1. Curriculum Development (and Planning)
8/16/2019
Fulbright FLTA Orientation
University of Arkansas

2. Introduction What is curriculum development?
What’s involved in developing foreign language curriculum?
Levels of development, top to bottom
Program
Course
Unit
Lesson
Activity

3. Importance of goals/objectives
At all levels, you must have explicitly-stated goals/objectives
What kinds of goals/objectives should we base our curriculum on?
What are the goals of language learning?
Communication as a goal
The expression, interpretation, and negotiation of meaning
General goal for language learners is to develop communicative competence
Grammatical competence
Forms & structures of the language
Discourse competence
Rules of cohesion across utterances
Sociolinguistic competence
Appropriate (social) use of the language
Strategic competence
Ability to make the most of what you have

4. Characteristics of good goals
Should be theoretically and practically motivated
Theoretically
Language acquisition and learning
What outcome can we expect?
(What teaching practices result in the desired outcome?)
Practically
Why are the students taking this course?
What are the students’ characteristics?
Must be able to be assessed
Was the goal met?
How do you know?

5. Lesson goals and lesson planning
If we know our program, course, and unit goals, we can easily plan lessons, starting with the goals
Lesson goals
What will learners be able to do at the end of the lesson?
How can you measure whether they are able to do it?
Example – Elementary Spanish I
Handout #1
Lesson goals should be directly connected to unit goals
which should be directly connected to course goals
which should be directly connected to program goals

6. Lesson planning A lesson plan…
Is a systematic record of a teacher’s thoughts about what will be covered during a lesson
Describes or outlines the pedagogical procedures that will result in students learning or attaining specific objectives
What are some of the benefits of creating a lesson plan?
Provides a map to follow
Helps you think of how to resolve potential problems
Gives you some security
Provides a record of what you teach
Helps if you teach the same course again
Can allow a sub to easily take over a class
Can help with classroom management problems
Shows the students that you’re prepared
It’s an action plan you can get feedback on

7. Lesson structure Warm-up Main lesson segments Wind-down
Get the students attention
Can choose an activity that relates the new lesson to the previous one
And/or review content from a previous lesson
Main lesson segments
Wind-down
Lets the students know the lesson is ending
Review/summarize main points
Make a link to the next lesson
Encourage and praise students for what they’ve accomplished
Invite students to ask questions/comment about the lesson

8. Main lesson segments
Lessons are typically organized in segments that allow learners to build the skills that they need to perform the communicative lesson goal
Setting the stage
Providing input
Guided participation
Extension
Multiple instances of these segments can occur in one lesson

9. Setting the stage Introduce the topic of the lesson State it
Provide objectives for the lesson
Describe the outcome of a task
Engage the learners with brainstorming/discussion

10. Providing input Present the new material New forms embedded in context
Presented through stories, audio/video, role-plays, other activities
Help the learners to make form-meaning connections

11. Guided participation Controlled practice
Zoom in on isolated skills in narrow contexts
Build student skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing with meaningful, communicative tasks

12. Extension Learners work towards and meet the lesson goal
Apply what they’ve learned

13. Things to consider when planning…
Learners
Take into account learners’ background knowledge, language skills, goals for taking the language course
Contents
Topics/themes of learning tasks, context, specific linguistic skills needed, choice of materials
Pacing and timing (managing the time of lesson elements)
Avoid over-explaining
Use a variety of activities in a lesson
Make sure each activity has a goal and a time limit
Decide ahead of time what activities could be shortened if needed

14. Things to consider when planning…
Transitions
Boundary markers signaling the end or the beginning of a new activity or sub-activity
Provide a smooth flow from one segment to another
Connect one activity or sub-activity to the next
Use of language
Plan so that you can maximize use of the target language
Recent work and review
Consider what skills need to be reviewed/re-introduced, practiced more

15. Things to consider when planning…
Instructional aids and materials
Make sure you’re prepared, with copies, technology, etc.
Possible problems
Think about what might go wrong with the lesson
Picture the lesson occurring, think about what might be difficult and how to simplify/clarify
If questions come up that you don’t know the answer to, be honest about it
Rationales
Think about why you do what you do, and be prepared to explain to students when needed

16. Things to consider when planning…
Homework
Be consistent about how homework is assigned/announced
Assignments should function as an extension of class
Be meaningful, communicative…should emphasize form-meaning connections
Good for longer activities that are best done at learners’ own pace (longer reading, writing assignments)
Backup plan
What happens when you run out of planned activities?

17. So where do you start? One approach: Handout #2
1. specify lesson goals/objectives
What will learners be able to do at the end of the lesson?
“Students will be able to…”
Should be able to measure the outcome
2. select learning activities
What skills/vocab/grammar will students need to complete the activity?
Are these skills in alignment with the purpose/objectives of your lesson?
3. organize learning activities
Is the activity input-oriented? Controlled practice? Extension/application?
4. specify methods of evaluation
How will you know that the objectives have been met?
Handout #2

18. Managing a classroom activity/task
Language instructors need to manage…
Who can talk, and to whom
What students can talk about
How they can talk (with what type of language)
How long they can talk
In what language
With what tone
Looking at this list, what are some way in which classroom activities or tasks can be problematic or difficult?

19. What is a classroom activity/task?
A language classroom activity or task…
Provides learners with a purpose for using the language
Is a structured set of work plans that has a communicative, meaningful goal
Should require communicating with others to complete the goal
What kinds of typical language classroom activities don’t follow these guidelines?

20. The structure of a task/activity
Three components:
1. Task formulation or introduction
How will you introduce the task in order to emphasize its communicative goal?
2. Task execution
If the task has more than 1 step, or if it has a step that’s complicated, you should break down the task or the step
One set of instructions at a time
*Model* the step when necessary (most of the time, depending on the level)
It’s important to impose a time limit on each step
And make sure to maintain the time limit
3. Task conclusion
You should return to the communicative, meaningful goal of the task in order to conclude it
Emphasize how the students met the goal
Handout #3

21. The syllabus
Look at the example syllabus with a partner and identify what type of information it contains
University/college syllabi should include:
Instructor information: office location, office hours, and
Course description
Course outcomes and learning objectives
Course format: lecture, lab, seminar, online, blended, etc.
Class schedule: topics, guest speakers, assignment due dates, exams, holidays
Required, recommended, and supplemental readings or materials
Required assignments: guidelines, resources, evaluation criteria, due dates, citation requirements
How learning will be assessed
Course/departmental/university policies
Your “contract” with your students

22. Conclusion
Importance of having goals, and keeping them in mind as you plan
Planning in advance is key