TOPIC 3 – THE

LANGUAGE
SYLLABUSES
TSLB2073R
Syllabus Design
Syllabus design is concerned with the selection,
sequencing and justification of the content of the
curriculum. Traditional approaches to syllabus
developed were concerned with selecting lists of
linguistic features such as grammar, pronunciation, and
vocabulary as well as experiential content such as
topics and themes.
Do you agree?
Syllabus - Definition
- a “plan of what is to be achieved throughout teaching and
our students’ learning” (Breen, 1984) while its function is “to
specify what is to be taught and in what order” (Prabhu,
1984).
In Wilkins (1981) words, syllabus is “specifications of the
content of language teaching which have been submitted to
some degree of structuring or ordering with the aim of making
teaching and learning more effective process”.
• Widdowson (1990) interprets a syllabus as “the specification of a
teaching programme or pedagogic agenda which defines a particular
subject for a particular group of learners. A syllabus specification,
then, is concerned with both the selection and the ordering of what is
to be taught”.
• Hutchinson-Waters (1987) define syllabus at its simplest level “as a
statement of what to be learned”.
• Yalden (1987) also refers to syllabus as a summary of the content to
which learners will be exposed”. Finally, it comprises subject matter
and linguistic matter.
• In simple way it performs like a guide for both learner
and teacher by providing some goals to be
accomplished. So when syllabus is prepared, designers
need to keep in mind that it, in fact, deals with
linguistic theory and theories of language learning and
how they are utilized in the classroom. (More about
that later).
ORGANISATION
The syllabus may be a simple list, or it may have a more
complex structure. The list may be prioritized according
to some notion of importance or usefulness; or it may
be graded according to some notion of difficulty; or
hierarchically ordered.
Syllabus Design
• is concerned with the selection, organisation and justification
of the content of the curriculum.
• Traditional approaches to syllabus developed were concerned
with selecting lists of linguistic features such as grammar,
pronunciation, and vocabulary as well as experiential content
such as topics and themes.
• These sequenced and integrated lists were then presented to
the methodologist, whose task it was to develop learning
activities to facilitate the learning of the pre-specified content.

Source:
Nunan, D. (2001). Aspects of task-based syllabus design.
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/teachers_page/language_learning_articles/aspects_of_taskbased_syllabus.htm
Definition and Function of Syllabuses
Based on Brumfit, GENERAL ENGLISH SYLLABUS DESIGN
1. A syllabus must be related to a broader curriculum and to a larger
social context reflected in the 'hidden curriculum', which may be either
supported or criticized through the syllabus.
2. It is a device for public planning but for teaching, not learning (CJB,
Thus it operates as a means of control, and must be administratively
workable.
3. Planning may be limited to a broad curriculum level, the specific
syllabus remaining more spontaneous and local (i.e. – interpreted by
teachers).
• It involves initial specification with discrete items which must be
selected, defined and graded with an appropriate starting point and
end point
• Includes clearly stated goals.
• There will be sequencing which is intrinsic to the language or content
system, and extrinsic, administratively determined, sequencing for
items which do not fit into a system, and the items taught should not
be explicitly linked to time (no time markers).
• It generates a set of units of work, and implies particular
methodologies; indeed, the methodology can be considered part of
the syllabus specification.
• It should be negotiable during use and after but constraints will be
needed as support for some students however, it may be considered a
retrospective record rather than a prospective plan.
• The language syllabus will interact with other syllabuses, but will be
the fundamental one-others will include cultural, communicative
activity, etc. or it can be viewed partially in terms of items of content,
skills of behaviour, and values of ideology.
Syllabus Design - Considerations
What procedures can be used to conceptualise the content of
a language program?
What are learners’ need?
How can learners’ needs be determined?
What contextual factor need to be considered in planning a
language program? political, economic, social forces
What is the nature of aim and objectives in teaching and
how can these be developed?
Syllabus Design – Considerations (Contd.)
What factors are involved in planning the syllabus
and the units of organization in a course?
How can good teaching be provided in a program?
What issues are involved in selecting, adapting, and
designing instructional materials?
How can we assess the effectiveness of a language
program?
Factors Affecting Evolution of Language Syllabi
• Theoretical shifts on how people learn language
• traditional – language as mastery of grammatical structures
to…
• holistic (language as communication)
• Shifts in student needs – workplace demands (think Eng.
for Specific Purposes – Engineering, nursing, tourism, etc.
• Shifts in national language policies (Week 1 – multiple
shifts in language policies – change of emphases)
Overview: Types of Syllabi
Grammatical / Structural Syllabus
• Grammar Translation Method (1800-1900)
• Direct Method (1890-1930)
• Grammar / Structural Method (1930-1960)
• Audiolingual Method (1950-1970)
Functional Notional Syllabus (Council of Europe)
• Situational Method (1950-1970)
Communicative Syllabus
• Communicative Approach / CLT (late 1970s - present)
Skills-Based Syllabus
Lexical “Syllabus”
- Traditional vocabulary selection studies can be traced back to the 1920s and 1930s (West 1926; Ogden
1930; Faucet et al. 1936, later – graded readers)
- corpus linguistics - 1980s and 1990s
 Traditional and Holistic Approaches in Syllabus
Traditional
Focus on language as a sequence of
grammatical patterns.
Selects language items on basis of complexity
of linguistic criteria.
Language used tends to be more formal and
bookish
select language items solely on the basis of
grammatical criteria,
Aim is to have students produce formally
correct sentences. Focus on accuracy.
Reading and writing are emphasised.
Tends to be teacher-centred.
Focus is on the form of expression rather than
the content.
Grammar is taught in isolation.
Holistic
Focus is on communication.
Selects on the basis of what language items the learner needs to know
Genuine everyday language is emphasised.
select the items the learner needs to know in order to get things done, i.e.,
to complete the task.
Aim is to have students communicate effectively in order to complete the
task. Focus on fluency.
Speaking is given at least as much time as reading and writing.
Tends to be student-centred.
Resembles the natural language learning process by concentrating on the
content / meaning of the expression rather than the form (grammar).
Language errors are repaired while the students are on the task
(contextually. Thus grammar is taught reactively, rather than pre-emptively.

(Adapted from 'The Learner-Centred Curriculum' David Nunan. CUP 1988.)

Traditional Syllabus
• In traditional syllabuses and materials, linguistic
content is primary.
• The situational and thematic choices are made once
the linguistic content has been established.
• The selection of the linguistic content itself is based
on a particular theoretical view of the nature of
language and the way in which we acquire it.
Traditional Syllabus - Example
• The audiolingual method, for example, emphasised a careful
sequencing of grammatical structures, which were presented
and then repeated, with gradual memorisation of the
dialogue.
• This approach was developed following research by
behaviourist psychologists, who saw language as a system of
building blocks, and language acquisition as a process of
habit formation, through imitation and repetition.
• Such an approach tends to ignore thematic content, and
grammar and vocabulary are presented in isolated sentences
without any thematic thread.
 Traditional (Grammatical/Structural) Syllabus
Advantages
Traditional syllabuses are suited to some
types of learner.
Breaking the language down into bits and
pieces can help to focus students on a
particular aspect of the language and
avoid the focus being blurred by other
problems.
Disadvantages
Does not reflect authentic way in which
language functions – not logical to break
language into grammatical bits and pieces when
language is always experienced
comprehensively, as a whole.
a holistic approach uses texts, i.e., whole pieces
of language, rather than individual sentences
(to prepare the learners for the language they
will encounter outside the classroom).
Lacks consideration of how language works in a
communicative sense, (language use), which,
'requires us to go beyond the sentence and look
at longer stretches of language.'
Holistic Syllabus
A holistic syllabus features texts, topics and tasks, placing great
emphasis on meaningful communication from the learner's point of
view.
Texts are authentic, tasks are communicative, and learners will be
encouraged to respond to the topics and texts, rather than to isolated
sounds, grammatical items and vocabulary.
Problems?
How to order the tasks and of how to choose the task which learners
need? However, proponents argue that a focus on function, fluency and
use is still more like how learners experience the language outside the
classroom (authentic), than a focus on grammatical form, accuracy and
analysis.
Shift from traditional towards Holistic Syllabi
• Traditional and holistic syllabuses reflect evolving
views of language and language learning and
teaching.
• Both viewpoints are valid, and most courses nowadays
will reflect elements of both.
Many other considerations of elements to be integrated into the syllabus, based on a contemporary understanding of
many different functions played by language. Contemporary syllabus will integrate contemporary views on language

Below is an example taken from South Africa

Language, Literacy and Communication Goals

• Making and negotiating meaning.
• Showing a critical awareness of the use of language.
• Reacting to the aesthetic affective, cultural and social value of texts.
• Gaining access to and processing information acquired from several
sources and situations.
• Having knowledge of and understanding language structures and
conventions and apply them within context.
• Using language to learn.
• Using appropriate communicative strategies for specific aims and
under specific circumstances.
Clarifying Terms: Syllabus and Methodology
• Can a structural syllabus include communicative methodology?
• Can a communicative syllabus integrate elements of structural
methodology?
• A useful way of looking at a syllabus – ORGANISING PRINCIPLE FOR
CONTENT
• Methodology – Activities / Tasks that students engage in.
Do you agree?
• The main point to be clarified here first is that a syllabus is not either an
approach or a methodology.
• It is in principle a document which specifies what is to be learned, and the
concept of an approach and a methodology tell how it is to be learned. This
implies that it is a mistaken assumption that a notional/functional syllabus
is synonymous with a communicative approach to language teaching.
• A notional/functional syllabus is of itself no more communicative and either
is a structural (grammatical)syllabus.
• Communication is what is achieved through classroom activities. This
means that there is no such thing as communicative syllabus.
Source:
Syllabus Design and its Relation to Teaching Methodology and Curriculum
Development in the Second Language Classroom - Alan G. Harper
Do you agree? A point of discussion to end.
• So, theoretically, it is quite possible to adopt a
communicative methodology for a class designed along a
grammatical syllabus, and vice versa. Teachers are not always
bound to adopt the methodology in line with the syllabus
intention. Instead, they are required to think what classroom
activities are promoted most consistently with the design of
the syllabus they have already employed.
[Do you agree with the above assertions?]
Principles of Organisation for a Syllabus and
Integrated Methodologies
Syllabus (Organisation) Methodologies (Activities)
Grammatical Syllabus Communicative Methodology
UNIT 1 – SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE Get into pairs and tell your friend what you did
last evening.
Read and respond to an article about a visit to
the Niah Caves.

Communicative Syllabus Structural Methodology

Unit 1 – Sharing Past Experiences Grammar lesson – focus on form –
simple past tense
Functional-Notional Syllabus Lexical Methodology
Overview: Types of Syllabi
Grammatical / Structural Syllabus
• Grammar Translation Method (1800-1900)
• Direct Method (1890-1930)
• Grammar / Structural Method (1930-1960)
• Audiolingual Method (1950-1970)
Functional Notional Syllabus (Council of Europe)
• Situational Method (1950-1970)
Communicative Syllabus
• Communicative Approach / CLT (late 1970s - present)
Skills-Based Syllabus
Lexical “Syllabus”
- Traditional vocabulary selection studies can be traced back to the 1920s and 1930s (West 1926; Ogden
1930; Faucet et al. 1936, later – graded readers)
- corpus linguistics - 1980s and 1990s
Grammatical / Structural Syllabus
• This type of syllabus presents structures, which
are graded according to grammatical complexity,
one by one and are internalised by learners
before moving on to the next item.
[read and discuss document – Grammatical
Syllabus]
Theoretical Underpinnings
A syllabus is not without an approach: the theory of
language and the theory of language learning.
The grammatical syllabus takes the systematic and rule-
based view of the language. It views language as a
system, and prioritizes the sub-systems involved e.g.
phonology, grammar, lexis or morphology and
discourse as text, in which language-learning involves
gaining mastery over the sub-systems.
Theory of Language
• The theory of language learning underlying this
syllabus is habit formation.
• Influenced by the works of B.F.Skinner, language
learning is seen as a behavior, which can be seen,
observed and modified.
• Behaviorists believed that language learning is similar
to other kinds of learning, which calls the formation of
right habits by repetition, memorization and imitation.
Assumption Behind Grammatical Syllabus
• 1) Language consists of a finite set of rules which can be
combined in various ways to make meaning.
• 2) These grammatical rules can be learned one by one, in an
additive fashion; each item can be mastered on its own and later
incorporated into learner’s pre-existing stock of knowledge.
• 3) The principal purpose of language teaching is to help the
learners to “crack the ode” i.e. to deduct the structural properties
of a language, learn them break and incorporate them again.
• 4) Once the learner has internalized the formal aspects of the
target language, they will automatically be able to use it in
genuine communication outside the classroom
Syllabus Design – Grammatical Syllabus (1
Unit)
• Stage 1- Single word and formula
• Stage 2- Standard order. For English Sub+V+Obj
• Stage 3- Initialization and Finalization: Final elements can be moved into
initial position or vie versa. E.g-Words such as adverbs can be added to
the beginning or end of the clause.
• Stage 4- Semi-internal permutation: Internal elements can be moved to
initial or final position. e.g- words can be moved from inside the clause to
the beginning or end of the clause.
• Stage 5- Fully Internal Permutation: Items can be moved about within a
clause.
Criticism – Grammatical / Structural Syllabus
This syllabus type has been criticized for its code-driven, pre-
selection of items, decontextualized system-based instruction, but
it is not beyond improvement.
It can best be exploited and implemented in the language
classrooms provided the teachers knowledge of the recent
developments in SLA research.
Stern (1992:138) has rightly pointed out that teachers should
know “how best to integrate a grammatical syllabus with the
demands of functional or communicative-experiential syllabus.
Corder (1973:297) views “grammar teaching is not just
cumulative; it is an integrative process.”
Grammatical/Structural Syllabus – Some
questions
• Is a grammatical syllabus entirely negative?
• Can an entire course be build around units of grammar?
• Adopting structural methodology - repetition, memorization,
imitation and habit formation – how does it benefit
students?
• Does an understanding of how and when to use grammar
improve communication? How?
• Think – perhaps not syllabus but methodology?
Lexical Syllabus
• Uses vocabulary as the building blocks. Results from
an analysis of high frequency vocabulary and phrases
they work from language in use and build up
vocabulary areas.
• Comprising traditional and contemporary approaches.
• The lexical syllabus takes 'word' as the unit of analysis
and content for syllabus design. The Lexical approach
stresses the need to use corpora to inform
pedagogical materials.
Key Ideas – Lexical Approach
• The Lexical approach is explicitly an approach, not a syllabus,
or method (although it can involve integrating its
methodologies – more on that later)
• It advocates a total re-evaluation of the language which is
offered to students, and how the language is analysed. It also
suggests that many traditional classroom activities and
attitudes to teaching vocabulary are counter-productive and
should be abandoned, or at least greatly de-emphasised.
(Lewis, 1996, p.13-14).
• Emphasis teaching of collocations, not individual words.
Collocations – Teaching “Chunks” of vocab
• Chunks are "strings of words which go together (i.e. prefabs and collocations"
(Harwood, 2002, p.140).
• Other terms for lexical units: "lexical phrases”, “lexicalised items”, “lexicalised
stems”, prefabricated patters, speech formulae (Richards and Rodgers, 2001, p.132).
• There are plenty of them in English: words that come as a set and signal the
presence of the other, like Starsky and Hutch, Donkey and Shrek, Batman and Robin.
Consider the following phrases:
• by the way
• abstract reasoning
• complete idiot
• best wishes
• make up your mind
• go to great lengths
 Traditional Contemporary – Based on Corpus Linguistics
Various vocabulary selection studies can be traced Rapid developments in corpus linguistics in the 1980s and 1990s
back to the 1920s and 1930s (West 1926; Ogden have had a considerable impact on the study of language.
1930; Faucet et al. 1936), Linguist Michael Lewis’ influential book on the topic. His 1993
  work, titled “The Lexical Approach: The State of ELT and a Way
Graded readers. Forward,” forwarded the conceptual foundations for effectively
Word lists. teaching a second language.
(Basis for selection?) Technological Advances
Concordances – analyse most frequently occurring chunks of
language. (Basis for selection from corpora).
Pedagogy
What to teach? - typical word combinations featured in the
corpora.
Syllabus will feature most frequently occurring phrases (chunks /
collocations). Students will learn chunks of language. These
chunks of words often occur together:
 by the way
 abstract reasoning
 complete idiot
 best wishes
 make up your mind
 go to great lengths
The lexical approach to syllabus design:
Some Methodological Features
• Methodology will consistently highlight lexical chunks
• Frequency of chunks will be selected from corpora
• Methodology may involve translating chunks from L1
to chunks of the target language
• Methodology will recycle chunks learnt from earlier
lessons
• Methodology will include extensive reading and
listening as input for authentic language.
Methodology – Lexical Syllabus
Methodology associated with Lexical
Syllabus
Include activities that involve analysing collocations.
THE WORD “OPINION” AND ITS COLLOCATIONS – see
readings.
Some challenges of a “Lexical Syllabus”
• Main principle for organisation for the entire course is word
collocations - Challenges?
• Can you use some of its methodologies? How?

Other ideas:
a. See Lexical Approach Classroom Activities
Carlos Islam, The University of Maine
b. Cambridge Textbook – an example.
Skills Syllabus
• In skill-based syllabus, the content of the language teaching
involves a collection particular skill that may play a role in using
language. The primary purpose of skill-based instruction is to
teach the specific language skill. Skills are things that people
must be able to do to be competent in a language. Unlike
situational syllabi where content of the language functions are
grouped together into specific language-use settings. Skill-
based syllabi group linguistic competencies (pronunciation,
vocabulary, grammar and discourse) together into generalized
types of behavior, such as listening to spoken language.
[read and discuss document Skills Syllabus]
Skills Syllabus Content
• In skill-based syllabus, the content of the language teaching
involves a collection of particular skills (Listening, Speaking,
Reading, Writing) that may play a role in using language.
• The primary purpose of skill-based instruction is to teach the
specific language skill that may be useful or necessary in using
language. Skill-based syllabus integrate the development of
linguistic competencies (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar
and discourse) together into generalized types of behavior such
as listening to spoken language for the main idea, writing well-
formed paragraphs, delivering effective lectures and so forth.
Characteristics of Skills Syllabus
(a) The whole is equal to the sum of its parts; - All 4 skills
(b) There are differences between spoken and written
language; (skills separated – although contemporary includes
integration of skills – one skill building upon another.)
(c) Oral language acquisition precedes the development of
literacy; (starts with L&S, then reading, then writing).
 Reading Skills – Macro and Micro Skills
MACRO
Reading skills include:
•Summarizing
•Sequencing
•Inferencing
•Comparing and contrasting
•Drawing conclusions
•Self-questioning
•Problem-solving
•Relating background knowledge
•Distinguishing between fact and
opinion
•Finding the main idea, important
facts, and supporting details.
MICRO
Three general micro-skills critical to reading:
Phonological awareness (PA), knowledge of the sound
system of a language, and is necessary for the processing of
both oral language and print.
Orthographic knowledge (Snow, 2002) - It is a broad term
covering many different kinds of sound-related processes,
includes information about the visual and spelling patterns
of words or parts of words (Roman et al., 2009) – i.e, spelling
Decoding (also called word reading or word identification)
incorporates both PA and orthographic skill, and is a term
describing the process of identifying, reading, or verbally
reproducing a word. It has been identified as a critical skill in
good reading, and is considered a clear predictor of reading
aptitude (Joshi & Aaron, 2002).
See also Syllabus for Form 1
English Language
APPLICATION OF A SKILLS BASED
SYLLABUS
• Skill-based instruction is most appropriate when learners need specific
skills, and especially when these skills are well-defined and the learners
have little need for global language ability.
• Skill-based instruction is probably more appropriate for adults that for
children, for whom emphasis on concrete content is more appropriate.
• Skill-based instruction is not appropriate, in large amount, at least, for
general purpose or beginning level language programs in which the
need of the learners are broad or yet to be defined.
• In such case, focusing on narrow skill-based applications will take
instructional time away from content that is more likely to address their
need for overall language proficiency
Methodologies – Skills Syllabus
To apply this syllabus in learning process, teacher can conduct some activities
like role play, dialogue, writing short paragraph, reading activity in groups,
etc.
• Guessing vocabulary from context               Scanning or non-prose material
• Reading for the main idea             Using affixes as clues to meaning
• Inference                                             More scanning of non-prose material
• Summarizing readings                   More work on affixes
• Dictionary work                               Restatement of informational content
• More inference work                       Critical reading skill       
• Using expectations (eliciting prior knowledge)                    
• Analysis of paragraph structure     
• Using context clues to guess meaning in context                       
Functional / Notional Syllabus
Because of criticism surrounding the structural /
grammatical syllabus, syllabi were designed around
functions and notions of language. The functional-
notional syllabus focused on what the learner needed to
do with the language. It was suggested by Finocchiaro
and Brumfit that this type of syllabus placed 'the students
and their communicative purposes at the centre of the
curriculum'. (Nunan 1988)
[read and discuss document Functional-Notional Syllabus]
Functional-Notional Syllabus Content
Functional language refers to language needed in different
day-to-day situations. For example: greeting, introducing
yourself, asking for or giving advice, explaining rules,
apologising, or agreeing and disagreeing.
Learning form and functions is central to the syllabus. For
example, giving advice (Function): I think you should …, Why
not …’ How about …? Have you thought about …? Or, to
explain rules, we can say: We can’t …, we’re not allowed to
…, and we have to ….)Form
Designing a Functional-Notional course
• To prepare learners for real-life communication
(in the target language), many language courses
focus not only on grammar, but also on how
grammatical forms can be used to realise different
functions such as giving instructions or giving an
opinion. How do syllabus designers incorporate
functional language into a language course?
Organising the Functional-Notional Syllabus
• Designers may organise the syllabus around certain
topic areas.  For example, a unit on the topic of travel
could contain the functional language of asking for or
giving directions, or useful expressions we use when
telling travel anecdotes. A unit on the topic of
helping people could incorporate the language of
asking for help, or ways of responding to requests,
accepting, or saying “no” and giving an excuse.
Func-Notional Syllabus: Benefits to Learners
• The more functional language learners know, the more real-
life situations you they interact in. They can learn different
expressions for different contexts. Some expressions are
more suitable for a formal situation than an informal one,
some you use with close friends and others with strangers
(pragmatics – think communicative competence i.e
appropriate use of language in social situations).
• Consider – if learner is learning a new language, could it be
as important to learn functional language as it is to learn
vocabulary, or even grammar?
Advantages – Functional-Notional Syallabus
• Reflect a more comprehensive view of language than
grammar syllabuses
• They can link to other types of syllabus contents (topic,
grammar)
• They provide a convenient framework for the design of
teaching materials
Disadvantages – Functional-Notional
Syllabus
• Simple series of isolated form-function pairings will do little to
develop interactional and communicative ability because these
isolated functions are not synthesized into discourse.
• No clear criteria for selecting or grading functions
• Represent a simplistic view of communicative competence and fail to
address the processes of communication
• Represent an atomistic approach to language
• Lead to a phrase-book approach to teaching that concentrates on
teaching expression
• Students have considerable gaps in their grammatical competence
Communicative Syllabus
Emphasizes interaction and problem solving as both
the means and the ultimate goal of learning English - or
any language. It tends to emphasise activities such as
role play, pair work and group work. It switched
traditional language teaching's emphasis on grammar,
and the teacher-centred classroom, to that of the
active use of authentic language in learning and
acquisition.
origins of Communicative Language
Teaching (CLT)
The origins of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
are to be found in the changes in the British language
teaching tradition dating from the late 1960s. Until
then, Situational Language represented the major
British approach to teaching English as a foreign
language. In Situational Language Teaching, language
was taught by practicing basic structures in meaningful
situation-based activities.
The work of the Council of Europe; the writings of
Wilkins, Wid­dowson, Candlin, Christopher
Brumfit, Keith Johnson, and other British applied
linguists on the theoretical basis for a
communicative or func­tional approach to
language teaching; came to be referred to as the
Communicative Approach, or simply
Communicative Language Teaching.
Key elements of the Communicative
Syllabus (based on Nunan)
• Opportunities for students to communicate through
interaction in the target language.
• Use of authentic texts in the learning situation.
• Opportunities for learners to focus, not only on the language
but also on the learning process itself.
• Integration of learner's own personal experiences as
important contributing elements to classroom learning.
• Links between classroom language learning with language
use outside the classroom.
 COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH:
THEORY OF LANGUAGE
At the level of language theory, Communicative Language Teaching has a
rich, if somewhat eclectic, theoretical base. Some of the characteristics of
this communicative view of language follow.
1. Language is a system for the expression of meaning.
2. The primary function of language is for interaction and communication.
3. The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative
uses.
4. The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and struc­
tural features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning
as exemplified in discourse.
COMMUNICATIVE SYLLABUS
DESIGN
Communicative language teaching syllabus organizes
the teaching according to the notional and functional
categories of language rather than according to its
structures. It concentrates on the following:
1. Interactions: using language to communicate,
2. Tasks: using language to perform meaningful tasks
3. Learner: putting the learner’s interests, needs in the
forefront.
Task-based Syllabus
• A task-based syllabus is based on task-based learning, an approach where
learners carry out tasks such as solving a problem or planning an activity.
The language learnt comes out of the linguistic demands of the activity.
• A task-based syllabus is structured around a series of these tasks.
EXAMPLE OF TASKS
• Planning a Night Out
• Taking part in a job interview.
• Completing a credit card application.
• Finding one’s way from a hotel to a subway station.
• Checking into an hotel.
• Task-based syllabuses represent a form of
communicative language teaching.
• Instead of beginning the design process with lists of
grammatical, functional-notional, and other items, the
designer conducts a needs analysis which yields a list
of the target tasks that the targeted learners will need
to carry out in the ‘real-world’ outside the classroom.
Elements of Task-Based Syllabus
A. Inclusion of Language Data
Includes samples of spoken and written language - in language teaching,
a contrast is drawn between “authentic” and “non-authentic” data.
Authentic data are samples of spoken or written language that have not
been specifically written for the purposes of language teaching. “Non-
authentic” data are dialogues and reading passages that HAVE been
specially written.

Should include both authentic and non-authentic sampels

B. Information
In addition to data, learners need information – including experiential
information about the target culture, they need linguistic information
about target language systems, and they need process information
about how to go about learning the language.
They can get this information either deductively, when someone
(usually a teacher) or a textbook provides an explicit explanation, or
they can get it inductively. In an inductive approach, learners study
examples of language and then formulate the rule.
C. Practice
• The third and final essential element is practice.
Unless you are extraordinarily gifted as a language
learner, it is highly unlikely that you will get very far
without extensive practice.
More on Opportunities for Practice
•  In designing practice opportunities for my learners, I distinguish between tasks,
exercises and activities.
•  A task is a communicative act that does not usually have a restrictive focus on a
single grammatical structure. It also had a non-linguistic outcome.
•  An exercise usually has a restrictive focus on a single language element, and has a
linguistic outcome.
•  An activity also has a restrictive focus on one or two language items, but also has
a communicative outcome. In that sense, activities have something in common
with tasks and something in common with exercises.
•  I distinguish between real-world or target tasks, which are communicative acts
that we achieve through language in the world outside the classroom, and
pedagogical tasks, which are carried out in the classroom. I subdivide pedagogical
tasks into those with a rehearsal rationale and those with a pedagogical rationale.
Types of Tasks (Opportunities for Practice)
• Real-world or target task: A communicative act we achieve through
language in the world outside the classroom.
• Pedagogical tasks: A piece of classroom work which involves learners in
comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the language
while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than forms.
They have a non-linguistic outcome, and can be divided into rehearsal tasks
or activation tasks.
• Rehearsal task: A piece of classroom work in which learners rehearse, in
class, a communicative act they will carry out outside of the class.
• Activation task: A piece of classroom work involving communicative
interaction, but NOT one in which learners will be rehearsing for some out-
of-class communication. Rather they are designed to activate the
acquisition process.
Types of Tasks
• Enabling skills: Mastery of language systems - grammar,
pronunciation, vocabulary etc. which ENABLE learners to
take part in communicative tasks.
• Language exercise: A piece of classroom work focusing
learners on, and involving learners in manipulating some
aspect of the linguistic system
• Communication activity: A piece of classroom work involving
a focus on a particular linguistic feature but ALSO involving
the genuine exchange of meaning.
Steps - Designing Task-based language
programs (Syllabus)
• 1. Select and sequence real-world / target tasks
• 2. Create pedagogical tasks (rehearsal /
activation)
• 3. Identify enabling skills: create communicative
activities and language exercises
• 4. Sequence and integrate pedagogical tasks,
communicative activities and language exercises
Summary
• Harmer (2001) reminds us that “syllabus design concerns the
selection of items to be learnt and the grading of those items
into an appropriate sequence.” (p. 295).
• As Hutchinson and Waters (1991) point out, “a syllabus can
only constitute an approximate statement of what will be
taught. In particular we need to recognise its ideal nature
and, therefore, its limitations as an indicator of learning.”
( p.84).
• a syllabus cannot fulfil all the goals that it was created for,
and cannot ensure that everything will be learnt.
How can an understanding of thinking underlying
syllabus design benefit me as a teacher?
• As a teacher, it is very useful to know the ideas behind a
particular sequence of exercises or tasks, as this can help you to
judge whether or not such an approach is suited to your
students' needs.
• If you are interested in finding out more about the thinking
behind the course book syllabus that you are using, it can be
very helpful to read the curricular documents (and what else?),
foreword to textbook, table of contents (what else?).
• This usually reveals the coursebook writer's methodology,
selection criteria, and approach to grammar and vocabulary.
• Implications – what if you are a syllabus designer?
• There is no “best” syllabus.
• Must understand differences between syllabus
(principles of arganisation) and methodology
(methods/activities)
• An effective syllabus will meet the learning needs of
the students (need to define needs of the students) –
workplace demands
• Shaped also by political, economic, social forces.
TUTORIAL TASK
Examples of Syllabi – State the
Characteristics
Examples of Syllabi – State the Characteristics according to the types of
syllabi we have learned.
• General English
• Malaysian EL Curriculum (Form 1 Syllabus, etc.)
• IELTS Syllabus
• MUET [previous] [new – by 2021] – NST article
• English for Specific Purposes – Business Communication, Engineering,
Nursing, Tourism
Analyse and Discuss: What Type of Syllabus?
Analyse and Discuss: What Type of Syllabus?
Analyse and Discuss: What Type of Syllabus?
Analyse and Discuss: What Type of Syllabus?
Analyse and Discuss: What Type of Syllabus?
TASK 2 – Designing a Syllabus
1. Design the outline of 3 units of a syllabus.
2. Select an organisational principle for the units (Task-based,
communicative, skills based.
3. Design the methodologies around the organisational principle your
have selected