Situational and Topical Syllabii
Situational and topical syllabuses
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Situational and topical syllabuses
Situational and topical syllabuses
Mehrdad Amiri mehrdadenglish@gmail.com Islamic Azad University
Science and Research Branch
Course:
Syllabus Design & Materials Development
Professor:
Dr. P. Maftoon
Mini Lecture No: 1
Date: Sunday, October 3, 2010
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Situational and topical syllabuses
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Situational and topical syllabuses
Introduction
Situational syllabus seems to have been inspired by Hornby’s ‘situational’ method where classroom situations were used to show the meaning of the new language items
(White, 1988). Adapting a feature of direct method of teaching, Hornby (1954, cited in
Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p.15) demonstrated language items using real objects and activities which can be performed within the classroom.
Another use of the term ‘situation’ is the reference made to the context in which language and behaviour takes place in the ‘real world’ outside the classroom. According to White (1988) when we look at various aspects of situation, we are concerned with: (a) the setting, i.e., at the bank, (b) the participants, i.e., bank clerk or customer, and (c) relevant objects within the setting travellers’ cheques, passport or bank forms, with fairly predictable language elements such as ‘could I cash some travellers’ cheques please? etc.... The present paper aims at reviewing various aspects of situational and topical syllabus. Main purpose of a syllabus
The main purpose of a syllabus is to break down the mass of knowledge to be learnt into manageable units (Hutchinson, & Waters, 1987, p. 85), so choosing the unit of analysis is important since it influences all aspects of a language teaching program.
According to Long and Crookes (1992, p. 27) cited in Hadley, G. (1998), “a variety of
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Situational and topical syllabuses
3
units, including word, structure, notion, function, topic, and situation, continue to be employed in
1
Situational and topical syllabuses
Situational and topical syllabuses
Mehrdad Amiri mehrdadenglish@gmail.com Islamic Azad University
Science and Research Branch
Course:
Syllabus Design & Materials Development
Professor:
Dr. P. Maftoon
Mini Lecture No: 1
Date: Sunday, October 3, 2010
1
Situational and topical syllabuses
2
Situational and topical syllabuses
Introduction
Situational syllabus seems to have been inspired by Hornby’s ‘situational’ method where classroom situations were used to show the meaning of the new language items
(White, 1988). Adapting a feature of direct method of teaching, Hornby (1954, cited in
Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p.15) demonstrated language items using real objects and activities which can be performed within the classroom.
Another use of the term ‘situation’ is the reference made to the context in which language and behaviour takes place in the ‘real world’ outside the classroom. According to White (1988) when we look at various aspects of situation, we are concerned with: (a) the setting, i.e., at the bank, (b) the participants, i.e., bank clerk or customer, and (c) relevant objects within the setting travellers’ cheques, passport or bank forms, with fairly predictable language elements such as ‘could I cash some travellers’ cheques please? etc.... The present paper aims at reviewing various aspects of situational and topical syllabus. Main purpose of a syllabus
The main purpose of a syllabus is to break down the mass of knowledge to be learnt into manageable units (Hutchinson, & Waters, 1987, p. 85), so choosing the unit of analysis is important since it influences all aspects of a language teaching program.
According to Long and Crookes (1992, p. 27) cited in Hadley, G. (1998), “a variety of
2
Situational and topical syllabuses
3
units, including word, structure, notion, function, topic, and situation, continue to be employed in
References: Hadley, A. O. (2003). Teaching language in context (3rd ed.). Boston, Massachusettes: Heinle &Heinle Publishers. Hadley, G. (1998). Returning full circle: A survey of EFL syllabus designs for the new millennium Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning-centred approach Johnson, K., & Johnson, H. (Eds.). (1998). Encyclopedic dictionary of applied linguistics. Krahnke, K. (1987). Approaches to syllabus design for foreign language teaching. NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching: From method to postmethod Long, M., & Crooks, G. (1992). Three approaches to task-based syllabus design. TESOL Quarterly, 26, 27-56. Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: CUP. Richards, J.C. (2006). Materials development and research-making the connection. RELC Journal, 37(1) 5-26 White, R. V. (1988). The ELT curriculum: Design, innovation and management. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. West, R. (1994). Needs analysis in language teaching. Language Teaching, 27, 1-19 Yalden, J