A Desire to Learn English Language - Case Study Example

ENGLISH SYLLABUS DESIGN goes here of goes here goes here December 23, The This English isdesigned for a group of 20-25 students who are all Saudi nationals. The age of the students ranges from 16 to 24 years. The students need to learn English language in order to become able to communicate effectively with other people. I am working as a language instructor at Vocational Language Training Institute. My main motive for designing this course is to make the students competent in speaking, reading, and listening English language. The manager of my company has assigned me the task to design a well-planned syllabus for the students who have a desire to learn English language in order to excel in their fields. “In language teaching, there has been a comparative neglect of systematic curriculum development” (Nunan, 1988, p. 3). The course includes such modules, which specifically meet the needs of students. The modules of this course are attractive for the students and they are different from other English languages courses that are being taught in our country. Importance of Syllabus Albers, in an article, defines syllabus as “an artifact for teacher evaluation” (Albers, 2003).  Syllabus plays a very important role in making a course attractive for the students. “A technically detailed, unimaginative, ‘cold’ syllabus is usually a precursor of a boring class” (Matejka & Kurke, 1994). Assessment of Needs Assessment of the needs of students is very important in order to design an effective syllabus. The information about their needs and objectives can be obtained from various sources, which include educational backgrounds of the students, current English proficiency level, and many other sources. Some of the major reasons for the huge interest of students in this course include compulsion of including English subjects in the curriculum of high schools, communicating with friends who speak English, and making progress in the educational and professional fields. Another major element, which needs to be considered while designing a syllabus, is the interest of the people for whom the syllabus needs to be designed. Brindley (as cited in Graves 1996: 13) also stresses upon the importance of this element. He found that purpose of the individuals taking the course helps the teachers determine why the students are interested in this course and what those factors are, which have motivated them to take this course. I gathered information about the interests of the students at the beginning of the course in order to design a syllabus, which should be able to meet all needs and motives of the students. Obtaining the Information “The abilities required by English language users should be directly relevant to English language teachers” (Chapelle, 2003, p. 1). Obtaining the information is one of the most important stages of a syllabus design. Interviews and observations are two of the most successful techniques of information collection. Richards (2001) found that interviews provide teachers with the required information during the process of information collection if the group of students is not too large. Therefore, interviews worked very well for me in the process of collecting the required information. I also collected the information about the learners’ needs through observations and interviews. It was important because learners’ needs helped me a lot in designing the syllabus according to the learning needs of my students. Goals and Objectives of Students Next important thing, which needs to be considered while designing a syllabus, is information about the goals and objectives of the students. Victoria (2009) asserts, “A syllabus consist of goals and main teaching items”. Hedge (2000) found that general and specific need to be distinguished before distinguishing between the goals and objectives of the students. One more thing, which I want to mention here, is that I did not include anything in form of ideas in the syllabus; rather I included all modules in the form of a map by encircling the most important elements related to the goals and objectives of the students. Needs of the Learners The needs of the learners are of critical importance if a teacher wants to develop an effective and motivating syllabus for any specific course. In order to design the syllabus for the English language course, I carried out a thorough analysis of the learners’ needs by collecting information about their needs from various sources. Some of the learning needs of the students include getting proficient in the use of English language, excelling in their educational and professional fields, and interacting effectively with the people around them. Main Goals and Rationale for the Course The main goals and objectives of the English language course include making the students effective in oral and verbal communications, assisting the students in learning the English language, taking responsibility for own learning, and creating an attractive and interactive course for the students. The aim of the course is to reinforce students’ command over vocabulary and basic structures according to their needs. Cooke and Simpson (2008) found that development of interpersonal skills in the students is also very important for the teachers of a language-training institute. The basic rationale for this course is the need of the students to excel in their educational and professional careers. The syllabus, which I have designed, is able to meet all kinds of learning needs of the students. Overview of the Syllabus For designing this course, I consulted many sources, which proved to be very beneficial for me. The sources not only helped me understand the basic requirements needed to teach English to the students but also helped me design a well-structured syllabus for students and employees. One of the sources, which I used for designing the syllabus, was Graves’ framework of course design and development. Graves (2000) found that in the process of course design, there come many stages, which need to be considered properly in order to design an effective syllabus for a course. He also found that the basic element of a course design is the context of that specific course. The background of a course is the most important element of the course design. The designer must give importance and consideration to the context of the course because it helps the designer know which modules should be included in the syllabus and which modules should be kept out. Decision-making becomes difficult for the teachers if they do not refer to some contextual realities while making decisions. The learning experience should always be relevant to the educational and professionals goals and objectives of the students. “Providers of adult English Language learning have varied characteristics and instructional formats” (Ashbey, 2009, p. 8). My course is somewhat different from existing English courses in many ways. I have made distinction between the change and innovation because I think students are more attracted to those courses that are innovative and well sequenced as compared to those courses that contain out dated or typical syllabus. Change does not involve intention whereas innovation can never take place without the intention of a person to bring some sort of improvement to any specific thing (White, 1988). The course is designed in such a way that the students will take interest in learning the language. When I ended up including different modules for the course, I wondered whether the modules would be attractive for the students or not. I analyzed every module and encircled the most important modules, which were related to the learning needs of the students. I also included interactive learning technique in the course in order to make the students acquire information using interactive ways. The modules, which I have included in the course, not only contain up to date information but also match very well with the learning needs of the students. The syllabus is based on such activities, which are specifically designed to help the students learn English language for educational and business purposes. The tasks, which are related to oral communication, will really help the students increase their speaking skills. It is basically a task-based syllabus which will be very helpful in practicing what is useful in real life situations. I have included different real world tasks in the syllabus. Nunan (2004) found that the real world tasks are of extreme importance for the success of a course. I think real world tasks are very important in making the students understand and speak a language fluently. The English language course, which I have designed, will help the students determine whether they have become able to understand and speak English language fluently or they still need some sort of improvement in some specific area. Many students in our country want to learn English as it is not only a foreign language but also it is an essential part of the high school curriculum. I have designed a very attractive and well-planned course for the students of my country. One point that needs to be mentioned here is that the mother tongue of all students is Arabic, so I have planned to teach the basics in Arabic and then move on to English for teaching other modules. The course is designed specifically to improve the linguistic skills of the students. It is basically a 5 weeks course, which includes 15 lessons. Each lesson is of one and a half hour including a break of 15 minutes. As the people enrolled in my class include students and some professionals, I have decided to organize my course according to their specific needs. Each lesson includes a variety of tasks and activities. The modules included in the course are sequenced from easy level to medium and difficult level modules. The difficulty level can vary from student to student based on their experience of academic study. The progress of the learners is assessed weekly and their status is increased based on results of the assessment. The course emphasizes on discussions, expression of opinions, and key strategies used for oral communication. I have used communicative language teaching method for teaching the students. As far as materials and teaching aids are concerned, I have used a variety of materials and teaching aids for teaching the students in an appropriate manner. I have not included any specific book in the syllabus; rather I have included a variety of materials, which include newspapers, magazines, books, and some other materials. Teaching the course through a variety of materials put a significant impact not only on the students but also on the institute. I have designed a well-structured and sequenced lesson plan, which helps the students learn English language stepwise. Some of the core modules of my course include linguistic skill development, enhancing reading skills, understanding grammar, identification of main ideas in texts, use of correct grammar in daily life, and oral communication. Difficulties Faced During Designing As a course designer, I faced some difficulties in designing the syllabus, which include approval from the manager of my institute, and finding appropriate modules for the course. I resolved the problem of approval by making the manager informed about importance of including new and interactive learning modules in the course. I set up appropriate modules for the course by carrying out a thorough research on the available modules and the learning needs of the students. Based on the analysis of the link between the modules and the needs of the students, I finally decided to include the most suitable and demanding modules in the course. Wider Impact The course will bring far-reaching benefits not only for the students but also for the institute. It will encourage students to take admissions in high schools and progress in their educational careers. If the course becomes successful, other institutes may wish to implement this syllabus as well. Therefore, we can say that the success of the course may also increase the popularity of the institute in the nearest future. Conclusion Summing it up, developing and implementing an innovative course is never easy for a course designer. There is always a huge risk involved in implementing a completely new syllabus for any specific course. The course designers must consider every important factor related to the course effectively while designing a new syllabus. I think that the syllabus, which I have designed, matches the learning needs of the students and it will make them able to perform more effectively in their studies and jobs. References Albers, C. (2003). Using the Syllabus to Document the Scholarship of Teaching. Teaching         Sociology, 31(1), 60-72. Ashbey, C. (2009). English Language Learning. Pennsylvania: DIANE Publishing. Chapelle, C. (2003). English Language Learning and Technology. Amsterdam: John Benjamins B.V. Cooke, M., & Simpson, J. (2008). ESOL: A critical guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Graves, K. (1996). Teachers as Course Developers: A Framework of Course Development Process, (Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Graves, K. (2000). Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers. Boston: Heinle and Heinle. Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Matejka, K., & Kurke, L. (1994). Designing a Great Syllabus. College Teaching, 42(3), 115-118. Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nunan, D. (2004). Task-Based Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. (2001). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Victoria, A. (2009). School Syllabus Goals. Retrieved Dec 23, 2010, from http://ezinearticles.com/?School-Syllabus-Goals&id=2872845 White, R. (1988). The ELT Curriculum: Design, Innovation, and Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More