ELC Curriculum Development: A proposal for four-year General English program

November 18, 2005

From linear toward three-level curriculum structure

Curriculum development strategy

Syllabus design

Classroom implementation

Major changes

• CD strategy: process-oriented behavioral goals

• Syllabus design: analytic principles

• In/outside classroom work: implementation of goal-directed interaction

Process-oriented CD strategy• Aims: self-study skills, use of English in real-world tasks

• Goals: 3 behavioral and 8 proficiency levels

• Constraints: time budget and possible processes

• Definition of appropriate content unit

• Organizing principles

• Definition of ‘good’ materials

• Expectations, participation, values

• Developmental strategy (6 areas and diffusion)

Analytic principles of syllabus design

• Implementation of organizing principles for content and materials

• Task as the central unit of syllabus and content analysis

• Negotiated focus of attention resources

• Eight proficiency levels to define the range of expected learning outcomes

Goal-directed in/outside classroom interaction

• Task-directed negotiation of meaning (resources, objectives, focus, etc.)

• Joint materials development process = PL + Specs + learners’ abilities and expectations

• Course evaluation: 3 realistic, appropriate, observable process-oriented (behavioral) goals

What CD work is NOT about

• What skills and lexico-grammatical elements should be taught

• With what instructional materials

• What the teacher CAN do Monday morning

• How students should be assessed

From linear toward three-level curriculum structure

Curriculum development strategy

Syllabus design

Classroom implementation

Major changes

• CD strategy: process-oriented behavioral goals

• Syllabus design: analytic principles

• In/outside classroom work: implementation of goal-directed interaction

Thank you for your attention