Syllabus Design and Materials Development Research Papers (original) (raw)

The materials are developed for a group of students from Yogyakarta to prepare for their five day excursion in an English speaking country. The use of authentic materials for language input is considered to be beneficial for the learners in order to build sufficient schemata for target language use and to make them familiar with target culture. The topic of the lesson covered in the unit is market life. Using an integrated communicative approach which includes four macro skills and functional grammar focus, two types of tasks are developed: a listening task, as the source of comprehensible input and authentic materials, and " oral fluency practices " (Ur, 1996) which consist of several tasks such as : the repetition of the model sentence in presentation stage, reading aloud in the practice stage, and role play in the production stage. All of the materials fulfill what Brown (2007) describes as the role of material in communicative approach: they are authentic, task-based and facilitate language use.

Supplementary materials, whether created by English language instructors themselves or borrowed from other resources, play a significant role in teaching writing to English language learners. In both cases, the development and/or selection process involves certain stages that challenge materials developers at different levels and with varying intensities. Research on writing instruction and SLW has extensively discussed strategies and techniques for materials development, but the difficulties that materials developers face during this process have not been given due consideration. This brief report provides an overview of the challenges and issues faced by material developers in second language writing courses and looks at these processes through the lens of language acquisition theory that adapts teaching strategies to meet the socio-cultural needs of the students. First, the article discusses the phases and stages of materials development. Then it describes the challenges and issues faced in writing materials development and how they manifest themselves in every day teaching and learning. Finally, the report suggests how to develop effective and relevant writing materials as well as strategies to modify them according to student and course needs.

- by Kashif Raza and +1
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- Teaching English as a Second Language, Contextual Theologies, Applied Linguistics, Second Language Writing

The recommended model of teaching English for students of non-English department is collaborative teaching which provides subject lecturer's involvement in the curriculum design. This paper reported the process of designing a syllabus of collaborative teaching for ESP teaching in Indonesian context. As a part of curriculum design, this ESP syllabus focuses on content area reading in the area of physics. Several text types commonly used in physics department and vocabulary building of academic word lists and the ones related to physics area study were elaborated as well. The paper concludes that the implementation of this program needs high commitment from the stakeholders in order to make the program successfully implemented. INTRODUCTION Designing a syllabus of collaborative English teaching in this paper deals primarily with the innovation in teaching English for non-English department students in which the trend indicated much failures due to less interesting course designed to fulfill the need of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learners. The proposed syllabus mainly concerns with the collaborative English teaching for Physics Study Program which involves the subject lecturers to get involved in designing curriculum in the overall planning, implementation and evaluation.

English Literature is today a widely offered subject at the Sri Lanka GCE (O' Level) Examination. Yet the Education Ministry has paid very little attention to the need of promoting it. Although everybody talks about the necessity of English as part of the development process of the nation nobody talks about the impact of literature on language development. Prejudices entertained by various English Language Teaching authorities tend to deter the enthusiasm and effort of the average learner of English Literature and turn the whole process of teaching the subject into a comedy of errors. As a result even the Distinction Pass in English Literature at the GCE (O' Level) Examination cannot guarantee that it qualifies the candidate in her progress to the next step, i.e., GCE (A' Level) English, and its credibility has disappeared. In terms of remedying this situation, I developed an alternative approach and introduced it at a workshop held for English teachers at the invitation of the British Council in Sri Lanka in February 2002, and this article contains the views expressed there.

Self-regulated learning has gained considerable attention in past decades and Students' individual differences in terms of personality traits and cognitive styles might cause differences in how they regulate the learning. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between personality traits and self-regulated learning. The study also investigated the relationship between cognitive styles and self-regulated learning. For this purpose, a sample of sixty randomly-selected students majoring in different fields from the state university of Maragheh, East Azerbaijan, Iran were participated in this study. To determine participants' personality traits, NEO Personality Inventory questionnaire, to determine participants' cognitive styles, Kolb's cognitive styles questionnaire and finally to measure their motivated strategies for learning, MSLQ questionnaire were administrated. Before administrating the questionnaires, the reliability and validity issues were measured using Cronbach's alpha method in SPSS. Then data gathered from participants were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient tests. Analyzing the data, researchers found that there is a positive relationship between personality traits in any form and self-regulated learning. On the other hand, results also showed that there is a positive relationship between students' cognitive styles (i.e., concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation) and self-regulated learning. Comparing the amount of correlational coefficients researchers concluded that personality traits and cognitive styles might not have significant contribution to self-regulated learning.

- by Soheila Najafnejad
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- Cognitive Science, Teaching and Learning, E-learning, Vocabulary Acquisition
- by Alex Payette
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- Syllabus Design and Materials Development, Syllabus

Taught to 40 second- and third-year JD students at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, during the Winter Semester in 2018-2019. The syllabus has been revised and expanded compared to my 2017 McGill immigration law syllabus, and... more

- by Péter D Szigeti
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- Canadian Studies, Legal Education, Refugee Studies, Migration

Suitable syllabi designed in accordance with Cambridge English Scale ( A1-C2) and learner's language proficiency

The various types of syllabi and the host of related issues in the field of second language teaching and course development manifest the significance of syllabus design as one of the most controversial areas of second language pedagogy. Teachers should be familiar with different types of syllabuses and be able to critically analyze them. Issues in Syllabus Design addresses the major types of syllabuses in language course development and provides readers with the theoretical foundations and practical aspects of implementing syllabuses for use in language teaching programs. It starts with an introduction to the concept of syllabus design along with its philosophical foundations and then briefly covers the major syllabus types from a historical perspective and pedagogical significance: the grammatical, situational, skill-based, lexical, genre-based, functional notional, content, task-based, negotiated, and discourse syllabus. This volume helps teachers to be familiar with different types of syllabuses and enables them to critically analyze different syllabus types.

- by Maryam Azarnoosh and +2
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- Curriculum Design, Syllabus Design, Syllabus Design and Materials Development

Listening as a receptive skill is considered the oral skill which is the primary ability developed in first language acquisition. However, until recently listening was ignored in the second language context. Nunan (1999) states that listening is the Cinderella skill in the second language context because it is overlooked by its elder sister, speaking. Moreover, Nunan (2002) adds that EFL students spend a lot of class time for listening, but it is the most unnoticed of the four skills in EFL contexts. Traditionally, speaking was emphasized more than listening. However, with the emergence of Comprehension Approach and Natural Approach more attention was paid to listening. These approaches put their emphasis on oral perception than production; in this way, listening acquired its deserved significance. Krashen (1985) stresses the importance of comprehensible input before language production. This view bolds the role of listening in second and foreign language situations. Nord (1980) claims that some people believe language learning is not just learning to speak, but it is learning to build a mental map of meaning. Cognitive maps are, in fact, built through listening but not speaking.
Like listening practice, developing listening materials has been marginally dealt with in instructional materials. Until recently, little attention was paid to develop appropriate listening materials. Most listening materials were based on audio files used for developing oral production. To open new horizons to develop listening materials in this technology era, this chapter tries to introduce different listening activities and technologies used for the development of listening materials.

- by Parviz Maftoon and +1
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- Teaching English as a Second Language, Teaching English As A Foreign Language, Materials development, Teaching Listening

Language learning involves learners getting engaged with the language. We know that exposure to language through visual / print and oral medium is essential. This is what the textbook, other print and audio materials, and the teacher’s language attempt to do. This exposure is alone not sufficient. We need to give opportunities to children to work with language. Children should read, think about the ideas of the text, understand the meaning of the words, associate them with ideas and other words, notice the form of the structures, etc. while being exposed to the language and working with language on their own. This engagement with language makes them internalise meaning of words and structures. In addition to textbook activities, project work could be used as an effective strategy to promote collaborative ways of language learning where learners in groups work together to do an activity or a task for some period. When learners work together on a particular idea / topic, they collect information, ideas, observe language being used, use language in real life situations, exchange views and debate on ideas, write the ideas into a report, edit their writing and produce the report in a suitable form. National Curriculum Framework (NCF) – 2005 and the Position Papers on Teaching of English and Indian Languages lay stress on learner-learner interaction and moving beyond the textbook to connect the classroom with the life outside the classroom to maximise learning. Projects can be an instrument in realising this aim. Projects can be designed to be carried out by a group of learners on topics/ themes. This helps in achieving learners constructing ideas and make critical judgments to arrive at a decision / conclusion. More importantly learners use language in contexts. This paper presents how project in languages, particularly English as a second language could be designed and carried out by students in school.

It is widely recognized that English is the only foreign language included as a compulsory subject in university level in Indonesia. However, few universities make effort to teach English according to students " needs and level which in turn has negatively influenced the outcome of the teaching process such as the students " low level of English proficiency. This study has two main objectives i.e. Firstly, it is aimed at improving the quality of teaching English at the university level by aligning the students " needs and the expectations of the lecturers, and graduates (a needs analysis) in designing a standard syllabus and developing teaching materials. Secondly, this research is intended to give contributions to the development of theory in syllabus design since this study provides different views and syllabus design framework from pre-existing syllabus design frameworks for a language program.This study is restricted to gather information on the students " needs as an essential part to design a speaking course syllabus which focuses on Speaking course one. Research and Development (R&D) design by using mixed method is used to carry out this research with three systematic steps i.e. preliminary phase, development phase, as well as review phase. 1. Step one (Preliminary phase). In this phase needs analysis (NA) is administered by involving 137 respondents (116 students, 10 lectures, and 11 graduates) who are selected using purposive sampling technique. The data are gathered through needs analysis questionnaire which are analyzed by using descriptive approach 2. Step two (Development Phase) The information of the needs analysis is then used to formulate the aims and the objectives for selecting course contents, designing syllabus, developing materials, and reviewing the materials. Two experts, who are purposively selected, have reviewed the prototypes of the teaching materials by using checklists which are then descriptively analyzed. 3. Step three (Review Phase) This phase is initiated by trying out the teaching materials which involved 3 English lecturers and 15 freshmen students who are randomly selected. To find out the effect of the teaching materials toward the students " progress in speaking, questionnaires and tests (pre-test and post test) are used. The data are then analyzed by using SPSS 20.1.The findings of this research have found out two important novelties i.e. the first, a standard syllabus design for initial speaking skills with lesson plans and a set of instructional materials for eleven units and topics. The second, this study has also found a syllabus design model which here is called communicative competence-based syllabus design and a framework of communicative competence-based syllabus. It is highly recommended that teachers of English should consider using the results of this study as a formal a real example to design syllabus and to develop course contents for other English courses such as listening, reading, and writing courses.

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.

The purpose of this research was to develop an EFL course book for the first semester learners at the Islamic junior high school in Indonesia. The material development includes some procedures of need analysis, material development, expert validation, material revision, try-out and final revision. Based on the results of questionnaires distributed to 106-second graders, the interviews done to the teachers and field notes taken from a document of the syllabus, this research revealed that most of the students and English teachers require English instructional materials embracing religious and general knowledge. After validated by the experts and tried-out to the students, this research finally produced English materials that were supplemented by a teacher " s guide, student " s worksheets and a CD containing listening materials.

This paper explores the development of printed materials in ESP from a practical point of view and aims to shed light on issues of concern to ESP practitioners when they set about writing materials for classroom use. Such matters include the reasons for ESP materials development, the value of authentic materials, the evaluation of published materials, the development of original and adapted in-house materials, and the corresponding implications for the ESP practitioner. Sample activities have been included and commented so as to illustrate the issues raised and to be of practical guidance to in-service and prospective developers of ESP materials.

Negotiated syllabuses, also called process syllabuses (Breen, 1987), are organized around the shared decisions made by teachers and learners at various stages of a course. The shared decisions are the sign of mutual understanding of the two parties on how to run the class and cover the materials based on learners’ needs. In fact, such a syllabus uncovers “a shared detailed understanding between teacher and students of what is going on, what needs to be done, and how it will be done” (Boomer, 1992, p. 287). In this chapter, the basis of this type of syllabus will be briefly covered and negotiation and its types will be introduced. Then after reviewing the details of the framework of this type of syllabus, the influential factors, that is advantages and disadvantages will be discussed.

This is a brief and part of my lecture notes for the course Sophomore English

- by Umama Shah
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- English for Specific Purposes, Languages and Linguistics, English, Applied Linguistics

Currently, a growing number of teaching approaches focus on aspects of variation in language (e.g. ELF, World Englishes, ESP, genre theories, etc.); however, each of these approaches tends to focus on particular (specific) aspects of language variation and do not fully account for the range or dynamicity of linguistic variations. This paper, based on a discussion of language variation, proposes a model of language proficiency that considers the dynamic nature of language variation and is not dependent on static (native-speaker defined) norms of language. Using the Dynamic Approach to Language Proficiency as a model of language proficiency and grounded in understandings of language variation, this paper introduces the concept of Teaching English as a Dynamic Language (TEDL). The paper includes evidence for the need to develop such a model and also points out ways in which current and future work can contribute to further development of this approach. Finally, the paper also identifies some socioeconomic implications of this work and explicitly supports the need to recognise and empower local (including endangered) languages through TEDL.

Often by looking to the past, we may discover important clues as to where we as an academic community may be headed. Periodic swings between the synthetic and analytic perspective is syllabus design are studied in this paper. It is concluded that a truly unique paradigm shift has yet to take place in TEFL/TESL/TESOL. Approaches and innovations will continue to come and go; cultural and social developments will affect both how, why, and in what manner people study a foreign language. But rather than embarking on a frenetic search for the latest teaching technique or the most recent discovery, a key strategy for language teachers will need to be aware of the cyclic trends taking place, to make preparations by getting training and better qualifications, and to hold one's center in the midst of an ideological storm.

Kiswahili is a foreign language (FL) in Uganda. Formally, the teaching of Kiswahili begins in the lower secondary phase. In this phase, Kiswahili had been taught for many years without an authorised syllabus. Nonetheless, in 2008, the government of Uganda launched the existing grammatical syllabus (hereafter, 2008 syllabus). It should be noted that, while the teaching of standard Kiswahili is among the aims postulated in the 2008 syllabus, information and topics regarding, for example, the alphabet of standard Kiswahili are missing in this syllabus. Pedagogically, this situation appears to contrast with, for example, the advanced scientific suggestions that the learning of the alphabet should be among the initial topics in grammatical syllabi and subsequently, in the FL classrooms' activities. Using perspectives on document analysis to constitute its methodology, in this theoretical paper, we first provide a general overview of the grammatical syllabi as a framework for teaching and learning FLs, drawing specific examples from the 2008 syllabus. Then, we analyse the aims of teaching Kiswahili as established in the 2008 syllabus. Thereafter, we examine the alphabet of standard Kiswahili. Lastly, we propose possible procedures for adopting the Kiswahili alphabet into the 2008 syllabus, as a way of facilitating the teaching and learning of standard Kiswahili mainly in Uganda's lower secondary schools.

- by Caesar Jjingo (PhD) and +1
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- Discourse Analysis, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), Lexical Semantics, Argumentation Theory

This paper discusses sequenced materials development for content/language integrated learning (CLIL) in a team-taught Content/English introductory philosophy class at Miyazaki International College (MIC), Japan. A short introduction situates the authors’ particular CLIL approach, one developed for an English as a Second Language (ESL) environment in a Japanese liberal arts college. They then offer a template for a sequence of language exercises that are adaptable to a variety of discipline-specific content texts and lectures of varying degrees of language difficulty. The approach can be used in team-taught or solo-taught courses. The authors also reflect on implementing their materials in an active-learning classroom to enhance the CLIL advantages.

- by Peter Cheyne and +1
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- Teaching and Learning, Education, Language Education, English for Academic Purposes

This study aimed to assess challenges encounter the teachers' practice of using literary texts to teach reading skills: in case of Abreha Woatsebeha, Alusha , Segno Gebya,and Debo Secondary school. For this, descriptive survey design and both quantitative and qualitative data analyses approaches were employed. The samples were 38 teachers selected using comprehensive sampling. Questionnaire and semi structured interview were data collection tools. Descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) was used to analyze the quantitative data and thematic narration for qualitative. The findings of the study revealed teachers' practices of teaching reading skill through literary texts faced challenged by a number of factors. Of which teachers' and students' attitude toward literary texts, lack of experience and preparation, text authenticity, difficulty, length, and large class size, students' motivation, and perception, shortage of time, lack of literary texts in the school, lack of in-service training and supervision are found the major ones. Finally, to meet the needs and interest of the teachers' and students', English language curriculum, syllabus designers, should consider their cultural background, linguistic level, and communicative competences.

- by Dawit Dibekulu
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- Languages and Linguistics, Social Sciences, Teacher Education, Literature

The findings show that visual arts-based instruction positively impacts learners' oracy abilities, vocabulary development, and formulaic assimilation. Art has always been a potent medium for teachers of all subjects contributing to learners' social, emotional, intellectual and physical evolution. However, it often becomes subjugated and considered as unnecessary and extracurricular. The particular research aims at exploring the ways Art can be integrated into the first grade of Greek State Primary School curriculum for English language learning and exploited for the benefit of young learners. More specifically, this research aims to investigate whether art, and particularly visual arts, can emerge as an invaluable tool which will enhance instruction for the learning of English as a foreign language, thus triggering motivation which will lead to young learners' enhancement of their speaking skills. In addition to this, this research explores the effects of visual arts-based instruction on vocabulary, and language chunks development, through young learners' engagement in a number of multisensory tasks deriving from works of art presented to them. For this reason, action research was carried out among thirty-two first grade learners of a state primary school in Greece, who were divided into two groups, a control and an experimental group. The information obtained through both quantitative and qualitative tools of data collection will be exploited for this research as they can prove that the participants of the experimental group improved substantially concerning all the three variables compared to the participants of the control group. The results of this small-case research cannot be disregarded as they indicate that the use of visual arts can have a considerably positive effect on young learners' receptive and productive oracy skills.

The aim of this paper is to show how literature integrated as a language teaching material in EF
classes. Literature considered as a promising tool for language learning purposes. Literature
plays a pivotal role in supporting, sustaining and developing literacy and language learning. As
teachers, we know that it is impossible to separate language or literacy learning from literature.
Students learn language that is relevant and meaningful for their current and future social
interactions through talking, listening, reading and writing. Scholars in the field have proposed
various advantages for the use of literature in EFL classes. What follows is a summary of what
can be considered as the merits of literature in EFL. In a practical move, this paper reviews the
past and current approaches to teaching literature in language teaching classes. Five
methodological models for teaching literature are proposed.

- by Dawit Dibekulu
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- Psychology, English Literature, Education, Languages and Linguistics

This study attempts to identify the extent of using authentic materials in the new series of secondary English textbooks (Flying High for Saudi Arabia) used currently in Saudi schools. Therefore, a content analysis instrument has been designed to analyze the first secondary English textbook. The instrument has been distributed on 112 EFL female teachers who work in public Secondary schools in Riyadh city. The findings show that the selected textbook focuses to a moderate extent on using material authenticity. The provided materials promote genuine communication among EFL learners, prepare learners for the future uses of the target language and present authentic language in its actual contexts. However, the findings reveal that the used materials are beyond the learners' level and the reading comprehension activities present real life texts at a poor range. These findings suggest to adjust the given materials to fulfill the learners' needs and match their proficiency level.

Chapter 2 from Lambert, C. & Oliver, R. (2020).Using Tasks in Second Language Teaching: Practice in Diverse Contexts. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

- by Hina Azam
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- Islamic Law, Gender Studies, Mentoring, Intersectionality

This case study describes the planning, implementation and evaluation of a two-year TBLT strand within an English major curriculum at a Japanese university. The project took place over a five-year period between 2001 and 2006 in a relatively challenging context for TBLT. The prevailing opinion was that learners did not have specific needs for English, necessitating general language instruction. With the purpose of providing more focused, goal-oriented instruction, the project incorporated a task-based needs analysis (Long, 2005) that triangulated information from employment records, interviews and a sequence of surveys to build a consensus on the critical L2 tasks faced by graduates (Lambert, 2010). This information fed into the design, implementation and evaluation a two-year TBLT program. The case study describes the project as input for TBLT projects in similar contexts.

The implementation of the study of Bengali literature in the departments of English Language and Literature (ELL) in Bangladesh is to date a " to be or not to be " issue in most of the universities in general. Being a twice-born country, Bangladesh still seems to fail to liberate herself from the mental colonial legacy in many aspects of national life, including the university education. Taking a mixed-method approach, this paper examined the perceptions of different stakeholders within English studies-here, tertiary level teachers and students in ELL Department about the issues related to the integration of Bengali literature into English Studies at tertiary level. In doing so, we investigated: (a) learners' knowledge in English and Bengali literature, (b) the problems they face (if there is any) due to the limited Bengali practice at universities, (c) their perceptions of the potential benefits of studying Bengali at tertiary level, (d) their opinions regarding the inclusion of Bengali literature into English Studies and finally, (e) the linguistic medium in which Bengali literature can be presented to the learners at tertiary level. This paper might be one of the most important steps to decolonize the English Studies as it is argued here that in order to create intercultural awareness of the learners, their (learners') own socio-cultural and traditional values must be presented to them through native literature in original form. Keyw Keyw Keyw

The study described in this article investigated EFL writing in the 1 st Grade of a State Junior High School. More particularly, the study examined whether the use of alternative assessment methods, such as self-assessment and peer-assessment checklists, in a differentiated class environment, can have a positive effect on learners" writing skills. For the needs of this research an experimental and a control group were targeted. The teaching materials which were used in the research process were differentiated according to the principles of Differentiated Instruction and learners were assigned to write different writing genres. Findings revealed that differentiated instruction had an impact on the learners" writings. However, there were limitations regarding the time that had to be allotted in the designing of the lessons and the instruction itself. Also, the instruction was limited to a small group of learners. However, the implications of the research brought to light the involvement of the learners in the assessment process.

Introduction to Lambert, C. & Oliver, R. (2020).Using Tasks in Second Language Teaching: Practice in Diverse Contexts. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.