8.approachestosyllabusdesign(1).ppt

1、Approaches to Syllabus Design,Theoretical assumptions behind syllabuses,Theoretical assumptions behind syllabuses,Views on the nature of language Structural vs. functional perspectives of language; What are the basic units of language?,The Nature of Language,Language is a system of arbitrary vocal s

2、ymbols used for human communication. 1）Language must be a system, since elements in it are arranged according to certain rules, they can not be combined at will. (for example: bkie, He table a green) 2）Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between the word pen and

3、the thing we use to write with. (different language has different words for “pen” speaks strongly for the arbitrary nature of language.,3) Language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well developed are their writing systems. ( Children acquire spoken langua

4、ge first before they can read or write indicated that language is primarily vocal) Morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language, which can not be divided without destroying or drastically altering the meaning, whether its lexical or grammatical. The essence of language is communication.,Theo

5、ry of language,1. Structural view -language is a system of structurally related elements for the coding of meaning. The target of language learning is seen to be the mastery of elements of this system, which are generally defined in terms of phonological units(e.g., phonemes, grammatical units(e.g.,

6、 clauses, phrases, sentences), grammatical operations( e.g., adding, shifting, joining, or transforming elements), and lexical items(e.g., function words Behaviorism vs. cognitive perspectives of language development; Formal vs. informal perspectives of language learning (i.e., learning vs. acquisit

7、ion),1. Classical Behaviorism- the learning process consists of the formation of associations between stimuli Instrumentalistic vs. humanistic perspectives of language education; Knowledge-based vs. skill-based language teaching.,Having decided on the underlying assumptions about language and langua

8、ge teaching, the next thing to do in syllabus design is to decide what to include in the syllabus. Below is a list of possible components of syllabuses. Are there any components or items that you dont think are not necessary? Are there any components that you would like to add?,Components of syllabu

9、ses,Aims/Goals -General statements about what must be accomplished by the end of the course. Objectives/Targets/requirements -Specific statements about what content or skills that students must master in order to attain the goals.,Non-language outcomes -Affect cultivation, such as confidence, motiva

10、tion, interest -Learning strategies, thinking skills, interpersonal skills, etc. -Cultural understanding,Learning contents -Knowledge: vocabulary list, grammar items-Skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing -Functions and notions -Topics -Culture,Implementation -Approaches/methodologies -Tea

11、ching principles -Teaching suggestions -Recommendation of textbooks/materials,Assessment/Evaluation: Who, what, how and for what purposes -Who should carry out assessment/evaluation? -What should be evaluated? -How is evaluation best done? -For what purposes should evaluation be done? -Proficiency t

12、ests,Types of syllabuses,Language Syllabus Product-oriented syllabus process-oriented syllabus Synthetic syllabus Analytic syllabus Procedural Grammatical Situational Task-based Functional- Content-based notional (Cheng xiaotang, 2002:17),Types of syllabuses,1. Grammatical/structural syllabus 2. Sit

13、uational syllabus 3. Lexical syllabus 4. Functional-notional syllabus 5. Topical/content-based syllabus 6. Skills- based syllabus 7. Task-based syllabus 8. Integrated syllabus (Multi-syllabus) 9. Product-oriented vs. process-oriented syllabuses,Grammatical/structural syllabus,The syllabus input is s

14、elected and graded according to grammatical notions of simplicity and complexity. These syllabuses introduce one item at a time and require mastery of that item before moving on to the next.,Theoretical assumptions,(1) Language is system which consists of a set of grammatical rules. Learning languag

15、e means learning these rules and then applying them to practical language use. The syllabus input is selected and graded according to grammatical notions of simplicity and complexity. These syllabuses introduce one item at a time and require mastery of that item before moving on to the next.,(2) Mai

16、n components A. A list of grammatical items selected according to the following criteria (Wilkins, 1976; Richards, 2001). What do you think these criteria mean? Can you give some examples? Simplicity Regularity Frequency Contrastive difficulty/linguistic distance Learnability: what items can be lear

17、ned at what time? Are students ready to learn certain rules, for example? Intrinsic difficulty Communicative need: How often is an item needed in communication?,B. A list of lexical items to be learned (Wilkins, 1976; Richards, 2001:4-14) Frequency: Teachability: How easy is it to teach the words? F

18、or example, concrete nouns and verbs can be easily demonstrated by objects or actions. Therefore they have a higher degree of teachability. Defining power: some words are frequently used to define other words, e.g., container. Similarity: cognates among languages are easier to learn, for example, ta

19、ble in French and English.,(3) Merits - Teaching a language through teaching its grammar is a familiar approach many teachers and - students. In many contexts, both teachers and students expect to see grammar in materials. - Grammar is an important component of language proficiency. - The system of

20、grammar provides a convenient guidance for syllabus design. - Others?,(4) Drawbacks - It misrepresents the nature of language. - Language learning does not necessarily occur in simple additive fashion. - It is difficult for the syllabus designer to control input and yet at the same time provide lang

21、uage samples for the learner to work on which bear some semblance at least to the sort of language the learner will encounter outside the classroom. - Others?.,Situational syllabus,Definition: Situational syllabus is often defined as one which the contents are organized according to situations in wh

22、ich certain language is likely to be employed. (Richards, et al, 1985:260; Ur, 2000: 178),1. Theoretical assumption Language is always used in context, never in isolation and the choice of linguistic forms are restricted by social situations. The situational syllabus is based on the communication si

23、tuations. It selects, organizes, and presents language items according to situations. eg. at the airport, in the bank and so on.,Components of the situational syllabus 1)aims/goals: to prepare learners for future situations where they might use the language 2)objectives: to learn grammar, build voca

24、bulary and develop four basic skills in particular situations 3)non-language outcomes,4)learning contents Knowledge: a collection of real or imaginary situations, which are always chosen according to the following factors Communicative needs Language items involved The learners interest Cultural dif

25、ferences Topics: those the students can talk about in a certain situation Language items: vocabulary or structure related to the communication in a situation Skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing,5)implementation: taking part in the activities, through choral imitation, elicitation, subst

26、itution drilling and question-answer drilling, students grasp the basic principles to communicate in a situation 6)evaluation: mastering some vocabulary and structures, students get to communicate in different situations,Merits of the situational syllabus,Motivating learners Learner-centered not sub

27、ject-centered. It takes account of the learner and his needs Concrete contexts: learners learn language structures within those contexts thus making it easier to visualize and then remember Improving communicative competence Language teaching begins with the spoken language, and material is taught o

28、rally before it is presented in written forms Enhancing inductive ability It adopts an inductive approaches to the teaching of grammar, students are expected to deduce the meaning of a particular structure or vocabulary item from the situation where it is presented. In addition, the extending struct

29、ures and vocabulary to new situations takes place in generalization,Drawbacks of the situational syllabus,Syllabus can not include all the situations in the real life A situational syllabus will be limited for students whose needs were not encompassed by the situations in the syllabus Physical situa

30、tional setting doesnt necessarily predict the language forms that will be used Artificial dialogues can not be used in natural language Language as practiced in the classroom and language as spoken in the real world can be quite different Grammar items and structures are not arranged in a systematic

31、 way The sequencing of situations was generally random, making it impossible to grade the structures without falsifying the situations,Lexical syllabus,Functional-notional syllabus,The syllabus input is selected and graded according to the communicative functions that language learners need to perfo

32、rm at the end of the language program. The functional-notional syllabuses reflect a broader view of language provided by philosophers of language and sociolinguistics.,Functions: the communicative purposes for which we use language, such as identifying, agreeing, offering, approving, inquiring, gree

33、ting, advising, apologizing, denying, suggesting, warning, persuading. Notions: the conceptual meanings expressed through language: such as time, direction, equality, cause, frequency, existence, ownership, duration, size, location.,5. Topical/content-based syllabus,The content of language learning might be defined in terms of situations, topics, themes, or other academic or school subjects. The stimulus for content-syllabuses is the notion that, unlike science, history, or mathematics, language is not a subject in its own right, but merely a vehicle for communicating about something else.