Language Curricula: An Analysis of Content, Methods and Assessment Procedures (original) (raw)
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Syllabus design, implementation and evaluation
The impulse to begin the project has come from my work with students at the University of Silesia, who are going to teach children, and from my experience of teaching English to young learners. Interest in teaching foreign languages to children has been on the rise for some years in Europe. For example, an explosion of English classes has been observed in the last ten years in both state and private sectors of education. Certain EU Members have a long tradition of early foreign language learning, while others are seeking new solutions after disappointing experiments in the 60 s and 70 s . The experts are trying to define a policy and principles of learning/teaching languages in primary and pre-school education 1 . The main conclusions drawn from the research completed by the European educational institutions are that early language learning can have a very positive effect on children in terms of language skills, positive attitudes to other languages and cultures, and self-confidence. Nevertheless, the early start does not guarantee better results. For success to be certain, the appropriate conditions in terms of pedagogy and resources should be created. Namely, in the review published by ECML and entitled "Foreign Languages in Primary and Pre-school Education: Context and Outcomes" 2 one of the first recommendations 3 refers to research and sufficient support required for innovations, from the planning stage to the post-implementation stage. The results achieved should include the context and direct observation of classroom situations 4 . Then, processes of syllabus design,
Language Curriculum Development
RELC Journal, 1984
In this survey paper the field of language curriculum develop ment is defined as encompassing the processes of needs analysis, goal setting, syllabus design, methodology and evaluation. Each of these curriculum processes is surveyed and issues and practices in each area are discussed. Needs analysis is discussed in relation to language pro gram planning and evaluation and different needs analysis pro cedures are examined. Different approaches to the planning of pro gram objectives in language teaching are illustrated and a distinction between behavioural, process, content and proficiency-based objec tives is made. The status of methodology within curriculum develop ment is discussed in terms of a distinction between content oriented methods and those concerned primarily with instructional processes. The role of a syllabus within each approach is illustrated. The need for an empirical basis for methodological statements is emphasized and it is suggested that the classroom processes m...
Designing a Language Learning Syllabus
Syllabus design plays an important role in the life of every teacher, however its centrality has become overshadowed by mainstream language teaching. A syllabus helps think systematically and coherently about what and how is being taught. Learning about the principles of syllabus design as well as being informed about the complexity of language teaching helps develop a more critical awareness of what a good syllabus actually is as well as review current practices. Are students being taught what they need to know? Are they being provided with meaningful and relevant pedagogic tasks? Is accuracy being focussed on at the expense of fluency or vice–versa? Is one aspect of language being privileged at the expense of others? These are just some of the questions that most teachers are concerned with. Finding appropriate answers is difficult. This book makes an attempt to give sufficient theoretical background that, combined with our own beliefs and assumptions about language teaching and learning, will help think about these issues systematically and overlay the whole pedagogical process with coherence.
Curriculum Approaches in Language Teaching sum
The development and implementation of language teaching programs can be approached in several different ways, each of which has different implications for curriculum design. Three curriculum approaches are described and compared. Each differs with respect to when issues related to input, process, and outcomes, are addressed. Forward design starts with syllabus planning, moves to methodology, and is followed by assessment of learning outcomes. Resolving issues of syllabus content and sequencing are essential starting points with forward design, which has been the major tradition in language curriculum development. Central design begins with classroom processes and methodology. Issues of syllabus and learning outcomes are not specified in detail in advance and are addressed as the curriculum is implemented. Many of the 'innovative methods' of the 1980s and 90s reflect central design. Backward design starts from a specification of learning outcomes and decisions on methodology and syllabus are developed from the learning outcomes. The Common European Framework of Reference is a recent example of backward design. Examples will be given to suggest how the distinction between forward, central and backward design can clarify the nature of issues and trends that have emerged in language teaching in recent years.
Curricular guidelines on foreign language teaching. A syllabus proposal for secondary education
2018
This Master's Thesis has been conceived with three aims. The first one is that of compiling and listing all the international recommendations, official dispositions at the national level, the educational laws in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, and the center´s documents that affect the action of teaching English as a foreign language during the second cycle of Secondary Education. The second one is that of proposing a trimester syllabus structured around five units and which has been conceived as part of an annual syllabus, and about which all the relevant details at the curricular, didactic, and methodological levels are thoroughly explained. Lastly, during the conduction of this paper there are some clues that have been observed and which might be useful for other educators when programming a syllabus for a group of similar characteristics.
Process of Language Curriculum Development
Addaiyan Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences , 2019
There are various frameworks for the process of curriculum development. According to Graves (1996), many frameworks have been proposed for the process of curriculum development and course design through which they are broken down into their components and subcomponents. Such frameworks are useful since they provide an organized way in understanding a complex process; they provide domains of inquiry for teachers, through which each component brings up ideas and raises issues for the teacher to pursue; and finally they provide a set of terms currently in vogue about course development and thus a common professional jargon and provides access to the ideas of others. This paper is an effort to discuss the different models involved in language curriculum development when all of these models highly overlap with each other to some extent. One of these models has been proposed by Tabawho (1962, cited in Dubin and Olshtain, 1986) outlines the steps of a curriculum process which a course designer must follow to develop subject matter courses as: diagnosis of needs, formulation of objectives, selection of content, organization of content, selection of learning experiences, organization of learning experiences, determination of what to evaluate and the means to evaluate. Keywords: language, curriculum, frameworks, course design, development.
Education Research International, 2022
Upon recognizing the significance of assessment literacy as a necessity for modern professional teachers, the quality of assessment courses has been examined from different angles. The present research aimed to examine the nature and functionality of assessment training at Iranian state universities in fostering the development of language assessment literacy (LAL), with a specific focus on the course instructors' pedagogical practices (in terms of instructional materials/content and pedagogical practices) and assessment practices (including both formative and summative assessment). One hundred three course instructors were surveyed through a set of open-ended questions, and two course instructors' pedagogical and assessment practices were observed throughout an educational semester. Based on the content and descriptive statistical analysis of the data, a lack of divergence in the instructors' teaching and assessment practices was observable, with the majority of the instructors adhering to traditional methods, showing no inclination to adopt innovative practices. Lack of a balanced focus on all the core elements of LAL, being theory-laden and disconnected from practice in assessment, and use of dated teaching materials were recognized as factors or inappropriate practices on the part of the course instructors that might hinder the development of LAL in the researched context. Furthermore, a set of key action which might be taken by the course instructors to reduce the obstacles in developing and maintaining LAL has been suggested. Finally, limitations of the study and suggestions for future studies on LAL have been mentioned.