The Communicative Syllabus

Evolution, Design and Implementation

Pribadi Hadhi

Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities

University of Indonesia
 Presentation Divisions:

The Evolution of Syllabus Design

The Essence of a Communicative Syllabus

Designing a Communicative Syllabus

Conclusion
 Background of Changes

• For more than three decades, the language teaching profession has
reached no conclusion as to which ‘method’ is intrinsically ‘best’

• Teachers of ESL are on the whole still more used to thinking about
syllabus design.

• Teachers are generally unprepared to problem an overall and

comprehensive plan or design for a second language course.

• New perspective on the issues involved in designing language

programs have brought into sharper focus a model.

• It’s possible to think in terms of syllabus design rather than sticking

the kind of procedure (approach, method and technique).
 Curriculum and Syllabus

The curriculum includes the goal, objectives, content,

processes, resources, and means of evaluation of all
the learning experiences planned for pupil both in and
out the school and community.

Syllabus is a statement of the plan for any part of

the curriculum, excluding the element of
curriculum evaluation itself and it is a plan which
the teacher converts into a reality of classroom
interaction
..

(Robertson,1971)
Types of Syllabus (Learning Approach)

Grammatical

Competence
Lexical
Based / EOP

Syllabus

Topical / EAP Functional

Situational
 Possible Components of a Syllabus

Notions Functions Structure

• The • The • The formal:

semantic: functional: grammatical
basic Interactional knowledge
concepts aspect why how we
what to we communicate
communicate communicate

(Wilkins,1976)
Level of Communicative Competence

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

(Structural) (Functional (Instrumental)

Focus on
Focus on Focus on
language
language language
use

Situational
Structural Discourse
or topical
control control
control

Materials Materials Authentic

simplified simplified
functionally language
structurally

Structural Discourse Free

practice practice practice
(Allen,1980)
The Components of a Communicative Syllabus

Purposes Setting Role

Language Communicative
Notions
Function Events

Discourse and Grammatical

Rhetorical Variety and Lexical
Skills Content

(Yalden,1987)
The Components of a Communicative Syllabus

What the learners wish to acquire

Purposes
the target language

Where the learners want to use

Setting the target language (physical
aspect and social setting)

What social aspect the learners

Role will assume in the target language
(speaker and listener/interlocutor)

(Yalden,1987)
 The Components of a Communicative Syllabus

Communicative What the learners will participate:

Events (everyday, academic, professional)

Language What the learners will need to be

Function able to do with the language

What the learners will need to be

Notions
able to talk about.

(Yalden,1987)
 The Components of a Communicative Syllabus

Discourse and
‘knitting together’ the involved
Rhetorical
Skills
skills

Varieties and levels in the spoken

Variety and written language which the
learners will need to reach

Grammatical
Grammar and lexis related to the
and Lexical actual communication
Content
(Yalden,1987)
 Notes on the Components

• Grammatical and lexical content are two things

considered essential in the traditional syllabus.

• A number of syllabus types which are prominence have

now emerged.

• They are called the structural-grammatical syllabus, the

situational syllabus, and the functional-notional syllabus.

• The kind of syllabus that incorporates a consideration of

all nine components is referred to as ‘communicative’,
since it takes into consideration everything required to
assure communication.
Stages in Language Program Development

1 Need Survey
Student
Characteristics
2 Purpose

Student skills

3 Selection of syllabus
Description of
language
4 The proto-syllabus

Language use

Teaching
materials
5 Pedagogical syllabus
Testing
sequence &
instrument
(Yalden,1987)
Stages in Language Program Development

Teaching technique

6 Classroom
procedures

Lesson plan,
Weekly schedule

Principles, Desired
7 Teacher training outcome, Creation
of teaching material

Student, Program,
8 Evaluation
Teaching

9 Recycling stage

(Yalden,1987)
 Stage I : The Needs Survey
• The purpose of the needs survey is to gather information in order to
understand as much about the learners as possible prior to the
beginning of the program (creating a good foundation)

• The success of this procedure depends on just how the learners'

needs are analyzed.

• The needs survey can also include the learner’s own desire or
wants in terms of purposeful communicative behavior.

• The data collection should normally cover two broad categories:

who the learners are (what they bring with them) and what their
purposes, needs and wishes are in learning the language (where
they are going).

• The data collection should include face-to-face interviews.

 Stage II: The Description of Purpose

• There is no single theory of communicative syllabus design, but

many.

• Differences lie in varying conceptions first, of what the objective of a

language-teaching program should be, and how they should be
stated, and second, of the methodology that should be employed.

• The more accurately one can predict what the learners’ language or
communicative needs will be, the more clearly the content of a
syllabus can be delineated.

• Two types of purposes, namely Occupational Purposes and

Educational Purposes
 Stage II: The Description of Purpose
Pre –
experience

Occupational Simultaneous

Post –
experience
SP – LT / ESP
Pre – study

Educational In – study

(Strevens,1978) Post - study

 Stage III: The Selection of Syllabus

• No single model of syllabus design which is universally agreed

upon.

• Solution that have been proposed range from a modification of

existing structural syllabuses to a completely learner-centered
approach in which there would be no ‘prospective’ or ‘input’ at all,
but only one which would grow up out the situation as the course
progressed.

• The best way to refer now is to describe a classroom experience

which more closely approximates an environment of real language
(communicative).

• Six forms of communicative syllabus.

 a) Structural - Functional

 It has wide application: a separation of two

components of forms and communicative function is
maintained, and it is thus relatively easily
implemented

 Linguistic form had been treated quite thoroughly

before work on language functions was introduced/

(Wilkins,1974)
 b) Structures and Functions

 Since cultural and linguistic meaning is customarily

negotiated between users of language, it is more \
sensible to provide the learners directly with the tool
of negotiation rather than teaching them what to do
with the tools.

 This model then is not the same as the previous

model, since all components of meaning are to be
included from the start – none are postponed.

(Brumfit,1981)
 c) Variable Focus

 A three-level ‘variable focus’ emphasis in turn from

structural work on formal features of language to
theoretical (discourse)features, to the instrumental
use of language in the study of school subjects.

 Three levels of communicative competence in

Second-Language Education.

(Allen,1980)
 d) Functional

 Objectives are stated primarily in terms of

communicative function, not in terms of linguistic
items or in terms of ideational content.

 The objectives determine the functions needed, and

the functions determine the selection and sequencing
of grammatical materials.

(Jupp and Holdin,1975; Mikks,1978; and Robinson, 1980)

 e) Fully Notional

 It remains the strongest possible approach to the

input syllabus since it is suitable for learners whose
proficiency in the second language has to be
specified for particular and essentially narrow
purposes.

 All components (socio-cultural, semantic, lingusitic as

well as psycho-pedagogical) are braided together.

(Malley,1981)
Fully Notional
 f) Fully Communicative

 The learner-generated or fully communicative view of

syllabus design is one in which there would be only
the most minimal input syllabus.

 Linguistic competence is a part of communicative

competence. So, teachers should have ‘management
activities which involve students to do ‘solving
communication problem’.

(Alexander,1975)
 Proportional Approach

Linguistic form Linguistic form

Communicative function
Communicative function
Elementary Level Intermediate Level

Linguistic form

Communicative function

Advanced Level (Yalden,1987)

 Stage IV: The Proto-Syllabus

• It is not always either possible or desirable to include everything;

much will depend on physical constraints involved in a given
program, as well as convictions about syllabus type.

• Thought given at an early stage to describing the general purpose of

the course will help in later decisions about syllabus types, which
type in turn influences the arrangement of the syllabus specification.

• Mapping out the syllabus is usually done by working from

inventories of list , which are in a sense the basic tools of the
syllabus designer (language function, discourse & study skills)

• Using checklist to specify content.

 Syllabus Specification Checklists

Language Functions
• Expressing truth values
• Expressing mood, emotion and attitude
• Formulaic communication

Discourse & Rhetorical Skills

• Cohesion and reference
• Operations on a text
• Rhetorical organization of discourse

Study Skills
• Basic reference skills
• Skimming and scanning
(Yalden,1987)
• Note-taking skills
 Stage V: The Pedagogical Syllabus

• The pedagogical syllabus provides a repertoire of words and

phrases, chosen as exponents of functions and suitable to the topics
identified as important to learner.

• It is the teacher’s role to make the repertoire come to life by

choosing and carrying out communicative activities of a wide variety.

• The form contains approaches to both teaching and learning.

• A complex grid which includes a cell for each topics.

 The Alexander Grid

Notions:
General Settings & Grammar &
General & Social Roles Style & Range
Function Topics Lexis
Specific

Operation With what

What? Where? Who? How?
through: mean?

any tickets for

tonight Interrogative
Inquiring about performance?” Concrete: Stranger / Style: sentence
“Are there” Box office official Formal
The availability Singular/Plural
of tickets

(Alexander,1975)
The Pedagogical Syllabus as Handbook
(A) Situation or Event : Shopping
Central Functions : Agreeing/Disagreeing

(B) Language you will need

(i) With your friend :
* I thought we’d start at…..
* Why don’t we start at….
* Couldn’t we begin at….
(ii) With the sales clerk:
* I’d like to buy…
* Where can I find a….

(C) Activities or Task :

(i) Reviewing vocabulary
(ii) Making up a shopping list by using catalogue
(iii) Role-Play
 Conclusion:

• The stages of syllabus design presented separates from the process

of language program design that implemented of a language-
teaching method.

• The learner-centered aspect of the communicative syllabus is

obviously important.

• The process of communicative syllabus design yields highly

personalized teaching programs, which give both the learner and
the teacher an optimal environment in which to work
Thank you