What were we teaching?

• English for no specific purpose?

• 1950’s—English became popular in part because of media

• Need for practical command of language

• Focus had been on how and what people learned…not WHY people learned a new language

Audiolingual Method

• Remember this from studying a foreign language?

• Based on repetition

• Behaviorist approach

Communicative Language Teaching Method

• Focused on goals, nature, and processes of language teaching

• Needs-based

• Focus is on communicating and not on grammar

• Communicative competence—the ability one has to appropriately communicate in a given setting

• Still popular today

English for Specific Purposes

• ESP allows learner to have language skills in order to carry out a particular role/task.– E.g. conversational, technical,

medical, etc.

• Register Analysis—studies vocabulary/word forms used in particular field. What is being used.

• Discourse Analysis—studies units of organization. How language is used.

Curriculum Models

• 1950s—Tyler Model: need-> plan-> implement-> review– Linear approach with evaluation at the

end only

• 1970s-1980s—Nicholls Model: ends-means model because it is needs-based.

• 1980s—Munby Model: systems approach: linear and rule driven

• 1980s—Clark suggests using current curriculum as a point of departure and improving rather than recreating

Language Curriculum Development

What procedures can be used to determine the content of a language program?

What are learners’ needs?

How can learners’ needs be determined?

What contextual factors need to be considered in planning a language program?

What is the nature of aims and objectives in teaching and how can these be developed?

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 one measure the effectiveness of a language program?

Curriculum Development Response to such inquiries as:

What to learn and teach, how, when, to whom, with what, how to organize, evaluate and improve instruction

Theoretical Bases:

about language, culture systemabout nature of languageabout situational contextsabout encode and decode behaviorabout language learningabout the learnerabout language instruction

Framework:

1. Identification: program/needs/purpose/objectives2. Specification: the content of the program and main

components (linguistic, culture, semantic, etc.)3. Characterization: Lessons/units, subunits, learning

difficulty& skill levels4. Categorization: learning tasks/activities5. Distributions: space content components in

grades/sequence6. Arrangement: different content strands into

learning segments7. Assessment and evaluation: related to objectives

Systematic Approach To Designing & Maintaining Language Curriculum

NEEDS ANALYSIS

OBJECTIVES

TESTING

MATERIALS

TEACHING

E V A L U A T I O N

(Adapted from Brown, 1989)

INTERFACE OF TEACHING & CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

NEEDS ANALYSIS

OBJECTIVES

TESTING

MATERIALS

TEACHING

E V A L U A T I O N

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

APPROACHES

SYLLABUSES

EXERCISES

TECHNIQUES

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

(Adapted from Brown, 1989)

Curriculum Development Process

Program Identification

Program Design

Performance levelUnits

Lesson planDescription

FunctionStructureActivities

Instructionalconsiderations

Learning ObjectivesLanguage/content

Needs AssessmentLanguage/Content

Psychosocialconsiderations

(Adapted from Richards, 1995)

Administrativeconsiderations

Logisticalconsiderations

Materials

Evaluation

Methodology

MethodApproach

DesignProcedure

A Curriculum Framework for

Participatory ESL Education

(Adapted from Caroline Kewrfoot, 1994)

Read other texts,write your own, synthesize orally

Discuss and analyze trigger:Picture, tape, text, object, poem

Compare

Get information: listening , questioningRead numeracy, graphs, statistics

role play, access skills

PopularEducationPrinciples

Act

Learners’experience

Input

Reflect

Analyze

Evaluate:write/read reportsdiscuss, analyzereassess needs

Critical thinking Identify extra

Information neededDiscuss underlying

causes

Participating skills:Speaking--Negotiating

Chairing meetingsHandling conflictWriting—letters

minutes