Last decades the dominant method of teaching was grammar translation method

But teaching FL cannot be limited on teaching only grammatical structure and rules

The communicative approach emerged as a reaction to this later

So language is considered as communication

curriculum

narrowest sense broadest sense

is like a Syllabus is planning, implementation, and

Is a document consists evaluation of an educational program

of a list specifies

content + process

(What we learn) (How we learn)

Richards & Platt (1992) argued that curriculum is an educational programme which includes:

a. the educational purpose of the programme (the ends)

b. The content, teaching procedures and learning experiences which will be necessary to
achieve this purpose (the means)

c. some means for assessing whether or not the educational ends have been achieved

Stern, Richard and Nunan argued:

Although there have been a long history of research development in theory and practice in the

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field of education in general; however, in the field of EFL has been largely ignored from
mainstream development (even if there has been research in the field of education but in
teaching FL/SL it has been ignored)

Models of curriculum:

Content model: under the philosophy of classical humanism

Based theories on knowedge Knowledge is valued cultural heritage

Content model

Aim: Absolute/definite/unchanging

 Seeking knowledge
 Make the learner master grammatical structure

In this model the focus is in the content “what is to be learned by the learner”

This model was inadequate because:

 Ignored the learner’s need

 Focus only on the content
(ignores the context)
 Neglect appropriacy

Objective model:under the philosophy of reconstractivism

This model is concerned with objectives of the teaching/learning program

Scientist and behaviorist view

Learning is an observable change of behavior

Objective

Tylor promoted: use of the behavior objectives as the basis of curriculum

 Performance of behavior
 Conditions of performance
 Criterions

This method provides:

1. Clarity of goals (objectives are clear for both teacher and learner)

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 2. Ease of evaluation ( objective clear= success of learners and the program can be easily
evaluated)
3. Accountability

Criticism: it reduces the creativity of the learner and precludes concepts such autonomy
and self-fulfillment because everything is relying on the teacher and the learner is just
passive.

Progress model: under the philosophy of progressivism

The purpose is to enable the individual to progress and be independent (self-fulfillment)

Not just to receive knowledge and be passive

This model stands on the concepts of learners need, interests and development process

This model is less attractive than the objective model in practice (objectives are clear whereas
in the process model the teacher cannot expect what happened in the class)

Mixed focus model:

In practice today, the communicative curriculum approaches recommended to be used;

however, there is no real agreement. Mixed focus curriculum suggests a framework which is
applicable to ELT “learner centered, product oriented and process oriented”

has 3 dimensions

Policy pragmatics the participants

Main aim of constraints on what in the decision making

the curriculum it is possible to achieve

has 4 stages

curriculum ends and implementation in

planning means specification program implementation the class

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