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Six Types of Language Teaching Syllabus

The document summarizes six types of language teaching syllabus: structural, notional/functional, situational, skill-based, task-based, and content-based. It provides brief definitions and examples of each type. While different types rarely occur independently, considering them separately allows for comparison of their characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.

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afrizalalarif1993
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106 views

Six Types of Language Teaching Syllabus

The document summarizes six types of language teaching syllabus: structural, notional/functional, situational, skill-based, task-based, and content-based. It provides brief definitions and examples of each type. While different types rarely occur independently, considering them separately allows for comparison of their characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.

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afrizalalarif1993
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SUMMARY OF

THE SIX TYPES OF LANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS

(CURRICULUM AND SYLLABUS DESIGN)

By Group 10:

Kurniandani Rosaida (1413042035)

Mayang Kumala Sari (1413042039)

Puti Ainun Rahmani (1413042053)

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

LAMPUNG UNIVERSITY

2017
Six Types of Language Teaching Syllabus

Each of six different types of language teaching syllabus is treated here largely as
though it occured “purely,” or independently of the other types. In practice, of course,
these different types rarely occur independently of the other types. Almost all actual
language teaching syllabi are combinations of two or more of the types defned here.
The six types are treated separately so that their characteristics, differences, and
strengths and weaknessess can be clearly defined. There is no recommendation that
language teaching adopt one or another in pure form for any purpose whatsoever.

For now, brief definitions of the six types of syllabi to be examined are as follows:
1. A structural (or formal) syllabus is one in which the content of language teaching
is a collection of the forms and structures, usually grammatical, of the language
being taught. Examples of structures include: nouns, verbs, adjectives, statements,
questions, complex sentences, subordinate clauses, past tense, and so on, although
formal syllabi may include other aspects of language form such as pronunciation
or morphology.

2. A notional/ functional syllabus is one in which the content of the language


teaching is collection of the functions that are performed when language is used,
or of the notions that language is used to express. Examples of functions include:
informing, agreeing, apologizing, requesting, promising, and so on. Examples of
notions include size, age, color, comparison, time, and so on.

3. A situational syllabus is one in which the content of language teaching is a


collection of real or imaginary situations in which language occurs or is used. A
situation usually involves several participants who are engaged in some activity in
a specific setting. The language occuring in the situation involves a number of
functions, combined into a plausible segment of discourse. The primary purpose
of a situational language teaching syllabus is to teach the language that occurs in
the situations. Sometimes the situations are purposely relevant to the present or
future needs of the language learners, preparing them to use the new language in
the kinds of situations that make up the syllabus. Examples of situations include:
seeing the dentist, complaining the landlord, buying a book at the bookstore,
meeting a new student, asking directions in a new town, and so on.
4. A skill based syllabus is one in which the content of the language teaching is a
collection of specific abilities that may play a part in using language. Skills are
things that people must be able to do to be competent in a language, relatively
independently of the situation or setting in which the language use can occur.
While situational syllabi group functions together into specific settings of
language use, skill-based syllabi group linguistic competencies (pronunciation,
vocabulary, grammar, sociolinguistic, and discourse) together into generalized
types of behavior, such as listening to spoken language for the main idea, writing
well-formed paragraphs, giving effective oral presentations, taking language tests,
reading tests for main ideas or supporting detail, and so on. The primary purpose
of skill-based instruction is to learn the specific language skill. A possible
secondary purpose is to develop more general competence in the language,
learning only accidentally any information that may be available while applying
the language skills. Here are the example of Skill-based syllabus.
5. A task-based syllabus and a content-based syllabus are similiar in that in both
teaching is not organized around linguistic features of the language being learned
but according to some other organizing principle. In task-based instruction the
content of teaching is a series of complex and purposeful tasks that the students
want or need to perform with the language they are learning. The tasks are defined
as activities with a purpose other than language learning, but, as in a content-
based syllabus, the performance of the tasks is approached in a way that is intende
to develop second language ability. Language learning is subordinated to task
performance, and a language teaching occurs only as the need arises during the
performance of a given task. Tasks integrate language (and other) skills in specific
settings of language use. They differ from situations in that while situational
teaching has the goal of teaching the specific language content that occurs in the
situation-a predefined product- task- based teaching has the goal of teaching
students to draw on resources to complete some piece of work-a process. The
language students draw on a variety of language forms, functions, and skills, often
in an indivdual and unpredictable way, in completing the tasks. Tasks that can be
used for language learning are, generally, tasks, that the learners actually have to
perform in any case. Examples are applying for a job, talking with a social
worker, getting housing information over the telephone, completing bureaucratc
forms, collecting information about preschools to decide which to send a child to,
preparing a paper for another course, reading textbook for another course, and so
on.

6. A content-based syllabus is not really a language teaching syllabus at all. In


content-based language teaching, the primary purpose of the instruction is to teach
some content or information using the language that the students are also learning.
The students are simultaneously language students and students of whatever
content is being taught. The subject matter is primary, and language learning
occurs incidentally to the content learning. The content teaching is not organized
around the language teaching, but vice-versa. Content-based language teaching is
concerned with information, while task-based language teaching is concerned with
communicative and cognitive processess. And example of content-based language
teaching is a science class taught in the language the students need or want to
learn, possibly with linguistic adjustments to make the science more
comprehensible.

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