Upload
lykhuong
View
219
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
235
AbstractThis paper examines the organization of a six-week Conversational English ESP
course design for the tweny-two adult administrative human resources staff working in the International Inlingua Language Learning Center in Istanbul. At the very start of this course, a thorough needs analysis taking into account the language needs of the learners based on the essentials put forth by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) and Dudley-Evans and St.John (1998) established the core framework for the study and the findings from this analysis were used for the ESP course and syllabus design. Throughout my study, I always tried to tailor-make the course to suit the needs and wants of the learners and contribute to a positive learning experience since they were all in a non-native English speaking country. In the final phase of my study for the ESP course design in question, the choice of the right syllabus was a major decision in language teaching, and it was made as consciously and with as much information as possible. After due consideration, I decided on the Situational-Based Syllabus as the most appropriate syllabus from among the several distinct types of language teaching syllabi and prepared the course content for the Conversational English Class.
Key Words: ESP, syllabus design, language needs, wants, decision-making, course content.
Yetişkinler İçin Öğrenci Merkezli Özel Amaçlı İngilizce Kursunun Tasarımı ve Öğrenci Amaçlarının Durumsal İzlenceye Dahil Edilmesi
ÖzetBu çalışma, İstanbul Uluslararası Inlingua Dil Öğrenme Merkezi’nde görev yapan 22
kişilik yetişkin İnsan Kaynakları personeli için tasarlanmış altı hafta süreli İngilizce Konuşma ESP (Özel Amaçlı İngilizce) kursunun planlanması ile ilgidir. Bu kursun başında, esasları Hutchinson ve Waters (1987) ve Dudley-Evans ve St.John (1998) tarafından ortaya konulan kapsamlı bir Gereksinim Analizi uygulanmış ve bu çalışmanın bulguları tüm araştırmanın temel çerçevesini oluşturmuş olup, buradan elde edilen veriler gerek Özel Amaçlı İngilizce kursunun ve gerekse müfredatın tasarımında kullanılmıştır. Çalışmam boyunca, öğrencilerim İngilizce konuşulmayan bir ülkede olduklarından dolayı, kursu onların gereksinim ve beklentileri doğrultusunda düzenledim ve dil öğrenme için olumlu bir ortam oluşturmak için elimden geleni yaptım. Söz konusu ESP kurs tasarımının son safhasında, en önemli olay doğru müfredatın belirlenmesiydi ve bu tespitin hatasız yapılabilmesi için mevcut verilerin oldukça bilinçli kullanımı önemliydi. Detaylı bir değerlendirmeden sonra, tüm mevcut müfredat türleri arasından Durumsal İzlence üzerinde karar kıldım ve İngilizce Konuşma Kursunu bu doğrultuda düzenledim.
Anahtar Kelimeler: ESP, müfredat tasarımı, dil ihtiyaçlarını, istiyor, karar verme, ders içeriği.
DESIGNING A LEARNER-CENTERED ESP COURSE FOR ADULTS AND INCORPORATING THE LEARNERS’ AIMS INTO
A SITUATIONAL-BASED SYLLABUS
*) Assist. Prof.Dr.BeykentÜniversitesiYDYO İngilizceMütercim-TercümanlikBölümüÖğretimÜyesi
Turgay DİNÇAY (*)
EKEV AKADEMİ DERGİSİ Yıl: 15 Sayı: 49 (Güz 2011)
236 / Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay DİNÇAY EKEV AKADEMİ DERGİSİ
IntroductionNowadays,mostTurkishESPpractitionersdesignawidevarietyofESPcoursessuch
asEnglish for civil servants, for policemen, for insurance staff, formedical students,for legal staff, fornurses, forhuman resourcespersonnel etc.SuchESPcourseshavestartedtobemoreprevalentinourrapidlydevelopingcountry,especiallyafterTurkey’sapplicationforfullmembershipoftheEuropeanUnioninthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury.Sincethen,Turkeyhasundergonealotofchangesinhernationalandforeignpolicy,internationaltradeaswellaseconomyandthesetransformationsestablishedtheneedforrelevantandlearner-centeredESPcoursesinourglobalizingworld.
ItisforthisreasonthatiftheESPinstructorslackthebasicknowledgeandexperienceabouthowtodesignaneffectivecourse thatwillcover thespecificlanguageneedsoftheirstudents,theyareoftenfacedwithvariouscomplexitiesandproblems.Duetothisreason,many instancesofESPcoursedesign inourcountryareoftenad-hocandnotentirelybasedoncomprehensiveneedsanalyses.
AllESPcoursedesignersshouldknowthatthejobofaneffectiveESPcoursedesignincludes:
(a)planninganddesigninganappropriatecoursesuitableforthetargetESPgroups,(b)decidingonthepracticaltypeofsyllabusthatwellmeetsthebasicrequirements
oftheESPcourseparticipants.
1. Theoretical Background to ESP Course DesignThe ideaof focusingon learners’needsoriginated in the1970s resulting from the
interestinthedesignoflanguagecoursesthatcouldsatisfyindividualandsocialneeds(PalaciosMartinez,1992:135).Itsdevelopmentevolvedinassociationwiththeteachingoflanguagesforspecificpurposes.In1978,Munbyproposedhis“CommunicationNeedsProcessor”(CNP),amodelforneedsanalysis(Figure-1)whichwasquiteinfluential,andstated that thedesignof syllabuses for languagecoursescouldonly takeplaceafterapreliminaryworkonthelearners’needs.
In spite of such ESP diagrams designed by different practitioners, Munby’sCommunicativeNeedsProcessor(1978)asseen inFigure-1stillkeeps itsvaluesas itis considered contributory to ESP inmany developmentalways (Jordan, 1997; Phan,2005).
Figure 1:TheMunbyModel
Participant
(Learner)
CommunicativeNeeds
Processor
ProfileofNeeds
237DESIGNING A LEARNER-CENTERED ESP COURSE FOR ADULTS AND INCORPORATING THE LEARNERS’ AIMS INTO A SITUATIONAL-BASED SYLLABUS
TheCommunicativeNeedsProcessor(CNP)istheheartofthemodel.Theinformationthatisreceivedfromthelearner,theparticipant,isprocessedintheCNPinwhichthereareanumberofcategoriesofwhichresultsprovideusaneeds–adescriptionofwhatthelearnerwillbeabletodowiththetargetlanguagewhenthecourseisover.
HutchinsonandWaters(1987:54-63)assumethatneedsanalysisisacomplexprocessandshouldtakeintoaccountthefollowingpointsbelow:
a)“Target Needs”,whatlearnersneedtodoinordertolearn–i.e.languagelearning.b)“Subjective Needs”, that is, theiraffectiveneeds,suchas their interests,wishes,
expectationsandpreferences(Nunan,1988)Wecangatherinformationaboutlearners’needsthroughdifferentmedia(Hutchinson
andWaters, 1987:58; Palacios Martinez, 1994:143) such as surveys, questionnaires,interviews, attitude scales, intelligence texts, language texts, job analysis, contentanalyses,statisticalanalyses,observation,datacollection,orinformalconsultationwithsponsors,learnersandothers.
Furthermore, needs analysis should not only be considered as a pre-stage for thedesignoflanguagecourses:infact,itisan“on-goingprocess”(White,1998:91)and,asevaluation,itcanbeusedtodesign,improveandimplementlanguageprograms.
InESPcoursedesign,ifweaccuratelyspecifyEnglishlanguageneedsofagroupoflearners,weareeasilyabletodeterminethecontentofalanguageprogramthatwillmeetspecifiedneeds(Munby,1978).Afterthisinitialprocessforthespecificationofbehavioralobjectives,itistimetoexploredifferentsyllabuselementssuchasfunctions,notionsandlexisinamoredetailedmanner(Nunan,1988).Thecommonly-useddiagrampreparedundertheaboveconsiderationsistheoneinFigure-1belowbyBell(1981:36).Inthelightof thetheoreticalknowledgeabove,Bell(1981:36)alsopreparedthecommonly-useddiagraminFigure-2below.
238 / Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay DİNÇAY EKEV AKADEMİ DERGİSİ
Figure 2:ESPLanguageTeachingSyllabusDesign
The steps on the left branch (Analyse Needs, Specify Skills) are the externalrequirements expected of the student. The steps on the right branch (Analyse Error,Specify Level) are the student’s present competence and the bottom branch (SelectTeaching Strategy, Design Teaching Materials, Evaluate) are to do with educationalphilosophy.Themainemphasisinthepresentstudyisontheleftbranch: Analyze Needs,Specify Skills,Design Syllabus.
Dudley-Evans&St.John (1998:122)wrote that (a)needsanalysis isoften seenasbeingthecornerstoneofESPforaveryfocusedlanguagecourseandthat(b)theconceptoflearnerneedsisofteninterpretedintwowaysalthoughtherearenumerouswaystodoit:
1. Goal-oriented definition of needs:whatthelearnerwantstodowiththelanguageattheendoflearning,
2. Process-oriented definition of needs:whatthelearnerneedstodoactuallyacquirethelanguage.
Traditionally, the first interpretation was widely used and accepted. However, intoday’sglobalisedteachingandlearningcontexts,ESPcoursestrytomeetbothoftheneedsgivenabove,andtheemphasisisgenerallyontheprocess-orientedapproachforthepurposeofaligningstudents’needswiththeirpresentworkingscenarios.
AccordingtoWright(2001),ifacoursedesignerwishestogatherinformationaboutthecontentofanyESPcourse,heshoulduseacomprehensiveneedsanalysisasthefirst
239DESIGNING A LEARNER-CENTERED ESP COURSE FOR ADULTS AND INCORPORATING THE LEARNERS’ AIMS INTO A SITUATIONAL-BASED SYLLABUS
step.Healsostates thatanESPpractitionercanmaximallybenefit their learnersonlythroughawell-designedanalysisofthelearners’needs.
AnESPcoursedesignershouldaskthefollowingquestionstohimselfpriortoplanningcoursedesign(Dudley-EvansandSt.John,1998:145)inordertobalanceoutsomeoftheinstitutionalandlearnerexpectations(Dudley-EvansandSt.John,1998):
1.Shouldthecoursebeintensive or extensive?2.Shouldthelearners’performancebeassessed or non-assessed?3.Shouldthecoursedealwithimmediate needs orwithdelayed needs?4.Shouldtheroleoftheteacherbethatoftheprovider ofknowledgeandactivities,or
shoulditbeasfacilitatorofactivitiesarisingfromlearnersexpressedwants?5.Shouldthecoursehaveabroad focusornarrowfocus?6.Shouldthecoursebepre-study or pre-experience or run parallel withthestudyor
experience?7.Shouldthematerialsbecommon-core or specific tolearnersstudyorwork?8. Should the group taking the course be homogenous or should it be
heterogeneous?9.Shouldthecoursedesignbeworked out by the language teacher afterconsultation
withthelearnersandinstitution,orshoulditbesubject to a process of negotiationwiththelearners?
1.1. Conducting the QuestionnaireDudley-Evans andSt.John (1998:145) noted that only six of the questions in the
questionnaireweredirectlyrelatedtothechoiceofthelearners.Itisforthisreasonthatthelearnerswererequestedtoansweronlysixoftheninequestionsinthequestionnairebelowwith great care and attention. In analyzing course design issues, question itemnumbers (6), (8)and (9)proposedbyDudley-EvansandSt.John (1998:145)werenotincludedinthequestionnairesincetheyaregenerallyconcernedwiththeinstitutionalandresearcherexpectations.
Forpracticalpurposesandsakeofeasiness,itwasconductedinTurkish.1.Doyouwanttohaveanintensive or extensivecourse? a.Intensive b.Extensive2.Doyouthinkthatyourperformanceshouldbeassessed or non-assessed? a.Assessed b.Non-assessed3.Inyouropinion,whichofthefollowingneeds shouldyourteacherdealwith? a.Immediate b.Delayed4.Doyouthinkthatyourteachershouldplaytheroleofaproviderofknowledgeand
activities,afacilitatorofactivitiesarisingfromlearners’expressedwants? a.Provider b.Facilitator
240 / Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay DİNÇAY EKEV AKADEMİ DERGİSİ
5.Doesthecoursewithabroad focus or narrow focushelpyoumore? a.Broad b.Narrow6.Shouldthematerialsbespecific or common-coretolearnerstudyorwork? a.Specific b.Common-core
1.2 Findings and Discussion on the Questionnaire
Rightafterthequestionnaire,thekeypersonnelwerealsoconsultedaboutthecontentoftheESPcoursethatwouldguideinpreparingthesyllabus.Belowarethefindingsfromthequestionnaireandaseriesofconsultations:
1. The Duration of the CourseThelearnerspreferredthecoursetobeextensiveinnatureastheclassdurationwas
for1½hourstwiceaweekovera6-weekduration(totalof18hours).
2. Assessing the CourseItwasnottobeanassessedcourse.Thelearnerswereoftheopinionthatthenon-
assessednatureoftheESPcoursewouldhelpthemtorelaxmoreduringtheclassesastheycouldparticipatefullyinthelessonswithouthavingtheanxietyoffailure.
3. The Aims of the CourseIn this respect, both the immediate needs –what the students have at the time of
thecourse-anddelayedneeds–theonesthatwillbecomesignificantlater–weretobetackledequally.
241DESIGNING A LEARNER-CENTERED ESP COURSE FOR ADULTS AND INCORPORATING THE LEARNERS’ AIMS INTO A SITUATIONAL-BASED SYLLABUS
4. Teacher as a Provider or Facilitator?Theexpectationofthelearnerswasthattheyexpectedtheteachertoleadwhattheyare
todoandlearn.Inotherterms,theywishedtohaveateacherwhowouldworkwiththemasafacilitatorofalltheactivitiesintheclassroomandencouragethestudentstomapoutthetypeofactivitiestheywantedtodo(e.g.listentoexplanationofthestaff,discussinsmallgroups,presenttwosetsofsolutionstoherproblemandseekhercommentsontheirsuggestion).
5. Broad or Narrow FocusThecoursehavinganarrowfocuswaspreferredasoneofthekeyaimsofthecourse
was toconcentrateona few targetcommunicativeevents. In this instance, thecoursefocusedoneverydayconversationsandoralcommunicativeeventsusuallypracticedbythelearners.Thiswasseenasbeingrelevanttothelearners’languageneedsbecausethekeytopicsthatwereoutlinedsuitedthecourseaims.
6. Specific or Common-core MaterialThe common core material–materialthatusescarriercontentwhichiseitherofa
generalacademicnatureorofageneralprofessionalnature–wasthepreferenceofthestudents.AsthenatureofthejobofthisgroupoflearnersinvolvedusinggeneralEnglishtodealwithpeopleatwork,mostofthematerialswerematchedtothespecificlanguageexpressionsthattheyusedatwork.Therefore,Idesignedreal-lifesituationssuchasroleplays,conversations,anddialoguesthatmatchedattheirworkplaces.
2. The Place of Syllabus in ESP CourseGatheringandanalyzingthelanguageneedsandaimsofthelearnersthroughcertain
methodsisnottheendfororganizingESPcourse.Wealsoneedtodecideonappropriatesyllabus type(s) that match(es) the course in question. Hence, it is essential for ESPteacherstoknowwellaboutthecontentsanddetailsofsyllabusinESPcourse.Thereareseveraldistincttypesoflanguageteachingsyllabi,andeachofthesedifferenttypesmaybeimplementedinvariousteachingsituations.Thebenefitsofawell-preparedsyllabuscanbelistedasbelow:
1.Aneffectivesyllabusconveyswhattheclasswillbelike,whatstudentswilldoandlearn,aswellaswhattheycanexpectofyou.
2. It increases the likelihood of student’s success in your class. It guides studentlearninginaccordancewithyourexpectationsanddemonstratestostudentsthatyoucareabouttheirlearning.
3.Awell-designed syllabus decreases the number of problemswhich arise in thecourse.Fewermisunderstandingsarisewhentherulesofthegameareexplicitlystatedinyoursyllabus.
4. It assists in your professional development.Writing and revising your syllabiprovideyouthereoccurringopportunitytoreflectonboththeformandpurposeofyourapproachtoteachingsuchquestionsas:
242 / Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay DİNÇAY EKEV AKADEMİ DERGİSİ
a.WhydoIselectthecontentIdo?b.ShouldIpresentthecontentinthisorder?c.Arethesethebestteachingstrategiesforthiscourse?d.Isthereabetterwaytoevaluateachievement?5.Ittacitlyrecordsandtransmitsyourteachingphilosophy.Thesyllabusisapublic
document.When you are up for tenure or a promotion, your colleagues look to yoursyllabusforinformationabouthowyouteach.
6. It provides pertinent information about your course to your colleagues anddepartment.Forexample,colleagueswhoteachsubsequentcoursesinyourdepartmentwillbeabletomakeassumptionsaboutwhatyourstudentsknowandareabletodo.
2.1. Types of SyllabiBelowismentionedsix typesofsyllabi.Thecharacteristics,differences,strengths,
and weakness of individual syllabi are defined as follows. However, one should notconsiderthateachtypeofsyllabusistotallyindependentoftheothers.Inotherterms,foragivencourse,onetypeofsyllabusmaybedominant,whileothertypesofcontentmaybecombinedwithit.Togiveanexample,thedistinctionbetweenskill-basedandtask-basedsyllabimaybeminimal.Insuchcases,thedistinguishingfactorisoftenthewayinwhichtheinstructionalcontentisusedintheactualteachingprocedure.
1. A Structural (Formal) SyllabusAstructuralsyllabus isacollectionof theformsandgrammaticalstructuresof the
languagebeingtaughtsuchasnouns,verbs,adjectives,statements,questions,subordinateclauses,andsoon.
2. A Notional/Functional SyllabusAnotional/functionalsyllabusisacollectionofthefunctionsorofthenotionssuchas
informing,agreeing,apologizing,requesting,andsoon.
3. A Situational SyllabusAsituationalsyllabusisacollectionofrealorimaginarysituationsinwhichlanguage
occursorisused.Theprimarypurposeofasituationallanguageteachingsyllabusistoteachthelanguagethatoccursinthesituationssuchasseeingthedentist,complainingtothelandlord,buyingabookatthebookstore,meetinganewstudent,andsoon.
4. A Skill-Based SyllabusAskill-basedsyllabusisacollectionofspecificabilitiesthatmayplayapartinusing
language.Theprimarypurposeofskill-basedinstructionistolearnthespecificlanguageskillsandtodevelopmoregeneralcompetenceinthelanguage.
5. A Task-Based SyllabusAtask-basedsyllabus isaseriesofcomplexandpurposeful tasks that thestudents
wantorneedtoperformwiththelanguagetheyarelearningsuchasapplyingforajob,talkingwithasocialworker,gettinghousinginformationoverthetelephone,andsoon.
243DESIGNING A LEARNER-CENTERED ESP COURSE FOR ADULTS AND INCORPORATING THE LEARNERS’ AIMS INTO A SITUATIONAL-BASED SYLLABUS
6. A Content-Based SyllabusTheprimarypurposeofthissyllabusistoteachsomecontentorinformationusing
thelanguagethatthestudentsarealsolearning.Anexampleofcontent-basedlanguageteaching is a science class taught in the language the students need orwant to learn.While doing this,we alsomakewith linguistic adjustment tomake the subjectmorecomprehensible.
2.2. Choosing and Integrating SyllabiAlthoughthesixtypesofsyllabusarearecommonlyknownandused,theycannotbe
consideredtotallyapartfromeachother.Eachoneisusedexclusivelyinactualteachingsettings.Inotherterms,theyaregenerallycombinedwitheachother,withonetypeastheorganizingbasisaroundwhichtheothersarearranged.Theimportantthingthatshouldbekeptinmindisthattheissueisa)whichtypestochoose,notwhichtype,andb)howtorelatethemtoeachother.
Alltypesofsyllabifallintotwocategoriesasa)traditionalandb)holistic.Traditionalandholisticsyllabusesreflectdifferentviewsoflanguageinadditiontolanguagelearningandteaching.Bothof theapproaches tosyllabusarequitevalid,andmostof theESPcoursesreflectelementsofboth.Thesyllabusthatwewillusealwaysdetermineswhichofthelabels‘traditional’or‘holistic’tobeemployed.
1. Traditional View of SyllabusLinguisticcontentisofprimaryimportanceintraditionalsyllabuses.Thesituational
andthematicchoicesaresecondarytolinguisticcontent.Togiveanexample,theaudio-lingualmethodemphasizes a careful sequencingofgrammatical structures,whicharefirst presented and then repeated, with gradual memorization of the dialogue. Thisapproach,highly-basedonbehavioristpsychology,seeslanguageasasystemofbuildingblocks,andlanguageacquisitionasaprocessofhabitformation,throughimitationandrepetition.Thisapproachtendstoignorethematiccontent,andgrammarandvocabularyarepresentedinisolatedsentences.
Traditionalsyllabusesaresuitedtosometypesoflearners.Thus,studentscanfocusonaparticularaspectoflanguagebybreakingthelanguagedownintobitsandpieces.Bydoingso,theyarenolongerblurredbyotherproblemsofalexicalorphonologicalnatureofthelanguagebeingtaught.
2. Holistic View of SyllabusThosewhocriticize the traditionalsyllabusargue that it isnot logical tobreak the
languageintobitsandpieces.Theyputforththatthelanguageshouldbeexperiencedasawhole.Thismeansthataholisticapproachusestexts,i.e.,wholepiecesoflanguage,rather than individual sentences. In this way, students are prepared for the languagetheywill encounteroutside the classroom. In scientific terms,wemustprogress fromlearningabout thelanguage(languageusage) toconsideringhowlanguageworks inacommunicativesense(languageuse)whichrequiresus togobeyondthesentenceandlookatlongerstretchesoflanguage.
244 / Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay DİNÇAY EKEV AKADEMİ DERGİSİ
The holistic view has gained prominence in recent years.A holistic syllabuswillfrontauthenticandcommunicativetexts,topics,andtasks.Itplacesgreateremphasisonmeaningfulcommunicationfromthelearner’spointofview,notisolatedphonemesandmorphemes.
Languageerrorsarecorrectedbytheteacheras theclasswhilethestudentsareonthetask.Grammarislearnedreactively,ratherthanpre-emptively.Inshort,thefocusisonfunctionandfluency.Learnersexperiencethelanguageoutsidetheclassroom.Form,accuracy,andanalysisarenotofprimaryimportance.
AcomparisonofthetraditionalandholisticviewsofsyllabusmaybeoutlinedasinTable-1whichisadaptedfromthebooktitled“TheLearner-CentredCurriculum”writtenbyDavidNunan(1988).
Table 1:AComparisonofTraditionalandHolisticApproaches
TRADITIONAL VIEW HOLISTIC VIEW
Focusesonlanguageasasequenceofgrammaticalpatterns.
Focusesoncommunicationratherthangrammar.
Selectslanguageitemsonabasisofcomplexityoflinguisticcriteria.
Selectsonthebasisofwhatlanguageitemsthelearnerneedstoknow.
Tendstobemoreformalandbookishinlanguage Emphasizesgenuineeverydaylanguage.
Aimstohavestudentsproduceformallycorrectsentences.
Aimstohavestudentcommunicateeffectivelyinordertocompletethetask.
Emphasizesthereadingandwritingskills.
Givesspeakingasmuchtimeasreadinginordertocompletetask.
Tendstobeteacher-centredinteaching. Tendstobestudent-centredinteaching.
Focusesontheformofexpressionratherthanthecontent.
Resemblesthenaturallanguagelearningprocessbyconcentratingonthecontent/meaningoftheexpressionratherthantheform.
3. Why a Situational-Based ESP SyllabusWiththistypeofsyllabus,theessentialcomponentoforganizationisanon-linguistic
category, i.e. the situation. The underlying premise is that language is related to thesituationalcontextsinwhichitoccurs.Thedesignerofasituationalsyllabustriestopredictthosesituationsinwhichthelearnerwillfindhim/herself,andappliesthesesituations,for instance; seeing the dentist, going to the cinema andmeeting a new student, as abasisforselectingandpresentinglanguagecontent.Thecontentoflanguageteachingisacollectionofrealorimaginarysituationsinwhichlanguageoccursorisused.Asituation
245DESIGNING A LEARNER-CENTERED ESP COURSE FOR ADULTS AND INCORPORATING THE LEARNERS’ AIMS INTO A SITUATIONAL-BASED SYLLABUS
usually includes severalparticipantswhoare involved in someactivity inaparticularsetting.Thelanguageusedinthesituationcomprisesanumberoffunctionscombinedintoaplausiblepartofavailablediscourse.Themainprincipleofasituationallanguageteachingsyllabusistoteachthelanguagethatoccursinthesituations.
In thissyllabus,situationalneedsare important rather thangrammaticalunits.Themajor organizing feature is a list of situations which reflects the way language andbehaviorareusedeverydayoutsidetheclassroom.Thus,byconnectingstructuraltheoryto situations the learner is able to induce the meaning from a relevant context. Oneadvantageof the situational approach is thatmotivationwill beheightened since it is“learner-ratherthansubject-centered”(Wilkins.1976:16).
Table 2:CourseContentofaSituational-BasedSyllabus
WEEK KEY TOPICS GRAMMAR FOCUS HOURS
WEEK – 1INTRODUCTION TO COURSEa. GettingStartedb. Makingintroductions
a. Verbtensereviewb. Pronouns
3hrs
WEEK – 2GREETING PEOPLEa. Initiatingconversationsb. Telephoneetiquette
a. Questionformationb.WH–questionc. Preposition
3hrs
WEEK - 3ASKING FOR INFORMATIONa. Seekingclarificationb. Confirminginformation
a. Yes/noquestionb. Future and present
tensec. Tagquestions
3hrs
WEEK- 4LISTENING TO INSTRUCTIONS/QUERIESa. Understandingqueriesb. Respondingtoqueries
a. Presentcontinuoustense
b.Vocabularyfocusc. Tagquestions
3hrs
WEEK- 5USING POLITE EXPRESSIONSa. Respondingtoothersb. Havingconversationsc. Makingbriefpresentations
a. Clausesb.Modalsc. Verbtenses
3hrs
WEEK - 6
DISCUSSING ISSUES AND CONFIRMING DETAILSa. Socialcommunicationb. Everydayofficeconversationsc. Contributingideasand
suggestions
a. Modalsb.Adjectives,adverbsc. Imperativesd.Conditionalverbse. Singular/plural
3hrs
ConclusionThere are many essential points when considering a syllabus to be designed and
implemented.Thevarioussyllabitoucheduponinthisinvestigationallpresentvaluable
246 / Assist. Prof. Dr. Turgay DİNÇAY EKEV AKADEMİ DERGİSİ
insightsintocreatingalanguageprogramandcourse.Althoughthesixtypesofsyllabuswereexaminedanddefinedhereasifinisolatedcontexts,itisuncommonforonetypeofsyllabustobeutilizedfullyinactualteachingsettings.Syllabusesarefrequentlycombinedinmoreorlessintegratedwayswithonetypeastheorganizingstartingpointaroundwhichtheothersarearrangedandconnected.Toputitanotherway,inarguingaboutsyllabuschoiceanddesign,itshouldbekeptinmindthatthequestionisnotwhichtypetochoosebutwhichtypesandhowtoconnectthemwitheachother.Finally,andperhapspreferably,a hybrid syllabus needs to be constructed and designed due to pragmatic reasons.AsHutchinsonandWaters(1987:51)state“it iswise to takeaneclecticapproach, takingwhatisusefulfromeachtheoryandtrustingalsointheevidenceofyourownexperienceasateacher”.
Inclosing,itisofgreatimportancetonotethatnosingletypeofsyllabusisappropriatefor all teaching settings.This is due to the fact that theneeds and conditionsof eachsettingaresocharacteristicandidiosyncraticthatparticularproposalsforintegrationarenoteasilypossible.Thepossibilityandpracticalityaspectsofaparticularsyllabustobedevelopedandimplementedareofgreatsignificancewhileprocessingtheissue.Toputinmoretangibleterms,inmakingpracticaldecisionsaboutsyllabusdesign,onemusttakeintoaccountallthepotentialfactorsthatmayaffecttheteachabilityofaspecificsyllabus.Bybeginningwithanassessmentandinvestigationovereachsyllabustype,keepingtrackofthechoiceandintegrationofthedifferenttypesaccordingtolocalneeds,onemayfindaprincipledandpracticalsolutiontotheproblemofsuitabilityandefficiencyinsyllabusdesignandimplementation.Theinvestigationonhowsubtlyandcarefullyasyllabuscanbedesignedandimplementedopensanewhorizonforfutureresearch.
ReferencesAlasuutari,P.(1998).AnInvitationtoSocialResearch.Sage:London.
Alexander,L.G.(1976).“WheredoweGofromHere:AReconsiderationofSomeBasicAssumptionsAffectingCourseDesign.”EnglishLanguageTeaching,Vol.30/2:89-103
Dubin,F.,&Olshtain,E.(1986).CourseDesign:DevelopingProgramsandMaterialsforLanguageLearning.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Dudley-Evans,T.&St.John,M.J.(1998).DevelopmentsinESP:AMultidiscliplinaryApproach.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Gattegno,C.(1972).TeachingForeignLanguagesinSchools:TheSilentWay(2nded.).NewYork:EducationalSolutions.(ERICDocumentReproductionServiceNo.ED157403)
Hutchinson,T.&Waters,A.(1987).EnglishforSpecificPurposes.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
247DESIGNING A LEARNER-CENTERED ESP COURSE FOR ADULTS AND INCORPORATING THE LEARNERS’ AIMS INTO A SITUATIONAL-BASED SYLLABUS
Munby,J.(1978).CommunicativeSyllabusDesign.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Jordan,R.R.(1997).EnglishforAcademicPurposes.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
KRahnke, K.J. (1981). Incorporating Communicative Instruction into AcademicReparation ESL curricula. (ERICDocument Reproduction Service NO.ED210915)
Mohan, B. (1979). “Relating Language Teaching and Content Teaching. “TESOLQuarterly,Vol.13/2:171-82.
Nunan,D.(1988).TheLearner-CentredCurriculum.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
PalaciosMartinez,Ignacio.(1992).AnAnalysisandAppraisaloftheEnglishLanguageTeachingSituationinSpainfromthePerspectivesofTeachersandLearners.Ph.Ddissertation.UniversidadedeSantiagodeCompostela.
Phan,L.H.(2005).Munby’sneedsanalysismodelandESP.AsianEFLJournal,Vol.6.Accessedon20thNovember2006.Availableonlineat:http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/pta_october_07_phl.php
Steiner,F.(1975).PerformingwithObjectives.Rowley,MA:NewburyHouse.
Strevens,P.(1988).ESPafterTwentyYears:ARe-appraisal.InM.Tickoo(Ed.).StateoftheArt.SEAMEORegionalLanguageCentre:Singapore.
White,RonaldV.(1988).TheELTCurriculum.Cambridge:BasilBlackwell.
Wilkins,D.A.(1976).NotionalSyllabuses.London:OxfordUniversityPress.
Wright,C.(2001).TheBenefitsofESP.Accessedonlineon20thNovember2006at11:00a.m.Availableonline:http://www.camlang.com/art001.htm