Non-traditional syllabuses were classified by White (1988) as Type B syllabuses whilst Nunan referred to these as process-oriented, and they emerged as a reaction to the traditional product-oriented syllabuses. They reflect a shift in focus from the outcomes of the knowledge and skills that the learners should master to the process by which learners gain these knowledge and skills (Nunan 1988: 46).
5.4.2.1 Task-based syllabuses
This type of syllabus was first designed by the Indian scholar Prabhu (1987: 26) who developed it for use in Bangalore, India, and although his experiment advanced our understanding of task–based learning, the main difficulty he encountered lay in grading the language tasks. As Richards et al, (1985: 289 cited in Nunan 1988: 42) explain, task-based syllabuses (also known as procedural syllabuses) are “organized around tasks, rather than in
terms of grammar or vocabulary”. Syllabuses of this kind typically suggest: A variety of different kinds of tasks which the learners are expected to carry out in the language, such as using the telephone to obtain information; drawing maps based on oral instructions; performing actions based on commands given in the target language; giving orders and instructions to others, etc.
According to Richard, Platt, and Weber (1985: 289 cited in Nunan 1988: 42) task-based language learning is more effective since it provides a real purpose for learning and using a language, rather than simply learning language items for their own sake. As Nunan (1988: 42) explains such tasks “were seen as a way to promote classroom learning that focused on the
process of using language rather than language products and on meaning as opposed to form.” The range of tasks and activities or “interactions whose purpose is to get something done” (Graves 2000: 46) are intended to be
more motivating for learners who are expected to carry out these tasks in the target language, producing meaningful communication.
In task-based instruction, language items are not taught per se, but the necessary items are supplied as needed for the completion of the activity in question. Proponents of this syllabus claim that although grammar teaching is not central in the task-based syllabus it will be acquired by students as they carry out the designated tasks (Krahnke 1987: 57).
5.4.2.1.1 Syllabus content and examples
The content of this type of syllabuses is composed of multifaceted and purposeful tasks (activities) that students are provided with during the course to perform in the target language. According to Karal (1999: 3) whilst the purpose of the situational approach is to teach the particular language content that might occur in a specific situation (a predefined product), task- based teaching has the goal of teaching students to draw on resources to accomplish an activity (a process).
Willis’ (1996 cited in Harmer 2001: 299) list of the varied examples of the different tasks that the learners can be provided with and are expected to carry out in the target language demonstrates the breadth of activities which this can include:
Map reading, doing scientific experiments, story writing, listing, problem solving, comparing, sharing personal experience, using the telephone to obtain information, drawing maps based on oral instruction, finding a solution to a puzzle, giving directions, performing actions based on commands given in the target language, etc.
Krahnke (1987: 60) provides other examples of task-based syllabuses, suggesting how these might be graded for use at different levels of instruction with learner of varying abilities. Thus, at beginners’ levels, he recommends that the tasks might include the following:
Prepare profiles for all of the students in the class, to be used by teachers or administrator
Plan and carry out a trip Organise dinner for the class
Fill out forms and applications for driving license, social security cards and so on.
Language learners, who are considered to have reached intermediate level, might be set tasks which entail:
Writing different kinds of letters such as complaints, applications, and requests.
By the time that students have reached advanced level, they would be capable of carrying out tasks such as:
Writing term papers
Doing surveys of food stores to compare prices.
5.4.2.1.2 Disadvantages of the task-based syllabus
As mentioned previously, the main problem facing those attempting to design a task-based syllabus is the difficulty which they face in grading these language activities in terms of their level of complexity. Harmer (2001: 299) notes that this problem has been encountered by many designers, and he thinks that is the reason why this syllabus is not more widely used by teachers and methodologists who found it challenging to decide which task should go where in the sequencing of activities, since what might prove demanding for one learner might be too easy for another.
Krahnke (1987: 62) also highlighted some of the problems which the task- based method presents for the process of evaluation since “Traditional
discrete-point achievement tests are often not a good measure of the language that is acquired in task learning”. However, he added that “Overall language proficiency […] should be as easy to measure as with any other type of instruction”. Krahnke also believes that another potentially negative
characteristic of the task-based syllabus lies in the fact that in order to implement it extra time and resources are required from teachers and the instructional setting beyond the usual textbooks.
5.4.2.2 The Topic-based syllabus
This is another widely used syllabus in which the designer focuses on themes, topics, or other units of content as a method of organisation (Richards 2001: 157). Krahnke (1987: 65) defines the topic-based syllabus as: “the teaching
of content or information in the language being learned with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the language itself separately from the content being taught”. Harmer (2001: 298) provides the following as examples of
topics: the weather, sport, survival, literature, music. He also adds that each topic can be subdivided into smaller components, so for instance, weather as a topic might be subdivided into “the way weather changes, weather
forecasting, weather and mood, and the damage that weather can cause.”
(ibid.). Nunan (1988: 48) explains that the content-based syllabus is another type of analytic approach to syllabus design. In this case, “Experiential
which forms the basis of the content is usually derived from a well-defined subject area. As Nunan explains (1988: 48), this subject matter might be drawn from areas of the secondary school curriculum such as science or social studies, or at University level it could be based on the specialist subject matter which relates to an academic discipline or technical field, such as mechanical engineering, medicine, or IT.
Harmer is supportive of topic-based syllabuses, on the grounds that topics provide a useful organising principle since they can be based on what interests students. In addition, it may be possible to identify which topics are most relevant to the communicative needs of learners.
5.4.2.2.1 View of language and learning
Krahnke (1987:68) points out that the content-based syllabus is based on acquisition theory which centres on the idea that learning can still take place without explicit instruction (Krashen, 1982; Krashen and Terrell, 1983).
5.4.2.2.2 Syllabus content and examples
White (1988) suggested three criteria which could be used for the purposes of grading the topics in terms of difficulty. Firstly, content can be graded on the basis of its degree of generality when designing a syllabus meaning that it is possible to distinguish between the more general and superficial treatment of a topic to dealing with material in a highly detailed manner, as a specialist would do. Secondly, grading can be carried out on the basis of the length of the topics selected (White 1988: 67). Finally, topics can be selected and graded from the learner perspective, according to levels of interest and motivation and also in relation to the students’ need, and the perceived utility and relevance of this content (White 1988: 67).
White (1988: 66) cites the example of Fein and Baldwin (1986) who tried to implement the topic-based syllabus approach with pre-university level students with an interest in learning English for the purpose of gaining University admission. The two teachers decided to construct their syllabus around topics that were judged to be relevant to their students and likely to stimulate their interest. They organised a course which was module-based with each one covering a different content area (i.e. topic). Examples included:
1. ‘Marketing’ (creating products, advertising, marketing abroad,
consumer protection)
2. ‘The Environment’ (ecology, mankind’s negative and positive
impact on the environment, future problems)
3. ‘The Brain’ (physiology, behaviour modification, memory,
abnormality, cognition, and altered state of consciousness)
They concluded that the content-based approach proved to be a useful way of motivating this group of students “as a way of providing ‘free validity’ to their
English instruction” (Fein and Baldwin 1986 cited in White 1988: 66).
5.4.2.2.3 Disadvantages of the topic-based syllabus
Richards (2001: 158) identified a number of potentially problematic issues relating to the design and implementation of a topic-based syllabus. The first relates to how decisions are to be made about which themes, topics, and content should be included, although it could be argued that this issue is not specific to this type of syllabus as designers face a similar set of decisions when drawing up any language learning syllabus. Secondly, Richards (2001) was concerned about how a balance was to be struck between content and grammar or other possible strands of the syllabus. His third concern was particularly relevant to higher level specialist courses, as he queried whether language teachers would have the necessary depth of knowledge to teach such content-based courses at University level, for example. His final worry centred on assessment and to what extent students should be evaluated on their learning of the content or their learning of language.
Harmer (2001) concluded that whilst he thought good syllabus designers would be able to provide a series of relevant and engaging topics which would help to motivate learners, he thought it unlikely that a topic-based approach on its own would be sufficient for syllabus organization.
5.4.2.3 The Lexical Syllabus
Designers occasionally construct their syllabus around “A list of lexical items
[…] with associated collocations and idioms, usually divided into graded sections” in order to produce a lexical syllabus (Ur 1991: 178). The type,
quantity and range of vocabulary to be taught in the second language are all dependent on the aims of the course and the time allocated to it (Richards 2001: 5).
5.4.2.3.1 View of language and learning
Lewis (1997: 3) asserts that the lexical approach is based on the belief that traditional grammar and vocabulary are not the components of language, but rather that language consists of “multi-word prefabricated chunks” including
language. According to Lewis, fluency is the product of acquiring a huge store of fixed and semi-fixed prefabricated items which then serve “as the
foundation for any linguistic novelty or creativity” (1997: 15). As a result, the
lexical approach to syllabus design does not concentrate on syntax and tense usage but rather on “teaching phrases which show words in combination” (Lewis (1997: 15). For example, in this type of syllabus, teaching the auxiliary ‘will’ does not focus on teaching the grammatical use of this as a means of expressing the future tense, but concentrates instead on its use in a series of utterances such as: I’ll be back in a minute, I’ll give you a ring, I’ll be in touch (Harmer 2001: 92).
5.4.2.3.2 Syllabus content
In the case of EFL, Willis (1990:124) explains that: “the lexical approach […]
is firmly based on real language”, since syllabuses of this type are able to
draw on the COBUILD (Collins Birmingham University International Language Database) Bank of English. This provides an analysis of a corpus of natural language of 650 million words which represent “the commonest words and
phrases in English and their meanings” allowing syllabus designers to make
appropriate selections (Collins: online). Richards (2001: 154) suggests that lexical syllabus designers need to grade the vocabulary targets to be taught at different levels. The classifications of typical vocabulary items for a general course are:
Elementary level: 1,000 words
Intermediate level: an additional 2,000 words Upper Intermediate level: an additional 2,000 words
Advanced level: an additional 2,000+ words (Hindmarsh 1980; Nation 1990
cited in Richards 2001: 154)
5.4.2.3.3 Disadvantages of the lexical syllabus
According to Harmer(2001: 297), it can be difficult to apply the usual syllabus design criteria to a lexical syllabus since lexis can have multiple aspects such as:
− The vocabulary related to topics(e.g. art, clothes, crime) − Issues of word formation(e.g. suffixes and other
morphological changes)
− Word-grammar triggers(e.g. verbs which are followed by
certain syntactic patterns)
− Compound lexical items(e.g. walking-stick, multi-storey car
park)
− Semi-fixed expressions (e.g. Would you like to …?, If I were
you I’d…)
− Connotation and the use of metaphor.
This complex relationship between lexis and grammar illustrates the difficulties facing the lexical syllabus designer who must decide what grammar should be included with new words, how this should be selected and graded, and many more issues. Richards (2001: 154) recommends that the lexical syllabus should form part of a more comprehensive syllabus as it cannot adequately serve as the only organizing principle.
5.4.2.4 The Skills-Based Syllabus
A syllabus can also be organised around different language skills but this approach is not widely mentioned in ELT literature. In ELT, the word ‘skill’ usually refers to one of the four language modes (reading, listening, speaking and writing); however, in this approach, the term is used to refer to specific techniques and abilities employed in using the language.
According to Richards (2001: 159) the skills-based syllabus is: “one that is
organized around the different underlying abilities that are involved in using a language for purposes such as reading, writing, listening, or speaking.” Some
of the examples identified by Chastain (1976 cited in Krahnke 1987: 49) include skimming and scanning; writing specific kinds of discourse (such as memos or research reports); giving instructions; delivering public talks; giving personal information for bureaucratic purposes; getting specific information over the telephone; listening to foreign radio broadcasts for news or military information; and taking orders in restaurant.
Richards (2001: 161) highlights three key advantages of syllabuses which are constructed around skills, namely:
1. They focus on specific types of behaviour or performance.
2. They teach skills that can be transferred to many other situations.
3. They identify teachable and learnable units.
5.4.2.4.1 View of language and learning
Krahnke (1987: 52) noted that there is no specific theory of learning associated with skill-based instruction. Rather, as Richards (2001: 159) explains, constructing a syllabus around skills is based on the general theory
micro skills which are combined together to perform that activity, such as listening to a lecture and taking notes”. According to Krahnke (1987: 52)
“This notion is shared by many approaches to instructional content in
language teaching”.
5.4.2.4.2 Syllabus content and examples
Selecting the content of this type of syllabuses is based on the designer’s perception of the usefulness of the skills, whereas the ordering of the syllabus is usually based on sequencing these according to “chronology, frequency, or
relative usefulness” (Richards 2002: 159).
Richards (2001: 160) provides the following example of a skills-based syllabus:
Writing: Creating a topic sentence
− Distinguishing between main ideas and supporting
sentences
− Self-editing
Listening: Recognizing key information
− Using discourse markers to identify the flow of discourse − Following rapid speech
Speaking: Recognizing turn-taking signals
− Introducing a topic
− Using communication strategies
Reading: Reading for gist
− Guessing words from context − Reading and making inferences
5.4.2.4.3 Disadvantages of the skill-based syllabus
Richards (2001: 161) identified two main disadvantages to the skill-based syllabus. Firstly, since as previously noted there is no specific theory of learning associated with skill-based instruction, there is no serious means by which necessary skills can be determined. Secondly, this type of syllabus place emphasis on discrete aspects of learner performance which may be at the expense of developing “more global and integrated communicative
abilities” (Richards 2001: 161).These disadvantages suggest that the skill-
based syllabus is not suitable for use as the only strand in a course, but should be integrated and combined with other language syllabuses.