİTESİ
SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ
MÜTERCİM TERCÜMANLIK ANA BİLİM DALI
ÇEVİRİ BİLİM BİLİM DALI
FUNDAMENTALS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR TRANSLATION

COURSES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSLATION AND
INTERPRETATION
YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ
Hazırlayan
Ayhan YAVUZ
Tez Danışmanı
Yrd. Doç. Dr. İsmail ERTON
ANKARA-2012
T,C.
ATtLtM uruivensiresi
sosyAL sit-ituLen erusrirusU wruoUnluriUrue
Ayhan YAVUZ taraftndan hazrrlanan Fundamentals of Curriculum Design for

Translation Courses in Social Sciences for lJndergraduate Students in the
Departments of Translation and lnterpretation baglrklr bu qahgma, 17.01.2012
tarihinde yapllan savunma stnavr sonucunda oybirli$i ile bagarrlr bulunarak jurimiz
taraftndan Mutercim-Tercumanhk Anabilim Dah Qeviri Bilimi Bilim dahnda Yuksek
Lisans Tezi olarak kabul edilmigtir.
E frh*oa4(-
Prof. Dr. N. Berrin AKSOY (Bagkan)
Yrd. Dog. Dr. ismail ERTON (Danrgman)
W (
Dr. Arif SARIQOBAN (Uye)
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to express my heartfelt gratitudes to each of the individuals who

have had a contribution to the process of completing this thesis. With his steady
energy for always leading me into an efficient study and his deep tolerance for
my touchy behaviours, Assistant Professor Dr. İsmail Erton is the first and the
right address of my very special thanks. I would also like to express my gratitude
to Professor Dr. N. Berrin Aksoy who has never denied her guidance to me in the
process of completing my dissertation.
I am really indebted to all my outstanding and devoted colleagues who

have always supported me in any case. Their moral reinforcement was a
propellent power in all my times of despair to shake off and continue this
demanding study. Their every encouraging and whole-hearted word has so much
helped me see this thesis through to the end because there were times when I
was ready to give it up.
Very special appreciation goes to my wife, Meral Yavuz, and my dear

children, Furkan and Hilal for their everlasting support and endurance to me and
to all my tiring studies throughout this process. Such a difficult academic journey
would have never been completed in a safe way without their sound assistance
and steady support to me.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ii
INTRODUCTION 1
I. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study 4
1.2. Statement of the Problem 6
1.3. Purpose of the Study 7
1.4. Research Questions 8
1.5. Scope of the Study 8
1.6. Assumptions and Limitations 9
1.7. Definition of Specific Terms 10
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1.Curriculum Design Studies 12

2.1.1. Definitions of Curriculum 19
2.1.1.1.The Official Curriculum 22
2.1.1.2. The Hidden Curriculum 24
2.2. Foundations of Curriculum 25
2.2.1. Philosophical Basis of Curriculum 26
2.2.2. Psychological Basis of Curriclum 30
2.2.3. Sociological Basis of Curriculum 33
2.2.4. Historical Basis of Curriculum 34

iii
2.2.4.1. History of Curiculum Studies in the World 35
2.2.4.2. History of Curriculum Studies in Turkey 39
2.2.5. Future of Curriculum Studies 41
III. CURRICULUM DESIGN PROCESS
3.1. Curriculum Design Process 46

3.2. Curriculum Design Approaches 47
3.2.1. Subject-Centered Curriculum Design 48
3.2.2. Learner-Centered Curriculum Design 49
3.2.3. Problem-Centered Curriculum Design 50
3.2.4. Broad-Field Curriculum Design 51
3.3. Curriculum Design Models 52
3.3.1. A Waterfall Model 56
3.3.2. A Focused Opportunistic Model 57
3.3.3. A Layers of Necessity Model 58
3.3.4. Deciding on a Model 59
IV. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR UNIVERSITIES AND

TRANSLATION STUDIES DEPARTMENTS
4.1. Main pillars of an Effective Curriculum 61
4.2. Curriculum Development 65
4.3. Process Initiation Stage 67
4.3.1. Formation of the Team Work 68
4.3.2. Brainstorming for Developers 70

iv
4.3.3. Task Assignment 70
4.3.4. Setting Deadlines for Task Accomplishment 70
4.4. Pre-development Stage 71
4.4.1. Needs Analysis 73
4.4.1.1. Identifying Market Needs 75
4.4.1.2. Identifying Student Needs 77
4.5. Development Stage 79
4.5.1. Defining Instructional Objectives 82
4.5.2. Reasons for Instructional Objectives 84
4.5.3. Characteristics of Useful Instructional Objectives 84
4.5.4. Selection of Content and Preparation of Materials 85
4.5.5. Selection of Teaching Methods and Techniques 88
4.5.6. Selection of Teachers 93
4.5.7. Design of Instruction Materials and Developing Lesson
Plans 95
4.6. New Trends in Curriculum Development Process 101
4.6.1. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences 101
4.6.2. Active Learning 103
4.6.3. Collaborative Learning 104
4.6.4. Life-long Learning 105
4.6.5. Creative Thinking 106
4.6.6. Critical Thinking 106
4.6.7. Reflective Thinking 108
4.6.8. Constructivism 108
4.6.9. Project-based Learning 109

v
4.6.10. Brain-based Learning 110
4.7. Curriculum Development Process for Universities 112
4.7.1. Structuring and Revisiting the Curriculum 113
4.7.2. Parameters Influencing Curriculum Development 115
4.8. Curriculum Development for Translation Studies Departments 117
V. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

BOĞAZİÇİ UNIVERSITY, TURKEY
5.1. Presentation of the Programme. 122

5.2. Discussion 123
VI. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

ATILIM UNIVERSITY, TURKEY

6.2. Discussion 125
VII. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY, WALES

7.2. Discussion 127
VIII. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

TAMPERE UNIVERSITY, FINLAND

vi
8.2. Discussion 128
IX. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT
FATIH UNIVERSITY, TURKEY
X. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 131
APPENDIX
1. 4-Year Curriculum and Course Description of Boğaziçi University 138
2. 4-Year Curriculum and Course Description of Atılım University 145
3. 4-Year Curriculum and Course Description of Swansea University 154
4. 4-Year Curriculum and Course Description of Tampere University 159
5. 2-Year Curriculum and Course Description of Fatih University 166
BIBLIOGRAPHY 171
ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) 174
ABSTRACT (TURKISH) 175

1
I. INTRODUCTION
People all around the world today are in an expansive interaction and
communication with one another, and communication has become so crucial
that people try to get rid of any barriers in front of both language and culture
so that people can get the service of communicating with one another on a
satisfactory level. The presence of professionals who are trained to mediate
between languages and cultures is required to make sure that the said
barriers are cleared away. The underlying necessity in this reality is the
accommodation of the professional mediators known as translators with the
best education. Thus, one of the most important duties of translator trainers
is to expose the oncoming translators or interpreters to a much better
education including any kind of novelties happening in either physical or
social sciences all around the world. In order to achieve this goal, the most
relevant training methods will be implemented in parallel with students‘ needs
or capacities so that they will be able to derive maximum benefits from these
sciences.
The maximum benefits of lessons can be reached by means of a goal-

oriented curriculum design during the preparation of which all the important
procedures are paid strict attention. In addition, the environment where the
official curriculum is designed and applied is formed by many entities,
including public institutions, policymakers, ministers, the media, the private
sector, and direct participants, i.e., instructors, students, and alumni (as cited
by David Sawyer, Freihoff 1995: 150). The factors that Freihoff has
designated will irrefutably cause very effective curricula to be designed for
the great success of the target groups and implemented within really
outstanding training institutions that aim to give an up-to-date education to
these students.
2
Despite the globalization of today‘s world, the professional translators

are educated in such institutional settings that are shaped by highly specific,
political, cultural, legislative, and marketspecific constellations in their country
and region of the world (as cited by David Sawyer, Snell-Hornby 1998a: 32).
It can be deduced that the responsibility of translators in respect of improving
the cross-cultural relations and communication should be within the frames of
impeccability in all aspects. And the education they will be given sholud also
be on a very satisfactory level. When this approach is carefully studied it will
be easy to understand that a wide variety of curriculum models have
emerged, and they differ substantially from one another. But the unchanging
fact will always remain the same; functional or goal-oriented curricula for any
kind of lesson will serve to the ultimate success of students.
The idea of curriculum is hardly new but the way it is understood and
theorized has altered over years and there remains considerable dispute as
to the meaning of curriculum. Kerr (1999) defines it as, 'All the learning which
is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or
individually, inside or outside the school (as cited by Mark Smith, Kelly,
1999). As an addition to Kerr‘s definition, teacher factor in all respects of the
teaching procedure should always be kept in mind whether or not all the
learning has been planned because the guiding or the teaching phase of the
teacher is as important as the planning phase of the learning procedure.
Today a curriculum is still equated with a syllabus by many people.

Syllabus, basically, means a concise statement or table of the heads of a
discourse, the contents of a treatise, and the subjects of a series of lectures.
A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative importance of its topics or
the order in which they are to be studied. But curriculum is ―a plan for action
that includes strategies for achieving desired goals or ends‖ (Ornstein and
Hunkins, 1988: 6). In addition to the core of what is meant by Ornstein‘s
definition, it should also be included that curriculum development is
interested in how curriculum is planned, implemented and evaluated and
3
defines people and processes involved in the development. It should also be

kept in mind that the type of translation curriculum should depend on the
quality of students and the demands of the market. It should cover
terminology and specialization up to the point where students know how to
deal with the problem of terminology in the texts to be translated and how to
find information.
Education in this sense is the process by which the above-mentioned

important things are transmitted to students by the most effective methods.
Therefore, the transfer of any teaching to students will necessitate teachers
to have the best command of what they teach through these very effective
educational methods. The education of the translator trainer, in this case, will
be of prime importance because 'curriculum' includes the entire teaching and
learning process together with teaching materials and equipment,
examinations, and the training of teachers according to a more recent
meaning. In this view, curriculum is concerned with "what can and should be
taught to whom, when, and how" (as cited by Stern, Eisner & Vallance,
1974:2). The whom, when, and how factors in respect of the field of interest
of the curriculum designated by Eisner play very important roles in the
process of the preparation or development of the curriculum. Thus, it can
very easily be deduced from the mentioned directive question words that the
addressees of the transfer of teaching will be not only the students but the
teachers or the translator trainers of these students as well.
As a result of the inevitable need of such well-appointed teacher

trainers for the departments of translation and interpretation at universities,
translator training has gained so much impetus and attracted the particular
interest of many scholars throughout the world in recent years. Stemming
from such a big interest, curriculum development or syllabus design has also
been on the focus of lots of important scholars. It is a must to base a program
on a sound ground with a sound framework by relying on the literature and
research in the field of educational sciences, translation studies and foreign
language teaching.
4
Like any other training program, designing a translator training program

should follow a systematic cycle, i.e., specific steps that represent, so to
speak, the bones that make up the skeleton of the design and development
process. If one bone is missing or out of place, the result will be some sort of
deformity and inability to function properly. The components must, however,
cover the necessities of both students and the market. The quality of the
components of the curriculum happen to be so much that, the desired and
expected level of the education will be of high quality as well and therefore, it
will cause the students of translation and interpretation departments at
universities to have really a very sound education and meet the needs of the
market on a satisfactory level.
1.1. Background To The Study
The considerable studies done so far and their valuable results

obtained in the area of curriculum development for ELT classes have been
made use of on a vast scale in order that this procedure will serve the
purpose of generating a really well equipped curriculum for Translation
Studies Departments that will lead the field for all courses.
The reason why the invaluable studies of ELT specialists or teacher

trainers during the curriculum development process for Translation Studies
departments have been chosen as the reference point is because of the fact
that very valuable outcomes of the studies for teaching methods, materials,
and the proper teacher-student relationships, and ideal curricula have been
used for a much longer time than the ones in translation studies. With the
help of these important aspects, a comprehensive study will be possible to
carry out and get the successful results on designing an up to date, to the
point and fit for purpose curriculum for Translation Studies Departments.
5
In order for this research and study to grow into a prosperous thesis,
students‘ needs and their learning process will, needless to say, be followed
attentively and this laborious work will be made into a learning-centered
course curriculum as a result. And the attention to be paid on the aspects like
‗setting the tone for the course, anticipating students‘ questions, including
more materials, defining and limiting course content, keeping the curriculum
flexible will determine whether or not it is a learning centered one. As a result
of this study, students will be able to reach the desired level in terms of their
language competence as translators.
The authoritative books of some outstanding scholars in Translation

Studies area as well as the books written in ELT area have been referred to
for an excellent outcome of the studies carried out on the basis of the
integrated knowledge to be obtained through the sources in the above-
mentioned areas. That outcome, as the new designed curriculum, will have to
carry all the important aspects of modern curricula in case it needs modern
changes in respect of teaching, evaluating, and auditing styles. Modern
curricula should include modern development techniques in parallel with new
teaching methods and styles considering students‘ needs in the area of
Translation Studies.
Curriculum development should be based upon very sound foundations

in terms of theory, aims and expectations of both trainers and trainees, the
systematic explanation of the education that will be given for a course, and
the healthy or creditworthy feedbacks from students or teachers as the
assessment of this course plan. ―Curriculum theory encompasses philosophy
and value systems; the main components of the curriculum: purposes,
content, methodology and evaluation; and the process whereby curricula are
developed, implemented and evaluated‖ (as cited by Irma Núñez, White,
1993: 19). The dynamics of an effective curriculum stated above by White
have really very great importance in terms of its being open to novelties,
6
developments, or criticisms by means of which the implementation and

evaluation of it can be easier and more enjoyable. Besides, trainers‘ and
trainees‘ needs for that curriculum should also be taken into consideration in
an equal degree with the other dynamics so that it can address to the
inclination of a much greater majority. So, needs analysis phase of
curriculum design is going to show the amount of people who will appreciate
the rise of such a curriculum of the related course.
There happened to be very different methods of designing curricula for

language teaching or translation studies in the course of time as a result of
so different methods including the eclectic method, too, that have been used
to give the courses in the best possible ways to students. ―Course designers
who carefully consider various approaches to curriculum design may arrive at
the conclusion that a number of different ones are needed and are best
combined in an eclectic manner in order to bring about positive result‖ (as
cited by Núñez, Dubin and Olshtain, 1997: 2). As stated by Dubin, the best
result connected with the practice of curriculum design or development can
be attained through an approach based on the mixture of different methods
and deriving the most suitable one out of them. But in some cases, the most
suitable method will be the one produced by the curriculum designer thinking
the nature of the course and needs of the students that are best known by
the teacher himself. So, it is a very good idea for a very successful teacher to
get involved in the process of curriculum design so that the curriculum to be
generated will be an efficacious one especially for the success of students.
1.2. Statement of the Problem
A comprehensive curriculum which has innovative, learner-centered,

and communicative approaches has never been used at the Translation and
Interpretation Department of Ankara Vocational School, Fatih University. The
7
instructors are, generally, not satisfied with and students always have some
expectations about the current curriculum. The underlying reasons of the
instructors‘ dissatisfaction are related to their being not able to use different
teaching techniques according to the levels of students, or some useful
materials which are really necessary for the motivation of students. Besides,
students mostly complain that they are not motivated or do not feel confident
enough during the regular class hours and the topics are not interesting for
them. Therefore, a more innovative, more learner-oriented, and more
enjoyable atmosphere in courses is required by both instructors and
students. In this study, the problematic conditions related to the existing
curriculum and the needs and expectations of students were identified in the
first place. Then the goals and the most effective teaching methods were set,
and the most useful teaching materials were selected in order for the courses
to be more enjoyable and learner-centered.
1.3. Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to prepare the framework of a very effective

curriculum for both trainers and trainees in Translation for Social Sciences
Course at the Translation and Interpretation Department of Fatih University to
improve their skills of intuiting and interpreting texts in that area, increase
their success of translating such texts and broaden their vision of modern
presentation techniques in their classes. At the same time, this study is
aiming to be a substantial guide for trainers and trainees at Translation and
Interpretation Departments of Universities who may have the same kind of
problems.Thus, theoretical background of both customary and modern ways
of internalising, interpreting, and externalizing texts of social sciences will be
scrutinized throughout this study for the benefit of students.
8
1.4. Research Questions
Students at translation and interpretation departments will have the

chance of learning the studies and theories of the most outstanding scholars
in the area of Translation Studies as well. The answers of the research
questions below will be obtained through the feedbacks from students or
instructors during courses or informal conversations:
1. What is the reaction of students and instructors to the idea of developing a

new curriculum for their department?
2. What are the similarities or differences between the reactions of students

and instructors for the new curriculum?
3. What are the shortcomings of the existing curriculum for students?
4. What novelties or student-centered approaches will be included within the

new curriculum?
5. What aspects should be given up and what should be included in the new
curriculum to be developed for the two-year Translation and Interpretation
Department of Ankara Vocational School, Fatih University?
6. What qualities should the people in the team of curriculum development

cover so that the curriculum to be developed will be a satisfactory one for
Fatih University?
1.5. Scope of the Study
This study targets to explore and reveal the weak sides of the existing
curriculum and develop a better one as a result of analyzing the 4-year
curriculum programs of internationally accepted universities like Boğaziçi
University, Atılım University, Swansea University, and Tampere University.
9
Therefore, the study aims to find out the advantegous aspects of the
curricula of these universities and compensate the weak aspects of the
curriculum which is implemented at Fatih University as a result of making a
comparison through the discussion parts.
1.6. Assumptions And Limitations
1. This study will be limited to developing a new curriculum both for trainers
to guide the students in the right directions and for trainees to enjoy their
courses while they are educated in the Translation and Interpretation
Department of Ankara Vocational School at Fatih University. And the
process of developing this curriculum will come out as a result of analysing
the curricula of the translation and interpretation departments of four other
universities.
2. The curriculum as the outcome of this study may be applicable only to the
Translation and Interpretation Departments of Universities, but not to the
other language departments as it has been based on the needs and
expectations of the students and the views of their lecturers in the
mentioned department at Fatih University.
3. This study is projected to finish in one academic year and limited only with
the curricula of Translation and Interpretation Departments of Fatih
University, Boğaziçi University and Atılım University from Turkey,
Swansea University from England, and Tampere University from Finland.
4. During this assertation, no survey will be applied to reach the result of a

hypothesis because the amount of students who are trained at Translation
and Interpretation Department of Fatih University is not sufficient enough
to apply any surveys on.
10
5. The needs and expectations of students in this department will be taken

into consideration without any academic output except the oral and written
feedbacks taken from students.
6. The four-year curriculum programs taken from Boğaziçi University, Atılım

University, Swansea University, and Tampere University have been
accepted as the currently applicable programs.
7. The educational backgrounds, ages, genders of the students will not have
the prime importance in terms of the scope of this study.
1.7. Definitions of Specific Terms
Curriculum: A program that focuses on the specifications of linguistics and

subject matter objectives, sequencing, and materials that are designed to
meet the needs of a designated group of learners in a definate context.
ELT: English Language Teaching. The teaching of the English language to

people whose first language is not English.
Language Mediators: People who use their profound language abilities to

let members of different cultures understand each other through translation.
Novelty: Something new and unusual which attracts people's attention and
interest.
Professional: Relating to a job that needs special education and training.
Social Science: A particular subject relating to the study of people in

society, such as history, politics, etc.
Syllabus: A specification of what is to be taught in a language programme

and the order in which it is to be taught.
11
Syllabus Design: Coordination of the education process by determining the

course objectives and the teaching methods through which these objectives
will be gained to the students.
Theoretical Background: The basis that is constituted by means of the

theories of different scholars about a particular subject.
Translator Trainer: A qualified instructer at university who is experienced in

the area of training translators.
Undergraduate: A student studying for a first degree at a college or

university.
12
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Sources for curriculum development searches and studies carried out in

this area throughout history are the first important aspects discussed in this
chapter. The reality that the curriculum to be developed should be based on
sound theoretical and methodological backgrounds is an important aspect
put forward. A number of forms and definitions of curriculum are given in
company with their theoretical approaches, too. Four important foundations
of curriculum with their sub-topics including the necessary information about
each, and satisfactory information about the historical background of
curriculum studies in the world and in Turkey are also presented in this
chapter.
2.1. Curriculum Design Studies
The concept of curriculum had been used as equivalent to the French

concept programme d’études and, in recent decades, it has evolved again
and gained in importance. Increasingly, it is used within the framework of
globalization, the theory of pedagogy and the sociology of education. In fact,
the curriculum was considered as the product of a technical process, or, as a
document that is prepared by experts, depending on the state of the art of
disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge. Afterwards, the major part of the
educational community considers that the curriculum has both a political
dimension and a technical or professional dimension. Indeed, the curriculum
relates to the connections between the goals of education and everyday life
in learning institutions, schools, colleges and universities. Increasingly,
theorists of education recognize the political component of the curriculum; the
fact that the curriculum is a field of ideological and political struggle that takes
place in each society in order to give meaning to education.
13
A very important obstacle in the field of curriculum research is the lack

of really trustworthy sources (as cited by Sawyer, Pym, 1998: 34), i.e., both
internal and external curriculum documents because the reliability of the
sources referred in the course of curriculum design will, of course, give the
insight of being a really distinguished, sophisticated, and respected position
to it. Piecing together such widely-esteemed documents from a range of
schools of translation and interpretation seems to be a daunting task, as
these documents, particularly those on course sequencing, may not be
available from a central administrative office on the school level. Rather, they
are often developed and circulated within individual programs or
departments. In this respect, Freihoff ventures to state that the hidden
curriculum, i.e., the curriculum that exists in the minds of the participants, is
the only curriculum with practical impact (1995: 152). Hence, there is not only
a lack of data on curriculum models; there is also a lack of clarity on what
constitutes reliable data and how these data can be obtained.
Moreover, although the momentum driving interpreter education has

gathered force, interpretation pedagogy has led an existence in the shadows
of academe since its inception (Snell-Hornby, 1998a: 32). From the vantage
point of the language professional, this lack of academic status and its
persistence is surprising. Change is underway, however, as the language
industry undergoes increasing consolidation and professionalization, marked
by surging revenues and attractive employment opportunities for multilingual
communication specialists (as cited by Sawyer, Wood 1998). Undoubtedly,
the changes or more professional approaches to language industry should
also be considered in the process of curriculum design. It can easily be
comprehended that the more the improvements or changes in the field are
taken into account in curriculum design process, the better and more
trustable the curriculum will be.
Although they are both related to language and the components of it,
foreign language teaching and translation or interpretation education are very
14
different areas of language. The methods of teaching a foreign language are

different from the methods of translation education as well, and, of course,
the approaches to be considered in curriculum design process of each area
will be different. The distinction between interpretation and other multilingual
activities is reflected in the pedagogy of interpretation, which has separated
itself from the field of foreign language teaching (as cited by Sawyer, Arjona
1984a:3–4), particularly in Europe. Thus, curriculum development activities in
each branch of language learning education may differ from each other, and
cause technically and systematically different curricula to come into
presence. The aforesaid distinction has also been vital from the viewpoint of
pedagogy, as language is a means to an end in translator and interpreter
education and the profession. Stated in other words, language competence is
a foundation upon which language transfer skills are built, rather than a goal
of study, as in language programs (Snell-Hornby). However, leaving the
assumption unquestioned that teaching interpretation is an activity
fundamentally different from teaching foreign languages, interpreter trainers
have been perhaps too quick to dismiss the gains made in the fields of
second language teaching and in particular language testing as irrelevant to
interpreter education.
Foreign language teaching is a particular area of language education

including many different methods of curriculum design, teaching, testing,
evaluating, etc. Likewise, translator or interpreter training requires a much
more different education including very different methods of teaching, testing,
evaluating, or designing a curriculum. Curriculum models help designers to
systematically and transparently map out the rationale for the use of
particular teaching, learning and assessment approaches. Ornstein and
Hunkins (as cited by O‘neill, 2009) suggest that although curriculum
development models are technically useful, they often overlook the human
aspect such as the personal attitudes, feelings, values involved in curriculum
making. Therefore, they are not a recipe and should not be a substitute for
using your professional and personal judgement on what is a good approach
15
to enhancing student learning. In spite of the fact that students‘ motivation for
their participation in the classes is generally ignored in the stage of
curriculum preparation process it is a must to be always born in maind that
existence of student and any complement of education connected with
student are really very important stimuli. Carefully thought, this stimuli will
help curriculum designers to take every step of education including students
into account during the preparation of curriculum with the coherent content
and the coherent methodology. For example, Hussey and Smith (as cited by
Geraldine O‘neill) maintain that:
‗accepting that student motivation is an essential element in learning, we propose

that those who teach should begin to reclaim learning outcomes and begin to
frame them more broadly and flexibly, to allow for demonstrations and expressions
of appreciation, enjoyment and even pleasure, in the full knowledge that such
outcomes pose problems for assessment‘(2003, p367).
Such an approach of Hussey and Smith proves the fact that any known
model of curriculum includes the inevitable dynamics of student-centered
sections like fun activities, or things that students will get lots of amusement
to make their learning easier. Pedagogues must have learnt the reality that
students, in any level they are, can learn what they are given in a lovely and
lively atmosphere much better.
Many of the learner-centered designs are used where educators feel

the students may be able to make more informed decisions, such as Masters
programs and in Adult Education programs. However, where resources will
allow, this assumption could be challenged and maybe students in earlier
years of a program or throughout an undergraduate program, may be able to
make these decisions. So, the language and interpreter teaching programs
require curriculum designers to program their most of their teaching times in
classes in a student-centred way so that they can be stimulated to have a
student awareness of their prospective profession by means of their being
intermingled in the activities as interactive form of classes for any theme
related to that subject. Problem-based learning, on the other hand, is just a
curriculum model which is not exclusively advocated in professional
16
programs. They should be presented their subjects with a more positive

atmosphere to find solutions for any problems they meet rather than led into
a very negative atmosphere by their very nonproductive teachers.
No one model is ideal and no one model may suit a full program.
However, identifying and being consistent with these models will help support
cohesion and clarity of approaches in your program. For example, it is typical
in some Science and Professional Health Science programs that the early
years may have a more technical-scientific approach, whereas later years
may have a more experiential approach. However, in relation to student
engagement could these models be more integrated and streamlined across
a programme? Is it valuable to think back over a program and question what
would a graduate remembers, and still finds helpful, three years later (as
cited by Geraldine O‘neill, Fink, 2003). It is an irrefutable reality that all
studies, searches, and programs are carried out for the benefit of students
first. If students make good use of any of the efforts for the sake of education
and the growth of students, it means then that the ideal point targeted as a
result of the services rendered have been reached.
As a program team it is worth exploring your views on these different

models and using them to help design and deliver your program to obtain the
best and most coherent educational experience for both your students and
the staff who teach on this program.
Published literature that relates curriculum theory to interpreter

education is sparse. Much of the literature on interpretation pedagogy
discusses isolated aspects of interpreter training from the instructor‘s
personal viewpoint, e.g., how note-taking skills in consecutive should be
taught, how diagnostic testing should be conducted, or how to structure an
introductory course in simultaneous interpretation. Individual events of
instruction are in the limelight. Rarely is the attempt made to integrate
educational theory on the program level, i.e., to reflect explicitly on curriculum
17
theory as a field of education and/or on educational psychology in the

discussion of curriculum. This is clearly a desideratum, as curriculum theory
has been a productive field, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon context, since
Dewey. Thus, the potential for research on curriculum issues in Translation
and Interpretation Studies is great (as cited by Sawyer, Arjona 1990: 259). As
is understood from the lines above, lots of things should be done so as to
make curriculum in translation and interpretation departments in its ideal
form. Lots of experience exists in the field of curriculum design and
development, but translator trainers should reflect their experience in the
teaching profession and their expectations from the students in the curricula
designed just for the benefit of students.
Arjona is a pioneering force in the field of curriculum in translator and

interpreter education. Unfortunately, much of her work remains unpublished.
Arjona‘s dissertation presents a comprehensive review of the educational
literature in Translation and Interpreting Studies, in which she describes three
phases of writing about training practices (1990: 61–62). In the first period,
specific schools or programs are described. In the second period, attention
turns to training practices within a country, region, or geographic area. Just
like Arjona, a number of theoreticians have made contributions to curriculum
development activities in respect of interpreter or translator training
departments both through their articles and their remarkable and renunciant
teaching procedures. On the whole, scholars in Translation Studies have
been more productive in developing curriculum theory specific to translation.
To cite only two examples, Hatim and Mason systematically apply principles
of text linguistics to curriculum design (as cited by Sawyer, 1997: 179–196);
Kiraly advocates a ―new pedagogy for translation‖ based upon the
communicative approach to second-language teaching (as cited by Sawyer,
1995:33–35) and applies theoretical constructs from social constructivism to
establish a collaborative approach between instructor and learner in
translator education (as cited by Calvo, 2000). As is understood, different
methodological approaches or techniques have so far been adapted to
Translation Studies Departments to produce effective curricula, but the
18
theories of many scholars in the field of translation studies have been taken
into consideration so that much more productive curricula would be
generated for their own departments.
It should be kept in mind that anything having a strong basis or

background will have no important challenges or will not be affected
negatively against any attacks. This is valid for curriculum designs, too, and
in that process, what curriculum designers take into consideration first must
be a very sound theoretical background of it. The need for the development
of a sound theoretical base is recognized by Lindquist (as cited by Sawyer,
2002), who advocates the use of empirical data to develop assessment
criteria, i.e., corpus-based linguistics, rather than intuitively derived criteria
and preconceived notions about interpreter performance. Similarly, Sawyer et
al. (2002: 38) stress the use of empirical data to develop materials and
procedures for interpreter testing as an indication that a test is based upon
real needs, which is an important type of validation evidence (content
validity). Such calls reflect the increased interest in corpus linguistics that has
been prevalent in Translation Studies for some time. Reviewing research in
corpus-based Translation Studies, Shlesinger (as cited by Sawyer, 1998)
also explores the problems and benefits of corpus-based studies of
interpreting. Bowker (as cited by David Sawyer, 2000, 2002) presents
methodologies that can be further developed and utilized for translation
evaluation for pedagogical purposes. As a result, the said methodologies will
promote the designed curriculum to be based on very sound and safe
theoretical background.
Testing as an inseparable part of teaching must also be programmed in

the process of designing a curriculum, and this is valid for all branches of
education on all levels. So the general framework of testing, or test method
facets (as cited by Sawyer, Bachman 1990), is an area where research from
the field of language testing could be explored in the context of interpreter
testing. Greater documentation of existing test practices would be a first step.
Although many schools of interpretation have internal documents which
19
stipulate examination guidelines (for example, Monterey and Geneva), it

would be useful to make these documents known to a wider public, which
could lead to greater collaboration across institutions in the development of
test specifications.
In the process of forming curriculum designs, three main approaches

are followed for the trustable identity of the curriculum that will be developed.
Within the subject-centered approach, which is the most commonly used
design method of education process, each component of the program can be
regarded as a whole (Demirel, 2010). Most of the curricula implemented at
schools have been arranged with the approach of such curriculum design.
Besides, all curriculum designers give particular importance to students, so
the idea that student must be in the central point of the curriculum and every
subject must be arranged according to him/her has come into prominence
since the beginning of the twentieth century. It can be said that the theoretical
backgrounds of student-centered curriculum designs are pragmatism and
that they are based upon the philosophy of progressivism. Student‘s getting
involved in the education process through his/her own observations and
experiences is the starting point. Although it is very difficult to mention an
accurate theoretical background of problem-centered curriculum designs, it
can be thought to be based on the educational theory of reconstructionism.
And it has emerged with the aim of removing the inadequacies of student-
centered curriculum designs.
2.1.1. Definitions of Curriculum and Syllabus
Although, the theoretical debate continues, it has been generally agreed

that Curriculum should be seen as an overall plan for instruction. It consists
of a statement of aims and objectives, of content in terms of theoretical
knowledge, practical skills to be acquired, attitude towards work and
necessary support materials to be used in its presentation. Preparing
20
youngsters for the realities of earning a living is a responsibility shared by

many different groups of people both inside and outside the education sector.
All are aware that it is vital to ensure that the trainees gain the best possible
academic or vocational qualifications, in order to provide them with a realistic
chance of succeeding in today's highly competitive job market.
As it can be understood clearly, new approaches of effective training

and new strategies in their implementation have been developed during the
past many years in improving the quality of training imparted. The aim of the
training process is to help the development of competencies to carry out
various industrial operations effectively and competently. This is achieved
through careful implementation of well developed curriculum.
The word Curriculum has the meaning of educational path and

describes the learning process in a much more comprehensive and complex
fashion than is possible with Plans of learning content or learning material.
These days, curriculum development is oriented towards the learner - the
student/trainee and his learning process than towards the content of learning.
Unfortunately, there is no precise definition of just what a curriculum is. The
increasing amount of research and literature in this field has been
accompanied by an increasing fuzziness in the term "curriculum". For this
reason, one adopts the term curriculum instead of teaching plan. In such an
approach, not only teaching material and its organization are analyzed, but
also several interconnected areas of curricular decision-making, namely the
goals, subjects and organization of learning are stressed and new
comprehensive trades researched.
As it has been stated in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(1913), curriculum generally refers to ―a course; particularly, a fixed course of
study, as in a university,‖ and originates from the Latin term for ―a race
course; a place for running.‖ This definition implies that a curriculum has a
progression, and that the student proceeds through a structured, ordered
course in the pursuit of a defined goal. And another point to be understood
21
from the definition above about curriculum is its being a long and challenging
race course which is full of lots of obstacles.
In a comprehensive discussion of the evolution of the term, Jackson (as

cited by Sawyer, 1992a) has stated that ―at the heart of the word‘s
educational usage lies the idea of an organizational structure imposed by
authorities for the purpose of bringing order to the conduct of schooling‖.
Similarly, Greeno, Collins and Resnick regard curriculum as ―a set of
educational goals and a sequence of learning activities that are intended to
promote development toward those goals‖ (as cited by Sawyer, 1996: 33).
Through these approaches, the abovementioned scholars have tried to point
out the necessity of making changes and being open to novelties in order for
the curriculum to attain the targeted modern end. Many alternative types of
definitions have also been proposed. In reviewing these definitions, Ornstein
and Hunkins state that curriculum can be defined according to five basic
views as plan, experience, system, field of study, or subject matter (1998:
10,11). On the contrary, Freihoff defines curriculum operationally as a text
providing information on a course of studies (1995: 152, 155). When carefully
examined, the first definition is intermingled with the basic philosophies of
curriculum development process and suggest a more programmed,
disciplined, and substantial form a curriculum while the latter is mainly
focused on designing activities improving individuals‘ creative skills.
As a result, different definitions or explanations of curriculum have been

reflected either in this paragraph or in different paragraphs of this thesis and
the most consistent idea that can be derived from most of these definitions is
the reality that a curriculum is an organized study that has been put into an
educational structure and order which guide trainers or students to an ideal
destination despite so many obstacles in the course.
Various definitions of syllabus and syllabus design have been written or

referred to until now because syllabus and curriculum are different areas of
study although they are most frequently confused with each other. While
22
Allen (as cited by Nunan, 2000) describes curriculum as a very general

concept including a mixture of different factors that contribute to the planning
of an educational program, Widdowson (as cited by Nunan, 2000) describes
syllabus as a framework through which teachers can carry out activities. In
this point of view, it can be seen as a teaching device to make the learning of
students better and easier. Another opinion about syllabus is that it is a more
detailed and operational statement of teaching and learning elements which
translates the philosophy of curriculum into a series of planned steps leading
towards more narrowly defined objectives at each level (Dubin & Olshtain,
1997: 28). It can be inferred through the given ideas that a curriculum is a
depiction of what is going to be taught; and a syllabus, on the other hand,
gives more detail and includes specific ways to use the curriculum in the
teaching process. Although curriculum seems to be the surface structure of a
teaching plan together with all the procedures serving the development of it,
syllabus goes into the fundamentals of that curriculum to apply it in the most
expected manner so as to get the best results in education.
2.1.1.1. The Official Curriculum
The discussion in this chapter adopts two of these definitions. The first
is the view of curriculum as a written plan of action, which is reflected in
curriculum documents that contain clearly stated learning objectives. A plan
of action is based upon a curriculum model and its underlying objectives; its
educational philosophy is grounded in the psychological foundation of and
scientific approach to curriculum.
The view of curriculum as a plan of action is a view of Curriculum as

Product; that is, a sequence of curriculum components that serves as a
framework for an individual‘s learning. In this view, education seems to be a
technical exercise. Objectives are determined, a teaching plan made up, and
the outcomes measured. This view has grown especially with the rise of
23
vocational education in the UK and the interaction of teachers, students and

knowledge is the basis of this approach. Taba (1962) has systematically and
considerably classified curriculum within this approach as in the following:
1. Diagnosis of need
2. Formulation of objectives
3. Selection of content
4. Organization of content
5. Selection of learning experiences
6. Organization of learning experiences
7. Determination of what to evaluate and of the ways and means of doing it.
This classification is directly related to the mentioned approach and the

central point of the approach is the formulation of behavioural objectives. The
output or the result which the behavioural objectives can attain is the focal
point of this approach to curriculum.
The second viewpoint, Curriculum as Process, identifies curriculum as

encompassing all of the learning experiences of the student. This view of
curriculum is a view of curriculum as interaction between student and
instructor in the professional community of interpreters. It is a definition
rooted in Dewey‘s philosophy of experience and education (as cited by
Sawyer, 1916, 1938), which has evolved into the concept of reflective
practice. Hence, this view of curriculum is grounded in the philosophical and
sociological foundations of the curriculum and the humanistic approach to it.
As seen obviously, the pioneer of curriculum studies John Dewey‘s
experiences and teachings have been utilized to explain what curriculum is
with regards the process aspect of it with.
And the third approach, Curriculum as Praxis, can be regarded as the

development of the process model. This model of curriculum theory and
practice brings the theoretical and not yet applied sides of the curiculum to
the centre of the process and makes the curriculum ready to be applied. In
24
this approach, the curriculum itself develops through the dynamic interaction
of action and reflection (Smith, 1996).
2.1.1.2. The Hidden Curriculum
A written curriculum document is a plan of action, i.e., a guide to

curriculum implementation. However, this description of the official curriculum
does not document the curriculum in its entirety. A curriculum plan depicts an
ideal, not the curriculum in practice. The theoretical framework of instruction
must first be filled with life as the individual personally experiences the
curriculum (Freihoff 1995: 152). For a scholar to reach the success of
designing a professional and practical curriculum reflecting his education and
experiences of teaching there should be a very well designed and explained
curriculum and really qualified techers to put what is written in it into practice.
Hence, when discussing curriculum documents, it is useful to look beyond
the conceptual framework on paper and draw upon an insider‘s knowledge of
the program of instruction.
When considered only the planned curriculum, the official curriculum

evident in a written document, or if an over prescriptive approach is adopted
in the delivery of instruction, numerous positive and negative possible
consequences will probably be ignored. It is possible to fail to realize the
power of the hidden curriculum, part of the curriculum that, while not written,
will certainly be learned by students. (Ornstein & Hunkins 1998: 12) Thus, the
hidden curriculum instills values and beliefs that shape future members of the
professional community. If, for example, simultaneous interpretation into the
non-native language is not offered officially in the curriculum and remains in
the hidden curriculum, students may come to believe that it is not a legitimate
practice. If court translation theory is not offered in the curriculum, students
may have the impression that such content is not valued in the professional
community (Ornstein & Hunkins 1998). Getting information in these areas
25
therefore becomes part of the hidden curriculum. To return to the quotation of

Freihoff above, the only curriculum that truly exists for the learner is the
curriculum as it is individually experienced. In turn, this curriculum shapes the
spirit of the institution. So, the factors must be taken into account within the
case study of written curriculum documents even if they are not written. The
effect of the hidden curriculum in respect of getting students to harmonize
with the social life is on a vast scale. The hidden curricula are seen to be very
effective on students‘ learning in every phase of education. Curriculum
development experts must analyze hidden curricula within the curriculum
development studies and turn it into one of the components of the official
curriculum so that students can have knowledge about extracurricular
subjects and improve themselves. If hidden curricula are designed in such a
way that individuals can find out their different necessities and creative sides,
the integration of it with the official curriculum will be much more possible.
2.2. Foundations of Curriculum
Four skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking are regarded as

the most important milestones that will be tested and evaluated on students
of each level by ELT teachers, so these skills play an important role in the
design of curriculum in ELT area. Similarly, there are four fields of study that
Ornstein and Hunkins (1998) present as the principal bases of curriculum:
philosophy, psychology, sociology, and history. The curriculum developer has
to keep in mind these factors so as to produce a curriculum that is relevant,
implementable and useful to individual learners and society.
Representatives of the mentioned foundations contribute differently to

interpretation pedagogy, both implicitly and explicitly. It is the perspective of
the curricularist that the foundations of curriculum do not vie against one
another, but rather constitute alternative perspectives that complement one
another in educational practice. The following discussion of curriculum
26
foundations is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to show through

individual examples how each foundation is implicitly present in the
Interpreting Studies literature. As a matter of course, a strong structure of
anything is supposed to stand up to any difficulties in the course of the
destination targeted to get and support or complement each other so as to
react this destination successfully. So, the sound structure of each dynamic
of the curriculum will help the curricularist present the designed or developed
curriculum to the Translation Studies field more confidently and have positive
feedbacks about this study when put into practice.
2.2.1. Philosophical Basis of Curriculum
Behind every strong movement there is a sound philosophical basis that

theorists of that period provide through their substantial and stable doctrines.
Many sources consider philosophy to be the ―Search for truth‖; pursuit of
wisdom or knowledge, and ultimate reality. And Locke defines philosophy as
a ―process of liberation from ignorance and prejudice‖. It is the same and
more important than anything else for education because it undergirds all of
the curriculum foundational areas. As Ornstein and Hunkins point out,
philosophy provides educators ―with a framework for broad issues and tasks,
such as determining the goals of education, the content and its organization,
the process of teaching and learning, and in general what experiences and
activities they wish to stress in schools and classrooms‖ (1998: 32).
Philosophy thus provides one basis for the discussion of educational
objectives and the principles according to which the curriculum is designed.
Thus, Philosophy is a crucial determinant of curriculum trends and the

curriculum development process by helping to clarify our thought process.
And as philosophy is a process of the mind, there are a variety of
philosophical thoughts that we are going to consider. To start with there are
two broad categories of Philosophy: the traditional and modern philosophies.
27
In each of those categories, there are major Philosophies such as idealism,

realism, pragmatism and existentialism, as well as educational philosophies
arising from those major philosophies. These include perennialism and
essentialism in the traditional class; but progressivism and reconstructionism
fall under the modern philosophies.
1. Idealism: This is considered to be one of the oldest philosophical
systems, whose main proponent was the Greek philosopher Plato.
Idealism advocates that ideas constitute what is real and permanent.
According to this philosophy, education is the process of development
of a person, his/her conscious and spiritual self. The school exists to
develop his character, increase his knowledge and cultivate his
aesthetic taste. Teacher is expected to be a model, friend and guide to
the learners.
2. Realism: The Realists school of thought can be traced back to Aristotle,
another Greek, as the main philosopher. According to this school,
matter or objects that we see exist by themselves. In other words,
matter is not a construct of human mind.
The Educational implication of realism can be summarized as:

Education is essentially transmission of inherited culture from one
generation to another and students should learn disciplines to develop
intellectual skills to discover important principles and theoretical
insights. So, there should be a core curriculum compulsory for every
learner.
3. Pragmatism: The main proponent of pragmatism was John Dewey
(1859 -1952). The proponents of pragmatism were reacting against
what they considered to be failures or shortcomings of the traditional
school system, supported by idealism and realism. Some of the
criticisms were: (1) traditional curriculum content included a lot of
meaningless and needless content (2) Traditional curriculum did not
give a Utility Education (3) The curriculum was rigid and did not cater
for individual needs of particular learners.
28
Pragmatists therefore advocated for reality being considered as

instrumental, i.e. used as instrument to solve problems. The Philosophy
is therefore built on practical usefulness, i.e. ―cash value of ideas.
Hence, truth is what works, what turns out all night. Truth also should
be the idea that has been tested, verified and found effective in solving
problems. The educational implication of pragmatism is that education
aims to develop learners ‘ability to deal with future problems, that is, to
develop his intelligence to solve problems. Pragmatists propose a
curriculum based on problems that arise out of daily living. School is
therefore an extension of home and community.
4. Existentialism: Existentialism is defined as ―the philosophy of
existence‖ and Man is free to choose the type of life he would like to
live. He is thus free to make his choices and be responsible for them.
The main educational implication is an emphasis on knowledge and
abilities for personal choice. The Curriculum should have a broad range
of subject matter from which learners can choose; i.e. electives. Most
important is that the philosophy tries to free learners what they are to
learn and believe. Thus, there should be no standard guides for
teachers to follow, given that learners are unique.
As for the educational philosophies, perennialism and essentialism are

included in traditional educational philosophies; while progressivism and
reconstructionism are in modern ones:
1. Perennialism: The focus in the curriculum is classical subjects, literary

analysis and considers curriculum as constant.
2. Essentialism: The essential skills of the 3R's and essential subjects of
English, Science, History, Math and Foreign Language is the focus of
the curriculum.
3. Progressivism: It is one of the educational philosophies originating
from pragmatism. Hence all that discussed earlier about pragmatism
holds true for progressivism. A curriculum developed by pragmatists
emphasizes on considering problems that arise out of daily living. A
29
practical curriculum therefore results from such an approach. In this

area, scholars‘ studies and research were geared towards identifying
the most appropriate type and nature of curriculum for learners.
Progressivists‘ education seeks to promote democratic schooling as

well as social living. The other major emphasis is on learner centered
curriculum. The curriculum therefore is based on the learners‘ interests,
needs, abilities and aspirations, among other characteristics of the
learners.
The five approaches progressive education curriculum emphasized to
the teaching/learning process are
a) Teacher – pupil planning of curriculum activities
b) Flexible curriculum and individualized instruction
c) Learner-centered teaching and learning methodology
d) Selection of the material to be studied in line with the expressed interests
and concerns of the learner
e) Non–formal curriculum activities and physical training in areas like games,
related hobbies and other co-curricular areas.
The aim of this form of education is to provide a learning atmosphere
that allows children maximum self-direction and to reduce teacher domination
in the teaching/learning process.
4. Reconstructionism: Reconstrutionism is a critical perspective of the
work of the progressivists; who put too much emphasis on the needs of
the student sometimes at the expense of needs of society. The aim of
the reconstructionists education is to improve and reconstruct society;
as well as education for change and social reform.
The reconstructionists believe that resources are available to parry
these problems and the education profession could be the catalyst to
prepare and organize future generation to make this possible. They,
however, try to avoid indoctrinating children; rather, they seek to lead
them in rational discussion and in critical analysis of issues. Planning of
the curriculum often involves various stakeholders including learners,
parents and community leaders.
30
The adoption of a reconstructivist stance implies that the pedagogical

value of a theory lies in its meaningfulness to the student, i.e., the student‘s
ability to utilize a given theoretical construct to advance his or her learning
processes. Therefore, the most relevant question from a pedagogical
standpoint is whether students can make use of the concept as they
construct their personal knowledge of how to interpret.
It can be concluded at this point that a substantial curriculum has to

prove that it has the structure of giving students the chance of utilizing the
experiences of their teachers by means of the teachers‘ interactive
involvement and guiding in the process, but at the same time, students‘ being
allocated duties and getting them express what they know or feel through the
students-centered peculiarity of the arranged curriculum.
2.2.2. Psychological Basis of Curriculum
Notions of how students learn will have an effect on the shape of the
curriculum because it is directly related to educational psychology. The field
of psychology, a second curriculum foundation, complements the foundation
of philosophy by procuring a sense of teaching and learning processes. In
modern times so much research has been carried out in the educational
psychology field that it has become an independent branch of psychology.
These researches have had great impact on the shaping of curricula

and this is only natural since the curriculum is only a means to the student‘s
development. Hence, it should be shaped by the psychology of the student.
According to Ornstein and Hunkins, all curriculum scholars ―agree that
teaching the curriculum and learning the curriculum are interrelated, and
psychology cements the relationship‖ (1998: 100). A scientific approach to
curriculum is encompassed by the psychological foundation. In their review of
31
the scientific tradition in curriculum studies, Darling-Hammond and Snyder

(as cited by Sawyer) stress that a,
―scientific approach seeks to justify curricular decisions by reference to a growing

base of knowledge about the nature of learning and the effects of teaching choices
on various learning outcomes. This approach might be viewed as standing in
contrast to, or complementary with, approaches that seek to justify curriculum
decisions on more purely philosophical or humanistic grounds, referencing values
and beliefs as the cornerstones of evaluative judgments and actions‖. (1992: 41)
In line with the focus on empirical studies in interpretation, ―the scientific

tradition offers a range of procedures for attempts to understand and
advance curricular theory and practice by grounding them empirically in
systematic studies of student learning and classroom undertakings‖.
Curriculum developers need to know how humans learn so that they

can incorporate psychological principles when they design, develop and
implement curriculum. Just as there are varying philosophical orientations,
there are also varying conceptions of human learning and how the curriculum
should be conceived especially with regards to learning in the classroom. A
variety of research approaches and methods have evolved in studying how
humans learn. Introspection and the use of computers produced abundant
research in cognitive psychology and increased our understanding of human
competence, memory, knowledge representation, problem solving ability and
decision making skills in areas such as mathematics, science and
economics. Developmental psychology provided some answers to how
children think and understand concepts as they grew chronologically while
work in social psychology revealed that learning takes place in cultural
settings. The curriculum developer has to know how students‘ learn and to
take into consideration individual differences when designing a curriculum. It
is only when students learn and gain from the curriculum will the curriculum
be considered to be successful.
The curriculum developer is interested in knowing how organization of

the curriculum can enhance learning. Ralph Tyler, a well-known scholar in
curriculum development proposed in the 1960s that anything that is to be
32
taught in the classroom should be subjected to a psychology ―screen‖ to

establish whether they are congruent with how humans learn. While there is
a great deal of interest in studying human learning, anyone involved in
curriculum work should also be aware that there are many different
explanations of human learning. Nobody has been able to say with certainty
how people learn. Generally, there are four psychological perspectives or
schools of thought that have had an impact on curriculum; classified as
1. Behaviorists Psychology: These theorists consider that learning should

be organized in order that students can experience success in the
process of mastering the subject matter, and thus, method of teaching
should be introduced in a step by step manner with proper sequencing
of task.
2. Cognitive Psychology: These theorists focus on how individuals process

information and how the monitor and manage thinking. For the cognitive
theorists, learning constitutes a logical method for organizing and
interpreting learning. Learning is rooted in the tradition of subject matter
where teachers use a lot of problem and thinking skills in teaching
learning. These are exemplified by practices like reflective thinking,
creative thinking, intuitive thinking, discovery learning, etc.
3. Humanistic Psychology: These theorists are concerned with how

learners can develop their human potential. It is based on Gestalt
psychology where learning can be explained in terms of the wholeness
of the problem and where the environment is changing and the learner
is continuously reorganizing his/her perceptions. Curriculum is
concerned with the process not the products, personal needs not
subject matter; psychological meaning and environmental situations.
4. Constructivist Psychology: It is a category of learning theory in which

emphasis is placed on the agency and prior "knowing" and experience
of the learner, and often on the social and cultural determinants of the
learning process.
33
2.2.3. Sociological Basis of Curriculum
The fourth curriculum foundation, sociology, draws attention to the fact

that the curriculum reflects society and the values that shape it. Societal
factors have a direct impact on the subject matter that is taught in the
curriculum, the aspects of the subject matter that are emphasized, and the
delivery of the content. Since the school exists within a given society; and the
fact that the ‗products‘ of the school i.e. the ‗graduates‘ go back to the
society, makes the latter an inevitable determinant of the curriculum. Whether
mentioned explicitly in the official curriculum or conveyed indirectly in the
hidden curriculum, these views are inevitably perpetuated from one
generation of students and practitioners to the next.
As Ornstein and Hunkins state, the ―values, beliefs, and norms of a

society are maintained and passed to the next generation not merely by
teaching about them, but also by embodying them in the very operation of the
educational system‖ (1998: 138). The point of this discussion is not to judge
whether the values advocated are good or bad, but merely to draw attention
to the fact that social values shape our educational systems and that they
therefore require consideration in curriculum design and implementation.
Values are also driven by social dynamics that are both internal and
external to the profession. External factors include the fact that campuses of
schools of translation and interpretation are by definition multicultural.
Although the dominant academic culture is unambiguous – it is that of the
country in which the program is located – integration is necessary across
programs and languages in an effort to promote multicultural understanding.
Every society battles with certain issues that have an influence on

curriculum. These include:
1. Equality and Equity issues; such as class systems in society; racial or
ethnic issues; Gender; issues of access to education and equality of
34
opportunity. Factors that affect equality of opportunity include financing

of education, fees payments and distances to schools.
2. Crime, Delinquency and Security issues: The curriculum would need to
focus on knowledge, fairness and avoidance of the issues raised.
3. Health Issues: Health challenges in many parts of the world must be
taken into consideration by curriculum planners.
4. Economic Issues: There is a big necessity to incorporate in the
curriculum knowledge, skills and attitudes that would facilitate economic
growth at a personal and national level.
In summary, both the official and the hidden curriculum are influenced
by sociological factors that are internal and external to the program. Program
content and teaching methods are shaped by the worth attached to the
program content by those individuals who design the curriculum. The
educational philosophy of the institution is thus an expression of their values,
which serve as guidelines in the design and implementation of curriculum.
2.2.4. Historical Basis of Curriculum
Historical foundations of curriculum refer to factors and issues from the

past that have an influence on the curriculum at present. So, handling the
field of curriculum development as a science within the perspective of history
is regarded as significant in terms of revealing the historical roots it is based
on. Observing the advance of curriculum development as notion and process
within the course of this period is of vital importance in terms of revealing the
people who served in this field and the ideas they had. For instance, the
nature of the present curriculum in any school system of education is
influenced by the nature of the curriculum in the past. Both the content and
pedagogical practices are outgrowths of specific historical conditions.
35
The preceding curriculum development mentalities and models can

inspire for new curriculum development arrangements. Similarly, the same
study can be executed for the changes and developments of curriculum
development process. Just as the previous experiences and the mentalities
can be very important for new studies in the future, being aware of the
process curriculum developers underwent within its historical development
process will provide a basis for the distinctive studies to be executed.
Additionally, the various historical movements in education influence the

current curriculum to some degree. The history of education is marked with
disputes about curriculum. The character and sequencing of the various
experiences undergone by the learner have been a frequent source of
disagreement among educators. At the present time, advocates of the ―open
concept‖ and ―free‖ schooling vie with defenders of traditional patterns of
instructional organizations.
2.2.4.1. History of Curriculum Studies in the World
The concept of curriculum and the studies realized in the area of

curriculum development has become a conspicuous profession particularly in
the twentieth century. But the history of mankind has witnessed the ideas
about education for about 2.500 years.
The educational philosophy of Socrates and Plato which was based on

the emphasis placed on the subjects like moral values, spiritual perfection,
and virtuousness within the aristocratic tradition in the 5 th century B.C. In the
4th century B.C., the aristocratic education of the elite class that gained
economic and political strength was so away from meeting the needs of
middle class from Athens. And this need caused new type of educators,
sophists to come out. They are considered to have been the first professional
educators. These sophists were not interested in metaphysical subjects at all
36
and regarded as the early educational technologists with the basic principles
they brought to education. As a result, education started to be dominated by
technologists instead of philosophers thanks to those sophists and it has
contributed to the civil life a lot.
Autonomous educational institutions being formed in city-states during

the Medieval Europe established a ground for the Renaissance Period. In
spite of the effect of monasteries and the diversity of institutions, education
programs were still based on the training of the Classics. John Comenius,
who lived Europe before the industrial development period, suggested in his
book audio-visual materials being used in course books and the tangible
objects around in courses, and this created a major impact.
With the opening of universities like Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton

in the 18th century, the classical understanding of education lost its influence,
educational programs developed and free researches have been allowed for.
The increase in the number of public schools in those years has featured the
need in functional education programs.
While the classical and religious-oriented courses lost their effects in

the 19th century American Schools, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry,
botany, and philosophy began to replace them. This approach in educational
programs continued up to the domination of the philosophical approach of
progressivism on the American education system. The discussions made
about the inclusions of educational programs and the teaching methods have
resulted in the emergence of curriculum development field in education. The
book called ―Curriculum‖ which Bobbit published in 1918 has become the first
book to handle the curriculum development process with its all phases.
Together with Bobbit Charters also advocated the behaviorist approach in
curriculum development process and considered curriculum as a series of
objectives that students can acquire through their learning experiences.
Charters regarded objectives as observable and evaluable (as cited by
Demirel, Ornstein 1988: 74). The book ―Curriculum and Basic Principles of
37
Teaching‖, which Ralph Tyler published in 1949, is one of the masterpieces

of the field.
Hilda Taba has also published his book ―Curriculum Development:

Theory and Practice‖ in 1962 and many people have thought him to be under
the influence of Tyler. But there is a reality that both Taba and Tyler offer a
rational, sensible, and systematic approach about curriculum development.
Pestalozzi, one of the European pedagogues from Switzerland

constituted the basis of modern primary schools and helped for the
implementation and modernization of the curricula in those schools.
Very famous German philosopher Johann Freidrich Herbert has also

made significant contributions to education. For him the two important points
in education are knowledge and morality. Knowledge includes data based on
experiments or realities and theoretical views. And moral knowledge is
composed of personal beliefs, benevolence, justice, and equality. In addition,
history, literature, mathematics, and physical sciences must appear in every
phase of curriculum. For Herbert, education must depend on the former
experiences, interests, and needs of the student.
The English social scientist Herbert Spencer finds the traditional

schools insufficient. For him, the main purpose of education is the
preparation for the whole life and curricula must be arranged considering this.
There is a relative intellectual independence in most but not all

countries. This last point is heartening to those of us committed to an
intellectually autonomous, vibrant, scholarly field of curriculum studies
worldwide. However, it cannot be taken for granted, as politicians‘
manipulation of the political rhetoric of school reform represents an ongoing
threat to the relative intellectual autonomy and academic freedom of
curriculum scholars, not to mention of public school teachers.
38
With the establishment of the International Association for the

Advancement of Curriculum Studies and the publication of several
international collections, including the handbook, the internationalization of
the field will no doubt continue, perhaps at an accelerated rate. This
possibility asks scholars worldwide to become knowledgeable, more critical,
more self-conscious and selective regarding the appropriation of scholarship
from sources outside one‘s homeland.
Historical studies round the world might enable people to understand

and work through the specificities of their national cultures and the
embeddedness of curriculum theory and practice within them. This potential
is underlined in several of the essays of the handbook, among them the Lee
(as cited by Pinar, 2003) essay on South Korean curriculum studies. The
Zhang-Zhong (as cited by Pinar, 2003) essay on Chinese curriculum studies
is especially referred to here.
In addition to providing a brief history of curriculum thought in China,

Zhang and Zhong also consider future prospects. They suggest that while
―curriculum development‖ is at the present time the dominant paradigm in
Chinese curriculum studies, the future belongs to the project of
―understanding curriculum.‖ Zhang and Zhong characterize contemporary
curriculum studies in China as ―vigorous,‖ attracting many students. Many
universities and teachers‘ colleges have established departments of
curriculum and instruction and/or centers for curriculum research. Such
infrastructure provides ―a solid basis for possible new theoretical explorations
in an increasingly interdependent and changing global society‖ (Zhang and
Zhong 2003, 268). They concluded that the Chinese curriculum field will
maintain its strong tradition of historical studies, attempt to inform curriculum
research by traditional curriculum wisdom, participate and contribute to
worldwide curriculum discourses, reflect on the reality of curriculum practice,
and construct, finally, its own curriculum history (Zhang and Zhong 2003,
268). Given Zhang and Zhong‘s sophisticated understanding of what is at
stake in the advancement of curriculum studies, the Chinese field seems
39
posed to exert leadership in the emerging worldwide field of curriculum

studies.
2.2.4.2. History of Curriculum Studies in Turkey
The concept of ―Curriculum‖ which was used in the meaning of the list
of lessons and subjects for a long time gave way to the concept of Training
Program after the 1950s. The curriculum development for the programs of
primary schools have been concentrated on in line with the report prepared
by John Dewey, who was invited to Turkey in the first years of the Republic.
Despite some devoted studies in Turkey in the area of curriculum

development with the proclamation of the Republic, not a big progress has
been made and at every turn the studies and workshops about curriculum
development in Turkey have been started over. Throughout the curriculum
development studies in the 1980s, a new search has started. Varis states
that if there had been a continuity in curriculum development studies, the
secondary education programs that were built on solid bases with the
proclamation of the Republic wouldn‘t have been brought to the 8 th National
Education Council after 17 years with the similar rudiments, but a continuous
development would have been provided with an approach to prosper the first
curriculum development efforts (as cited by Demirel, Varis, 1976: 83). In this
case, it is understood that the continuity of curriculum development studies is
a very important prerequisite for the process.
By 1990s, it is observed that program development and assessment

and evaluation have been placed a particular importance on within the re-
fromation studies of the National Education System. Within the meetings of
program development, assessment and evaluation expertise commission,
nine program development evaluation expertise commissions have been
formed and necessary studies have been started.
40
Under the light of these explanations, it can be inferred that important

decisions have been taken about curriculum development in Turkey through
a number of meetings at different times, but, unfortunately, necessary efforts
to reach the result haven‘t been exerted up to now and no appreciable result
has been acquired. As Erturk states, there are still ongoing problems about
curriculum development, for example in the USA, but it is a reality that they
know the boundaries or requirements of curriculum contrary to Turkey, and
this necessitates the scholars and authorities in Turkey to pass through very
hard and problematic process of studies in this area to reach the determined
and expected point (as cited by Demirel, Erturk, 1986: 16). Thus, it is a huge
necessity for the Turkish authorities to remove all the official or bureaucratic
difficulties or hindrances that such very important scholars have to face in the
way of developing modern curricula that could resolve the problems in the
Turkish education system.
Program development studies have been executed through the

―education reform‖ slogan in many countries without excepting the USA. The
searches about program development were started in 1940s in the countries
like Denmark, Sweden, and Norway and a relatively settled curriculum
perception has been acquired through a number of experimental studies.
Turkey has also undergone the process of different testworks in the area, but
the result attained as regards the efforts exerted is not at the expected level.
There isn‘t an adequate collaboration and coordination between universities
and the Ministry of National Education, so the attendance of scientists to the
commission works couldn‘t been provided as it was expected. Besides, it has
been observed that the responsibility of curriculum development activities
suitable to the suggested model hasn‘t been taken seriously. The number of
universities where scientific expertise and doctorate studies are carried out is
rather limited. As a result of these negative conditions, it is rather difficult to
say that an approach of a settled program development has been propunded
up to now.
41
2.2.5. Future of Curriculum Studies
The effects of the recent technologies especially related to internet can

be observed globally in most of the sectors including the sector of education.
As can be projected very simply, this development rate will always rise and it
will enhance its effects every other day. So, prominent people in the sector of
education will continue studying on developing modern and contemporary
curriculum considering the developments in the world. As a result of the wide
use of the internet, there has been a fundamental shift from teacher-centered
learning to student-centered learning. The teacher is no longer the primary
source of information for the student who now has access to indefinite
sources of information through the incredible use of internet. The role of the
teacher has moved from that of sage on the stage to that of guide on the
side. The student no longer depends primarily on the perceptions of the
teacher but develops his/her perceptions and constructs his/her learning from
multiple sources.
Although strategies for teaching have changed in the Internet Age as it

has been mentioned above, the process of developing curriculum for onsite
and online learning is fundamentally the same. Curriculum is a plan for
learning that includes targeting a student population, conducting a needs
assessment, and writing a mission statement. It includes developing goals,
objectives, content, teaching strategies, and assessment tools. Alignment is
critical in curriculum development from purpose and philosophy, to goals and
objectives, to content and activities, and to assessment and evaluation.
Working through a process of asking and answering who, what, where, why,
when, how questions is important in designing and developing curriculum.
A review of current onsite and online educational courses that reveals

student inquiry should be at the center of learning, not the teacher. The
42
instructor facilitates and moderates the coursework. The learning community

is significant as well. Students need to participate in interactive, collaborative,
participatory activities either onsite and/or online. Participants need to be
involved in authentic learning, problem solving, critical thinking, decision
making, and online projects. In onsite and online education, there is a
tendency to develop learning activities prematurely. There is also a tendency
to avoid mission statements and planning assessments until the end of the
process. However, the order of the process of curriculum development is
significant. The students must be identified, their needs should be assessed,
and measurement evaluation ought to be considered early in the process.
Goals, objectives, content, and teaching strategies should be carefully
developed and aligned. Alignment is critical in curriculum development from
purpose and philosophy, to goals and objectives, to content and activities,
and to assessment and evaluation. Curriculum design involves working
through a process of asking and answering who, what, where, why, when,
how questions.
Effective onsite and online courses are designed for small classes that
are divided into smaller working groups. The instructor functions as a
facilitator or moderator with a constructivist or inductive approach. In this
process the student constructs his/her meaning as the instructor guides,
facilitates, or moderates the learning. Student inquiry is at the center of the
educational process. Students are often involved in interactive, collaborative,
participatory project or problem-based learning. More than ever before
students are being encouraged by effective curriculum design to be
independent, life-long learners who are skillful in communication and
collaboration.
In 1983, psychologist Howard Gardner published Frames of Mind, the

book in which he introduced his ‗theory of multiple intelligences‘ (MI theory).
Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple
43
intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human
intelligence that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments.
Five Minds For the Future (2006) introduces educators to a new way of
looking at curriculum development and educational policy. In the book‘s
introduction, Gardner wrote, ―One cannot even begin to develop an
educational system unless one has in mind the knowledge and skills that one
values, and the kind of individuals one hopes will emerge at the end of the
day‖ (Gardner, 2006). Through such a very impressive approach in literary
sense, it can clearly be understood that every individual who are schooled in
an education system must be identified according to their prominent skills or
intelligences. It is a real must from very early ages of education even until the
end of university training to prepare very healthy young minds to the hectic
working environment of the future life.
The final chapter in the book has the title of Toward the Cultivation of
the Five Minds and it provides examples of the five kinds of minds. Gardner
also includes a section titled Resistance and Obstacles in the book. It is not
another gloom book about the changing global economy, or it does not sound
like educators are to blame for the current state of education. Gardner feels
that educators should review their curriculum to see if the five kinds of minds
are being cultivated in the K-12 experience. According to Gardner, ―Whatever
their importance in times past, these five minds are likely to be crucial in a
world that is marked by the hegemony of science and technology, global
transmission of huge amounts of information, handling of routine tasks by
computers and robots, and ever increasing contacts of all sorts between
diverse populations‖ (161). Therefore, any individual in any society is very
remarkable in respect of their contribution to the said societies through the
accurately determined intelligences and future lives and this determination
will be in the hands of educators who are, in fact, real engineers of human
beings in terms of tracing different skills and intelligences.
44
The author strongly believes that in order to prepare students for

success, it must be questioned if the current curriculum and instruction efforts
are preparing individuals who are disciplined, synthesizing, creative,
respectful, and ethical. As a result, the important thing that must be inferred
from this section is the reality that those who play the important roles in
curriculum development process mustn‘t only consider the foundations or
main components of curriculum, but the new technologies with their
outcomes and the new trends as well. New trends always bring better and
more student-oriented approaches so they can play very important roles on
the education of students and the curricula that will be the indispensable part
of that education. As for technology, it can be seen very closely that all
students make use of cutting edge technology so skillfully by some means or
other, so this skill and interest on premium products will make it compulsory
for the latest technological improvements to be considered and included in
the newly designed curricula.
Many immediate and complex issues overwhelm educators today. With

positive and negative global influences, educators must look beyond the
surface of education. Students are not just products of their schools but will
become shaping forces in society, determining the success and failure of
their nation's future. Curricularists, educators, and everyone in leadership
need to work together to develop a well-rounded curriculum, which includes
the learning of different cultures. People of the next generations will need to
cope with cross-cultural matters and grow into sensible adults who are fair
and just to the global society.
Technology plays an essential role in today‘s education and will even

do it more in the future. Especially in countries where economic and political
situations are stable, the accessibility of the internet and computers to
maximize curriculum and to act as a means of communication among
educators, even to the extent of intranets, must become available.
45
Technology can also close the gaps between the educational levels around
the world. Because of the political and socio-economic differences among
countries, it would be impossible for this degree of technology to reach all
parts of the world, yet effort should be made to see that education is fairly
distributed to all children everywhere. Another reason technology is
significant to the curriculum development is for cultural knowledge expansion.
The need to understand different cultures is an emergent issue in today's
education and societies as relationships among countries become more
intertwined.
To develop a curriculum that can create international awareness, get to

understand various cultures, and learn different ideas and values technology
should again be utilized. Curriculums need to focus on melting down barriers
against others who are different and to encourage mutual respect and
understanding for other cultures and beliefs. Thanks to the advancement of
technology today, students all over the world can actually use computers to
see and to talk to each other. More effort on promoting such communication
should be encouraged and assisted by governments, various organizations,
and individuals with the means to do so. One day, through the help of
technology in education, people will learn that they are all part of the world
community.
46
III. CURRICULUM DESIGN PROCESS
In this chapter, curriculum design process has been explained

depending on the key elements such as the goal, the content, learning
experiences, and evaluation. The factors that direct curriculum designers to
decide on starting the design process have also been explained. Different
approaches and most favorite models in connection with the curriculum
design process are explained in detail.
3.1. Curriculum Design Process
Curriculum design process consists of the studies to determine which

components the curriculum is going to be made up of and aims to handle this
process with the appropriate design approaches in a meaningful unity. The
curriculum to be derived at the end of this process will certainly undertake the
duty of serving the education world with an influential, substantial, and up-to-
date training program.
Curriculum designs include the key elements forming the education

program and put forth different properties they have in terms of the
relationships these elements have. The key elements of a program can be
expressed as the goal, the content, learning experiences, and evaluation. In
order for the curriculum to be a qualified one several factors need to be taken
into account in respect of their connection with the key elements of that
education program just in the design phase.
Cultural background, family, application of technology, changing values

and morality, crime and violence, etc are some of the social forces that have
a great effect on curriculum design. The knowledge of human development is
also one of the factors curriculum planners take into consideration to design
47
curricula to meet the needs of learners at various levels of education. The

nature of learning – how people can learn is also of importance for curriculum
planners, because they can design the curriculum on condition that learners
all participate and understand the course. Designers should understand the
distinguishing features of two different families in respect of learning theories
as behavioral and cognitive. Nature of knowledge and the processes through
which learners can most effectively acquire that knowledge is another base
of curriculum design. All these factors have important effects on curriculum
designers to take into account. Apart from these factors, the main idea that
should be kept in mind is that designers try to put forth the framework of the
educational program by means of the curriculum design studies and find
answers to the following four important questions:
1. What should be done?
2. What should the subject area consist of?
3. Which learning strategies, resources, and activities should be used?
4. Which measurement techniques and materials should be used to evaluate
the results? (Demirel, 2010). The answers to be found to these questions will
help curriculum designer have a clear idea about what to include in the
curriculum so that it can be a very favorable and trustable one because these
four aspects are always interconnected with each other.
3.2. Curriculum Design Approaches
From among a number of design approaches that are explained below

the designer can take one and use in the preparation of a curriculum design.
As Grace Nyagah (2000) states in her article about Curriculum Studies, how
a curriculum is conceptualized, organized, developed and implemented is
mainly connected with a particular country‘s educational objectives. Thus,
whatever curriculum design that country may adapt depends also on the
country‘s philosophy of education.
48
3.2.1. Subject-Centered Curriculum Design
This is the commonly used curriculum design approach in educational

implementations and it is related to the organization of curriculum in terms of
separate subjects. Most of the curricula implemented at schools and even
colleges have been designed by utilizing this approach. As teachers‘ training
is mainly based on this approach of education, the subject-centered
curriculum is better and more easily understood and implemented by
teachers. In addition, curriculum planning through this approach is easier and
most course books and extra materials are organized according to it. But
there are also some criticisms about subject-centered curriculum design and
they caused a wide renunciation from it through some arguments. One of the
arguments is the fact that it mainly focuses on content but not the needs or
experiences or students. In this approach, knowledge is broken down into
smaller seemingly unrelated bits of information to be learned (Nyagah, 2000).
Because of this, integration or unity of the subject seems impossible through
this approach and it causes a big confusion in students‘ minds, so it distracts
them from the main subject as well. Four different design forms can be used
in this approach (Demirel, p: 48) and they have frequently been implemented
at educational institutions throughout history.
1. Subject Design: It is both the oldest approach and also the best known
one by teachers because they had been educated through that
approach as well.
2. Discipline Design: Although this form of the approach had mainly
focused on the academic disciplines, it is the same as subject design.
3. Wide Field Design: This approach was formed with the aim of providing
an important solution to the fragmentation of knowledge problem and
compartmentalized form of learning caused by subject-centered
approach.
4. Process Design: It is a form of design featuring a mutual learning style
for all subjects instead of designing separate ways of learning. Critical
49
thinking is one of the most significant outcomes of this approach and

the aim of it is how a learner can learn in the best possible way.
3.2.2. Learner-Centered Curriculum Design
All curriculum designers give particular importance to learners, so the

idea that student is the center of curriculum studies and every subject should
be specified according to him/her emerged at the beginning of the twentieth
century. So, the curriculum is organized around the needs, interests, abilities
and aspirations of students in this design. Advocates of the design
emphasize that attention should be paid to what is known about human
growth, development and learning. This type of design requires a lot of
resources and manpower, in order to cater for the variety of needs. Hence,
the design is more commonly used in the developed countries, while in
developing world the use is more limited (Nyagah, 2000). Curriculum
development activities are more commonly and skillfully carried out, so lots of
teaching resources and materials as well as teaching methods are created in
developed countries because these resources or materials and manpower
can generally very expensive to use.
As the needs and interests of students are considered in the selection

and organization of content, the resulting curriculum is relevant to the
students‘ world. But as a disadvantage, the needs and interests of students
may not be valid or long-lasting and they may not reflect specific areas of
knowledge for successful functioning in the society in general. Besides, the
nature of education systems in developing countries may not permit learner-
centered curriculum design to be implemented effectively. In this design form,
too, there are four approaches used (Demirel, 49):
1. Student-Centered Designs: The advocates of this design put forward
the idea that students should be set in motion so that they can learn in
the best way. They think that learning should not be separated from the
50
life of student because they are interdependent to each other. And they
believe that only the learning based on active goals and rooting into
experience can turn into desired behaviors.
2. Experience-Centered Designs: Although this design seems very similar
to student-centered design, the idea that the needs and interests of
students cannot be specified beforehand constitutes the base of this
approach. So, they think, curriculum cannot indicate all the needs
beforehand and the teacher should supply the appropriate one for the
student in propria persona.
3. Romantic (Radical) Designs: The advocates of this kind of design claim
that the functions of the school must be revised and modulated
completely because people can find out themselves only in their natural
forms. And some advocates say that parents should not send their
children to school at all because, they say, schools themselves obstruct
the student improvement.
4. Humanistic Designs: Curriculum designers with this approach have
given importance to humanistic psychology and it has come out as a
reaction against behavioral psychology curriculum design forms of the
fifties.
3.2.3. Problem-Centered Curriculum Design
Such curriculum designs supply the refreshment of the cultural and

traditional values and point out the unmet needs of the society. They accent
students‘ social problems, needs, interests, and talents as their improvement
is at the forefront as well as the subject. Some designers, on the other hand,
are more interested in the reconstruction of the society. The variety between
them comes out as a result of the importance they give to the societal needs
rather than individual needs (Demirel, 50). The forms of problem-centered
curriculum design approach are composed of three different subtopics.
51
1. Living-Field Design: Educators try to improve their students‘ conception

and help them get the generalization skill with respect to their problems
about the real world. So it bases on the human common activities
originated from social life.
2. Core Design: It is also subject-centered and concentrated on general
education. It prioritizes the problems of the community and aims to help
students discern and clear up those problems. Designers claim that
they created a democratic class atmosphere with this approach
because it came out as a reaction against teaching school subjects
separately at schools and the nonoperational property of social
development.
3. Social Problems and Re-Constructionist Design: The supporters of this
approach believe that educators can make a contribution to the
reformation of the society. The claim in the foreground is that time
always forces society to change.
As a result, curriculum design is a study beyond piecing the fragments

of a program together and it must have a quality to manage to bring students
in the desired actions, skills, and behaviors.
3.2.4. Broad-Field Curriculum Design
In this curriculum design approach, two or more subjects are unified into
one broad course of study. In other words, it is an organization combining
subjects that are related in the curriculum. So, the unification and integration
of knowledge are believed to come true through this approach of curriculum
design. It integrates separate subjects into a single course and this enables
learners to see the relationships among various elements in the curriculum.
Such properties of curriculum design cause the advantage of saving time on
the school time-table. On the other hand, opponents of this approach believe
that it doesn‘t have a depth and it provides only bits and pieces of information
52
from a variety of subjects (Nyagah, 2000). The pros and cons of each of the
approaches presented above have absolutely contributed a lot to procure the
most qualified and preferable curriculum for any society in the world in terms
of the dynamics constituting it. So it requires a long and troublesome process
to get the ideal curriculum and at the end of this process it is most probable
that the outcomes of this comprehensive study will satisfy all members of the
education world in that society.
3.3. Curriculum Design Models
The fundamental resource a curriculum designer should base his/her

studies on will principally be the theoretical or practical knowledge he/she
has in this area. In fact, some existing resources can be referred as well but
the most common form of designing a curriculum is that the designer has no
resource to refer to and is alone with the knowledge or experience in hand.
The reason of this common form of curriculum design activities comes from
the fact that copyright issues or nonexistence of the courses constitute a big
handicap for designers. So, the curriculum designer will be responsible for all
parts of the curriculum design process. John Macalister (2010) points out this
necessity for curriculum designers to use their minds as the most dependable
resource and millions of materials they use in the course books while
designing curricula especially for language courses in his book Language
Curriculum Design. Curriculum designers and teachers can draw on a bank
of current materials from which they select the most appropriate material for
the course. Such a bank could include
1. Copies of activities prepared by themselves or other teachers for other

courses or for previous deliveries of the course,
2. Published supplementary materials such as graded readers, grammar

activity books, and conversation texts, speed reading courses and so on,
53
3. Clippings from newspapers or magazines, recordings from the radio or

television, or photocopied material from texts or course books.
The curriculum designer or teacher chooses the bits and puts them
together to make a course or to design a curriculum, and thus he/she takes
the most responsibility for content and sequencing, and goals (Macalister,
2010, 136). In fact the activities or materials which are actively used during
the courses are very important segments of teaching but they also constitute
only an unimportant part of curriculum preparation studies. It is not related to
the responsibilities of curriculum designers to suggest all the suitable
techniques, activities, or materials to use in the proper time and place of the
course. The teacher himself/herself should be in the central position of
choosing and implementing the proper technique, activity or material in due
time.
In some cases, curriculum designers provide some materials and

activities for the teacher to use with the proper techniques throughout the
course but leave the most important role to the actor of the course, the
teacher, to find and properly use the correct and the appropriate techniques
for the rest of the topics of the course. So, curriculum designers usually
provide the content and sequencing, goals, and assessment parts of the
course, and leave it to the teacher to decide on the materials to use to deal
with format and presentation. There are some course books that provide
texts and some basic exercises, but leave it to the teacher to decide how to
use these (Nunan, 2010). Considering the fact that the inevitable actor of the
course, the unchangeable implementer of the curriculum, and the undeniable
guide of the students for the problematic conditions is the „teacher‟, such an
important responsibility and authority should necessarily be given to the
teacher.
54
As a very important step in curriculum design process, needs analysis

will constitute the most important phase of vocabulary teaching goals of the
course which can be reached through the reliable and sound teaching
methods and leadership of the teacher. But of course, the teacher will need
the existence of such a carefully prepared needs analysis as the important
assisting components of his/her teaching abilities. To prepare efficacious
exercises to reach the aims of the vocabulary course through a reading
activity and correct teaching techniques is the teacher‘s responsibility to
prepare and to use. John Macalister (2010) classifies the advantages of the
teacher‘s responsibility for different parts of the curriculum design process as
in the following:
a) The course can be made more suitable for the environment in which it is
taught. This environment includes the resources available, the skill and
teaching style of the teachers, and the time available.
b) Adjustments can be easily made to suit a range of needs.
c) The teacher is considered as a professional who has to make important

curriculum design decisions, and who has the flexibility and skill to bring
the material and learners together in the most suitable way.
d) The material produced by the curriculum designer can be used over a very
wide range of different teaching situations. The requirements of such an
approach are well-trained teachers with the resources and time to perform
their part in the curriculum design process.
As mentioned earlier, curriculum designers are supposed to consider

different but very important factors such as the needs of teachers in terms of
materials and suitable teaching techniques, the needs of students in terms of
having a positive class atmosphere and learning through sophisticated
materials while designing up-to-date curricula and course books including
these curricular peculiarities. If the teacher can make use of very different
teaching and assessment techniques related to the content of the subject
55
presented or the nature of the students as their social, cultural, and

psychological background or the multiple intelligence category they exist in
through the curriculum and the course book prepared, one of the most
important goals in the curriculum development process will have been
reached. ―No doubt some excellent educational work is being done by artistic
teachers who do not have a clear conception of goals but do have an intuitive
sense of what is good teaching, what materials are significant, what topics
are worth dealing with and how to present material and develop topics
effectively with students‖ (Tyler, 1969). Therefore, teachers will process all
students in the education system by means of the really brilliantly prepared
curricula including and requiring all the important subtitles of the systematic
education like the correct coursebook or teaching materials, etc.
It is a fact that the teacher cannot always find the appropriate material
or relevant teaching methods, so curriculum designers should also put into
consideration the need of the teacher to adapt to novelties in the area of
teaching profession or to develop his/her creativity in respect of finding or
producing the most suitable teaching technique and the most enjoyable
teaching materials. ‗There are some challenges in this area, and one of the
most pressing could be that of copyright. If the teacher begins using a
commercially produced course and starts altering and supplementing it, there
is the danger that material from the original course may still be retained,
perhaps in a slightly altered form in the later course. Secondly, in a process
of gradual change and replacement, important aspects of the curriculum
design process could be overlooked. In this approach to curriculum design, it
is worth regularly evaluating the current state of the course by checking it
against the parts of the curriculum design model‘ (Macalister, 2010). As a
result, the latest and probably the most preferable models in curriculum
design process which have been developed in recent years are explained
below, but it shouldn‘t be forgotten that they may be covered at various
times, at various degrees of thoroughness, in various orders, and by various
people. Within the process of curriculum design, the waterfall model, the
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focused opportunistic approach, and the layers of necessity approach have

been identified briefly in the following:
3.3.1. A “Waterfall” Model
The approach that curriculum design is best viewed as a process like

writing where the curriculum design could begin at any of several places like
needs analysis, material writing, selection of principles, goals, and so on.
Some models of curriculum design see it occurring as a series of steps in a
fixed order. Tessmer and Wedman (as cited by Macalister, 1990) describe
this view as a ―waterfall‖ model, where one stage of curriculum design, e.g.
environment analysis, is done thoroughly, then the next stage of needs
analysis is done thoroughly, and so on in much the same way as the flow of
water fills one container in a stepped-down series and then flows over to fill
the next. Most curriculum design occurs under constraints that make it almost
impossible for a waterfall model to occur.
Most reports of a sequence of carefully planned and produced

curriculum design describe a progression from a study of the environment
and needs (often they are not distinguished), to a consideration of important
principles and the setting of goals, followed by the drawing up of a list of
content items, finally, the writing of the lessons (Macalister, 2010). Murdoch
(as cited by Macalister, 1989) describes a similar sequence, beginning with
an analysis of learners‘ present proficiency and necessities, and a study of
the learners‘ reasons for studying English and long-term learning aims
(needs analysis). Such a study is going to result in a description of the
content of the course. The limitations of the environment such as the
resource limitations that affect classroom activity, socio-cultural factors,
learning style, learners‘ age group and interest, and aspects of the target
culture that will interest learners (environment analysis) will then be included
57
in the study. So, this study allows the curriculum designer to decide on what
skills to emphasize (content), what methodology to use (format and
presentation) and what themes to exploit in the course materials (ideas
content). In this way, the waterfall model can be actualized in the curriculum
design in such a way that the design experts find opportunity to include each
necessary component of a real curriculum like needs analysis, environment
analysis, methodology and make an important contribution to teachers
through course books which will be full of useful materials and relevant
teaching techniques which will enable them to use their creative skills to
improve their own materials and teaching systems according their students‘
needs.
As a result, such a model helps teachers improve their skills and use a
very large resource bank throughout their classes, and thus helps students
develop themselves while and after the course is taught. And the way of
managing this development is a focused opportunistic model.
3.3.2. A Focused Opportunistic Model
The professional background of the teacher and his/her acquaintance

with the environment and the content of the course book will make him/her
design the course according to his/her extemporaneousness and curriculum
designers will make use of this process as a focused opportunistic model in
the design of the format and presentation part of the curriculum. Then, with
each re-teaching of the course, one part of the curriculum design process is
done thoroughly. Thus it might be that a proper needs analysis is not carried
out until the third or fourth re-teaching of the course. Tessmer and Wedman
(1990) warn against this model, mainly from the point of view of efficiency in
that working thoroughly on one aspect of curriculum design may result in
wasted effort because the findings may not be able to be used in the other
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less-elaborated parts of the curriculum design process. What attracts

curriculum designers in this model is that it allows a concentrated focus with
possible high-quality improvements to a course. For example if, during one
presentation of a course, assessment was focused on, or there was a careful
needs analysis done, then these improvements could be done well.
This model requires a tolerance of some inadequacies in other aspects

of curriculum design, but if it is known that these will be eventually worked
on, then they can be tolerated. The major reason for taking this model is time
pressure so, learners have to be taught as there is not time to do a lot of data
gathering or planning. Because teaching most immediately involves format
and presentation, this is usually done first. This do-what-you-can-when-you-
can model is typical form of most curriculum designs carried out by teachers
(Tessmer and Wedman, 1990). This model is clearly not ideal but realistic. It
can be effective if teachers have the opportunity to teach the same course
several times because they can direct the course according to their
experience and contribute to the curriculum design by making sensible
decisions on where to focus the improvement of the course.
3.3.3. A “Layers of Necessity” Model
A ―layers of necessity‖ model seems to be similar to the Focused

Opportunistic Model, but the most important difference of it is covering all the
major parts of the curriculum design process at the same time. What is
needed to meet the realities of most curriculum design situations is a model
that allows for a ‗good enough for now‘ level of quality to reach (Tessmer and
Wedman, 1990). By means of this model, curriculum design is seen as a
choice between various layers. Each layer includes the major parts of the
curriculum design process such as environment analysis or needs analysis
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and so on, but differs in the detail and thoroughness with which each of these
parts of curriculum design are carried out.
The most important thing the curriculum designer has to do is to decide

what layer of curriculum design will be chosen. This decision will depend on
balancing the amount of time and resources available to do the curriculum
design and the level of thoroughness needed. In the process of curriculum
design, there can be very limited time or resources in some cases and the
curriculum designer should be able to make a choice on the least detailed
layer. Tessmer and Wedman (1990) put forward some guidelines for using a
―layers of necessity‖ model. Firstly, once the level of necessity has been
chosen it is best to cover all the steps at that level with roughly the same
degree of thoroughness because it is not efficient to perform one part of the
curriculum design process at a much more detailed and more thorough level
than other parts. Secondly, all the fundamental parts of the curriculum design
process should be handled at any level. That is, there must be some needs
analysis and environment analysis, etc. rather than leaving them out. At the
same time, a more detailed layer can also be added to these guidelines so as
to make the same piece of curriculum design feel better. It can be understood
here that curriculum designers will have to consider all important points of
curriculum so that the best and meeting-all-the-needs one can be prepared.
3.3.4. Deciding on a Model
Very useful information about some starting points and different paths
through the curriculum design process has been presented in this section
and curriculum design experts of course will follow a path by choosing the
best possible starting point. In making the decision, the time that is available
for course preparation, the availability of needs analysis, the availability of a
usable course book, and the skill of the designer will play a crucial role as
60
well. As it has been observed up to now, the phases mentioned are all very
important steps in curriculum design process. Assuming that time is short
and that only a small amount of needs analysis information is available, the
least demanding approach is, of course, choosing an existing course book as
a source of material, and then apply a focused opportunistic approach to
gradually improve and eventually replace it.
Considering the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, one

is going to be chosen in this process and the most important advantage of
following an approach in curriculum design involving all the parts of the
model is that any parts of the process are not missed out. The underlying
reason of this fact is that an insubstantial curriculum design does not include
important parts and does not deal with them in a principled way. So,
curriculum designer must not ignore any basic component of the curriculum
and he/she must get down into the details of the principles that will be made
use of in each part of it for the sake of a potential curriculum design. Of
course, this depends on the curriculum designer‘s flairs in respect of
choosing the best possible method to make it the most preferred one, and
distinguishing the advantages and disadvantages in the curriculum design
process so as to present the most accurate program to teachers. Otherwise,
they will try to find and use the best materials or the best teaching methods
by way of trial-and-error search and it will cause both the teacher and pupils
to waste a lot of time and energy.
It is an incontrovertible fact that trial-and-error can be assumed as a

part of education, but not educators who work systematically and base every
activity they do or material they use on the influential bases of their vivid and
sample professional lives that are full of important experiences. Educators of
this kind try to do their best to let modern and useful curricula be developed
so that their students and education world can utilize their experiences.
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IV. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR UNIVERSITIES AND

TRANSLATION STUDIES DEPARTMENTS
Main pillars of an effective curriculum are explained in a detailed way so

that the most important aspects of curriculum development process can be
understood much better. In the company of sound theoretical bases,
curriculum development process with different stages and sub-stages are
explained fully in this chapter. Within this process, the education to be given
is discussed with the pre and post stages of it so that the curriculum to be
developed will be a real success in secondary education or for universities.
New trends for curriculum development have been explained before the
stage of curriculum development for universities.
4.1. Main Pillars of an Effective Curriculum
In achieving the goals of quality education for all there is a great need to
develop a broadened vision of educational goals, to facilitate holistic
approaches to reorganizing educational contents, and to build national
capacity in developing key competencies required of all learners through
curriculum renewal in emerging knowledge-based societies of the 21st
century. In an information-intensive age, education is mandated to respond to
demands in two directions: on the one hand, it has to transmit an increasing
amount of constantly evolving knowledge and know –how adapted to a
knowledge-driven civilization; on the other hand, it has to enable learners not
to be overwhelmed by the flows of information, while keeping personal and
social development as its end in view. So, ‗education must ...simultaneously
provide maps of a complex world in constant turmoil and the compass that
will enable people to find their way in it‘ (as cited by Zhao, Delors et al, p85).
Thus, the correct choice of the education system through the painstakingly
62
designed curricula will help indiviuals and main components of the society
determine their direction properly.
Being aware of the principal components that constitute an effective

curriculum is, therefore, very important so as to develop a more modern and
a more comprehensive curriculum than ever. Having a deep knowledge
about the said main components will, most probably, provide the curriculum
experts the command on these elements during the curriculum development
and implementation phase. The main pillars of an effective curriculum can be
viewed in four categories as David Nunan mentions in his book The Learner
Centered Curriculum:
1. Initial planning procedures (including data collection and learner grouping),
2. Content selection and gradation,
3. Methodology (which includes the selection of learning activities and
materials),
4. Ongoing monitoring, assessment and evaluation.
The first step in the curriculum process is the collection of information

about learners in order to diagnose the objective needs, that is, needs which
are external to the learner. This initial data collection is usually superficial,
relating mainly to factual information such as current proficiency level, age,
educational background, previous learning experiences, time in the target
culture and previous and current occupation. It is also sometimes possible to
obtain more subjective information on preferred length and intensity of the
course, preferred learning arrangement, learning goals and information
relating to preferred methodology, learning-style preferences and so on.
However, this sort of information, relating to learner‘s subjective needs as an
individual in the learning situation, can only be obtained once a course has
begun.
If the information is collected before the learners are assigned to a class

it can be used for initial class placement purposes. At that point, a decision
will have to be taken as to the weighting which will be given to the different
63
kinds of needs which have been assessed. It will depend very much on the
relative importance which is accorded by teachers to factors such as
language proficiency, life-style, learning preferences and so on. In making a
placement decision, these factors will have to be balanced against the
administrative and resource constraints under which the program has to
operate. Thus, it is perfectly feasible to imagine a situation in which the same
learner might well be placed in one center in an ―intermediate class‖, while in
another he would be placed in an ―English for motor mechanics‖ group and in
yet another in a ―young, fast learners‖ category (Nunan, 1988). Thus, it can
be considered as a big burden for teachers to form proper class environment
for each individual coming to school for perfect education.
Content selection, as the second step in curriculum process, is an

important component of a learner-centered curriculum. In such a curriculum,
clear criteria for content selection give guidance on the selection of materials
and learning activities and assist in assessment and evaluation. By making
explicit the content objectives of a course and, eventually, by training
learners to set their own objectives, the following benefits can accrue:
a) Learners come to have a more realistic idea of what can be achieved in a
given course.
b) Learning comes to be seen as the gradual accretion of achievable goals.
c) Students develop greater sensitivity to their role as language learners and
their rather vague notions of what it is to be a learner become sharper.
d) Self-evaluation becomes more feasible.
e) Classroom activities can be seen to relate to learners‘ real-life needs.
f) Skills development can be seen as a gradual, rather than an all-or-nothing,
process.
A crucial distinction between traditional and learner-centered curriculum

development is that, in the latter, no decision is binding. This is particularly
true of content selection and gradation. These will need to be modified during
the course of program delivery as the learners‘ skills develop, their self
awareness as learners grows and their perceived needs change.
64
It is therefore important that the content selected at the beginning of a

course is not seen as definitive; it will vary, and will probably have to be
modified as learners experience different kinds of learning activities and as
teachers obtain more information about their subjective needs (relating to
such things as affective needs, expectations, and preferred learning style). It
is the outcomes of ongoing dialogue between teachers and learners which
will determine content and learning objectives.
The selection of content and objectives is therefore something which is

shaped and refined during the initial stages of a learning arrangement rather
than being completely pre-determined. This is because the most valuable
learner data can usually only be obtained in an informal way after
relationships have been established between teachers and learners. The
initial data collection, which is used principally for grouping learners,
generally provides only fairly superficial information which can be used to
make rough predictions about communicative needs. The most useful
information, relating to subjective learner needs, can be obtained only once a
course has begun and affective needs which are of most value in selecting
content and methodology.
As most learners have difficulty in uttering their needs and preferences,

the initial stages of a course can be spent in providing a range of learning
experiences. It is unrealistic to expect learners who have never experienced
a particular approach to be able to express an opinion about it. This does not
mean, however, that activities and materials should be foisted on learners at
the whim of the teacher. Learners should be encouraged to reflect upon their
learning experiences and articulate those they prefer, and those they feel suit
them as learners.
Methodology, which includes learning activities and materials, is

generally the area where there is the greatest potential for conflict between
teacher and learner. In a traditional curriculum, this conflict would probably
65
be ignored on the grounds that the teacher knows best. In a learner-centered

curriculum, it is crucial that any conflicts be resolved.
The final component of curriculum is evaluation, which has really a very

important place in education. It is common for the evaluation phase to take
part in the final place of the curriculum but, in fact, it does not differ from
other curriculum activities in the planning and implementation. Therefore, it
can take place at any phase of the curriculum but student assessment can‘t
because it is different from course evaluation (as cited by Richards, Shaw
and Dowsett 1986). The main reason of this underlies the fact that
assessment is carried out to determine whether the objectives of a course
have been achieved, while the purpose of evaluation is to make some
determination of the failure in terms of achieving the said objectives.
Contrary to the traditional curriculum models, evaluation takes the form

of an informal monitoring carried on alongside the teaching-learning process
by teachers and learners in a learner-centered curriculum. The main reason
of this comes from the fact that specialists who design a learner-centered
curriculum are especially careful about the formative sides of the evaluation
mainly considered as taking advantage of evaluation for students. As is seen,
components of curriculum can be evaluated whenever it is seen necessary at
any phase of curriculum design, or implementation for the development of it.
4.2. Curriculum Development
Curriculum Development is the name of a process of composing the

best and the most useful education program for different courses at schools,
colleges, or universities after very long, exhausting, and exacting studies. So
it is called a process in all conscience. As with most concepts in the field of
curriculum studies, the term curriculum development is explained variously
66
by different scholars, albeit the underlying meaning is basically the same.
Curriculum development is the name of the structure of a curriculum, or

is an exacting process resulting in detailed plans for education. At the same
time, it can be considered as ―a systematic process of determining the
content to be imparted, the pedagogy suitable for doing so, the structure
through which it may be carried out most effectively and determination of how
such a process will be evaluated‖ (Rodman, 1970). Considering the fact that
Rodman‘s definition of curriculum development explains all phases of this
process in such a concise expression, it can be accepted as one of the most
popular ones. Another interesting and important perspective in connection
with this process is that curriculum development is the means by which new
content and supporting materials are added to the school. Thus, curriculum
development is both a logical and a creative way to add new learning
experiences to the lives of students.
In some cases, the curriculum development process proceeds from the

top downwards. The most usual term to indicate this type of process is the
English expression ―top-down‖. In this case, curriculum development
processes can be defined through four phases:
1. The curriculum presented to teachers,
2. The curriculum adopted by teachers,
3. The curriculum assimilated by learners, and
4. The evaluated curriculum.
The majority of centralized countries follow this type of curriculum

development process.
In some other cases, the curriculum development process proceeds

from the bottom upwards (a ―bottom-up‖ process). In this case as well, four
different phases can be identified:
1. What the society or the parents want,

67
2. Responses provided by teachers in the schools,
3. The collection of these responses and the effort to identify some common
aspects, and
4. The development of common standards and their evaluation.
The majority of decentralized countries follow this type of curriculum

development process or processes, which are carried out in each school in
the context of its community, but without necessarily taking into consideration
the developments adopted by other schools or institutions.
The current trend is to promote networked curriculum development with

several interactions (top-down and bottom-up), while trying to take into
account the needs—not only the educational requirements—and to rebuild
the way of conceptualizing reality and education systems, in order that
political authorities are no longer found at the top, but in the centre of
curriculum development dynamics (Braslavsky, 1999). These authorities thus
become stimulating bodies that promote multiple interactions between
teaching institutions and society, jointly defining the meaning, the knowledge,
the methods and the spaces of education.
4.3. Process Initiation Stage
Curriculum development is a gradual multi-tiered process, in which

each step must be performed in order and at the right time. It starts with the
rather administrative step of initiating the process. This step is traditionally
taken by the department head or program coordinator. It involves looking not
only at available information (such as data from previous course evaluations
or even information about courses available at other institutions), but also
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constraints (such as availability of time, finances, classroom facilities, etc.).

All actors involved in the process of course design and development needs to
be clearly briefed on this situation of resources and constraints. Then, four
basic steps as Formation of the Team Work, Brainstorming for Developers,
Task Assignment, and Setting Deadlines for Task Accomplishment will have
to follow in order (Sheal 1989). It will be seen through the clarifications in the
following that these steps are so much important for the development of a
successful curriculum that will play significant roles on the future of the
education system of the society.
4.3.1. Formation of the Team Work
The developments and innovations happening with a dizzying speed in

technology, science, and communication necessitate constant studies to be
made in the area of curriculum development. These studies are believed to
be useful when they are carried out through a board of educators and this
phase is called the Formation of the Team Work (Demirel, 67). The reason of
this belief is mainly because of the cooperation among the team members in
terms of finding solutions to problems and the coordination in terms of
reaching a good success as a result of team work.
The mentioned board of educators can be classified into three working

parties so that a very-well organized team work can be executed in order to
find solutions to the problems and get a good success in giving the modern
education to students. The first of these parties can be the decision making
body that will constitute the philosophical and political bases of the curriculum
and will determine the general strategy of the board about the curriculum.
The other working party can include the people that will carry out the program
development activities and these people must be the same people working in
curriculum preparation, implementation, and evaluation phases. And the last
69
party should include specialists who will be consulted about the curriculum
development, implementation, and evaluation process when it is necessary.
An experienced curriculum developer may design the course, but it is

advisable to receive feedback from other developers as well. For best results,
it is recommended that the process of development be carried out by more
than one individual in order to take advantage of different perspectives, ideas
and suggestions. Therefore, a small team of developers with multifarious and
complementary skills, knowledge and experiences will be most effective in
the curriculum development area. The most proportionate number of team
members depends on the length of the course and must be determined
prudently (Gabr, 2001).
"Too large a team may give rise to poor communication and conflict; the team
leader may find most of his time taken up in coordinating, running meetings,
attempting to smooth the waters, and reporting to management.... [T]here is often a
fatal lack of accountability.... [The] course may also lack cohesion and appear as a
jumble of modules.... [It] often takes much longer to develop...." (as cited by Gabr,
Sheal 1989, 69-70)
A good result in terms of curriculum development activities depends

mainly on the credibility of team members of that study. If the team members
are not such eligible people, from the coordinator as the one forming the
spirit of collaboration among the members of the team, to the teachers as the
least responsible ones in the development process, the education program to
be developed or innovated will certainly be interrupted undesirably. When the
information given above is considered, the most significant responsibility and
duty among the board of educators is of the Curriculum Working Party. So,
the party mentioned is supposed to consist of the experts and teachers or
educators of the area for which the curriculum will be developed. Thus, this
party can also be called as full-time working party and the election of the
members of this party is so important because of the functions it is going to
carry out throughout the curriculum development process.
70
4.3.2. Brainstorming for Developers
Brainstorming is a technique that can be applied whether the course is

being developed by one professional or a team of developers. It aims,
through discussion and exploration, to generate ideas and encourage
creative thinking about how to determine course content and class activities,
how to motivate participants, etc. The main advantage of this technique is
that it can save time and money, since a considerable number of interesting
ideas and suggestions can be produced in a short period of time.
4.3.3. Task Assignment
The brainstorming process can give the department head or the

coordinator a clear idea about the capabilities and interests of each
developer in the team. Accordingly, tasks can be assigned realistically. Main
tasks include topic research, material development, activity development,
selection of teaching methods, etc. If tasks are assigned according to the
strengths and interests of team developers, the course components will
certainly be stimulating, practical and cohesive.
4.3.4. Setting Deadlines for Task Accomplishment
The fourth step in curriculum development process is setting deadlines

for task accomplishment by means of which it is determined how long the
activities will continue, which studies will be carried out before, etc. Such an
approach especially in planned activities is of prime importance in terms of
doing them in due time. So, before curriculum development studies it will be
71
very useful to plan the process of these studies and indicate that process in a
process-time chart (Gantt Chart), a PERT-process web (planning, evaluation,
research, and technique), or a Flow Chart. Such an approach especially in
scheduled activities is of a big importance in terms of finishing things to do in
due time. When tasks are assigned to developers, the department head or
coordinator must agree with the team members about realistic deadlines for
accomplishing their assignments. These deadlines, however, have to be
flexible in order to allow for unforeseen delays. After deadlines are agreed
upon, the department head or coordinator must send an action plan or a
memorandum to each participant in the process of course development,
briefly stating the overall process, individual tasks and deadlines for
accomplishment. This document will serve as a guide and control tool
throughout the process of development.
4.4. Pre-Development Stage
Planning, design, and development in curriculum studies are closely

related terms. Once a curriculum has been conceptualized, through the
process of curriculum planning and incorporating a curriculum design, it may
then be developed, usually to become a written document and finally to be
implemented and evaluated. Within the literature, a definition of curriculum
development has gained some degree of consensus, unlike a definition of
curriculum. For educators‘ purposes, curriculum development is defined as
the process of planning, constructing, implementing, and evaluating learning
opportunities intended to produce desired changes in learners (Print, 1988).
Without any change in students‘ behaviours, no operation in an educational
institution can be called education. Similarly, no education program without
any goal of changing individuals‘ behaviours through education can be called
a real curriculum because it is a process and requires a long time to acquire
the desired results.
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In practice this means that curriculum developers take with them their
conceptualization of curriculum, construct a curriculum document from it,
implement or monitor the implementation of that document and finally
appraise the effectiveness of the entire curriculum. This is particularly the
case at school levels where teachers are integrally involved in both
curriculum design and development. The culminating point of the first
paradigmatic moment was the appearance, in 1949, of what has been
specified as the bible of curriculum development: Ralph W. Tyler‘s Basic
Principles of Curriculum and Instruction (as cited by Demirel). The book is
organized around four questions that should guide curriculum development:
1- What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2- What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain

these purposes?
3- How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
4- How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?
Within the university-based academic field of curriculum studies,

however, criticism of the Tyler Rationale appeared, eventually became
voluminous, and finally, became decisive, in spite of ongoing efforts to rescue
it. Despite its intellectual fate within U.S. curriculum theory, bureaucratic
versions of Tyler‘s protocol have remained in wide circulation in U.S. public
schools. What is distinctive about Tyler‘s Rationale is that it links objectives
to evaluation, ensuring that teaching is relegated to a form of implementation,
the success of which is likely measured quantitatively (Pinar, 2004). Such a
process of curriculum development which depends mainly on implementation
and evaluation phases can be a very long time in respect of higher education
programs. However, if there is a real necessity for the development of a very
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authoritative curriculum in a department of a university, all the positive and

negative aspects of this process should be faced.
Until recently, translator training has received little attention. Translators

have been trained informally, with neither clearly-defined curricula nor proper
training methodology. Caminade and Pym (as cited by Gabr, 1998) report:
"Translators ... have been trained informally, basically through trial and error,
unstructured apprenticeship arrangements, or any of the various translating
activities that accompany the study of a foreign language and culture within the
Liberal Arts tradition." (Caminade and Pym 1998, 280)
Like any other training program, designing a translator training program

should follow a systematic cycle that represents the bones that make up the
skeleton of the design and development process. If one bone is missing or
out of place, the result will be some sort of deformity and inability to function
properly. These components must, however, cover the needs of both the
students and the market (Gabr, 2001). Translators and the translation market
are always interconnected with each other, so meeting the needs of students
and the market in respect of preparing distinguished translators is really a
very important meeting point for both sides.
4.4.1. Needs Analysis
As one of the most important steps in curriculum development studies is

the Needs Analysis which leads curriculum developers to get the necessary
information about the existence of the need for developing a new curriculum
or changing the existing one. The real need for the curriculum should be
determined or analyzed so that it can be met in the best possible way. Needs
analysis is also very important in terms of getting the necessary information
to program the prospective educational activities and finding out whether the
program goals have met the real needs or not. It seems to be important to
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analyze the needs of the Society and the Individual, and the needs
connected with the Subject Area during the needs analysis studies that will
be carried out for the above reasons. Thus, curriculum developers try to find
answers to the following questions in the needs analysis survey:
1. What are the expectations and needs of the society?
2. What are the needs of the individual?
3. What are the needs related to the subject area?
As is understood clearly, these needs include social, economic, political

and environmental factors and changes which influence and mould education
because the factors listed can all have big effects in either social or individual
lives of people. While social needs and expectations help to reveal the goals
of education programs in principle, their inexistence in the program may
cause a conflict between the school and the society and the individuals
trained at schools may not be successful in harmonizing with the society in
terms of its philosophical, cultural, and spiritual values. Thus, needs analysis
process should be started with the determination of these values first and
then the expectations of the society from the individual in general should be
scrutinized. A correspondence between the individual‘s needs and the needs
of the society should be drawn so that the individual can live in the society
harmoniously, utilize the opportunities the society supplies the individual with,
and make a contribution to meet the needs of the society. The individual can
realize these phenomena by the help of education if there is a well-supported
curriculum in that society.
Substantial and consistent relations between the curriculum goals and

subject areas should be formed so that the curricula can be influential for the
needs of the individual and the society and can meet their expectations. And
the kinds of subject areas to materialize the propounded goals should also be
determined by reflecting the ever-changing information and modern thoughts
into the curriculum (Demirel, 75). Needs of the society and the individual, and
the needs related to the subject area can be reflected in the curriculum in this
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way and the needs analysis aspect of the education program can be realized
as one of the most significant parts of it.
4.4.1.1. Identifying Market Needs
As the specific perspective of this study, the curriculum being designed

and developed in translation departments will consider the demands of the
society and also the needs of the market related to the most comprehensive
education of translators. So, the demands of the market must be regarded as
very important to constitute an influential training program for educating an
efficient translator. The translator will try to meet the needs of the market in
terms of transferring the messages between languages in the best possible
way, so it is a very big necessity for ELT or Translation Studies Departments
to educate or reinforce their students by means of very substantial and up-to-
date curricula. Antony Pym argues that market demands should shape the
way in which translators are trained. With this aspect, Pym puts forth the
issue of specialization as a phenomenon triggered by technological factors
that determine the market structure. He believes that "translator training must
address the phenomenon of specialization" (Pym 1998). Thus, the runners of
the market will necessarily be included in the program development process
so as to express the needs and expectations of the market from the team of
the curriculum development. This is an important step in the needs analysis
process for the curriculum development studies of translation departments of
universities.
Pym also argues that "the market for translation is ultimately determined
by the existing technology, and therefore a professional translator should
physically possess basic computer technology," not only to be able to work
with geographically distant clients, but also to be able to access various data
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banks and information sources. Pym concludes that a translator, without this
invaluable tool, will not survive as a professional for long. Briefly thought, it
can be deduced here that the market requires a translator to be competent at
using all technical potentials in respect of conveying messages of texts to
their original societies or other societies of the world through these languages
as a result of a flawless translation or interpretation.
Gouadec holds that the type of translation curriculum should depend on

the kind of students and also the demands of the market. It should cover
terminology and specialization up to the point where the students know how
to deal with the problem of terminology in the texts to be translated and how
to find information. Gouadec also believes that the students "must be taught
to work with all available electronic tools" (as cited by Gabr, Gouadec, 2000).
An adequate program must include the use of computers, word-processing
software and communications equipment. In this aspect, Mossop (as cited by
Gabr, 2000) argues that the student should be familiar with basic computer
skills such as word processing, e-mail, basic Internet and basic Windows.
"Students should certainly be working on computers, but all they need to know is
basic Windows, basic Internet, basic e-mail ... and perhaps basic database for
simple terminology management." (Mossop 2000).
Real-life situations also constitute a very important part in the education

of students because they will have to come face to face with the people of
every society in the world as a result of an effective interaction. So, such an
effective interaction among people of the societies in the world can in a way
be supplied by means of a very sound education that is based on reliable
curricula. Ulrych, for example, believes that students should be introduced to
real-life situations because "the importance of incorporating real-world criteria
within a curriculum for translator training cannot be underestimated" (p. 252).
These are the most important aspects that must be considered as very
important in the development of curriculum for the desired level of education
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of translators because they are the demands of nearly every society as a

result of the developing features and needs of the modern world. So, these
demands of societies should never be ignored within curricula of courses that
will be taught to students to be able to meet the needs of both these societies
and the students that are educated as well.
4.4.1.2. Identifying Student Needs
Just like the demands of the societies, the needs of the students being
educated will have to be considered as well to reach the aim of developing
an influential curriculum for the modern and sound bases of an outstanding
education. So, students‘ needs of any kind and the practical ways to meet
them must be regarded as important aspects to be included in the curriculum.
Stern and Payment (as cited by Gabr) argue that if the instructor disregards
the needs of students, their previous knowledge about the topic or their
developmental needs, the success of the course will be threatened. The
consequences will be:
1. Training content is inappropriate and poorly received by students.
2. The instructor misses the opportunity to connect with students.
3. Materials are too basic or too advanced.
4. Communication breakdown occurs.
5. The instructor loses credibility." (Stern and Payment 1995, 70)
Therefore, the course ought to integrate both the broad objectives of the
curriculum and the personal needs of the students. Mossop argues that the
university is obliged to teach the student the general skills required by the
would-be translator. These are "text interpretation, composition of a coherent
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and a readable draft translation, research, and checking/correcting" (Mossop

2000). Without the providing of these very important skills both in language
teaching and in translator education, the curriculum developed will be devoid
of the two very important students‘ needs and it will be far apart meeting the
needs of students. In this regard, Kussmaul (1995) suggests that in order to
minimize the amount of errors that may be made by the student in his
comprehension of the SL text or rendering of its meaning components in the
TL, a "therapy" has to be prescribed (as cited by Gabr, Kussmaul, 1995).
Throughout the said therapy, which can, in other words, be called as perfect
curriculum, students will be able to get rid of their flaws and reach the desired
level of translators whose needs and demands are met.
Another skill that must be considered by educators and developed by

the student translator is the ability to translate "problems" such as linguistic
and cultural "untranslatability." This skill must be emphasized in the training
of the would-be translator. Student translators at the stage of university
education also need to be introduced to problems commonly encountered in
a text and learn how to address them. They must be introduced to translation
strategies that they can use to solve such problems (Gabr, 2000). So, as one
of the most important needs of translation department students, translation
strategies that make translators confident while translating texts should have
been included in the curriculum so that their educators can give the core of
these strategies during their courses.
Laszlo (as cited by Gabr, 2000a) believes that translation programs

should also include a module on research and development of terminology.
Students must learn how and where to search for terminology and what to do
if an answer is not found. They also need to know how to annotate a text that
contains new terminology and how to cover lexical gaps. As one of the
inevitable needs of students in language teaching or translation studies
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departments, acquiring the necessary terminology in terms of their education

forms a very important place. So, courses or modules to supply students with
the said terminology will be of a great importance and modern techniques
should be accompanied by them as well.
Another indispensable concept that should be covered in the translation

program is that of teamwork. In real-life situations, there are always contacts
with colleagues, clients and other professionals for the purpose of finding
certain information, solutions, guidance, etc. Translators must learn how to
work in teams as well, so they should foster team spirit in the class to get rid
of their fears among peers and promote cooperation to reach solutions and
exchange information. Mayoral agrees, saying that "students must be trained
for teamwork, sharing translation tasks not only with other translators but also
with professionals in other fields" (as cited by Gabr, Mayoral 2000, 3). As a
result, teamwork is a basic need for students of any department as well as
language teaching and translation studies departments. So, their need of
studying or practicing within teamwork mustn‘t be ignored in the process of
curriculum development so that they will have no difficulty in their real
professional lives.
4.5. Development Stage
Curriculum development is an ongoing process that has a start and an

end, or, in other words, it is a project. Cynical and often experienced teachers
at schools are very talented and clever in coping with these reform projects
(as cited by Sahlberg, Dadds, 2001). Within this concept, the first issue that
any modern education system should do in terms of reform curriculum
thinking is to change curriculum development from ―project thinking‖ to
―process thinking‖ (Sahlberg, 2005). Therefore, the implementation phase of
a philosophy can be considered as more important than the teaching itself as
80
the output of that education is the process phase of it. Undoubtedly, the
project thinking phase is also very important, but process thinking aspect will
have the main load in curriculum development pocedure.
When it is understood that curriculum is not only a list of topics to be

taught to students at school, it will quite easily be seen that it may have the
function of helping teachers develop the education system in their schools,
increase equal access for all students, and thus ultimately raise the quality of
teaching and learning. Thus, curriculum reform can be seen as the core of
the ongoing efforts of education development and quality improvement. Good
success requires highly qualified experts to lead the development process
and skilled people to win teachers and schools to become active.
A very important approach to curriculum development was proposed by

Hilda Taba in 1962. She argued that there was a definite order in creating a
curriculum, and teachers, who teach the curriculum, should participate in
developing developing it. This form of the model led it to be called as the
grass-roots approach.
She supported the idea that the Tyler model was more of an
administrative model and it involved too much top-down decision making.
She felt that a curriculum should be designed by the users of the program.
She supported the idea that teachers should take an inductive approach to
curriculum development. This was just the opposite of more traditional
deductive approach which starts with general design and then working
toward the specifics.
Taba proposed 7 major steps to her grass-roots model in which

teachers would have major input throughout the curriculum development
process:
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1. Diagnosis of need: The teacher who is also the curriculum designer starts
the process by identifying the needs of students for whom the curriculum
is planned. For example, the majority of students are unable to think
critically.
2. Formulation of objectives: After the teacher has identified needs that
require attention, he or she specifies objectives to be accomplished.
3. Selection of content: The objectives selected or created suggest the
subject matter or content of the curriculum. Not only should objectives and
content match, but also the validity and significance of the content chosen
needs to be determined. i.e. the relevancy and significance of content.
4. Organization of content: A teacher cannot just select content, but must
organize it in some type of sequence, taking into consideration the
maturity of learners, their academic achievement, and their interests.
5. Selection of learning experiences: Content must be presented to students
and students must be engaged with the content. At this point, the teacher
selects instructional methods that will involve the students with the
content.
6. Organization of learning activities: Just as content must be sequenced and
organized, so must the learning activities. Often, the sequence of the
learning activities is determined by the content. But the teacher needs to
keep in mind the particular students whom he or she will be teaching.
7. Evaluation and means of evaluation: The curriculum planner must
determine just what objectives have been accomplished. Evaluation
procedures need to be designed to evaluate learning outcomes.
Taba model has lots of competence and advantages but some people
argue that teacher involvement throughout the process assumes that they
have the expertise and, perhaps more importantly, the time to engage in
such an extensive and intensive curricular activity. Teachers being involved
in the early stages of curriculum development may not be an advantage as it
will not necessarily guarantee an effective curriculum since it is a highly
specialized process.
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4.5.1. Defining Instructional Objectives
Instructional objectives are very important in respect of their guiding the

instruction, putting forth that the teaching-learning process is going on, and
piloting the measurements. Instructional objectives are the terminal behaviors
which are found acceptable and can be gained in someone by means of
education. When it is amplified, instructional objectives will be the behavioral
changes or the characteristics proper to be expressed as behavior that have
been determined to gain to the individual via scheduled and arranged livings
(as cited by Demirel, Ertürk, 1972). Instructional objectives can be defined in
three levels:
The distant objective being expressed generally and reflecting the

political philosophy of the country,
The general objective reflecting the comment on the distant objective

and the service of the school,
The specific objectives prepared for the appropriate behaviors to be

gained to the student, for a discipline, or a field of study. These are, in a way,
the vertical processing of the instructional objectives. This processing is
specified as the objectives of the school, the course, and the subject (as cited
by Demirel, Varış, 1994). Besides crystallizing the objectives, their being
ranged hierarchically are also promoted. The prevailing approach about
objectives‘ being ranged hierarchically is the categorization called as the
Bloom Taxonomy which was introduced by Bloom and his friends. This
taxonomy can be done in three domains:
Cognitive Domain is the domain in which intellectual learning is in a

majority and mental abilities can be developed.
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In the Affective Domain, the emotional aspects like love, fear, hatred,
concern, manner, and being motivated come into prominence. The individual
aspects of the learner are of great importance.
And the Psychomotor Domain is related to the abilities requiring the

coordination of intelligence and muscles and the said abilities are in the
foreground (Demirel, 107).
Once the needs of both the market and the students are identified, they
have to be translated into specific instructional objectives. An objective is
defined as a "description of performance you want learners to be able to
exhibit before you consider them competent" (as cited by Gabr, Mager 1984,
3). As such, the objectives describe the intent and the desired result of the
course.
In order for curriculum developers to tailor efficient instructional

objectives, they should consider both students' objectives and adult learning
principles which are summed up as in the following:
1- Adults learn best when they are involved in developing learning objectives
for themselves which are congruent with their current and idealized self-
concept.
2- The learner reacts to all experience as he perceives it, not as the teacher
presents it.
3- Adults are more concerned with whether they are changing in the direction
of their own idealized self-concept than whether they are meeting the
standards and objectives set for them by others‖ (as cited by Gabr, Sainz
1994,135). It can be deduced here that the domains related to the
instructional objectives for the development of the student intellectually
have a great effect on directing education and developing curricula
properly.
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4.5.2. Reasons for Instructional Objectives
Developing instructional objectives is in a way the most important step

in the curriculum development process. It is the one that pulls together all the
other steps in the process of course design and development. Sheal argues
that the quality of a training program depends on the adequacy of the course,
or instructional objectives. Instructional objectives are useful in that they "tell
the teacher where the course is going and how to know when he has gotten
there" (as cited by Gabr, Harris and DeSimone 1994, 126). Clear and to the
point objectives help both the teacher and the student. They help the teacher
design lessons which are easier for him/her to evaluate and also for students
to understand. Objectives, in addition to serving as a basis for selecting
learning materials and course delivery methods, can provide a way to
measure whether learning has been achieved; can be used by the
department to evaluate the success of the course; and can help the students
focus and organize their attention and efforts before and during instruction as
well (Mager 1984). In short, the use of appropriately prepared instructional
objectives guarantees consistency and congruity between what is learned,
the course content and the evaluation items, and thus limits the amount of
irrelevant course material and facilitates student learning (Gabr, 2000). It is of
course an indispensable reality to give priority to such items so as to help
students learn more easily through the preparation of developing the
curricula as obviously seen,but, the classification of the objectives under the
light of the information rendered above is very important as well.
4.5.3. Characteristics of Useful Instructional Objectives
The quality of a training program depends upon the adequacy of its

objectives. In case the objectives of the curriculum have really an important
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function in terms of the benefits of education, schools, teachers, and pupils

the education program that is being developed will serve the purpose. The
most prominent and necessary characteristics of instructional objectives are
their being student‘s behavior-centeredness, universality and finiteness,
explicitness, and being united with the content (Ertürk, 1972). It is argued
that in order to define objectives that are useful, one must consider several
factors. First, one should consider who the learners are as well as their
preferences and learning styles. The objective should be able to describe the
performance expected of these learners, in other words, it should always
identify what the learner is expected to be able to do. Further, the objective
should always describe the important conditions, if any, under which the
performance is to occur. Finally, the objective should state the criteria to be
used for judging its success. In other words, the objective should identify,
wherever possible, the criteria for acceptable performance by describing how
well the learner must perform in order to be considered acceptable (Mager,
1984). So, the objectives of the education program should always be closely
connected with the teacher in terms of his/her expectations from the students
whether or not their attitudes are appropriate for education which is going to
be given in the most desired levels. All of these things must be in a good
balance so that the curriculum will meet the needs of the teacher, students,
and the school, or in other words, all the related parts in education.
4.5.4. Selection of Content and Preparation of Materials
Studies related to the content aspect of the curriculum development

phase are carried out to find answers for the question ―What should be taught
to students‖. In this sense, the coordination of the content of the program with
the subjects to be taught is discussed. The teaching material or the content
of the curriculum chosen should meet the needs of all the parts involved in
education to reach the objectives of the curriculum explained in the previous
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stage. It is believed that the components of the course material should try to
bridge the gap between theory and practice, as in Neubert‘s quote "theory
without practice is empty just as practice without theory is blind" (as cited by
Gabr, Gentile, 1996). Mayoral, too, says, "I think it is good to have students
complete a particular amount of practical activities before they are introduced
to theoretical concepts" (Mayoral 2000). Thus, the coordination between
theory and practice related to the course to be taught is of major importance
in respect of the selection of the content. In other words, it can be said that
the content to be chosen should have a very strong basis both theoretically
and practically so that students will have no difficulties in grasping the theme
of the course and teachers will be able to meet the needs of students and the
society.
The aims and learning outcomes/objectives need to be developed in

order to ensure that the goal of producing competent graduates is achieved.
Aims describe what the teacher is trying to achieve (eg. to encourage
students to develop self directed learning skills) whereas goals usually
describe what the course or organisation is trying to achieve (eg. to inculcate
professional values and attitudes). These terms are often used
interchangeably. Learning outcomes guide teachers or trainers on what is
expected of the learners on completion of the education or training program.
Learning outcomes also guide students on what they are expected to be able
to do in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes after completing the
education program or parts of it. Correct interpretation of outcomes will guide
both learners and teachers on the choice of relevant learning and teaching
methods to achieve the intended learning. Those who are responsible for
setting examinations and other assessments will also need to interpret the
outcomes appropriately so that learners‘ performance is tested appropriately
by relevant assessment techniques (McKimm, 2003). In this case, the aspect
of the choice of the content for any school subject is very important in
developing the curriculum for the teacher to drive students to the desired
destination without any hazards. It is the same for the courses in the
translation departments of universities.
87
In consideration of market needs and pedagogical concerns, the course

content in these departments should cover the needs in literary and technical
translation as well as the other translation courses. The need for technical
translators is growing much faster than the need for literary translators, but
teaching literary translation as well at the undergraduate level has its own
advantages. On the other hand, technical translation should be given equal
attention because that type of translation accounts for by far the biggest
portion of translation work in the world today (as cited by Gabr, Kingscott
1996, 295). By way of training students in technical translation, enriching
their terminology and widening their spheres of subject-area competence, the
program adequately prepares them to meet the market needs.
In addition, the course content should include writing and reading

assignments, handouts and textbooks/manuals in both the SL and the TL. On
the one hand, Jakobsen is of the view that, since writing is a skill that comes
before translating, translation students should first acquire writing skills (as
cited by Gabr, Jakobsen 1994). On the other hand, reading tasks are highly
recommended in translator training programs in order to integrate course
content. Reading tasks not only promote the cultural awareness of translation
students, but they also enrich their vocabulary, widen their spheres of
knowledge and introduce them to various styles. The notion of suggesting
some reading in the practical classes and requiring manuals that introduce
the required area-study concepts in the specialized translation classes is also
an important point supported by Mayoral. Developing materials in this phase
must be done cautiously because balance is required in this case so as to
make the course challenging through a sound content.
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4.5.5. Selection of Teaching Methods and Techniques
Curriculum developers must consider all important steps of preparing a

very useful education program without ignoring anything of little importance
so that the course that will be taught to students can be on the ideal level.
Once the instructional objectives are identified and the content is prepared,
the following logical step is to select the teaching methods and techniques
that can best achieve these objectives. It should be noted that some methods
are more appropriate for achieving particular objectives than others.
Selection of really appropriate teaching and training methods requires
knowledge of the different techniques and sound judgment on the part of the
person who is designing the program, be it the instructor or the curriculum
developer (Gabr, 2000). So, selection and determining the ideal and suitable
teaching methods for any courses will both depend on the strong background
of the developers and have an important function in respect of preparing a
good resource for teachers to make use of the necessary points during their
courses.
Research about teaching and learning shows that students can learn
better and quicker if they are actively engaged in the instruction process.
Charney and Conway argue that presenting information using a variety of
methods strengthens understanding and retention (as cited by Gabr,
Charney and Conway 1998). Teachers of language, in particular, consider
this fact very important and try to use the latest teaching methods so that
students can understand the course more easily and retentively. Such
materials require teachers to have good skills and employ them in company
with very useful and suitable teaching methods throughout their courses.
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The Lecture is the most common teaching method which is especially

applied at university level. Though it is a passive form of teaching, it is useful
for achieving some instructional objectives but not recommended for others.
Studies in this field have brought into view that lecturing is the least effective
teaching method; but it can still be an effective teaching method in promoting
the learning process in case it is supplemented with other methods (Harris
and DeSimone 1994). The teacher or the instructor should be able to employ
the teaching methods or techniques in an interrelated manner so as to pave
the way for a universal, influential and substantial teaching. In such a case, it
is necessary for teachers to know the strengths and weaknesses of each of
the methods used in teaching. Information of this kind is generally provided
by program developers by means of different techniques so as to help the
teacher find the useful teaching method or materials for a particular content
of the course. Swot analysis is one of the said techniques and it is really a
favorable and effective one because one can find out the strengths and
weaknesses, or the opportunities and challenges of a technique, for instance,
by way of this kind of analysis.
As it is said, the lecturing method is sometimes applicable at university

level but it is not recommended to use in most cases when the strong and
weak aspects of the method are taken into consideration. The teacher using
this method can convey his personal enthusiasm which is very effective in
stimulating interest and raising the awareness level of students because the
teacher can address many students simultaneously in a short period of time.
And some students feel safer within this method because student talking time
which they estimate as a threat will nearly be at the level of zero.
On the other hand, lecturing method doesn‘t let students be actively

engaged or involved in the lesson and give their feedbacks to the instructor
because of the one-way form of the communication. As a result, the lack of
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student involvement leads students to lose their attention and the information
after a short time because lack of interaction causes such a problem. One of
the most significant weaknesses of this teaching method is the teacher‘s
placing students into the same category of learning and understanding. This
leads weak students to lose their self-confidence and become disinterested.
Discussion is an active form of instruction and it mainly causes a two-

way communication between the instructor and students, and from time to
time among students themselves. Besides this, students find an opportunity
for feedback, clarification and exchange of ideas through the discussion
method. But it must be born in mind that this method of teaching requires the
instructor to be very talented and well-equipped so that he/she can start and
manage the class discussion. It also requires allotment of sufficient time and
wise time management on the part of the instructor. Gabr (2000) defends the
idea that students should be given a common reference point so that
meaningful discussion may occur. This is a very important point instructors
should be careful about because their guiding students wisely and managing
the class skillfully, or vice versa, will make students take a big pleasure in the
lesson and understand the topic very well or just the opposite. Therefore, the
teacher is supposed to be a maestro in this kind of teaching method so as
not to cause any conflicts among students, or any confusion in the class.
Audiovisual method is a method that addresses the visual/spatial or

musical/rhythmic kinds of pupils who are put into such categories according
to the frames of mind or the multiple intelligences theory expressed by
Howard Gardner. The teacher using this categorization method will need to
know his/her students in all respects very well to be able to find and apply the
useful techniques that match students‘ characters and abilities. In fact, this
method is useful and beneficiary for students of any levels, so the teacher
should get the necessary information about students in the shortest possible
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time. For university instructors this way of teaching is also very favorable in
case the consultancy system can be administered in the desired manner. It is
very favorable because the instructor can guide the students to improve their
listening, reading and speaking abilities perfectly well and this is what college
or university students mostly expect from their instructors in connection with
language teaching. This teaching method is used to portray dynamic and
complex events that are difficult to communicate through the lecture and
discussion methods.
The experiential method is used to ensure the learning of the students

effectively as a result of their involvement in the lesson actively. University
students are more generally preferred to apply this teaching method since
their self-confidence and need to explain themselves seem to be much more
improved than secondary education students. Keys and Wolfe (as cited by
Gabr, 1988) believe that
"Effective learning is an active experience that challenges the skills, knowledge,
and beliefs of students. This is accomplished by creating a contrived, yet realistic,
environment that is both challenging and psychologically safe for the student to
investigate and employ new concepts, skills, and behaviors." (Keys and Wolfe
1988, 214)
As explained above, students will be able to express their feelings and

beliefs in an environment that they are sure they will be respected and given
the chance to express their ideas. Thus, it is obvious that students need a
safe and sincere class environment for their utterances that come out as a
result of the correct guiding of the instructor. The most favorite experiential
method is the case study that leads students to learn analytical and problem
solving skills. It is intellectually challenging and realistic. But it necessitates
students to be given sufficient information to analyze a certain situation, or
case, and propose their own solutions.
Role Playing is one of the expressive and impressive methods which

can also be estimated within Gardner‘s frames of the mind in terms of bodily-
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kinesthetic and interpersonal intelligences, and it can be used frequently and

effectively for university students as well. Apart from its being a very popular
training technique, according to a survey, it is used in 62 percent of training
programs (Harris and DeSimone 1994). Knowing that the students whom this
method are applied on are anticipated to exhibit their artistic skills and inter-
personal intelligences so that they will be offered a chance for self-discovery
and learning. Students who use kinesthetic and interpersonal intelligences
can make very good progress in a very short time. It lets them express their
feelings and use the target language in real-life situations more productively
and healthily with their friends or people they don‘t know. Role playing is
"useful in assisting students to apply new concepts and skills and in shifting
attitudes" (Charney and Conway 1998, 161). It is usually enhanced by a
feedback session, in which the students and the teacher critique the role
player's performance. Although role playing is a recommended technique for
exposing students to real-life situations, it has some limitations as well. While
some students feel intimidated to act out a character; others may perceive
role playing as artificial or as 'fun and games' not as an effective learning tool
and as a result, these attitudes may interfere with the learning of others.
Computer-based methods are the language teaching methods which

are mostly used in the classroom by English teachers the more the system is
computerized with a dizzying speed and this method also includes Computer-
Aided Instruction (CAI) and Intelligent Computer-Assisted Instruction (ICAI).
These are really the important branches of the use of high technology in the
class and they have obtained the most useful techniques in terms of this use.
The teacher may have several advantages before coming to school as

most of the students know how to use a computer and its main components
really well. And their having such knowledge helps the teacher reach his/her
educational goals more easily and competently by using the computer as the
main or sole deliverer of the material in the training session. These methods
have several advantages compared to other training methods and
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techniques. They are interactive in terms of the one-on-one relationship

between the student and the tutor computer, and their self-pacing adjustment
capability allows the student to control the speed of instruction according to
his needs (Gabr, 2000). Considering that the main aim in education is to put
the student in the centre of learning through several activities, such a method
making the student more active and receptive will be so favorite for both the
teacher and curriculum developers. Moreover, they can automatically "track
student progress and the allocation and use of instructional resources,
including terminals, instructors and classrooms" (as cited by Gabr, Hillelsohn,
1984). The latest technological and software developments are so necessary
to be followed by teachers and students in order that the abovementioned
progress can easily be reached. Students, as the young generation, are so
closely following any developments happening in computer technology, so
their being guided by any interactive activities will attract them to the class
atmosphere very easily. The main problem is the teacher‘s self-reforming
efforts or the most effective methods he/she will be able to use by adapting
himself/herself to the said developments in the areas of computer and
software technologies.
4.5.6. Selection of Teachers
The role of teachers in curriculum design and development process is

undeniably important because they are going be the implementers of the
curriculum in the process of education. Because of this reality, teachers‘
background information both theoretically and practically will be needed in
the process of curriculum development. Within this context, lots of useful
things can be done to create a context for efficient teaching, but it is going to
be teachers themselves again who will finally determine the success of an
education program. Richards supports the idea that good teachers can often
compensate for deficiencies in the curriculum, the materials, or the resources
they make use of in their teaching (Richards, 2001). As it is seen, the role of
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teachers is not limited within the education given in the class, but it is
extended to the quality of that education which is programmed in the
curriculum development phase as well.
The role of teachers can also be referred to as their quality which is

determined by different criteria such as the practical knowledge, the content
knowledge, the contextual knowledge, the pedagogical knowledge, the
personal knowledge, and the reflective knowledge of teachers. Apart from
these criteria, there are some other criteria taken into consideration in the
assessment of teachers‘ personal skills and adequacy, and their professional
qualifications, etc. in terms of teaching. The mentioned steps to be followed
to ascertain the quality of teachers can be found in their competence to
prompt language awareness, plan for effective teaching of adult learners, to
carry out classroom management and teaching skills, to use resources and
materials for teaching in the proper place, and to realize a very good
professional development. In some institutions, the curriculum is developed
by professional developers, and only then are teachers selected in light of
their academic qualifications, personal skills and professional backgrounds.
In other institutions, teachers perform both of the said tasks, developing the
curriculum as well as teaching the courses (Gabr, 2000). Therefore, the
experience of the teacher in curriculum development can be a reason for
preference in respect of his/her employment in that institution. Different
opinions about who should conduct translation teaching activities have
emerged up to now and a team of academics and professionals performing
the job has been put across as the most logical. In this respect, the
academics can teach the theoretical aspects of translation while the
professionals can guide students in practice. Mossop believes that
professors of language and literature should teach courses in linguistics and
translation theories, while practicing translators should handle practice-in-
translation modules. As a supporting idea Laszlo believes that translation
teachers should attend formal training in language and translation teaching,
and have some sort of certification or accreditation attesting to their ability to
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translate (as cited by Gabr, Laszlo, 2000). As is explained above, teachers of

language or translation as well must be competent, sufficient, and
experienced enough to carry out the post of teaching and make necessary
contributions to curriculum development activities in this area. So, the training
competency, as Harris and DeSimone argues, involves knowledge and skills
needed to design and implement a training course, the ability to
communicate knowledge clearly, mastery of various teaching methods and
techniques, good interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate students. The
subject-matter expertise, on the other hand, refers to mastery of the subject
matter to be taught. In short, teachers of any branch should have the skills of
both educating and guiding students and giving support to any phase of
curriculum development activities.
4.5.7. Design of Instructional Materials and Developing Lesson Plans
Designing instructional materials and developing lesson plans, or in

other words syllabus, form a very important stage of curriculum development
process, just like the other important components of curricula. The essential
reason of this fact is that all components of an efficient curriculum including
the design of instructional materials and developing lesson plans will ensure
the health of the learning process. Instructional materials are the very basis
of an effective learning. They can be accepted as teacher training materials
as well and help inexperienced tutors make progress in their teaching career.
Some teachers make use of these materials as the basic teaching resources
of their profession because they provide the basis for the content of lessons,
the balance of skills taught, and the kinds of language practice students take
part in (Richards, 252). As is understood, materials supply learners with the
major source of contact they have with the language apart from the teacher.
Therefore, the design or even the development of materials to be used in
education is an important aspect of language curriculum development as it
has been explained with the reasons above.
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Textbooks are the most widely known and used teaching material in
language or translation teaching programs. These books have both
advantages and disadvantages according to the way they are used. Some of
the advantages they introduce are as follows (Richards, 254):
1. They provide structure and a syllabus for the program.
2. They help standardize instruction: students in different classes receive the

same kind of content and therefore can be tested in the same way.
3. They maintain quality: qualified materials that have been tried and tested,
or based on sound learning principles.
4. They provide a variety of learning resources.
5. They are efficient: they save teachers‘ time, enabling them to devote their
time to teaching rather than materials production.
6. They can provide effective language models and input.
7. They can train especially novice teachers.
8. They are visually appealing.
Apart from these advantages of textbooks which make the course very
useful, colorful, and efficient, they have some disadvantages as well. Some
of the negative effects of textbooks are:
1. They may contain inauthentic language: texts or dialogues in the books

are sometimes not representative of real language use.
2. They may distort content: they often present an idealized view of the world
or fail to represent real issues.
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3. They may not reflect students‘ needs: as they are often written for global
market.
4. They can deskill teachers: if teachers use them as the primary source of
their teaching, the teacher‘s role can become reduced to that of a
technician whose primary function is to present materials prepared by
others.
5. They are expensive: they represent a financial burden for students in many
parts of the world.
Authentic materials, on the other hand, are preferred over created

materials as textbooks because they contain authentic language and reflect
real-world uses of language. Advantages claimed for authentic materials are
as follows (as cited by Richards, Peacock, 1997):
1. They have a more positive effect on learner motivation because they are
intrinsically more interesting and motivating than created materials.
2. They provide authentic cultural information about the target culture.
3. They provide exposure to real language rather than the artificial texts
found in created materials.
4. They relate more closely to learners‘ needs and hence provide a link
between the classroom and students‘ needs in the real world.
5. They support a more creative approach to teaching. This is really a very

important aspect of authentic materials because teachers can more easily
and potentially develop activities and tasks going with their teaching styles
and the learning styles of their students.
Apart from the said advantages of authentic materials, some negative

points of them have also been pointed out as follows:
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1. Created materials seem more motivating for learners because they are
developed and prepared taking into consideration the most important
aspects of the curriculum design process.
2. Authentic materials often contain difficult and inexpedient vocabulary and

language items as they have not been prepared considering students‘
needs.
3. Using authentic materials is a real burden for teachers because they have
to develop learning resources by spending a considerable amount of time.
4. Created materials or textbooks may be regarded as superior to authentic

materials because they are generally built around a graded syllabus and
provide a systematic coverage of teaching items.
Considering all the pros and cons of authentic and created materials, it
can be suggested that language teachers utilize a mixture of textbooks and
authentic materials because both have their advantages and limitations.
As mentioned earlier, one of the most important and inseparable parts

of education program is the preparation of the syllabus in terms of the related
course. Lesson plan or syllabus is a ―guide for actual delivery of the training
content‖ (Harris and DeSimone, 1994). Through the determination of lesson
plan in the curriculum developed, the training content which the teacher is
aiming to reveal to the students can be delivered without any hazards in the
process. Because 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, it has an indispensable place in curriculum development
process. According to the functions they perform syllabuses can be
categorized as:
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1. Situational Syllabuses: organized according to different situations and the

dialogues necessary in them,
2. Topical Syllabuses: embodied according to different topics,
3. Functional Syllabuses: organized according to the functions of speech,
4. Task-based Syllabuses: organized according to different tasks or activities

for the learners to carry out.
Curriculum developers should make a choice about the proper syllabus

framework that they are going to employ in the curriculum considering the
properties of the course and the factors influencing them while making their
choice. So, the criteria about the syllabus‘ being a proper one and the factors
influencing curriculum developers are as follows (Richards, 2001):
1. Knowledge and beliefs about the subject area: a syllabus should reflect the
ideas and beliefs about the nature of four language skills.
2. Research and theory: research on the use of language and its theoretical
backgrounds.
3. Common practice: practical experience in developing language programs.
4. Trends: different national or international approaches to syllabus design.
Through the communicative language teaching approach since 1990s,

the traditional syllabus trends have been reexamined and they have been put
into practice again according to the quality and nature of the needs in terms
of developing a suitable syllabus for the course. Whether it is a traditional
one or a modern one, teachers can meet people with different characters.
So, it is always necessary to use the proper method according to the needs
of the learner. The said syllabus options are:
1. Grammatical Syllabus: syllabus prepared according to grammatical items.

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2. Lexical Syllabus: syllabus prepared considering the target vocabulary to be

taught.
3. Functional Syllabus: syllabus prepared considering the communicative

speaking needs of the learners.
4. Situational Syllabus: syllabus organized considering the situations in which

the learner will use the suitable communicative items.
5. Topical or content-based syllabus: syllabus prepared according to themes,

topics, or units of content.
6. Competency-based Syllabus: syllabus which is based on a specification of

the competencies of learners.
7. Skills Syllabus: syllabus prepared considering the four language skills.
8. Task-based Syllabus: syllabus organized according to the tasks students

are supposed to carry out in the target language.
9. An Integrated Syllabus: syllabus made piecing together different methods

or branches of syllabus writing.
In conclusion, curriculum development is a creative and a challenging

task that must be based on a sound theoretical background and carried out
systematically. As it is a creative task, every step of such an important task
must be planned carefully. And considering that it is a challenging task, it
must be organized around teamwork, intensive research and considerable
academic and professional background in pedagogy.
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4.6. New Trends in Curriculum Development Process
Knowledge in every branch is getting higher and making the nations of

the world closer day by day. Quite new techniques of teaching, learning, and
research are discovered and applied every day to help knowledge and ideas
be disseminated among the individuals of each nation.
In just the same way as new techniques for education are discovered,
developed, and disseminated every new day, new trends and more modern
techniques in curriculum development process are also propounded so that
more reliable and expedient, and more useful education programs can take
part in the education world. The most distinguished recent techniques and
trends in curriculum development activities have been touched on with their
concise explanations in the following lines.
4.6.1. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
This theory was first propounded by psychologist Howard Gardner, one

of the professors at Harvard University. In his well-known book, ―Frames of
Mind‖, Gardner has emphasized that people can be categorized into multiple
intelligences of mind and individuals could have a higher performance and
more problem solving ability through multiple learning environments (1983).
The eight intelligence categories suggested by Gardner are as follows:
1. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence: It expresses the capacity that people of this

category have from the point of using the language effectively as a means
of communication.
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2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: People of this category have to do with

logic, abstractions, reasoning and numbers.
3. Visual-Spatial Intelligence: This area deals with spatial judgment and the
ability to visualize with the mind's eye. Careers which suit those with this
type of intelligence include artists, designers and architects.
4. Musical Intelligence: Learners in this category have to do with sensitivity to

sounds, rhythms, tones, and music. Language skills are typically highly
developed in those whose base intelligence is musical. In addition, they
will sometimes use songs or rhythms to learn.
5. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: The core elements of the bodily-kinesthetic

intelligence are control of one's bodily motions and the capacity to handle
objects skillfully. In theory, people who have bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
should learn better by involving muscular movement and are generally
good at physical activities such as sports or dance. They often learn best
by doing something physically, rather than by reading or hearing about it.
6. Interpersonal Intelligence: This area has to do with interaction with others.

They communicate effectively and empathize easily with others, and may
be either leaders or followers. They typically learn best by working with
others and often enjoy discussion and debate.
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence: This area has to do with introspective and self-

reflective capacities. People with intrapersonal intelligence are intuitive
and typically introverted. Careers which suit those with this intelligence
include philosophers, psychologists, theologians, lawyers, and writers.
People with intrapersonal intelligence also prefer to work alone.
8. Naturalistic Intelligence: This area has to do with nurturing and relating

information to one‘s natural surroundings. Careers which suit those with
this intelligence include naturalists, farmers and gardeners.
Some proponents of multiple intelligence theory proposed spiritual or

religious intelligence as a possible additional type. Gardner did not want to
commit to a spiritual intelligence, but suggested that an "existential"
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intelligence may be a useful construct. The hypothesis of an existential

intelligence has been further explored by educational researchers.
4.6.2. Active Learning
Active Learning is the activity of providing the individual with the active
involvement in the learning process. In order to ensure this participation, it is
very important for learners to be given the opportunity of reading, writing,
speaking, discussing, connecting with past lives, applying the information the
individual gets in daily life, and doing the problem solving activities on their
own (Demirel, 229). Through this approach, students can avoid being in a
passive-receptive position and try to give shape to their lives by learning
themselves. They get the chance of making decisions, taking responsibilities,
and learning to learn in the process of active learning.
Active learning affects educational backgrounds and assessment items

in particular. Instead of the conventional teaching styles in which teachers
generally dominate the class, more student-centered styles must be adopted
to let students become more active, read, write, discuss, and use what they
are learning in their daily lives. Such new teaching styles can more easily be
adopted in case they are reflected in the curriculum designed and developed.
The teaching style that should be reflected in the curriculum will, of course,
be determined according to different criteria such as the student profile of the
school. Active learning involves rather pragmatic strategies which could be
applied on each level and in every respect. Students in very crowded classes
in Turkey can be enabled to participate in the learning process actively, to
make that process more meaningful, and to maintain what they learn through
a lifelong process by means of the activities, the planning and implementing
of which are not so difficult. The initial thing to do in this process is to inform
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teachers of the benefits of active learning style, and even to have them watch
a sample lesson which will be prepared considering these aspects.
4.6.3. Collaborative Learning
This learning strategy is mainly based on students‘ coming together and

doing a study to learn a subject through their cooperation. As it is understood
easily, students with very different skills and educational backgrounds will be
in the same group for the same purpose of learning the lesson effectively.
Johnson and Johnson (as cited by Demirel, 1975) argue that the skills based
on collaboration come together in four groups:
1. Formation of the group: This skills group is responsible for organizing the
group and constituting the norms of behavior.
2. Carrying out the task: It is necessary for this skills group to carry out the
task, to build good relationships in the group, and to know how to carry out
the activities of the group.
3. Formulation of the group actions: It is significant for this group to get the
most out of the current instructional materials and to let these materials
leave their marks on students.
4. Ripening: This skills group is responsible for reading the small print of the
current teaching material.
The group members should know that the group is a whole and each
member will be responsible for the success or failure of the group (Demirel,
234). Students with different skills, different body improvements, and different
education backgrounds can build up good friendships while studying with
other students in the same direction. The more they know each other the less
artificial bars there will be, and the group members always try to contribute to
the success of their friends. In a sense, every individual in the group will be
responsible for the learning of each other.
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4.6.4. Life-long Learning
An individual being in need of learning about a subject has the potential

of attaining that information; but educational institutions are needed so that
these learnings are carried out more systematically and the meeting of needs
can be done more productively. Lifelong education for the individual makes it
necessary for him to learn throughout all his life.
On the other hand, the meaning of lifelong education for the institution
is rendering the education to the individual whenever he/she needs it. This, in
a sense, can be considered as education institutions‘ giving education at all
hours of the day and night. The education shaped by the lifelong learning
principle is stated to be the kind of education that should be rendered to
those who need it whenever they want.
Four kinds of students are provided service with reference to lifelong

learning principle:
1. Those that learn by way of induction,
2. Those that want to arrange their learning by themselves,
3. Those that need guiding but want to get individual education program,
4. Those that want to learn in groups.
In program development process which is carried out according to Life

Long Learning principle, the needs and interests of individuals should be put
into consideration while organizing the teaching and lots of flexibilities should
be included in respect of its place and period. As a result of this approach,
the program development studies that are based on proficiency will gain
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importance because it necessitates important information, skills and manners

to be determined and the individual to show the expected competence under
real ambient conditions for the management of a certain duty.
4.6.5. Creative Thinking
The innate creative skills may be seen in every child but the perpetuity,
development, degree, and emergence of creativity differs from one person to
another. The most important characteristics in creativity is individuality and
novelty, so it can be defined as propounding new and unique results, finding
new solutions, and reaching a synthesis (Demirel, 242). The creative skills of
the individuals improve by asking questions about events, objects, and
cases, and by letting the outer world interact with their feelings and opinions
in their youth. Although it is difficult to fix an age limit for this skill, people with
creative minds make the most dignified analyses of their skills in the prime of
their lives.
The learning and teaching environments should be arranged properly

for students to develop their creative skills in the school environment. Proper
teaching strategies, methods, and techniques should be employed in order to
administer this. In order to reach this aim, the methods and techniques like
drama, simulation, brainstorming, and problem solving should be used as an
important part of the teaching strategy.
4.6.6. Critical Thinking
This recent approach in curriculum development techniques is really so

important for students to implement what they have learnt so far and, to
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evaluate and change their ideas within this process. So, critical thinking is
fundamentally based on the skill and inclination of attaining, evaluating, and
utilizing that knowledge.
There are five main fundamentals of critical thinking:
1. Consistency: Those that can think critically should also be able to remove
the contradictions.
2. Integration: The one who can think critically should be able to discuss an
idea in utter detail.
3. Applicability: The student should be able to apply what he/she has gripped
in a model.
4. Proficiency: The one who thinks critically should be able to build his/her
experiences and their results on solid basis.
5. Talent of Communication: The person who thinks critically should be able

to reveal what he/she has understood to his/her surrounding
understandably after uniting his/her opinions.
Systematic ways of developing critical thinking should proficiently be

reflected in the curriculum to be prepared because students‘ learning how to
think critically depends mainly on their teachers‘ really substantial education
in that area. Students or young people, as the main pillars of future societies,
will be able to illuminate and guide their children much better by means of the
sound educational backgrounds offered to them by their teachers who are
always in search of better and more effective forms of education.
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4.6.7. Reflective Thinking
Students at higher education are trained by their outstanding academic

members at universities through their laborious studies. So, the high quality
of education their academic members provide will have a very big importance
in terms of reflecting it to all the sections of life and the society they are living
in. And the high quality of education, on the other hand, can be reached by
teaching the reflective thinking to students at universities. In his book ―How
We Think‖, Dewey has defined reflective thinking as an active, consistent,
and attentive way of thinking and expressed that the most important need of
the society is students‘ learning how to reflect what they learn at schools (as
cited by Demirel, Dewey, 1910). Within this context, it can be understood that
the kind of education that will be given to students must be of really high
quality so that the level of education they have acquired at school can best
be reflected to the society.
Although reflective thinking is explained to be the most important need

of the society, it must be kept in mind that basic thinking skills must exist and
there must be a supportive medium for teachers to transfer reflective thinking
to education. To improve this, activities like writing autobiographically, using
imagination, organizing group discussions, and analyzing and developing
education programs must be employed.
4.6.8. Constructivism
This is not an approach related to teaching, but related to knowledge

and learning, and it is based on establishing the knowledge from the basis. It
came up as a theory related to how learners get the knowledge, but in the
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course of time, it turned into an approach regarding how they construct this
knowledge.
There are a number of reasons for this trend to draw attention so much
in recent years. In a traditional class environment, learning depends on rote
and brushing up; but in constructivism, the transfer of knowledge is possible
when it is constructed. The development of a new consideration is necessary
to be able to transfer the knowledge; in other words, it is important to turn the
acquired knowledge into a new dimension and make practice (Demirel, 249).
In such an atmosphere students can be motivated to be productive and use
their acquired knowledge in a consistent manner. So, the confidence and the
consistence of the knowledge given to them by their teachers is also really
important.
In the constructivist approach, the learner has the operative role in the
teaching-learning process. Thus, the constructivist class environment is not a
place to transfer knowledge; but it is a place where the active participation of
students is attained, inquisitions and investigations are made, and problems
are solved. In-class activities are held in a way to enable students to have a
content-rich education so as to obtain students with constructivist appeal.
4.6.9. Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning, similar to the other recent curriculum trends,

takes the student to the center of the teaching-learning process and gives
prominence to the subjects and applications of the real life. Considering that
it develops students‘ problem-solving abilities, it is more generally used in the
realization of goals like application, analysis, and synthesis.
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Project-based learning approach is focused on general terms, ideas,

and the principles of a discipline. It involves students‘ duties of researching,
making inquiries, and developing products after meaningfully unifying the
supplied information. The main characteristics of this model is that it has
been built on a scenery which is connected with other disciplines as well and
offers students to learn together in small groups through centralizing student-
centered learning.
In project-based learning, students are guided by their teachers so that

they can materialize their projects while they are keeping busy with their own
learning experiences. Students are in the foreground in this approach but
teachers take part in the background to facilitate things to do. The logic of
this kind of learning is to offer students an environment through which they
can relate to other students both at school and outside it. In project-based
learning, studies with small groups are preferred instead of individual studies
so that it can provide students with the opportunity of their studying both with
students in their groups and their friends in other groups in coordination.
Students turn the studies they do during the learning process into documents
and present them as projects at the end of their studies.
4.6.10. Brain-Based Learning
As one of the recent approaches in teaching-learning and education

program development processes, brain-based learning system is a modern
education strategy which is mainly based on the function and structure of the
brain and connects relations with cognitive neuroscience, neurolinguistics,
and cognitive psychology. As traditional teaching methods ignore the natural
learning process, they direct students to memorize the knowledge. But
individuals learn meaningfully in the mastery learning level and structure their
own knowledge by making use of brain-based learning strategies.
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Brain-based learning is an integrated approach which tackles teaching

evolutionarily and socioculturally, and has been grounded onto the structure
of human brain and the functions of it (as cited by Demirel, Brewer, 1999).
People‘s brains function as very powerful processors, but traditional learning
strategies obstruct these functions on a vast scale by discouraging, ignoring,
or punishing the brain‘s natural learning processes.
Brain-based education emphasizes how the brain learns naturally and

is based on what is currently known about the actual structure and function of
the human brain at varying developmental stages. Using the latest neutral
research, educational techniques that are brain friendly provide a biologically
driven framework for creating effective instruction.
The principles of brain-based learning put forward the idea that the best
learning can happen when the real problems are solved. When learning is
supported by brain in respect of meaning researches and structuring of
patterns, it becomes much more meaningful. This kind of events let learners
internalize and individualize their learning experiences. Teachers should be
able to design and develop learning around student interests and make
learning contextual so that the curriculum developed will play its realistic role
for education.
In brain-based learning, students‘ learning by doing and experiencing,

being involved in decision phase, and the teacher‘s undergoing the role of a
guide is indispensable. Students‘ not only seeing the relationship between
subjects but also exploring what kind of connections they will make between
their former knowledge and the current one is of great importance.
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4.7. Curriculum Development Process for Universities
Curriculum development process is really such a troublesome and

dynamic process that lots of expertise, time, commitment, and prolificacy in
financial resources are needed to carry out this process. To be able to reach
a very good curriculum at universities, discussing course objectives, content,
and evaluation methods is crucial. The process should address the various
factors of learning and society requirements, and involve all relevant
individuals and organizations in the society. To promote innovation and
excellence, the curriculum should be designed in such a way to give students
the opportunity to identify themselves with the field of study, rather than just
training them to perform specific tasks (Mahmood, 2010). It is a reality that
meeting the needs of both students and the society is probably the most
important thing in developing curriculum, as mentioned in the earlier phases.
Regarding this importance, curriculum developers will certainly include any
innovations for class atmosphere and students‘ profiles in the curriculum so
that lecturers will be able to reach beyond the desired level of success in
educating their students.
To be able to reach the formerly determined tasks of their institutions,

universities are supposed to describe their needs in detail in the process of
recruiting personnel who are distinguished, equipped with talents and very
useful academic knowledge. Thus, the educational objectives must always
be very high in connection with meeting the needs of students, changing the
course contents and teaching or learning methods. These results can only be
reached by means of really proficient and talented academic personnel and
students who are aware of their needs and goals, and have an appetite for
success. The said students must be dealt with by such teachers as explained
above just from the primary and secondary education until the end of their
university education in order to help them use critical independent thinking
throughout their education process.
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Although curriculum development is a continuous and a hard process,

yet, providing faculty members with the necessary background, resources,
and motivations should help them articulate their essential knowledge and
skills, and incorporate them with the social values and ethics of their society
in a curriculum that could positively impact the development of the countries
they live in. If they manage to contribute to the national development of their
society regarding education, the outstanding place of the academic members
and students will help the education system of that country to be so much
favored and adopted by other nations. Higher education institutions are
incubators for training skillful individuals and thinkers whose responsibilities
are to improve human knowledge, improve the quality of life and alleviate
human burdens (Mahmood, 2010). Such individuals or thinkers should be
safeguarded by the worldwide accepted and dignified educators through their
invaluable contributions to education world because they need more qualified
knowledge and more modern learning methods for the first rate life standards
of the societies in the world. So, lots of theories emerged to transfer scholars‘
information about different school subjects to students in such a very safe
way to meet the needs of students and the society. The safety being talked
about is the curriculum which scholars and developers have produced to
convey the priceless information they have to their classes, or even students
around the world.
4.7.1. Structuring and Revisiting the Curriculum
Faculty members of each department at a university come together and

give shape to the courses and the necessary activities within the determined
objectives of them. They set a committee that includes various distinguished
academicians of different departments to structure interdisciplinary courses.
All of the efforts of these faculty members will be around the aim of letting the
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students attain the desired level of information and acquire the skills that are
envisaged for them. Guidelines for courses registered by students in a given
semester depending on their level in the program are provided together with
lists of mandatory and elective requirements. The contents of each course
and the time of their coverage, the textbook, references, grading, office hours
and other details of relevant activities are outlined as the Syllabus which is
prepared according to the set guidelines by the instructor to be given to the
students at the beginning of the semester.
If more than one instructor shares the course, these components are
agreed upon by them. One of the teachers becomes responsible for following
up the fulfillment of the teaching plans and activities. The mid-term and final
exams, or any other exams are prepared by all the instructors sharing the
course, and the grading follows an identical procedure by all of them. The
final grades of all students in all sections of the same course are also treated
identically, after comprehensive revision and discussion of students‘
performance.
Minor revision of the courses for a given program is a continuous

process, led by investigating the effectiveness of the curriculum. This
involves revisiting the contents, the prerequisites, the ordering of the courses
in different levels, methods of teaching, and the practical activities necessary
for the courses. This is usually initiated by an individual or a group of
instructors committed to the development process, and recommendations are
made to the department to organize round table discussions and decide on
going ahead with the suggested modifications. And some major revisions like
changes in the curriculum, changes in the credits of the courses, and so on
require the consent of the council of deans (Mahmood, 2010). Thus, it should
be kept in mind that the academic process about the decisions on minor
changes lets the academic personnel appointed to the abovementioned
committee to make the necessary changes. However, the consent of the
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council of deans is needed when decisions about major changes in the

mechanism of the university will be taken.
4.7.2. Parameters Influencing Curriculum Development
As is known, curriculum development process is very long and arduous

because the team of the developers will make lots of meetings at different
times about different topics that constitute the prospective curriculum. Such
an endeavor requires the members of that team to be very distinguished in
terms of their theoretical and experiential backgrounds, and to be very patient
about any problems or challenges they will necessarily face in the course of
time while carrying out their duties about curriculum development. Therefore,
it can easily be understood that the curriculum development process is
influenced by a number of crucial factors that have a major impact on the
outcome.
In particular, the faculty members at universities are usually not trained

for curriculum development in their fields unless they are specialized in the
area of Curriculum and Teaching Methods. Consequently, the curricula are
normally developed by following the footsteps of others in international
institutions rather than focusing on preset objectives commensurate with
society needs. Further, the faculty members who obtained their degrees from
different international universities adopting different teaching and evaluation
methods will probably produce a non-coherent curriculum with unnecessary
repetitions and gaps (Mahmood, 2010). Thus, the substantial experience of
the academicians performing the similar teaching and evaluating methods in
teaching and having a remarkable international experience in the field of
curriculum development will be crucial if the coherence of the curriculum is
very much regarded.
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Curriculum development needs commitment in respect of time or very

important values like family relations and so on. Academicians who commit
themselves to such a very tiresome and troublesome process shouldn‘t have
any problems about their university loads or expense of life, etc. Despite
these facts, especially the academicians in Turkish universities are always
complaining about the overtime credits which increase their faculty load to
such a level that they have difficulties in finding sufficient time for curriculum
development activities. Besides this, Turkish academicians, whether they are
lecturers or curriculum development team members, on the whole, have an
insufficient income and this makes them get exhausted much more than their
counterparts in the universities of prosperous countries. As a result, their real
commitment to the curriculum development process cannot be obtained in an
adequate level.
As another parameter influencing the curriculum development process,

the student profile, that is, their desires and attitudes toward learning, their
previous background and training on critical thinking and acquiring
knowledge, in addition to their lack of a realistic approach to what they want
to do in the future, are very significant in terms of shaping a curriculum that
students could identify themselves with. As explained before, students‘ needs
and expectations could be very important in giving a meaningful shape to the
curriculum, but the unenlightened or nonintellectual student profile in Turkish
universities affect these studies adversely.
Some other factors that influence curriculum development activities are

the financial resources of the university, national policies and strategic plans
developed for higher education, needs and expectations of the society from
universities, national development in the field of economics, and international
development of the country in various fields of knowledge and technology. All
of these points are very important factors influencing program development
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studies in positive or negative ways, so the designated curriculum team

members‘ commitment to their studies will be determinative for which kind of
results will be taken.
4.8. Curriculum Development for Translation Studies Departments
Translation Studies departments of universities have been carrying out

such an important task by educating very competent, ardent and committed
individuals that they can either make unacquainted people familiar to each
other making their language one or let different societies interrelate with each
other making their cultures one. This unique function of these departments is
so significant that their distinguished graduates are using their competencies
on very important written documents, so difficult oral communications, or very
urgent simultaneous or spontaneous transfers of speeches or events. So, the
education of these dignified people necessitates so painstakingly developed
curriculum the architects of which are the academicians or their instructors at
universities who are twice as dignified as their students. These architects
know foreign languages very well, process their students competently, learn
and penetrate different cultures of societies they make transfer into or from,
and consequently perform the art of structuring the curriculum which have the
fundamental aspects of the education they are giving.
Very few translation and interpretation theorists have taken account of

the importance of structuring training plans and implementation of curriculum
development theories; e.g. Sawyer (2004) in the field of interpreting, and
Kelly (2005) and Kearns (2006) (as cited by Calvo) in the field of translation.
―Published literature that relates curriculum theory to interpreter education is

sparse. Much of the literature on interpretation pedagogy discusses isolated
aspects of interpreter training from the instructor‗s personal viewpoint, e.g., how
note-taking skills in consecutive should be taught, how diagnostic testing should be
conducted, or how to structure an introductory course in simultaneous
interpretation. Individual events of instruction are in the limelight. Rarely is an
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attempt made to integrate educational theory on the program level. […] The lack of
comprehensive discussion of curriculum issues grounded in educational theory is
surprising‖. (Sawyer 2004: 26).
Translators and interpreters‘ being educated by experienced teachers in

Translation Studies area through the immense theoretical background is very
important but the equally important aspect is their being educated according
to a sound education program or a schedule through which the most useful
and necessary teachings about the area could be given. This aspect and
therefore the education of proficient translators who could meet the demands
and needs of the society and the market were ignored for too long.
The development and implementation of curriculum process is seen to

be permanent in practice, not only an abstract product or programme on the
paper. Training courses tend to appear more integrated and comprehensive
and the resulting programme of studies is not as much prescriptive as
orientative: the curriculum development cycle is self-corrective (Calvo, 2011).
The erronous aspects of curriculum can be compensated through the broad
experience of teachers, so they are expected to have a substantial training in
teaching and learning strategies and to show interest in improving both their
and students‘ practices, while students are expected to play an active role in
the learning process. Curriculum practice and implementation does not focus
directly on covering the syllabus or course content, but rather on achieving
actual, durable, transferable and significant learning on the students' part
(Calvo, 2009). Thus, it is clear that the brilliant teaching career of a teacher in
the area of translation studies is not sufficient only, but the active involvement
of students in the process plays a very important role especially in the
implementation phase of the curriculum. One of the most important aims of
the trainers must be to achieve the acquisition of competences and skills to
students as the transferable and significant knowledge with respect to social
needs and real-world applications. However, practice-based curriculum
development again is not to be confused with skills-based content selection.
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The logical way to lead changes in curriculum design and development

in the field of translation and interpretation seems possible through the reuse
and reapplication of the current approaches or to create new ad hoc models.
As it has already been explained, one of the most common beliefs about how
a curriculum should be designed is that the best way to produce a new
curriculum is through the projection of a specific expert knowledge model
onto curriculum objectives, thereby defining curricular content elements. This
rather theoretical way of understanding curricula represents, in fact, a
frequent modus faciendi for curriculum design in Translation Studies (Calvo,
2009) due to the strong influence from the profession. As designing strategy,
there is nothing wrong about it. But without contemplating key practice-based
factors, the success upon curriculum development or implementation will not
be guaranteed. There seems to be no risk of the program at the designing
stage because of the nonexistence of a foolproof model but a number of
unfortunate results of the program are likely to appear especially at the stage
of implementation. So, the design and development stages of curriculum are
very important for developers to envisage the risks that the program will likely
be exposed to through their experiences or the key points they learn from the
experts of this process.
In Kearns (2006: 286), the notion of situational analysis is presented as

the preliminary stage to any curriculum design and development process. In
order to develop appropriate curricula, a series of adaptation factors must be
identified first, and then analysed. Adaptation factors include any phenomena
that can potentially affect curriculum practice including curricular agents (e.g.,
students, students‘ profiles, instructors, instructors‘ qualifications, curriculum
engineers, etc.); legislation in place, social and economic context, university
tradition, and disciplinary background. The more complete this analysis is the
more practical implementation a specific curriculum will be achieved.
In the field of translation and interpretation, one of the most significant

results of applying the theoretical approaches of translation or interpretation
competence has been the fact that not many efforts have been made to look
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at the basic relationship between the mentioned skills and their curriculum
projection (Sawyer, 2004). No attempt has ever been made to integrate these
two skills in respect of the theoretical competence models. Regarding the
discussion on translators or interpreters, as Kiraly (2000) and Kearns (2006)
put it, translation and interpreting skills can be seen as something different to
translator and interpreter skills, bearing in mind the growing technical and
specific expertise that the translation and interpreting industries require.
Translation and Interpreting skills at different expertise levels can be required
in a number of curriculum frameworks that are not devised for the
professional translation and interpreting market as such.
Today‘s world has come to the point that these two skills are
interrelated in many respects and so the situation analysis or needs analysis,
etc. of both them will result in the same data in respect of the development
process of the curriculum.
One of the most interesting recent proposals in translation curriculum

design is the European Masters in Translation (EMT), a partnership between
the European Commission and higher education institutions which offer a
master's degree translation training scheme. As presented on its website, the
task of this partnership is to establish a quality label for university translation
programmes that meet the agreed standards of higher education. University
programmes that are put into these standards become members of the EMT
network. The EMT ensures that a number of programmes are based on a
valid, skills-oriented framework of competences drawn up with a group of
prominent European experts which details the competences translators need
to work successfully in today's market (Calvo, 2011). It is so praiseworthy for
a very serious and established institution like the European Union to qualify
the outstanding efforts and endeavors of translators, interpretators, and their
educators in such an elite manner like this.
The EMT project is praiseworthy for curriculum studies in respect of two

aspects. The first one is its being one of the most useful and substantial
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curriculum designs materialized in the field of translation and interpretation

studies. And the second important aspect is only the curricula developed by
means of really exhaustive and committed studies will be in the list of those
that have been selected as the members of the network. Although this project
is rather new, it is also very hortative for curriculum design and development
team members because their real endeavors to orginate modern and useful
curricula will be esteemed so much by favor of a serious institution around all
Europe. This project is still at a very early stage, and therefore any thorough
assessment in terms of curriculum practice would be inaccurate at present.
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V. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

BOĞAZİÇİ UNIVERSITY, TURKEY
As one of the most prominent universities in Turkey and in the world,

Boğaziçi University has the world-wide famous Translation and Interpretation
Department. The graduates of the department can be very successful in any
branch of translation because they have to take some really qualified courses
as well. And the curriculum of these courses has been taken as a sample for
four-year Translation Departments to examine the most advantageous sides
of the curriculum.
5.1. Presentation of the Program
The aim of the undergraduate program is to train translators and

interpreters who possess an advanced degree of competence in Turkish and
English, who are knowledgeable about the cultures and institutions bound up
with both of these languages, acquainted with theoretical and critical
approaches to the field of translation, and experienced in applying their
knowledge. Graduates of this department are supposed to be familiar with
issues and terminology in areas such as the social sciences, political
science, economics, literature and history.
This four-year BA program aims to teach students the theories and

techniques of translation and interpreting, and to provide them with the
necessary cultural background and skills for a career in translation and
conference interpreting. In the fourth year students specialize in either
translation or conference interpreting. Specialization in interpreting is subject
to the students' success in previously completed INT-coded courses and in a
screening test given at the end of the third year. All students must complete a
total of 24 credits in French and/or German as a second and third foreign
language requirement.
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5.2. Discussion
With its really extensive and internationally competitive curriculum the

Translation and Interpreting Department of Boğaziçi University can carry out
any of the requirements in terms of training students in a professional
manner and designing or developing curriculum with an inclusion that can
satisfy people on an international basis. The strong idea that the design and
the development processes of this curriculum are based on a professional
background comes from the fact that the implementation phase of it has been
preparing really outstanding translators and world-wide known scholars in the
same area by means of the courses and their inclusions itemized above. As it
has been mentioned earlier, the design and development phases of
curriculum are necessary to be carried out in the presence of the specialists
who are consulted as a party of the curriculum developed. So, it is obvious
that all the members of the three parties as the decision makers, the
executives, and the consultants are duly performing their duties related to the
curriculum making process.
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VI. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

ATILIM UNIVERSITY, TURKEY
With its different faculties and promising Translation and Interpreting

Department, Atılım University has become one of the most successful and
distinguished universities in Turkey. As a result of this reality, the curriculum
of the Translation and Interpreting Department has been taken as a sample
to make the necessary comparisons and to consider the most important
points in developing a leading curriculum.
The curriculum of the courses in the department seems to have been

designed and developed according to the procedures explained before that
are necessary for success in those courses. In this case, the curriculum of
the Translation and Interpretation Department of Atılım University will form a
very good reference point for Fatih University to develop a modern and really
substantial curriculum.
The four-year undergraduate program in Translation and Interpretation

offers an intensive and concrete vocational education which covers all kinds
of translation and interpretation, as well as a sound foundation comprising
the terminology and the key concepts of such fields as international relations,
technology, medicine, law, literature and social sciences. The translation and
interpretation education seeks to raise professionals who are knowledgeable,
eager to research and learn, multicultural, interested in current issues and
cultural relations, aware of the expectations and conditions of the market,
and who could utilize their knowledge and experience in translation and
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interpretation through scientific methods with the aid of cutting-edge

technology.
6.2. Discussion
The Translation and Interpretation Department of Atılım University, just

like Boğaziçi and Hacettepe Universities, has a very assertive curriculum that
has been designed and developed with such a great care under the auditing
of the curriculum committee of wisemen most probably designated by the
senate of the university. The courses included in the curriculum have such
aims as to cope with the most distinguished universities of Europe.
The implementation phase of the curriculum shows the reality that the
chosen subjects, their contents, and inclusions will maintain its quality level of
graduating very successful, competitive translators or academicians. Such
aims as the command of effective speech methods, learning current issues
for professional translation, learning European culture and institutions, being
able to understand very difficult listening texts and manage to perform oral
presentations, being able to produce the accurate sounds by means of the
phonetics course, and making criticism on the translated texts can obviously
show any wise and interested people that the four-year curriculum of Atılım
University will provide inspiration for the lecturers to reach the aims that have
been determined and to develop much better education programs in the
course of time.
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VII. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY, WALES
As a department offering a world-wide and a distinguished education,

the Translation Department at Swansea University has a notably modern and
extensive curriculum. The curricular richness of the department can not only
be seen in the professional teaching of some important European languages,
it can be witnessed through the teaching of dialectal English as well. The one
year practice of these languages abroad apart from the department courses
makes the university a favorite one both for its success and for its curriculum.
7.1. Presentation of the Program.
In accordance with European professional standards, the minimal

linguistic qualifications of a translator are apart from the first language (A-
language), an excellent proficiency in a second language (B-language) and a
good proficiency in a third (C-language). If you have a UK qualification,
English is normally your A-language, you will need an A level in the language
that will be your B-language and you can start a new C-language without
prior knowledge. The languages offered in the BA Translation are French (B
only), German, Italian, and Spanish (all B or C), and Welsh (A only). Our
preferred offer is BBB at A level. However we look at each application
individually and we will consider AS level.
If you are a non-native speaker of English and you have one of these
languages as your A-language, you can study English as a B-language. For
candidates whose first language is not English and who did not go to an
English-medium school, an IELTS of 6.0 or equivalent qualification in English
is expected, the International Baccalaureate, European Baccalaureate or
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Welsh Baccalaureate qualifications, are also eligible. Swansea University has

one of the best records in the UK for facilitating access to higher education
for disabled students.
7.2. Discussion
Through such a painstakingly and professionally prepared education

program constituted of four modules each of which includes very useful and
relevant courses or trainings for students of Swansea University, no possible
weakness or failure can happen in the educational and professional lives of
the priviliged students getting education here. To begin with, students in this
department of Swansea University are led to learn four European languages
other than English very well by means of courses from history to sociology or
from literature to phonetics. Apart from this curriculum which has been made
by thinking even the finest details to equip students with the best education,
the one year training abroad module sounds the best part of the program for
the students who want to improve their skills in the target language(s) they
have been learning. This curriculum can be a very good guide for educators
to educate and train their students assertively and without any prejudice.
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VIII. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE, FINLAND
The translator training departments in some European countries have

become very popular because of the success of their students and very rich
course contents they offer to their students by means of professionally made
curricula. University of Tampere, which supplies its Translation Department
students with modern and very needful knowledge about translation studies,
is one of the most successful and prestigious universities around Europe.
Thus, it will be useful to study the curricular points of the university so

that the positive and negative aspects, if there are any, of the department can
be followed as a very good model by Fatih University in the way of curriculum
development activities.
The curriculum in Multilingual Communication and Translation Studies

educates students in intercultural communication, including translators,
interpreters and researchers. Their professional skills are based on an
excellent command of their working languages, wide-ranging communicative
and research skills and a thorough familiarity with the theory and practice of
translation and interpreting.
8.2. Discussion
The development of the students' oral and written skills in one or more
foreign languages to a level required for professional translating and
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interpreting is central to the aims of the curriculum presented. The students'

knowledge of cultures is broadened and deepened so as to enable them to
engage successfully in professional intercultural communication. Within this
context, they are introduced the terminologies used in different areas like law,
politics, media, etc. in the U.S. Obligatory training with an exam like report of
it applied on students in an English speaking country can lead them to see
and learn distinctive and important uses of the target language and culture in
its own place. The phonetics course supplies the students of Translation and
Interpreting Department at this University with a privilige in the international
arena of the same department. Through this curriculum students are led to
have a perfect command of their mother tongue because the courses
Multilingual Communication and Translation Studies presuppose an excellent
command of the Finnish language. So, this education program has the useful
inclusion for translation and interpreting students to be well-equipped and
compete with their international rivals in terms of the best success.
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IX. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE CURRICULA OFFERED AT

FATIH UNIVERSITY, TURKEY
Though it has been established recently, the Translation Department of

Fatih University has made a good progress in the area, but it can not be
regarded as a big success. There are lots of deficiencies in the curriculum, so
it will be very necessary to utilize the items in the curricula of the sample
universities explained above. But, of course, a brand new and a distinctive
curriculum should be designed and developed at the end of this study.
9.1. Presentation of the Programme
Applied English Translation Interpretation Department is a two-year

program and it supplies its students with the necessary information and skills
demanded in both the Turkish and the international translation markets for
students who want to be employed in an outstanding institution. The program
provides a substantial vocational training in translation and interpreting and
by means of that training they can get the chance of being employed in the
institutions they get their training. Different kinds of courses are introduced to
students so that they could build a sound basis for linguistic ability and rise
their consciousness between the target and source cultures.
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X. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The curriculum development process with its historical, theoretical,

educational, and methodological backgrounds has been presented
throughout this study. As the curricula of some renowned universities have
been cited as models to be examined, the thesis will be concluded with some
remarks of recommendation in order that Fatih University Curriculum
Developing Team will be able to utilize them to develop a really substantial
curriculum for the Translation and Interpreting Department.
With its really extensive and internationally competitive curriculum the

Translation and Interpreting Department of Boğaziçi University can carry out
the requirements in terms of training students in a professional manner and
designing or developing curriculum with an inclusion that can satisfy people.
The design and the development processes of the curriculum have obviously
been based on a professional background.
TR103-104 Public Speaking in English is given as a course for developing

communicative skills, addressing abilities, and the skills of speaking in public.
TR216 Note-taking from Speech is a course given for understanding rapid

speech, recording of details, and summarizing.
INT313 Community Interpreting is a course given for training the skills of

interpreting for the social services and in legal, medical, business settings.
Even these prominent examples taken from the curriculum can justify
the ideas above help the curriculum developers of other universities depend
the curricula on very important and convenient contents.
The Translation and Interpretation Department of Atılım University, just

like Boğaziçi and Hacettepe Universities, has a very assertive curriculum that
132
has been designed and developed with such a great care under the auditing
of the curriculum committee of wisemen most probably designated by the
senate of the university. The courses included in the curriculum have such
aims as to cope with the most distinguished universities of Europe.
ETI 105 - Linguistics and Translation is course is to explain basic concepts

and essential terminology of linguistics, and especially investigate the effects
of linguistics on translation studies.
ETI 209 - European Culture and Institutions aims to teach the European
culture; institutions of major European countries.
ETI 203-4 Various Uses of Language aims to teach the area-specific
usages of language and expand the vocabulary through conferences.
ETI 412 - EU Studies and Translation is a course to help students follow
the current affairs related to EU, European countries and Community Law
and translate the related material published in these areas.
Through the professionally-prepared curriculum of four modules each of

which includes very useful and relevant courses or trainings for students of
Swansea University, no possible failure can happen in the professional lives
of the priviliged students getting education here. To begin with, students in
this department of Swansea University are led to learn four European
languages other than English very well by means of courses from history to
sociology or from literature to phonetics.
Gender in European Culture introducing the study of gender and culture in

contemporary Europe. The module also briefly considers how feminism was
taken up and developed in non-European contexts.
European Fascisms
This comparative module introduces students to the political, historical and
cultural contexts of four different twentieth-century fascist regimes in Italy,
Germany, Spain and France.
Year Abroad The third year of the study is spent abroad for students to get
the practice of their education before getting into the profession.
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Through the curriculum in the Translation Department of Tampere

University, the development of the students' oral and written skills in one or
more foreign languages to a level required for professional translating and
interpreting has been mainly aimed. Students' knowledge of different areas is
broadened and deepened through the curriculum from which a few examples
of the courses can be seen:
TRENPK4 Phonetics and Speaking Practice is a course develop students'

pronunciation and conversational skills in different situations. Exercises
concentrating on pronunciation and speech situations, understanding spoken
language, and learning oral and interactive skills.
TRENAK8 Language Residency is a two-month obligatory residency for

language training in an English-speaking country and a paper written on this
experience in English.
To begin with the positive aspects, an assertation to give contribution to

the two-year Translation and Interpretation Department of Fatih University for
the development of a substantial curriculum has been prepared academically
and the education programs of really distinguished universities have been
scrutinized and made use of in this academic study. Boğaziçi University, with
all its faculties and departments, has become a perfect pioneering model in
most cases and led its students to love and be proud of their university.
Boğaziçi University has also been the source of inspiration for most of
the universities in Turkey in terms of its academic studies or novelties which
are currently used in modern socities. The curriculum used in the Translation
and Interpretation Department is a very good academic study for other
universities because any needs or expectations of both trainers and trainees
have all been taken into consideration. These needs and expectations have
been embodied within the goals of the subjects. As a result, Fatih University
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will come a long way in case it takes Boğaziçi University as a good model to
prepare a consistent curriculum in all respects.
Atılım University is accepted as a very rapidly developing university in

Turkey and in the world although it is a very new university. It is obviously
seen that the senate of the university is trying to support any developments
to come into the university. It can be seen in the goals and inclusions of the
subjects in the curriculum. This should be an important motivational tool for
Fatih University curriculum developers to prepare and practise a curriculum
that will appeal to the needs and expectations of both teachers and students.
Tampere University and Swansea University are in the category of the

universities that can be taken as very good examples by Fatih University in
terms of the very strong and reliable course contents. Both of them are really
successful universities and play very important roles in respect of developing
and implementing modern curricula at translation departments.
Most of the important courses that should be included in the program

are already taught although the two-year Translation and Interpretation
Department of Fatih University is quite new. Thus, the reality of students‘
learning these courses will help them get ahead in the professional lives
much better than the other form.
Almost all of the instructors in the department have studied MA in

Translation and Interpreting Departments of different universities and have
learnt what students will need from very experienced lecturers. This makes
the English instructors help the pupils get into the details of the courses and
learn them.
135
Although it is a two-year associate degree program, it incorporates a

prep class opportunity for students to get ready for the translation department
in a more assertive way. This facility is, in fact, possible for four-year
departments only but it has been put into service for those students who want
to remove their lack in English and learn the courses of the department more
easily.
The Translation and Interpretation Department of Fatih University has

the facility of a quite modern laboratory for teaching the courses like
consecutive interpretation, simultaneous translation, dubbing translation, etc.
in a really effective manner. Additionally, the classrooms for the other
courses of the department are provided with the necessary equipment such
as computers, projections, etc. for students to learn these courses very well.
As the Computer Programming Department is current at Ankara

Vocational School of Fatih University, the Computer-Assisted Translation
Course can be given in the computer laboratories of the school by offering
each student to use a computer.
As Fatih University Ankara Vocational School actively takes part in

European projects and Erasmus programs, the students who are
incorporated in these facilities are able to learn their courses about European
Union much better and increase their knowledege and experiences by means
of these Erasmus programs.
The most important negation is that the administrative staff of the

school can not take very important decisions about curriculum development
process as the senate of the university gathers in Istanbul depending on the
reason that the rectorship of the university is in Istanbul.
136
Although all of the courses included in the curriculum are conducted by

the abovementioned instructors, some strategically important courses that
will affect the fate of the department cannot be taught by specialized lecturers
and this causes students to have a bad point of view on the department.
As a very important outlook of the department, the university cannot

give the students the chance of training abroad for about at least six months
just like in the Swansea University and it constitutes a big negation as well.
As it has been mentioned before, Fatih University Ankara Vocational

School has had a very important European Union project experience and
vision, but the fact that there is not a course about the European Union
subjects in the curriculum makes students be deprived of learning such a
very important subject.
Although it is very important for students in translation departments to

learn a second foreign language, Fatih University Ankara Vocational School
cannot give such a chance to the students and it constitutes another very
important negation about the department.
After discussing all the positive and negative sides above, the need of
making recommendations has risen and it can be said that the Translation
and Interpretation Department of Fatih University is quite new and it will be
very easy for the Consecutive Team to take important decisions to change
the said negative appearance into a very positive one. The senate should
assign a committee of wisemen even for Ankara Vocational School so as to
develop a modern, professional, and functional curriculum for the translation
department or change the existing one which has a lot of halting points.
137
One of the very important points that should be done at Fatih University
related to the Translation and Interpretation Department is that the subjects
constituting the backbone of the department should be covered by teachers
who have a worldwide experience and popularity so as to make the classes
more enjoyable, more academic, and more student-centered.
Students of the department should be provided at least one-term or six-

month chance of going abroad for vocational training through the institutions
the department has a direct contact with. Such a facility the department can
supply the students with will make them give the priority always to the image
or the utility of their university. This will also make the second or other foreign
languages easy to learn for the students because when they are happy and
satisfied with what they are offered at their institution, they will try to do their
best for the sake of education.
A new curriculum including the latest novelties and mostly preferred

development techniques can be generated after bringing out the weaknesses
and strengths of the existing curriculum, and then constituting the most
suitable conditions to develop a new one.
As a conclusion, it can very easily be deduced as a fact that when the

Translation and Interpretation Department of Fatih University gets to the
national and international honour through the education program, that honour
will, certainly, rise its place to the levels of four-year university departments.
138
APPENDIX
1. 4-YEAR CURRICULUM AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS OF BOĞAZIÇI

UNIVERSITY
First Semester Second Semester

Turkish for Translators
TR 101 3 TR 102 English Lexis 3
Public Spk. in Eng. I

TR 103 3 TR 104 Public Spk. in Eng. II 3
English Writing Skills

TR 105 3 TR 116 Techn. Translation I 3
Introduction to Translation
TR 107 3 TR 122 Turk. Writing Skills I 3
FR/GER French / German 3 FR/GER French / German 3
PS SO PH Int. to Psyc / Socio / Phil 3 LING Int. to Lang & Ling. I 3
18 cr. 18cr.
Third Semester Fourth Semester

TR 201 Etymology I 3 TR -- Dep. Elect (TR 202/ TR 204) 3
TR -- Departmental Elective* 3 TR -- Departmental Elective* 3
TR 213 Language of Journalism 3 TR 214 Trans. for Radio and TV 3
TR 215 Technical Translation II 3 TR 216 Note taking from SSpeech 3
TR 221 Turkish Writing Skills II 3 EC 102 Introduction to Economics 3
EL 101 Survey of English Lit. I 3 EL 102 Survey of English Literature II 3
FR/GER French/German 3 FR/GER French/German 3
21cr. 21cr.
Fifth Semester Sixth Semester

INT 311 Onsight Interpreting 3 INT 313 Consec Intrepreting 3
INT 316 Community Interpreting I 3 TR -- Depart. Elective 3
TR 317 Trans.Texts Eco.& Bus. 3 TR 314 Literary Translation 3
LING321 English-Turkish Contrastive 3 TR 364 Pol.Disc Int. Org. 3

Analysis
POL 101 Introduction to Political 3 HIST/ PHIL/ 3
Science SOC / PSY
FR/GER French / German 3 FR/GER French / German 3
HTR 311 His. of Turk. Rep. I 2 HTR 312 His. of Turk Rep. II 2
20 cr. 20 cr.
139
(For those specializing in Translation)

Seventh Semester Eighth Semester
TR 415 Texts on Pol.Sci. & Int. Law 3 TR 416 Translation Criticism 3
TR 417 Turk-Eng. Lit. Translation 3 TR -- Departmental Elective 3
TR 419 Theories of Translation 3 TR 420 Translation Project 4
TR -- Departmental Elective* 3 -- -- Unrestricted Elective 3
-- -- Unrestricted Elective 3 -- -- Unrestricted Elective 3
FR/GER French / German 3 -- -- Unrestricted Elective 3
FR/GER French / German 3
18 cr. 22 cr.
TOTAL: 158 credits
(For those specializing in Conference Interpreting)

Seventh Semester Eighth Semester
INT 411 Inter.for Elect. Media 3 INT 412 Simul. Inter.Prac. in Confer. 3
Situations
INT 413
Survey of Int. Inst. for 3 INT 416 Simul.Interpreting II 3
Inter.
INT 415 Simul.Interpreting I 3 INT 420 Project in Interpreting 4
INT 417 Consec.Interpreting II 3 TR -- Departmental Elective 3
INT 418
Theo. App. to Inter. 3 TR -- Depart. Elective** 3
Prac.
INT 419 Theories of Trans. 3 FR/GER French /German 3
FR/GER French /German 3
21 cr. 19 cr.
TOTAL: 158 credits
TR 101 Turkish for Translators (3+2+0) 3

Structural features of Turkish. Principles of syntax, word derivation, and
spelling rules. Conceptualization and techniques of written expression.
TR 102 English Lexis (3+2+0) 3

Problems of translational equivalence at lexical level. Vocabulary
development. Special attention to words frequently confused.
140
TR 103 Public Speaking in English I (3+2+0) 3

Basic elements of public speaking. Principles of effective speech and
methods for developing communicative skills.
TR 104 Public Speaking in English II (3+2+0) 3

Extensive discussions and practice with different communicative purposes:
various types of informative and persuasive speeches, addresses for special
occasions, speaking in small groups and debates.
TR 105 English Writing Skills (3+2+0) 3

Improvement of written English through understanding of syntax and
structure as well as constant practice.
TR 106 Introduction to General Linguistics for Translators (3+0+0) 3

Principal schools of linguistics in the 20th century. Branches of linguistics
with their fields of application; associations with other relevant disciplines.
TR 107 Introduction to Translation (2+0+3) 3

Brief history of translation. Theory and practice at the introductory level.
Problems of equivalence. Text types and relevant techniques of translation.
TR 116 Technical Translation I (2+0+3) 3

Theoretical approaches to technical translation. Intensive practice with texts
related to science, technology and major industries.
TR 122 Turkish Writing Skills I (3+2+0) 3

Special emphasis on correct and refined Turkish usage, anticipating the
needs of prospective translators.
TR 201 Etymology I (3+2+0) 3

The origin and history of English words, with a short history of the English
language up to the Renaissance. Prefixes and suffixes.
TR 202 Etymology II (3+2+0) 3

Further exercises on Latin roots and on all English suffixes. Words, phrases
and literary terms derived from classical mythology. International terms,
phrases, mottos.
141
TR 204 Information Technology (IT) for Translators (3+2+0) 3

Review of current information technology (IT) and its impact on contemporary
communication.
TR 213 Language of Journalism (3+0+0) 3

Journalistic expression in English and Turkish with special emphasis on
headlines, politics and economics.
TR 214 Translating for Radio and Television (2+1+3) 3

Theories and techniques of translation for radio and television. Focus on
news broadcasts, documentaries, films and special techniques such as
dubbing, subtitling and voice-over.
TR 215 Technical Translation II (2+0+3) 3

A short introduction to major theories of communication. Basic terminology
on the technology, reception, analysis and economics of the media.
TR 216 Note-taking from Speech (2+1+3) 3

Techniques and practice in recording the content of oral presentations in
English. Understanding rapid speech, recording of details, and summarizing.
Preparation for consecutive and bilateral interpreting.
TR 221 Turkish Writing Skills II (3+2+0) 3

Methodical analysis of content and expression in an extensive range of
literary and conceptual texts by contemporary Turkish writers.
INT 311 Onsight Interpreting (2+1+3) 3

Intensive practice with authentic conference material using terminology from
different fields.
INT 313 Community Interpreting (2+1+3) 3

Training in the skills of interpreting (English-Turkish, Turkish-English) for the
social services and in legal, medical, business settings.
TR 314 Literary Translation (2+0+3) 3

Text analysis with different approaches suited to the nature and structure of
the text to be translated.
142
INT 316 Consecutive Interpreting I (2+1+3) 3

Introduction to consecutive interpreting. Training in comprehension, note-
taking and memory skills in both English and Turkish.
TR 317 Translating Texts on Economics and Business (2+0+3) 3

Translation of business language (English and Turkish) with emphasis on
technical terms from economics, management, banking, commerce, etc.
INT 318 Introduction to Simultaneous Interpreting (2+1+3) 3

Theoretical/practical introduction to the basic processes and strategies of
simultaneous interpreting with a brief history of the profession.
TR 364 Political Discourse of International Organizations (3+0+0) 3

Survey of the political discourse emerging from the impact of international
organizations like the UN, EU, NATO, etc to facilitate students' performance
in translation and conference interpreting.
INT 411 Interpreting for the Electronic Media (2+1+3) 3

The multifunctional aspects of electronic media interpreting. Focus on the
analysis of spoken messages in the source and target languages.
INT 412 Simultaneous Interpreting Practice in Conference Situations

(2+1+3) 3
Acquisition of professional skills in actual conference situations. Off campus
training under the instructor's supervision.
TR 412 Intercultural Communication Studies (3+0+0) 3

Introduction to theories of Intercultural Communication. Culturally sensitive
issues in interpreting and translating. Focus on new paradigms involving
post-structuralist discussions on cultural and ethnic identities.
INT 413 Survey of International Institutions for Interpreters (2+1+3) 3

Focus on international institutions like the EU, UN, NATO, etc. to provide the
necessary background for the practice of conference interpreting.
TR 414 Semiotics (Gostergebilim) (3+0+0) 3

Introduction to semiotics. A survey of the work of leading scholars in the field
and related schools of thought in the 20th century. Term paper.
143
INT 415 Simultaneous Interpreting I (Eszamanli Ceviri I) (2+1+3) 3

Training for students who specialize in conference interpreting.
TR 415 Translating Texts on Political Science and International Law

(2+0+3) 3
Intensive laboratory practice in translating subject matter related to political
science and international law. Developing specific strategies.
INT 416 Simultaneous Interpreting II (2+1+3) 3

Training for students who specialize in conference interpreting.
TR 416 Translation Criticism (3+0+0) 3

Critical exploration of published translations, cultivating an awareness based
on theoretical readings rather than error identification and prescriptivism.
INT 417 Consecutive Interpreting II (2+1+3) 3
A continuation of INT 316 with emphasis on improving note-taking for

students who specialize in conference interpreting.
TR 417 Turkish-English Literary Translation (2+0+3) 3

Intensive practice in translating the major literary genres in contemporary
Turkish literature, with special attention to culture-specific problems.
INT 418 Theoretical Approaches to Interpreting Practice (3+0+0) 3

Study of theoretical approaches to interpreting practice. Examination of the
strengths and shortcomings of different paradigms.
TR 419 Theories of Translation (3+0+0) 3

Introduction to theoretical reflection on translation and relevant current
issues. Approaches specific to the cultural paradigm in translation studies in
which context, situation and power relations are foregrounded.
INT 420 Project in Interpreting (0+0+8) 4

English-Turkish and/or Turkish-English translation of a recorded conference
text, or a text on interpreting under the supervision of a faculty member, on a
topic related to interpreting.
144
TR 420 Translation Project (0+0+8) 4

English-Turkish and/or Turkish-English translation of a text of substantial
length under the audit of a faculty member, on a topic related to translation.
INT 480-499 Special Topics for Interpreters (2+1+3) 3

Study of selected topics in interpreting not covered in other courses.
Laboratory.
TR 480-499 Special Topics in Translation (2+0+3) 3
Study of selected topics in translation not covered in other courses.

Exercises, presentations and laboratory.
145
APPENDIX
2. 4-YEAR CURRICULUM AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS OF ATILIM

UNIVERSITY
st
1 Semester
Course Code Course Name Lecture Lab Hour Credit ECTS
TURK 101 Turkish Language I 2 0 2 2
HIST 101 Ataturk's Principles and Hist. I 2 0 2 2
ETI 107 Spoken English I 2 2 3 4
ETI 105 Linguistics and Translation 3 0 3 4
ETI 103 Text Analyses I 2 2 3 5
ETI 101 English Writing Skills I 2 2 3 5
COMPE 103 Introduction to Computers 3 0 3 3
Total 16/17 6/2 19/18 25
nd
2 Semester
TURK 102 Turkish Language II 2 0 2 2
HIST 102 Ataturk's Principles and Hist. II 2 0 2 2
ETI 112 Spoken English II 2 2 3 4
ETI 110 Research Methods 2 0 2 4
ETI 106 Current Issues 3 0 3 4
ETI 102 English Writing Skills II 2 2 3 5
ETI 104 Text Analyses II 2 2 3 4
Total 15 6 18 25
146
rd
3 Semester
ETI 211 Listen.Com.& Oral Present. 2 2 3 5
ETI 209 European Culture & Institutions 3 0 3 5
ETI 205 Discourse Analysis 3 0 3 5
ETI 203 Various Uses of Language I 2 2 3 5
ETI 201 Media and Journalism 3 0 3 5
Total 13 4 15 25
th
4 Semester
ETI 212 Listen. Comp.& Oral Pres. II 2 2 3 5
ETI 206 International Politics 3 0 3 5
ETI 204 Various Uses of Language II 2 2 3 5
ETI 202 International Organizations 3 0 3 5
ETI 200 Introduction to Translation 2 2 3 5
NT Social Elective 3 0 3 5
Total 15 6 18 25
th
5 Semester
ETI 319 Translation Theory 3 0 3 5
ETI 317 Introduction to Interpreting I 1 3 3 5
ETI 311 Note Taking 1 3 3 5
ETI 307 Sight Translation 1 3 3 5
ETI 303 Tra.of Texts of Social Sci. 1 3 3 5
TE Technical Elective 3 0 3 5
Total 10 12 18 30
147
th
6 Semester
ETI 320 Technical Translation 1 3 3 5
ETI 318 Introduction to Interpreting II 1 3 3 5
ETI 312 Publishing & Editing 3 0 3 5
ETI 310 Commun.&Media Translat. 1 3 3 5
ETI 308 Translationof MedicalTexts 1 3 3 5
Total 10 12 18 30
th
7 Semester
ETI 417 Comp. Tech. & Translation 3 0 3 5
ETI 413 Simultaneous Interpreting 3 0 3 6
ETI 411 Consecutive Translation 1 3 3 6
ETI 409 Trans.of Inter. Politics and Law 3 2 4 6
ETI 407 Literature and Translation I 2 0 2 6
NT Social Elective 3 0 3 5
Total 21 5 24 44
148
th
8 Semester
ETI 416 Trans. of Texts in Econ.& Com. 3 0 3 5
ETI 414 Simult. Conference Interpreting 3 0 3 5
ETI 412 EU Studies and Translation 3 0 3 5
ETI 410 Translation Training 1 2 2 5
ETI 408 Literary Translation II 2 0 2 5
ETI 402 Criticism of Translated Texts 2 0 2 5
Total 20 2 21 40
ETI 101 - English Writing Skills I

This course is designed to improve the advanced academic writing skills of
the students by dealing with English language stuructures and syntax.
ETI 103 - Text Analyses I

The main aim of this course is to give the theoretical background on text
types and text linguistics to the students. The texts to be chosen will be both
in English and Turkish.
ETI 105 - Linguistics and Translation

The aim of this course is to explain basic concepts and essential terminology
of linguistics, to give an idea about general linguistics and phonology,
morphology and syntax, and especially investigate the effects of linguistics
on translation studies.
ETI 107 - Spoken English I

The aim of this course is to examine what communication means and to
define modes and functions of communication.
149
ETI 104 - Text Analyses II

The main aim of this course is to have the students study on literary and
nonliterary texts within a theoretical framework.
ETI 102 - English Writing Skills II

The basic aim of this course is to have the students learn different techniques
in order to improve their writing skills for specific reasons.
ETI 106 - Current Issues

The aim of this course is to form a link between the students and current
affairs both related to Turkey and the world outside.
ETI 110 - Research Methods

A research techniques course has its own structure and this is distinct from
the form of writing an essay. Essays are mainly used to allow you to
demonstrate your ideas and arguments to tutors.
ETI 112 - Spoken English II

Students are trained according to the principles of effective speaking. They
listen to lectures, make speeches and participate in small group discussions.
ETI 201 - Media and Journalism

This course aims to familiarize the students with the language of journalism
which differs from the daily usage with its particularly functional structure.
ETI 203 - Various Uses of Language I

The students are expected to learn area-specific usages of language as well
as expanding their vocabulary by participating to various conferences.
ETI 205 - Discourse Analysis

The course aims to help students analyze the texts both critically and
systematically while taking into consideration the factors of form and content
that intermingle to form style.
150
ETI 209 - European Culture and Institutions

The course covers the following subjects: Development and outlines of
European culture; institutions and political - economical structures of major
European countries.
ETI 211 - Listening Comprehension and Oral Presentation I

The course aims to develop communication skills of the students so that they
will be able to comprehend and use English in various real life situations.
ETI 200 - Introduction to Translation

This course acquaints the students with numerous text types and
corresponding written translation strategies, as well as providing them with a
basic understanding of functional theories of translation.
ETI 202 - International Organizations

Main objective of the course is to teach structures, functions and operations
of international institutions such as UN, EU, EC, NATO, etc. The course also
aims to enrich general knowledge and vocabulary of the students.
ETI 204 - Various Uses of Language II

The students are expected to learn area-specific usages of language as well
as expanding their vocabulary by participating to various conferences.
ETI 206 - International Politics

In this course, students learn about the fundamental concepts of politics,
current political events and international law.
ETI 212 - Listening Comprehension and Oral Presentation II

The course aims to develop communication skills of the students so that they
will be able to comprehend and use English in various real life situations.
ETI 303 - Translation of Texts of Social Sciences

This course aims to enable the students to have translation skills and related
terminology in social sciences.
151
ETI 307 - Sight Translation

This course aims to enable the students to have sight translation skills. In this
respect, a variety of texts and related terminology are taught in the course.
ETI 311 - Note Taking

This course aims to enable the students to have note taking skills in different
fields. Thus, a variety of texts and related terminology are taught.
ETI 317 - Introduction to Interpreting I

This course aims to enable the students to have liaison interpreting skills with
a wide range of situations.
ETI 319 - Translation Theory
The course includes the teaching of translation theories in a historical
perspective. The course also teaches the relation between translation theory
and their application.
ETI 308 - Translation of Medical Texts

This course aims to enable the students to have translation skills and
terminology related with medical texts.
ETI 310 - Communication and Media Translation

This course aims to enable the students to have translation skills about the
text types in various means of media.
ETI 312 - Publishing and Editing

This course involves the teaching of all steps starting from the editing to the
publication of a text and to editing, final reading, correcting errrors etc.
ETI 318 - ETI 318 Introduction to Interpreting II

The course includes the teaching of community interpreting skills in different
social situations such as immigration and health.
ETI 320 - Technical Translation

The course aims to enable the students to have translation skills and
terminology in the fields of science and technology.
152
ETI 407 - Literature and Translation I

This course aims at teaching the students the theoretical background, the
rules and practice of translating various passages and works of a literary
nature from Turkish into English and from English into Turkish.
ETI 409 - Translation of International Politics and Law

This course concentrates on the theoretical background of translating
material about international politics and law.
ETI 411 - Consecutive Translation

The aim of this course is to improve students‘ consecutive interpreting skills
by using the note-taking and bilateral interpretation techniques.
ETI 417 - Computer Technologies and Translation
The main purpose of this course is to teach students how to use various
software and internet-based automatic translation websites while translating
various texts.
ETI 402 - Criticism of Translated Texts

The objective of this course is to subject published translations to critical
scrutiny and assessment in the light of theoretical perspectives.
ETI 408 - Literary Translation II

The course aims at teaching the students the rules and practice of translating
passages and books of a literary nature into Turkish.
ETI 410 - Translation Training

Students are supposed to have a period of probation in a public or private
institution for 15 working days and submit a training file.
ETI 412 - EU Studies and Translation

In this course, the students follow the current affairs related to EU, European
countries and Community Law and translate the related material published in
these areas.
ETI 416 - Translation of Texts in Economics and Commerce

The objective of this course is to teach translation of business language with
emphasis on technical terms from economics, management, etc.
153
Courses Taken From Other Departments
COMPE 103 - Introduction to Computers

The objective of this course is to develop computer literacy and competency
by introducing fundamentals of computer systems and some software tools.
HIST 101 - Ataturk's Principles and History I

The aim of this course is to help the students to develop themselves as being
the strict followers of Atatürk and his principles.
TURK 101 - Turkish Language I

The aim of the course is to teach the structure and correct usage of the
Turkish language as a verbal and written tool of communication.
HIST 102 - Ataturk's Principles and History II

The aim of this course is to help the students to develop themselves as being
the strict followers of Atatürk and his principles.
TURK 102 - Turkish Language II

The aim of the course is to teach the structure and correct usage of the
Turkish language as a verbal and written tool of communication.
154
APPENDIX
3. 4-YEAR CURRICULUM AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS OF SWANSEA

UNIVERSITY
YEAR ONE MODULES

The BA Translation allows you to study two languages in a Single Honours
degree programme. The programme enables you to gain proficiency in these
languages, acquire the technical skills you need as a translator, and lay the
foundations for theoretical work with translation. In the first year, you have six
modules. All students of translation have the module ―Study Skills for
Language‖. In addition, you have two modules each in the languages you
study, as set out below. Finally, you have one optional or elective module.
French
French General Language 1, French Specialist Language 1
German (Beginners)
Intensive German I, Intensive German II
German (post-A-level)
German General Language I, Specialist German Language
Italian (Beginners)
Beginners General Language and Oral I, Beginners General Language and
Oral II
Italian (post-A-level)
Advanced General Language, Advanced Specialist Language
Spanish (Beginners)
Beginners Language (Spanish) I, Beginners Language (Spanish) II
Spanish (post-A-level)
General Language (Advanced Spanish), Specialist Spanish Language
Welsh (post-A-level)
General Language, Literature & Area Studies
155
Study Skills for Language

This module consists of three parts. The first part of this module will teach the
essential metalanguage of the study of language itself. The second part of
this module will provide some of the historical background to the study of
language. The third part will teach the kind of expectations for the delivery of
written work.
Post-A-level Electives
For those with A-level French
Introduction to French Culture
For those with A-level German
Introduction to German Culture
For those with A-level Italian
Introduction to Italian Culture
For those with A-level Spanish
Introduction to Hispanic Culture
Beginners‘ Languages
Spanish
Spanish for Beginners I
German
Intensive German I
Italian
Beginners General Language and Oral I
INTERDISCIPLINARY MODULES: The interdisciplinary modules listed
below give a broad overview of aspects of European and Spanish American
culture, which is good preparation for later study.
Gender in European Culture
This module introduces the study of gender and culture in contemporary
Europe from the second women‘s movement in the 1960s/1970s up to the
present day. The module also briefly considers how feminism was taken up
and developed in non-European contexts.
Metamorphoses and Adaptations: Contemporary European Film
This module will introduce students of Modern Languages and of the School
of Arts and Humanities to contemporary European film (post 1990).
156
European Fiction: Texts and Contexts

Five books (four short novels and one play) by writers from five different
literary traditions (German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Czech) have all
been influential beyond the borders of the countries where they were
produced.
YEAR TWO MODULES

COMPULSORY MODULES FOR ALL STUDENTS:
Introduction to the Theory of Translation
Computer-Assisted Translation.
French. Students should choose one of French General Language 2 and
Iaith Ffrangeg Gyffredinol 2, and take French for Professional Purposes and
Translation Workshop (French-English).
German (Advanced). Students should choose one of German General
Language 2 and Almaeneg Iaith Gyffredinol 2, and take German for
Professional Purposes 2 and Translation Workshop (German-English).
German (Intermediate).
Intermediate German Language
German for Professional Purposes 1
Italian
General Language and Oral (Italian) 2
Italian for Professional Purposes
Spanish (Advanced). Students should choose one of General Language 2
and Iaith Gyffredinol Sbaeneg, and take Spanish for Professional Purposes 2
and Translation Workshop (Spanish-English).
Spanish (Intermediate). Students should choose one of Intermediate
Spanish and Iaith Gyffredinol Ganolradd Sbaeneg, and take Spanish for
Professional Pusposes 1.
Options/electives. At level 2 you also have an optional or elective module.

Introduction to the Theory of Translation
The aim of this module is to introduce the theory of translating texts. In this
module, some of the main issues from the rich history of this discussion will
157
be presented. One of the oldest issues is how literal or free a translation can
or should be.
Computer-Assisted Translation
The modern translator can hardly afford ignoring computer-assisted
translation. It is these Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools that are the
subject of this module.
INTERDISCIPLINARY MODULES:
European Fascisms
This comparative module introduces students to the political, historical and
cultural contexts of four different twentieth-century fascist regimes in Italy,
Germany, Spain and France.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language

The aim of this module is to increase your awareness of the essential
principles and techniques of modern EFL, to develop your knowledge of the
variety of pedagogies which make up EFL, and to develop awareness of
English language for EFL.
YEAR ABROAD
The four-year Translation Studies program is clearly structured and involves

dedicated modules for the skills and knowledge you need as a translator as
well as options that allow you to pursue your special interests. Languages
offered are French, German, Spanish, and Italian. The third year of study is
spent abroad.
YEAR FOUR MODULES
Options
You can take a wide range of modules as options.
Words, Terms and Concepts
The presentation of technical, legal, etc. terminology in the weekly lectures
will be complemented by discussion and practical work on term recognition
and term description in the seminars.
158
Introduction to Interpreting
The aim of this module is to introduce students to the discipline of
Interpreting Studies and give them practical experience of different types of
interpreting.
Translation Work Experience
As a student of translation, you tend to work with much precision on the
solution of individual translation problems. This module is intended to provide
you with the knowledge and skills you need to make this step successfully.
Dissertation for Translation Studies
Students in this module take one of their content modules as a basis for the
exploration of a question of a restricted scope on which they write a 4,000-
5,000 word dissertation. The research question is agreed with the supervisor,
who is normally the coordinator or another teacher on the base module.
159
APPENDIX
4. 4-YEAR CURRICULUM AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS OF TAMPERE

UNIVERSITY
Autumn Semester 2010

Period (1-Sep-2010 – 22-Oct-2010)
Basic studies
TRENPK1Grammar and Translation 5 ECTS (Language of instruction:
English)
TRENPK2Introduction to American English (FAST US-1) 2–4 ECTS

(Language of instruction: English)
TRENPK3Introduction to British English (FAST BIE-1) 2 ECTS (Language of

instruction: English)
TRENPK4Phonetics and Speaking Practice 2 ECTS (Language of

TRENPK5Digital Literacy and Academic Knowledge Management 2 ECTS

TRENPK6Academic Citation and Documentation 2 ECTS (Language of

TRENPK8AUS Institutions Survey (FAST US-2) 2 ECTS (Language of

TRENPK8BBritish Society and Culture (FAST BIE-2) 2 ECTS (Language of

Intermediate studies
TRMUAK3AB.A. Thesis Seminar 4 ECTS (Language of instruction: English)
TRENA3Käännösviestintä suomi - englanti 4 ECTS (Language of instruction:

English)
TRENAK13U.S. Education Survey 2–6 ECTS (Language of instruction:

English)
160
Advanced studies
TRENS5Translating and editing for publication 6 ECTS (Language of
Period (25-Oct-2010 – 17-Dec-2010)
Basic studies
TRENPK2Introduction to American English (FAST US-1) 2–4 ECTS
(Language of instruction: English) Continues from the previous period
TRENPK3Introduction to British English (FAST BIE-1) 2 ECTS (Language of

instruction: English) Continues from the previous period



TRENPK8BBritish Society and Culture (FAST BIE-2) 2 ECTS (Language of

TRENA3Käännösviestintä suomi - englanti 4 ECTS (Language of instruction:
English) Continues from the previous period
TRENAK13U.S. Education Survey 2–6 ECTS (Language of instruction:

Spring Semester 2011

Period (10-Jan-2011 – 4-Mar-2011)
Basic studies



161

TRMUAK3AB.A. Thesis Seminar 4 ECTS (Language of instruction: English)
Continues from the previous period
TRENAK7Tulkkaus I 2 ECTS (Language of instruction: English)
TRENPK8DMaantuntemus: Anglophone Canada 2 ECTS (Language of

Advanced studies
TRMUSM8Monikieliset projektit 2–4 ECTS (Language of instruction: English)
Courses for exchange students

TRMUSM8Multilingual projects 2–4 ECTS (Language of instruction: English)
Period (7-Mar-2011 – 13-May-2011)
Basic studies




TRENAK7Tulkkaus I 2 ECTS (Language of instruction: English) Continues
from the previous period
TRENAK22Virtuaalikollokvio: Digital Information for the Digital Translator: e-

searching, accessing, organizing, archiving 2–6 ECTS (Language of
162
TRENPK8DMaantuntemus: Anglophone Canada 2 ECTS (Language of

Advanced studies
TRMUSM8Monikieliset projektit 2–4 ECTS (Language of instruction: English)

Courses for exchange students

TRMUSM8Multilingual projects 2–4 ECTS (Language of instruction: English)
TRENPK1 Grammar and Translation 5 ECTS
This course provides students with the facilities to study and analyse the
grammatical structure of the English language and to apply the grammatical
rules to produce translations. In addition the students' active vocabulary of
various semantic fields will expand.
TRENPK2 Introduction to American English (FAST US-1) 2–4 ECTS
To give an overview of American English and its variations. Classes are

based on the course material online; introduction to standard American
English and the influences of its dialects, including Black English, "Spanglish"
and Yiddish.
TRENPK3 Introduction to British English (FAST BIE-1) 2 ECTS
To introduce students to British English and its variations. An overview of

typical British English vocabulary and the characteristics of Standard English
and local dialects, such as Cockney, Welsh English and Scottish English.
TRENPK4 Phonetics and Speaking Practice 2 ECTS
To train students' English pronunciation and conversational skills in different

situations. Exercises concentrating on pronunciation and speech situations,
understanding spoken language, and learning oral and interactive skills.
TRENPK5 Digital Literacy & Academic Knowledge Management 2 ECTS
To introduce students to the basics of digital technology application as

required for academic research and publishing activities.
163
TRENPK6 Academic Citation and Documentation 2 ECTS
To introduce students to the basics of scholarly source attribution in English

academic writing, based on MLA guidelines.
TRENPK8A U.S. Institutions Survey (FAST US-2) 2–6 ECTS
To introduce the most important institutions and terminology of contemporary

U.S. society as a foundation for translation and interpreting.
TRENPK8B British Society and Culture (FAST BIE-2) 2 ECTS
To deepen students' knowledge of the United Kingdom.
TRENPK8C Irish Society and Culture (FAST BIE-3) 2 ECTS
To deepen students' knowledge of Ireland.
TRENAK1 Finnish Institutions Research Paper (FAST FIN-1) 6–10 ECTS
Producing scientific text, practicing critical evaluation and argumentation and

publishing papers in HTML format. The papers should be 15-20 pages in
length.
TRENAK2 Basic English Professional Writing I 4 ECTS
Becoming familiar with different standards and styles when writing for
international readers. A minimum of six written assignments.
TRENAK8 Language Residency 4 ECTS
Obligatory two-month language training in an English-speaking country and a

paper written on this experience in English. The report should relate the
length of the training as well as where and when it took place.
TRENAK7 Basic Consecutive Interpreting 2 ECTS
To introduce students to interpreting in both formal and informal situations.

Interpreting short speech segments, discussing interpreting assignments.
TRENAK10 Business and Professional Communication 4 ECTS
To produce English texts needed in various organisations and companies.

Students practice writing miscellaneous texts related to business and
journalism.
164
TRENAK11 English Public Speaking 2 ECTS
To train students to deliver speeches in English and to understand the

cultural expectations of English Public Speaking.
TRENAK13 U.S. Education System (FAST US-5) 2–6 ECTS
To provide students with the basic information of the structure and

terminology of U.S. education.
TRENAK14 U.S. Mass Media (FAST US-6) 2–6 ECTS
To acquaint students with U.S. mass media and related terminology.
TRENAK15 U.S. Popular Culture (FAST US-7) 2–6 ECTS
To acquaint students with U.S. popular culture and related terminology.
TRENAK16 U.S. Government & Political System (FAST US-4) 2–6 ECTS
To review the basic structure of U.S. politics and legal system, and related
terminology.
TRENAK17 U.S. English II (FAST US-8) 2–4 ECTS
To introduce students to regional, ethnic and politically correct phenomena of

American English, neologisms and stereotypes of various dialects.
TRENAK22 Virtual Colloquium 2–6 ECTS
Virtual, seminar-like discussion, in which university students and teachers

handle topics related to Finnish and U.S. cultures together.
TRENAK23 Visiting Lecturer Series (FAST G-1) 2–4 ECTS
To introduce students to select themes related to the FAST Area Studies

Program.
TRENAK24 Finland Studies II (FAST FIN-2) 4–6 ECTS
A second level Finland Studies course of the FAST Area Studies Program,
which can only be organised virtually or as a series of visiting lecturers.
TRENSM6 Lexicography and the Use of Dictionaries 2–4 ECTS

165
TECHS2 Technical Documentation, English 5 ECTS
To familiarise students with producing user-friendly documentations in

English for different purposes.
TECHS10 Advanced Studies Book Examination 5 ECTS
The history, development and professionalisation of technical

communication.
TECHS11 Traineeship 4 ECTS
An approximately three-month paid traineeship as a technical communicator.
TRENS5 Translating and editing for publication 6 ECTS
TRENPK8D Introduction to Anglophone Canada 2 ECTS
To deepen students' knowledge of anglophone Canada.

166
APPENDIX
5. 2-YEAR CURRICULUM AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS OF

FATIH UNIVERSITY
First Term Theory Practice Credit ECTS Work Load

ATA 101 Atatürk‘s Pri.& His.I 2 0 2 2 3
ENFO 111 Basic Comp. Train. 0 2 No credit 2 3
TÜRK 101 Turkish Language I 2 0 2 2 3
UİT 101 Eng. Usage&Style I 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 103 Discourse Analysis 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 105 Compar.Structure I 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 107 Written Translation I 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 111 Society and Culture 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 113 Lexicology 3 0 3 4 6
22 30 45
Second Term Theory Prcatice Credit Ects Work Load

ATA 102 Atatürk‘s Princ. II 2 0 2 2 3
TÜRK 102 Turkish Language II 2 0 2 2 3
ATA
UİT 102 Eng.Usa.& Style II 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 104 Writ.Media Trans. 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 106 Comp. Structure II 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 108 Written Trans.II 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 110 Consec.Translation 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 116 Tran.for Dub.&Sub. 2 2 3 4 6
22 30 44
Third Term Theory Practice Credit ECTS Work Load

UİT 203 Trans. for Busin.I 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 209 Theo.of Translation 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 219 Sci.&Tec.Trans. I 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 223 Interpreting I 2 2 3 6 9
UİT 225 Comp.-assis.Trans. 2 2 3 5 7
XXX xxx Vocational Elective I 3 0 3 4 6
18 30 43
167
Fourth Term Theory Practice Credit ECTS Work Load

STJ 204 Vocational Training - - No credit 2 3
UİT 202 Trans. for Busin.I 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 210 Literary Translation 2 2 3 4 6
UİT 222 Translation Project 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 226 Sci.&Tec.Trans. II 2 2 3 5 7
UİT 232 Interpreting I 2 2 3 5 7
XXX xxx Vocational Elective I 3 0 3 4 6
18 30 43
UİT 101 English Usage and Style I ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
This course will focus on reading and writing of different types of texts from
various resources for developing students‘ ability on them.
UİT 102 English Usage and Style II ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
This course, as a follow-up on the same course from 1st semester, involves
writing reports, reading for academic purposes, as well as academic writing.
UİT 103 Discourse Analysis ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
The aim of the course is to teach the theory of discourse at an introductory

level.
UİT 104 Written Media Translation ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
This course aims at teaching the norms of written media in Turkish and
English speaking societies.
UİT 105 Comparative Structure I ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
The aim of this course is to compare and contrast Turkish and English within
the framework of translation to understand the influence of one language on
the other in terms of grammar and usage.
168
UİT 106 Comparative Structure II ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
This course aims to analyze sentence structures and enable the students to
perform translation activities via emphasis on form, meaning and use as
regards structural aspect of English usage and style.
UİT 107 Written Translation I ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
The main aim of this course is to acquaint students with socio-cultural

background of the activity of translation.
UİT 108 Written Translation II ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
This course will focus on translation of written text from English into Turkish
within the framework of different text types.
UİT 110 Consecutive Translation ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
This course aims at enabling students to acquire mastery in sight translation

and consecutive translation. Students also learn how to deal with stage fright.
UİT 111 Society and Culture ECTS 4, Credits (2+2) 3
The features of Turkish, British, and American societies, their cultures,

customs and traditions are taught in a comparative way.
UİT 113 Lexicology ECTS 4, Credits (3+0) 3
This course aims at enabling students to have a high amount of vocabulary,

to use the dictionary efficiently and accurately.
UİT 202 Translation for Business I ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
The aim of this course is to acquaint students with various business

documents and teach the norms of both source and target language norms.
UİT 203 Translation for Business II ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
This course aims at acquainting students with various business letters and
documents and thus teach the conventions of these texts.
169
UİT 116 Translation for Dubbing & Subtitling II ECTS 4,Credits(2+2) 3
Translation practice will be provided through translating movies, various TV

programmes, and documentaries.
UİT 209 Theories of Translation ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
This course aims at introducing significant theories and models of translation.
UİT 210 Literary Translation ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
This course consists of written translation from English to Turkish of literary

material such as articles, poems, stories, screen plays and plays.
UİT 211 Translation for Social Sciences I ECTS 4, Credits (3+0) 3
In this course, students are provided with information and terminological

knowledge in social sciences and opportunities for translating texts in them.
UİT 223 Interpreting II ECTS 6, Credits (2+2) 3
This course aims at improving students interpreting skills so that they will be
able to perform simultaneous interpreting between Turkish and English in a
variety of situations with greater ease and confidence.
UİT 225 Computer-assisted Translation ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
This course introduces ways of utilizing technology, especially computers, in

assisting translation.
UİT 219 Scientific & Technical Translation I ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
The aim of this course is to develop students‘ knowledge of target language

conventions related to scientific and technical texts.
UİT 232 Interpreting II ECTS 6, Credits (2+2) 3
This course aims at developing English/Turkish and Turkish/English

simultaneous interpreters, who are equipped with the knowledge and skills
required for the task.
170
UİT 222 Translation Project ECTS 5, Credits (0+3) 3
In this course, students prepare reports describing the translation process of

their own or other translators' pieces of translation.
UİT 224 Translation for Social Sciences II ECTS 4, Credits (3+0) 3
Students are provided with general information and terminological knowledge

in social sciences disciplines.
UİT 226 Scientific & Technical Translation II ECTS 5, Credits (2+2) 3
In this course, it is aimed to provide information about various scientific and

technology related disciplines, and opportunities for translation practice.
171
III. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Braslavsky, Cecilia. (1999). The Curriculum. Definition of the Concept of

Curriculum. Retrieved from
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/.../user.../cecilia_e.pdf
Calvo, Elisa. (2011). Translation and/or Translator Skills as Organising

Principles for Curriculum Development Practice. The Journal of
Specialized Translation, 16, 5-25.
Demirel, Özcan. (2010). Kuramdan Uygulamaya Eğitimde Program

Geliştirme. Ankara: Pegem Akademi.
Gabr, Moustafa. Toward a Model Approach to Translation Curriculum

Development. Translation Journal, 5(2), 1-13.
Gardner, Howard. (2006). Five Minds for the Future. Boston: Harvard
Business School Publishing.
Mahmood, Sami. (2010). Developing Study Plans in Universities in Jordan.

Key Issues and Challenges. Retrieved June 15-17, 2000, from
http://www.henc-jordan.org
McKimm, Juddy. (2003). Curriculum Design and Development. Retrieved

January 20, 2010, from http://www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk
Nanzhao, Z., & Yunxiao, S. (2001). Toward Learning Society: Building Four
Pillars of Learning. Beijing: Beijing Press.
172
Nation, I.S.P., & Macalister, John. (2010). Language Curriculum Design. New
York: Routledge.
Nunan, David. (2011). Teaching English to Young Learners. Anaheim:

Anaheim University Press.
Nunan, David. (1988). The Learner-Centered Curriculum. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, David. (1988). Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nύňez, I. D. (2007). From Curriculum to Syllabus Design: the Different

Stages to Design a Program. Retrieved February 06, 2011, from
http://www.fonael.org/Articulos_Mem_FONAEL_III/Nunez_y_Bodegas_I
rma_Dolores.pdf
Nyagah, Grace. (2000). Curriculum Studies. Retrieved December 19, 2010,

from http://www.scribd.com/doc/44851785/Curriculum-Studies
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Learning Resources. Retrieved January 13, 2010, from
http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/ucdtlp00631.pdf
Ornstein, A.C., & Hunkins, F.P. (1988). Curriculum: Foundations, Principles,

and Issues. Seattle: Pearson.
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Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
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Internationalization of Curriculum Studies. Peter Lang Publishing.
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Print, Murray. (1988). Curriculum Development and Design. Sydney: National

Library of Australia.
Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. New

York: Cambridge University Press.
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Implementation in the 21 Century: Policies, Perspectives and
Implementation. Retrieved June 8-10, 2005, from
http://www.pasisahlberg.com/downloads/
Sawyer, D. V. (2004). Fundamental Aspects of Interpreter Education:

Curriculum and Assessment. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing
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Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Retrieved from
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174
ABSTRACT
[ Yavuz, Ayhan ] [ Fundamentals Of Curriculum Design For Translation

Courses in Social Sciences for Undergraduate Students in the Departments
of Translatıon and Interpretation ] [ M.A. Thesis ] [ Ankara, 2012 ]
Just like professional translators who transfer written or oral messages

within different cultures and societies and hope their works of art to be
appreciated suitably by the parties of the communications, professional
translator trainers as well want their students, as their works of art, to be
appreciated by authorities all around the world. This appreciation can be
done through evaluating the curricula of the courses that the students have in
their education process. These curricula are developed by academicians
specialized in the area of curriculum development. The aim of this thesis is to
set forth the safest ways of curriculum development process within the
accepted criteria specified by the most authoritative scholars in this field. This
study will also unite the old and the modern theories about curriculum
development. To develop such a sound means to integrate the old and the
modern theories with their beneficial aspects in the most useful way is the
final destination that the curriculum developers want to take educators to.
This thesis, therefore aimed to reach the point where it is possible to see
whether alternative ways of curriculum development from various models can
be applicable to enrich the program for the Department of Translation and
Interpretation at Vocational School of Fatih University, Ankara.
Key Words:
1. Oral Message
2. Translator Trainer
3. Curriculum Development
4. Translation and Interpretation Department

175
ÖZET
[ Yavuz, Ayhan ] [ Fundamentals Of Curriculum Design For Translation

Courses in Social Sciences for Undergraduate Students in the Departments
of Translatıon and Interpretation ] [ Yüksek Lisans Tezi ] [ Ankara, 2012 ]
Yazılı ve sözlü mesajları değişik kültürler ve toplumlar içinde iletip bu

sanat eserlerini iletişimdeki tarafların uygun bir şekilde takdir etmesini
bekleyen profesyonel tercümanlar gibi, tercüman eğitmenleri de kendi sanat
eserleri olarak yetiştirdikleri öğrencilerin, tüm dünyadaki yetkililer tarafından
takdir edilmesini arzularlar. Bu takdir, eğitim sürecinde öğrencilerin aldıkları
derslerin müfredatlarını değerlendirme şeklinde yapılabilir. Bu eğitim
programları ise, müfredat geliştirme alanında uzmanlaşmış akademisyenler
tarafından geliştirilir. Bu tezin amacı, müfredat geliştirmenin en güvenli
yollarını, bu çalışma alanında bulunan en iyi ve söz sahibi bilginlerin
belirlediği kriterler içinde ortaya çıkarmaktır. Bu çalışma, müfredat
geliştirmeyle ilgili eski ve modern teorileri de bir araya getirecektir. Eski ve
yeni teorileri faydalı yönleriyle en kullanışlı şekilde bütünleştirecek böyle
sağlam bir araç geliştirmek, müfredat geliştirenlerin eğitimcileri ulaştırmak
istedikleri en son noktadır. Bu nedenle bu tez, Fatih Üniversitesi Ankara
Meslek Yüksek Okulu Mütercim Tercümanlık Bölümüne dönük müfredatı
zenginleştirmek için, değişik örnekler vasıtasıyla müfredat geliştirmenin
alternatif yollarını görmeyi mümkün kılacak noktaya ulaşmayı
amaçlamaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler:
1. Sözlü Mesaj
2. Tercüman Eğitmeni
3. Müfredat Geliştirme
4. Mütercim Tercümanlık Bölümü

176

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FUNDAMENTALS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR TRANSLATION

YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ

FUNDAMENTALS OF CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR TRANSLATION

YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ

Ayhan YAVUZ taraftndan hazrrlanan Fundamentals of Curriculum Design for

Yrd. Dog. Dr. ismail ERTON (Danrgman)

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitudes to each of the individuals who

I am really indebted to all my outstanding and devoted colleagues who

Very special appreciation goes to my wife, Meral Yavuz, and my dear

1.1. Background to the Study 4

1.2. Statement of the Problem 6

1.3. Purpose of the Study 7

1.4. Research Questions 8

1.5. Scope of the Study 8

1.6. Assumptions and Limitations 9

1.7. Definition of Specific Terms 10

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1.Curriculum Design Studies 12

2.1.1.1.The Official Curriculum 22

2.1.1.2. The Hidden Curriculum 24

2.2. Foundations of Curriculum 25

2.2.1. Philosophical Basis of Curriculum 26

2.2.2. Psychological Basis of Curriclum 30

2.2.3. Sociological Basis of Curriculum 33

2.2.4. Historical Basis of Curriculum 34

2.2.4.1. History of Curiculum Studies in the World 35

2.2.4.2. History of Curriculum Studies in Turkey 39

2.2.5. Future of Curriculum Studies 41

III. CURRICULUM DESIGN PROCESS

3.1. Curriculum Design Process 46

3.2.1. Subject-Centered Curriculum Design 48

3.2.2. Learner-Centered Curriculum Design 49

3.2.3. Problem-Centered Curriculum Design 50

3.2.4. Broad-Field Curriculum Design 51

3.3. Curriculum Design Models 52

3.3.1. A Waterfall Model 56

3.3.2. A Focused Opportunistic Model 57

3.3.3. A Layers of Necessity Model 58

3.3.4. Deciding on a Model 59

IV. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR UNIVERSITIES AND

4.1. Main pillars of an Effective Curriculum 61

4.2. Curriculum Development 65

4.3. Process Initiation Stage 67

4.3.1. Formation of the Team Work 68

4.3.2. Brainstorming for Developers 70

4.3.3. Task Assignment 70

4.3.4. Setting Deadlines for Task Accomplishment 70

4.4. Pre-development Stage 71

4.4.1. Needs Analysis 73

4.4.1.1. Identifying Market Needs 75

4.4.1.2. Identifying Student Needs 77

4.5. Development Stage 79

4.5.1. Defining Instructional Objectives 82

4.5.2. Reasons for Instructional Objectives 84

4.5.3. Characteristics of Useful Instructional Objectives 84

4.5.4. Selection of Content and Preparation of Materials 85

4.5.5. Selection of Teaching Methods and Techniques 88

4.5.6. Selection of Teachers 93

4.5.7. Design of Instruction Materials and Developing Lesson

4.6. New Trends in Curriculum Development Process 101

4.6.1. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences 101