8 The syllabus

I must Create a System, or be enslaved by another Man's.

(William Blake,'Jerusalem')

In this first chapter on the applications of a course design model, we shall

be looking at the syllabus and considering the following questions:
1 What do we mean by a syllabus ?
2 Why should we have a syllabus ?
3 On what criteria can a syllabus be organised ?
4 What role should a syllabus play in the course design process ?

1 What do we mean by a syllabus?

Most teachers might regard this as an unnecessary question. A syllabus
is a document which says what will (or at least what should) be learnt.
But, in fact, there are several different ways in which a syllabus can be
defined. This stems from the fact that the statement of what will be learnt
passes through several different stages before it reaches its destination
in the mind of the learner. Each stage on its route imposes a further layer
of interpretation.

a) The evaluation syllabus

As we have said, at its simplest level a syllabus can be described as a
statement of what is to be learnt. This kind of syllabus will be most
familiar as the document that is handed down by ministries or other
regulating bodies. It states what the successful learner will know by the
end of the course. In effect, it puts on record the basis on which success
or failure will be evaluated. Thus we might refer to this as an evaluation
syllabus. It reflects an official assumption as to the nature of language
and linguistic performance. For example, if the syllabus is framed in
terms of grammatical structures, this reflects a view that knowing a
language consists of knowing the constituent structures. It would be
impossible to produce an evaluation syllabus without having a view of
what language is and thus how it can be broken down.
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b) The organisational syllabus

As well as listing what should be learnt, a syllabus can also state the
order in which it is to be learnt. We might call this an organisational
syllabus. In a rough sense, evaluation syllabuses fulfil this role, in that
they normally list what should be learnt in, for example, the first year
of learning etc. The organisational syllabus is most familiar in the form
of the contents page of a textbook, and it is this form of syllabus that
most people would think of when asked: 'What is a syllabus?' The
organisational syllabus differs from the evaluation syllabus in that it
carries assumptions about the nature of learning as well as language,
since, in organising the items in a syllabus, it is necessary to consider
factors which depend upon a view of how people learn, e.g.:
- What is more easily learnt ?
- What is more fundamental to learning ?
- Are some items needed in order to learn other items ?
- What is more useful in the classroom ?
Criteria like these must be used in order to determine the order of items.
The organisational syllabus, therefore, is an implicit statement about the
nature of language and of learning.

c) The materials syllabus

The two syllabuses considered so far might be regarded as pure
syllabuses, in that they have not been interpreted. They are a straight-
forward statement of what is to be learnt with some indication of the
order in which the items should be learnt. The syllabuses say nothing
about how learning will be achieved. But a syllabus, like a course design
model, is only as good as the interpretation that is put on it. On its route
to the learner the organisational syllabus goes through a series of
interpretations.
The first person to interpret the syllabus is usually the materials writer.
So we get our third kind of syllabus - the materials syllabus. In writing
materials, the author adds yet more assumptions about the nature of
language, language learning and language use. The author decides the
contexts in which the language will appear, the relative weightings and
integration of skills, the number and type of exercises to be spent on
any aspect of language, the degree of recycling or revision. These can
all have their effect on whether and how well something is learnt. For
example, if certain vocabulary items are presented in texts which appeal
to the learners, they are more likely to be remembered, because the
learners' attention will be more involved.

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 Application

d) The teacher syllabus

The second stage of interpretation usually comes through the teacher.
The great majority of students in the world learn language through the
mediation of a teacher. Thus we have the teacher syllabus (Breen, 1984).
Like the materials writer, the teacher can influence the clarity, intensity
and frequency of any item, and thereby affect the image that the learners
receive. Stevick (1984) recounts how an inexperienced teacher would
finish in two minutes an activity that he would spend twenty minutes
on. This kind of variability will inevitably affect the degree of learning.

e) The classroom syllabus

As every teacher knows, what is planned and what actually happens in
a lesson are two different things (Allwright, 1984 b). A lesson is a
communicative event, which is created by the interaction of a number
of forces. We might use our analogy of a journey again to illustrate this
point. The lesson plan is like the planned route, but like a planned route
it can be affected by all sorts of conditions along the way - the
unexpected traffic jam, the slow-moving vehicle that you get stuck
behind, the diversion because of road works, the new one-way system
that you get lost in. But the journey might also be helped along by the
new stretch of motorway, the company of travelling companions, fine
weather etc. The classroom, too, creates conditions which will affect the
nature of a planned lesson. These might be extraneous factors, such as
noise from outside, hot weather, interruptions to deal with an admin-
istrative matter, a visitor. They might come from the learners as a group:
perhaps they are tired after a long day, excitable after an incident in the
break. Individual students might hold matters up by asking questions
or distracting the attention of the class. They might on the other hand
make a lesson memorable by putting an interesting question or telling
an amusing anecdote.
The classroom, then, is not simply a neutral channel for the passage
of information from teacher to learner. It is a dynamic, interactive
environment, which affects the nature both of what is taught and what
is learnt. The classroom thus generates its own syllabus (Breen, 1984).

/ ) The learner syllabus

The syllabuses we have considered till now might all be referred to as
external syllabuses. The learners might participate in their creation to
some extent, but essentially they are external to the learner. The last type
of syllabus, however, is an internal syllabus. It is the network of
knowledge that develops in the learner's brain and which enables that
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learner to comprehend and store the later knowledge. We might call this
the learner syllabus (Breen, 1984).
The learner syllabus differs from all the other types we have
mentioned not just in being internal as opposed to external, but in that
it faces in the opposite direction. It is a retrospective record of what has
been learnt rather than a prospective plan of what will be learnt
(Candlin, 1984). The importance of the learner syllabus lies in the fact
that it is through the filter of this syllabus that the learner views the other
syllabuses. What is in that learner syllabus, in other words, will have
a crucial influence on whether and how future knowledge is learnt. It
is for this reason that the learners must be taken into account on a
continuing basis through every stage of the course design process (see
above figure 21).
There is, then, not just one syllabus, but several, and the teaching-
learning process involves the interaction of them all. When we use the
term 'syllabus', we should be very clear which one we are referring to.
In particular, do we mean the external specification of future learning
or the internal construct developed by the learner? But the most
important point of all to draw from this analysis is that there is no
necessary relationship between any of the syllabuses, and in particular,
there is no direct relationship between the starting point of the
evaluation syllabus and the end point of the learner syllabus (see
Allwright, 1984 b). On any empirical evidence, this should be blindingly
obvious and yet the fallacy persists: 'I have taught the syllabus.
Therefore the students have learnt what is in the syllabus.'

2 Why should we have a syllabus ?

In view of the amount of work that goes into syllabus design and the
considerable weight of authority that syllabuses have, we might usefully
consider whether they are necessary. This will reveal that just as there
are acknowledged and hidden syllabuses, there are also acknowledged
and hidden reasons for having a syllabus.
a) Language is a complex entity. It cannot be learnt in one go. We have
to have some way of breaking down the complex into manageable
units. The syllabus, in defining the constituent parts of language
knowledge, thus provides a practical basis for the division of
assessment, textbooks and learning time.
b) In addition to its practical benefits, a syllabus also gives moral
support to the teacher and learner, in that it makes the language
learning task appear manageable.
* In questions 2—4 we shall use the word syllabus in the sense of the evaluation/organisational
syllabus.

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c) A syllabus, particularly an ESP syllabus, also has a cosmetic role.

Sponsors and students will want some reassurance that their invest-
ment of money and/or time will be worthwhile. If nothing else, the
syllabus shows that some thought and planning has gone into the
development of a course. This aspect is, obviously, of particular
importance when there are commercial sponsors involved.
d) Returning to our analogy of learning as a journey, the syllabus can
be seen as a statement of projected routes, so that teacher and learner
not only have an idea of where they are going, but how they might
get there.
e) A syllabus is an implicit statement of views on the nature of language
and learning. A syllabus will normally be expressed in terms of what
is taken to be the most important aspect of language learning. If we
lay out a syllabus in structural terms, we are saying that knowledge
of the structures of the language constitutes the most important
element of language competence. If we take a skills basis, we are
saying that skills are the most important aspect and so on. A
syllabus, then, tells the teacher and the student not only what is to be
learnt, but, implicitly, why it is to be learnt.
f) A syllabus provides a set of criteria for materials selection and/or
writing. It defines the kind of texts to look for or produce, the items
to focus on in exercises etc. This is probably one of the commonest
uses for a syllabus, but it can be one of the most damaging to the
course design, if wrongly used (see 4 below p. 90).
g) Uniformity is a necessary condition of any institutionalised activity,
such as education. It is deemed to be important that standards
within a system are as equal as possible. A syllabus is one way in
which standardisation is achieved (or at least attempted).
h) In that teaching is intended to lead a learner to a particular state of
knowledge, there need to be criteria against which success or failure
in reaching that state will be assessed. A syllabus, therefore, provides
a visible basis for testing.
It is clear from this list of roles that a syllabus is an important document
in the teaching/learning process. Indeed, its importance probably stems
from its multi-functional purpose. But therein also lie the dangers:
a) We should be aware of why we want a syllabus and what we will
use it for. If it is really just for cosmetic purposes to placate a sponsor,
then we should not try to use it as a means of selecting texts or
deciding what to put in the exercises.
b) A syllabus is a model - a statement of an ideal. A syllabus is not,
therefore, a statement of what will be learnt. It is important to
remember that a syllabus can only constitute an approximate
statement of what will be taught (though, even here the divergence

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may be considerable). It can predict very little about what will be

learnt. A syllabus can never be more than a statement of a teaching
ideal.
c) Syllabuses cannot express the intangible factors that are so crucial
to learning: emotions, personalities, subjective views, motivation.
d) Syllabuses cannot take account of individual differences. Just as they
are a statement of the ideal in language terms, they also implicitly
define the ideal learner.
The role of the syllabus is a complex one, but it clearly satisfies a lot
of needs. We need crucially to be aware of the different roles that the
syllabus plays, so that it can be used most appropriately. In particular
we need to recognise its ideal nature and, therefore, its limitations as
an indicator of learning.

3 On what criteria can a syllabus be organised ?

We noted above that one of the main purposes of a syllabus is to break
down the mass of knowledge to be learnt into manageable units. This
breakdown (unless it is to be completely random) has to be based on
certain criteria. Presented below are some contents lists from a range
of ESP courses, illustrating the different criteria that can be used.

a) Topic syllabus

1 The Rig
2 Fishing Jobs
3 Traps and Geology
4 Reservoir Fluids
5 Natural Flow
6 Blowout Control
7 Drives and Stimulations
8 Directional Wells
9 Jobs on the Rig
(The Petroleum Programme: English for the oil industry by P. L. Sandier,
BBC, 1980)

b) Structural/'situational syllabus

1 The Hotel and Staff (1)

Patterns of the verb 'to be'; demonstratives; personal pronouns.
2 The Hotel and Staff (2)
Questions with 'where?'; some prepositions.

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 Application

3 Marcel in the Restaurant (1)

Adjectives; 'either or', 'neither nor'.
4 Marcel in the Restaurant (2)
Present Continuous Tense.
5 The Staff and the Customer
Possessive adjectives and pronouns; questions with where?'
6 The Hotel at Night
'There is/ 'there are', 'some', 'any', 'no', (1); questions with 'how
many?'; the time (1)
7 The Manager
' some',' any',' no' (2); the time (2)
8 The Kitchen (1)
Patterns of the verb' to have'
(The Savoy English Course for the Catering Industry by M. C. Coles and
B. D. Lord, Edward Arnold, 1973)

c) Functional/notional syllabus

1 Properties and shapes

2 Location
3 Structure
4 Measurement 1
5 Process 1 Function and ability
6 Process 2 Actions in sequence
7 Measurement 2 Quantity
8 Process 3 Cause and Effect
9 Measurement 3 Proportion
10 Measurement 4 Frequency, Tendency, Probability
11 Process 4 Method
(Nucleus: General Science by M. Bates and T. Dudley-Evans, Longman, 1976)

d) Skills syllabus

1 Organising your studies

2 Improving your reading efficiency
3 Taking notes
4 Taking part in seminars
5 Writing an essay i) Research and using the library
6 Writing an essay ii) Organisation
7 Writing an essay iii) Presentation
8 Assessment study techniques and examinations
(Study Skills in English by Michael J. Wallace,
Cambridge University Press, 1980)

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 The syllabus

e) Situations I syllabus

1 Schweibur: The Fiftieth Anniversary

2 The Sales Report
3 The Thanking Letter
4 A Telephone Message
5 A Death to Report
6 A Memo
7 A Journey
8 Minutes
9 An Article and a Memo
10 The Transfer
11 Changing Jobs
12 The New Secretary
(English for Secretaries, Oxford University Press, 1978)

f) Functional/task-based syllabus

1 Making arrangements
2 Attending meetings
3 Taking part in interviews
4 Buying and selling
5 Dealing with orders
6 Dealing with forms
7 Using the telephone
8 Dealing with international payments
9 Recording and decoding information
10 Travelling
11 Reporting
12 Receiving visitors
(English for the Business and Commercial World: Career Developments by
J. A. Blundell, N. M. G. Middlemiss, Oxford University Press, 1982)

g) Discourse/skills syllabus
UNIT2
Generalizations
Part 1 The nature of generalizations
Part 2 General and specific information (paragraphs containing a single
generalization)
Part 3 Levels of generality
Part 4 Levels of generality expressed by probability, frequency and quality
Part 5 Application of reading strategies to a passage with different levels of
generality
(Reading and Thinking in English: Discovering Discourse ed. H. G. Widdowson,
Oxford University Press, 1979)

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 Application

h) Skills and strategies

Unitone: Who do you think you are?
Exercises in personal evaluation
Unit two: What do you think you'll do?
Exercises in examining your job needs
Part 1 The hours you work
Part 2 Job security
Part 3 Making decisions
Part 4 Changing fields
Unit three: What will you find out?
Exercises in using the want ads
Part 1 An introduction to the want ads
Part 2 Want ad abbreviations
Part 3 The information in an ad
Part 4 Your qualifications
Part 5 Answering an ad
(Ifs Up To You: by J. Dresner, K. Beck, C. Morgano and L. Custer,
Longman Inc., 1980).*

Each of the syllabuses shown represents a valid attempt to break down

the mass of a particular area of knowledge into manageable units. Each
carries certain assumptions about the nature of language and learning.
But these assumptions may not be very explicit. For example, what
assumptions underlie the ordering in the structural syllabus (b) ? Does
the verb 'to be' come first, because it is easier to learn? If so, in what
sense ? Structurally, it is the most complex verb in English. Does it come
first because it is needed for later structures, for example the present
continuous? Is it considered to be conceptually simpler? For many
students, for example Indonesian students, it causes conceptual problems,
since in Bahasa Indonesian it is frequently omitted. Alternatively, is the
syllabus ordered according to usefulness ? The verb ' to be' is more useful
than, say, the present simple tense of the verb ' to go '.If we are operating
the criterion of usefulness, what context are we referring to ? Do we mean
usefulness in the outside world or usefulness in the classroom ?
What about the functional/notional syllabus (c)? Does the order
imply that Describing Properties and Shapes is more common or more
fundamental than Describing Function and Ability? Or is there a covert
structural syllabus underlying the ordering ? Describing Properties and
* Syllabus (h) illustrates an interesting feature of the American tradition of ESP. It has an avowed
social as well as a linguistic aim. 'Many students face the challenge of competing for jobs before
they feel proficient in English. It's Up To You is a novel approach to developing the language
skills and job-seeking strategies of these students.' (J. Dresner et al., 1980) The aim is, therefore,
not just to improve language skills, but the much broader aim of enabling the learners to survive
and compete more effectively in American society. This reflects the strong influence in the USA
of concern for refugee and immigrant needs. This is why in America ESL tends to be used as
the umbrella term for English Language Teaching. In Britain, where the teaching of immigrants
is a relatively minor element in ELT, EFL is used as the umbrella term.

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Shapes only requires the verb 'to be' (e.g. It is round/square/hard/soft

etc.). Describing Function and Ability, on the other hand, requires
can / can't / has the ability to... etc.
The syllabuses shown above are as important for what they don't say,
as for what they do say, because they only show one or two of the
elements of the materials. Any teaching materials must, in reality,
operate several syllabuses at the same time. One of them will probably
be used as the principal organising feature, but the others are still there,
even if they are not taken into account in the organisation of the
material. For example, every function is realised by one or more struc-
tures, thus in writing a functionally organised syllabus, a structural
syllabus (good or otherwise) is automatically produced. Texts must be
about something, thus all textbooks have willy-nilly a topic syllabus.
Similarly, exercises demand the use of certain language processing
skills: so, in writing a sequence of exercises, a skills syllabus of sorts is
generated.
The syllabus that you see is only a statement of the criteria used to
organise the mass of language use into a linear progression. Behind the
stated syllabus are the other syllabuses, acknowledged by the authors
or not, as the case may be.
We concluded chapters 3 and 4 by proposing a varied approach: taking
from the various descriptions of language and theories of learning that
which would most benefit the learning process. We showed an extract
from a Business English syllabus that goes some way towards representing
the variety of factors in the syllabus (figure 6). The developments of recent
years in linguistics and psychology may not have given us any firm
answers, but what they have done is show us that there is no single
answer. There are different aspects and levels of language. There are
different aspects and levels of learning. We don't know yet how they
interrelate, but we do know that they exist. This knowledge should be
reflected in a syllabus. If we know that there is both a functional and a
structural aspect to language, then a course should have a functional and
a structural syllabus. If we know that language knowledge is limited
unless the learner has the skills and strategies for using it, then a course
should have a skills and strategies syllabus too.
Any syllabus which claims to teach people how to communicate (in
whatever specialised area) should acknowledge the complexity of
communication. A syllabus that is framed in only one aspect (be it
structures, functions, content or whatever) will probably miss the
opportunity to develop the unacknowledged elements effectively. As
Swan (1985b) says, when reviewing the structural/functional debate:
' The real issue is not which syllabus to putfirst:it is how to integrate eight or
so syllabuses (functional, notional, situational, topic, phonological, lexical,
structural, skills) into a sensible teaching programme.'
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4 What role should a syllabus play in the course

design process?
We can look at this question in terms of the approaches to course design
that we outlined in chapter 6.

a) A language-centred approach
In this approach the syllabus is the prime generator of the teaching
materials, as this model shows:

Analyse target situation

Write syllabus

Write or select texts to

illustrate items in syllabus

Write exercises to practise

items in the syllabus

Devise tests for assessing knowledge

of the items in the syllabus

Figure 22: The role of the syllabus in a language-centred approach

This sort of approach is still widely used in ESP. The syllabus is quite
clearly the determiner of the entire course. It is, so to speak, the
crystallisation of what the course is all about - the inspiration for the
production of texts and exercises and the basis on which proficiency will
be evaluated.
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 The syllabus

b) A skills-centred approach
An alternative approach is needed in a skills-centred syllabus, since the
aim is not to present and practise language items, but rather to provide
opportunities for learners to employ and evaluate the skills and
strategies considered necessary in the target situation. A skills-centred
approach will often lay great store by the use of * authentic' texts (see
chapter 13, p. 158). A skills-centred approach to the use of the syllabus is
suggested by Holmes (1981):

Analyse target needs

Select interesting and

representative texts

Devise a hierarchy of skills

to exploit the texts

Order and adapt the texts

as necessary to enable a
focus on the required skills

Devise activities/techniques
to teach those skills

Devise a system to assess

the acquisition of the skills

Figure 23: The role of the syllabus in a skills-centred approach

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In this approach the syllabus is not a prime generator. Although Holmes

presents it as a linear process, it is more likely that there is a degree of
negotiation between texts and skills. Thus, for example, the skills
syllabus, as well as establishing criteria for the ordering and adaptation
of texts, will probably also play a role in their initial selection. At the
same time, the texts available will affect what can be focussed on in
exercises and assessment.

c) A learning-centred approach

It will be noticeable that in the two approaches described so far the

learning activities (tasks, exercises, teaching techniques) are almost the
last factor to be considered. This may produce materials which faithfully
reflect the syllabus in language or skills content, but it has a very
constricting effect on the methodology. Learning, however, is more than
just a matter of presenting language items or skills and strategies. In other
words, it is not just the content of what is learnt that is important but
also the activity through which it is learnt (Prabhu, 1983).
In a learning-centred approach the methodology cannot be just
grafted on to the end of an existing selection of syllabus items and texts:
it must be considered right from the start. To achieve this, the syllabus
must be used in a more dynamic way in order to enable methodological
considerations, such as interest, enjoyment, learner involvement, to
influence the content of the entire course design. The simplest way of
achieving this is to break down the syllabus design process into two
levels (seefigure24).
The ESP syllabus is, as we have seen, usually derived from a detailed
analysis of the language features of the target situation. It is the detail
of this analysis which in our view produces the restricting influence on
the methodology. But this need not occur. It is unnecessary to analyse
language features in detail before the materials are started. A general
syllabus outlining the topic areas and the communicative tasks of the
target situation is all that is required at the beginning. For example, a
general syllabus for technician students might look like this:
Topics Tasks
names of tools expressing use and purpose
electricity understanding safety instructions
pumps describing a system
materials reporting experiments
construction describing measurements
etc. etc.
This general syllabus can be used as the basis for the initial selection
of texts and writing of exercises/activities: it has enough detail to guide

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 The syllabus

Analyse Analyse
learning target
situation situation

LEVEL 1
Establish general
syllabus of
topics and tasks
Create interesting
and enjoyable
materials

Produce detailed
language/skills
syllabus
LEVEL 2

Check language and

skills content of
materials and make
necessary adjustments

Figure 24: The role of the syllabus in a learning-centred approach

the materials writer, but not so much as to stifle creativity. It, therefore,
allows the materials writer to take full account of factors emerging from
the analysis of the learning situation.
The materials themselves will produce a detailed language syllabus.
This materials-generated syllabus can then be checked against an
independent syllabus produced from the needs analysis. Gaps and
overlaps can then be dealt with.
Thus, instead of using the syllabus as the initial and once-for-all
determiner of the content of materials and methodology, syllabus and
materials evolve together with each being able to inform the other. In
this way the syllabus is used creatively as a generator of good and
relevant learning activities rather than as just a statement of language
content which restricts and impoverishes the methodology. Yet, at the
same time it maintains relevance to target needs. It, therefore, serves the

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needs of the students both as users and as learners of the language. The
syllabus acts in the first instance as a compass to show the general
direction. Then it becomes a sketch map. When the possibilities have
been explored, obstacles noted and available resources collected, more
detail can be filled in on the map, until the route is clear.

d) The post hoc approach

There is, of course, one last way of using the syllabus, which is probably
more widespread than we might suppose:

Write materials on
undefined criteria

Write cosmetic syllabus

to satisfy sponsors,
teachers, students et at.

Figure 25: The role of the syllabus in a post hoc approach

Conclusion
In the institutionalised frameworks in which most teaching takes place,
we must accept the predetermined syllabus as a fact of life. In view of
the many roles that it plays it is essential that a great deal of thought
is given to how the syllabus is used. It can, and unfortunately often does,
act as a ball and chain, denying creativity and subjecting everything to
evaluation criteria. But used sensibly and sensitively a syllabus can
provide the support and guidance that creativity thrives on. A syllabus
is not divine writ. It is a working document that should be used flexibly
and appropriately to maximise the aims and processes of learning.

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 The syllabus

Tasks
1 What do you use a syllabus for ?
2 Make a table of the advantages and disadvantages of having a
syllabus.
3 ' A syllabus is a statement of an ideal.' How far would you agree with
this ? What implications does it have for the use of the syllabus ?
4 How can the ESP course designer take account of the 'learner
syllabus'?
5 Choose one of the syllabuses given above. What assumptions about
language and learning do you think underlie the ordering in it ?
6 Study an ESP textbook that you know. On what criteria has it been
organised ? What' hidden syllabuses' can youfind?

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