Language Curriculum Design

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Discuss the steps involved in planning a general English language course. In designing a syllabus for a group of Greek learners in a public secondary school what factors would you take into account in its development, how would you go about developing it, what would the nature of this syllabus be and why?

Planning a general English language course can be very interesting as you are creating a teaching strategy that helps not only the students but also you, in a very effective way.

Lesson planning is the first step. It includes data such as content, language learning objectives, instructional approaches and procedures, materials required, and criteria for constructing an assessment for the lesson. It is like a map guiding someone to his / her destination through unknown or known paths and places. Lesson planning is a teacher problem solving activity pursuing the answer to the question OF how to most effectively promote and accomplish intended learning outcomes. It is, then, defined as the in advance study of the teaching process intended to implement curricular objective(s).

In summary, lesson planning is needed for a) giving a sense of direction, b) helping students become aware of the lesson objectives and the learning tasks they are asked to perform, c) managing a classroom, d) helping teachers to solve, in advance, teaching problems, and e) reducing anxiety on the part of students and, especially, the teacher.

Teaching approach is the second step. The five factors, which could be applied in the teaching approach of global English, are presented below:

1. LESSON CLARITY

2. INSTRUCTIONAL VARIETY

3. TEACHER TASK ORIENTATION

4. STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THE LEARNING PROCESS

TIME

5. MODERATE TO HIGH STUDENT SUCCESS LEVEL

A full lesson cycle includes three phases of duties on the part of the teacher. The lesson phases

are the following:

(I) Pre teaching phase

(II) Interactive phase.

(III) Post teaching phase.

The interactive phase takes place during the allocated lesson time; the pre teaching phase, usually, takes place before the lesson starts or /and at the beginning of the lesson. The post teaching phase follows the end of the interactive phase and, u...

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...n a routine handout; it's a critical management tool.

REFERENCES

Altman, H.B., & Cashin, W.E. (1992). Writing a syllabus. Exchange, September, unpaginated. Grunert, J. (1997). The course syllabus: A learning-centered approach. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Co., Inc.

The Center for Teaching and Learning. (1991). Teaching at Carolina: A handbook for instructors. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Ca Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Publishers: San Francisco, 1993.rolina-Chapel Hill,

Papandreou, A. 2001. Teaching Methodology (Second Edition). Athens: Gregory Publications [in Greek].

Roseshine, B. and Stevens, R. 1986. “Teaching functions”. In M.C. Wittrock (ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching (Third Edition). New York: Macmillan.

Weeden, P., Winter, J. and Broadfoot, P. 2002. Assessment: What´s in it for schools? London: Routledge / Falmer.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (Council of Europe and Cambridge University Press, 2001).

. . . and the sites:

http://www.ccri.edu/pers/Adjunct_HB/syllabus.shtml

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html

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