1. Syllabus Types

2. Points to consider for the Content of Language Learning (Unit 4)
There are mainly three categories: focus on the language, focus on learning and the learner, and focus on social context
1. Boundaries of the categories are not fixed; they may overlap.
E.g. If the focus is on topic, there might be some situations and communicative functions as well
2. Under the language section, both ‘what’ (knowledge) and ‘how’ (skills or activities) should be considered

3. Three Categories of Content
Focus on Language
linguistic skills, topics/themes, competencies, content, situations, tasks, speaking, reading, listening, writing, communicative functions, genre
Focus on Learning and the learner
affective goals, interpersonal skills, learning strategies
Focus on Social context
Sociolinguistic skills, sociocultural skills, sociopolitical skills

4. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE Linguistic Skills
Structural / Formal Syllabus
Focuses on the system that underlie the way language is structured: its grammar, pronunciation, and lexicon.
It includes
The sound system (phonology) of the language. In syllabuses this is pronunciation: how to pronounce, word stress, rhythm, intonation, etc.
The grammar of the language: how words are classified, what their function is, how words are ordered, etc.
The lexicon or vocabulary of the language: a variety of content words (nouns, verbs…), how words are formed (compounding, derivation…), prefixes/suffixes, etc

5. An example might be something like this:
Generally proceeds from simple grammatical structure to more complex grammatical structure.
An example might be something like this:
Unit 1: Present progressive
Unit 2: Comparatives
Unit 3: Simple past
Unit 4: Past progressive

6. Situations Situational Syllabus
The context in which one uses the language.
It includes
Places to do business (supermarket, travel agency…)
Places one interacts with others (at a party)
Situations overlap with communicative functions because there is communication between people in doing business or interacting with each other (e.g. request information at a travel agency).
Situations overlap with topics as well especially when the topic is associated with the situation (e.g. food at the supermarket)

7. A sample situational syllabus:
Unit 7 At Home
Dialogues
Passage:ＡChildlike Father
Words and Expressions
Notes
Exercises
Supplementary Reading: The British Bobby

8. Topical Syllabus / Thematic Syllabus
Topics/Themes
Topical Syllabus / Thematic Syllabus
Topics are what the language is used to talk or write about:.
Personal (family, food, hobbies, etc)
Professional (topics specific to professions)
Sociocultural (educational, political, etc)
Topics and themes are used interchangeably (themes may be broader than topics and may include a few topics)

9. A sample topical syllabus:
Week
Topics
Chapter/Handouts 1
Introduction to Customer Support/Help Desk
1, 2 2
Customer Service Skills, Scripts and Strategies, Commonly used communication tools 3
Troubleshooting Computer Problems, Classification and Routing 4
Common Support Problems and Resolutions 5

10. Communicative Functions
Functional Syllabus
The purpose for which the language is used (functions): persuading, expressing preferences, apologizing, etc.
Initially paired with notions (quantity, distance, smell, and texture)
Can be paired with situations to make them contextualized.
Problems:
some functions are not suitable for a rich lesson
risk of decontextualized inventories which are not meaningful to students

11. A sample Functional Unit Unit Name: Giving Advice (function)
Content of the Unit: I think you should…
Why don’t you…
If I were you, I would…
You’d better…
Although it is a basic unit, there is the grammatical complexity.

12. Competency-Based Syllabus
Competencies
Competency-Based Syllabus
Unite situations, linguistic skills and functions.
A competency attempts to specify and teach the language and behavior needed to perform in a given situation.
E.g. how to perform in a job interview
How to open a bank account
Positive side:
Elements can be specified
Their achievements can be measured
Problems:
Maybe difficult to predict the path of interaction and the language to be used for a given competency

13. A sample competency-based syllabus
Themes Core competencies
Instructional leadership Curriculum development and implementation
Leadership in educational Planning and implementing departmental/
Institutions faculty development
Supervisory leadership Evaluating and supervising staff and student
performance
Maintaining student and staff discipline
Monitoring staff and student activities

14. Tasks Task-Based Syllabus
Can be defined as ‘interactions whose purpose is to get something done’.
A way to promote classroom learning that focused on the processes rather than the products, and on meaning rather than the form.
Assumption: one develops language competence through action and interaction, not as a result of the interaction.

15. Tasks are selected through negotiation between teacher and student.
A task can be for
work purposes (designing a brochure)
academic purposes (writing an article)
daily life (planning a trip)
Tasks are a means through which students perform functions, practice skills, and discuss topics.
Can be performed in the real world or in the classroom.
Information gap is a kind of task specific to the classroom.

16. A sample task-based writing course:
I- Write Notes and Memos
II- Write a Report
III- Write a Letter to Companies
IV- Write a Replied Letter

17. Content-Based Syllabus
The subject matter, not the language itself: courses in which students learn another subject (content) such as history, maths through L2.

18. Four Skills Skill-Based Syllabus
The four skills that are the modes for using and understanding the language.
Learning the four skills involves understanding how different text types serve different purposes, and how texts are organized, so that one can understand them (listening and reading) and produce them (speaking and writing).

19. Sub-skills
For speaking: knowing how to negotiate turn-taking and producing fluent stretches of discourse
For listening: listening for gist, for tone, for invitations to take a turn
For reading: predicting content, understanding the main idea, interpreting the text
For writing: using appropriate rhetorical structure, adjusting writing for a given audience, editing one’s writing

20. Genre Genre-based syllabus
Language at discourse level: communicative events, or whole texts which accomplish certain purposes within a social context.
Texts can range from an academic paper to a phone message.
A course based on genre would involve learners in understanding and analyzing texts on a number of levels: lexico-grammatical level, discourse level, sociocultural level.

21. Three categories of Content
In general 3 conceptualization of the content:
Focus on Language
linguistic skills, topics/themes, competencies, content, situations, tasks, speaking, reading, listening, writing, communicative functions, genre
Focus on Learning and the learner
affective goals, interpersonal skills, learning strategies
Focus on Social context
Sociolinguistic skills, sociocultural skills, sociopolitical skills

22. FOCUS ON LEARNING AND THE LEARNER Affective Goals
Learners attitudes towards themselves, learning, the target language and the target culture.
Affective Goals involve
Developing a positive and confident attitude toward oneself as a learner
Learning to take risks and to learn from one’s mistakes
Developing a positive attitude toward the target language and culture
Understanding one’s attitude toward one’s own language and culture

23. Interpersonal Skill
How one interacts with others to promote learning: interacting with each other and with the teacher in the classroom.
Interpersonal skills are the basis for effective group work and cooperative learning.
They include
Understanding and assuming different roles in a group
Becoming an effective listener
A sample goal of this kind: Building a learning community.

24. Learning Strategies Focus is on how learners learn.
Cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies: self-monitoring, evaluating oneself…
The aim is two-fold:
Help students become aware of how they learn and thus expand their learning strategies to become effective learners
Help students develop ways to continue learning beyond the classroom.
E.g. designing activities in the classroom to develop your students’ learning strategies , you should conceptualize strategies as one of the contents of your course.

25. Three categories of Content
In general 3 conceptualization of the content:
Focus on Language
linguistic skills, topics/themes, competencies, content, situations, tasks, speaking, reading, listening, writing, communicative functions, genre
Focus on Learning and the learner
affective goals, interpersonal skills, learning strategies
Focus on Social context
Sociolinguistic skills, sociocultural skills, sociopolitical skills

26. FOCUS ON SOCIAL CONTEXT Sociolinguistic Skills
Choosing and using the appropriate language and extra-linguistic behavior for the setting, the purpose, the role and relationship.
Level of politeness (register)
Informal speech with peers, formal with strangers
Exhibiting appropriate extra-linguistic behavior
Body language
Using appropriate written or spoken formulaic phrases for certain situations

27. Sociocultural Skills
Understanding cultural aspects of identity, values, norms, and customs
Relationships
Gift-giving
Thus, we get explicit and implicit messages and behave and speak in a culturally appropriate way.

28. Sociopolitical Skills
Learning to think critically and take action for effective change in order to participate effectively in one’s community.
They include
Learning systems like medical, school, employment systems
Learning one’s rights and responsibilities
Taking actions to make positive changes.

29. A summary of all these skills is presented on p. 52

30. An Overall View of Syllabus Types
Now look at the following syllabuses and decide how the teachers have conceptualized
The organizational focus (topic, theme, skill, etc)
The content
The objectives

31. 1. Denise Maksail-Fine’s syllabus (p. 129) Organizational focus:
Topic-based
Content and Objectives:
Aspects of Topics
Grammar (as a supporting role)
Culture

32. 2. Brooke Palmer’s syllabus (p. 139) Organizational focus: Content :
Text-based
Content :
Learner needs
Priority on writing and delivering a scientific research paper
Technical terminology

33. 3. Tony Brody’s syllabus (p. 132) Organizational focus:
Integrated Skills
Content and Objectives:
Newspapers
Linguistic focus
Sociocultural aspects
Specific skills that require four skills (proposing solutions, interviewing, etc)

34. 4. Valeri Barnes’ syllabus (p. 134) Organizational focus: Content:
Theme-based
Content:
Considering interests of young adults (learner needs)
No focus on grammar
Field trips