Language Curriculum Design by Macalister, John; Nation, I.S.P.;

Rövid leírás:

Combining sound research/theory with state-of-the-art practice, this crystal-clear and comprehensive yet concise text describes the steps involved in the language curriculum design process, elaborates and justifies these steps, and provides opportunities for practicing and applying them.

Hosszú leírás:

Crystal-clear and comprehensive yet concise, this text describes the steps involved in the curriculum design process, elaborates and justifies these steps, and provides opportunities for practicing and applying them. The description of the steps is done at a general level so that they can be applied in a wide range of particular circumstances. The process comes to life through plentiful examples of actual applications of the steps. Each chapter includes:

• examples from the authors’ experience and from published research








• tasks that encourage readers to relate the steps to their own experience








• case studies and suggestions for further reading that put readers in touch with others’ experience

Curriculum, or course, design is largely a 'how-to-do-it' activity that involves the integration of knowledge from many of the areas in the field of Applied Linguistics, such as language acquisition research, teaching methodology, assessment, language description, and materials production. Combining sound research/theory with state-of-the-art practice, Language Curriculum Design is widely applicable for ESL/EFL language education courses around the world.

"Nation and Macalister have prepared a comprehensive book on curriculum design with extensive coverage of a variety of issues involved. The important message of this book is that every stakeholder in language education is a curriculum designer. Language Curriculum Design can empower them to play this role." —Teachers College Record

"This book offers a broad understanding of the process in a clear and comprehensive, yet concise package that—along with the model itself—can confidently guide users at the classroom and program level through the complex activity of language CD."—Leigh McDowll, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, JALT Journal

Crystal-clear and comprehensive yet concise, this text describes the steps involved in the curriculum design process, elaborates and justifies these steps, and provides opportunities for practicing and applying them. The description of the steps is done at a general level so that they can be applied in a wide range of particular circumstances. The process comes to life through plentiful examples of actual applications of the steps. Each chapter includes:

• examples from the authors’ experience and from published research
• tasks that encourage readers to relate the steps to their own experience
• case studies and suggestions for further reading that put readers in touch with others’ experience

Curriculum, or course, design is largely a 'how-to-do-it' activity that involves the integration of knowledge from many of the areas in the field of Applied Linguistics, such as language acquisition research, teaching methodology, assessment, language description, and materials production. Combining sound research/theory with state-of-the-art practice, Language Curriculum Design is widely applicable for ESL/EFL language education courses around the world.

Tartalomjegyzék:

Preface

CHAPTER 1 LANGUAGE CURRICULUM DESIGN: AN OVERVIEW

Parts of the curriculum design process

Considering the environment

Discovering needs

Following principles

Goals

Content and sequencing

Finding a format and presenting material

Monitoring and assessing

Evaluating a course

Tasks

1 Examining a published course

2 Using the parts of the model to overview the planning of a course

Case studies

CHAPTER 2 ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

An example of environment analysis

Environment constraints

Understanding the constraints

The constraint of time

Steps in environment analysis

Tasks

1 The range of constraints

2 Examining your teaching environment

Case studies

CHAPTER 3 NEEDS ANALYSIS

The various focuses of needs analysis

Discovering needs

Needs analysis tools

Evaluating needs analysis

Issues in needs analysis

Tasks

1 Needs analysis for a writing course

2 Evaluating a needs analysis scheme

3 Discovering needs

Case studies

CHAPTER 4 PRINCIPLES

Methods and principles

The twenty principles

Selection

Gradation

Presentation

Using the list of principles

Case studies

Tasks

1 Applying principles

2 Teachability hypothesis

Case studies

CHAPTER 5 GOALS, CONTENT AND SEQUENCING

Guidelines for deciding or checking the content and sequencing of a course

Goals and content

The units of progression in a course

What will the progression be used for?

Vocabulary

Grammar

Functions

Discourse

Skills, subskills and strategies

Ideas

Task based syllabuses

Sequencing the content in courses

Linear approaches to sequencing

A modular approach to sequencing

Tasks

1 Verb form coverage in beginners' course books

2 The ideas content of a course

3 Describing the goals of a course

Case studies

CHAPTER 6 FORMAT AND PRESENTATION

Format and other parts of the curriculum design process

Guidelines for deciding on a format

Following a set format

Blocks and threads

Techniques and activities

Tasks

1 Examining the format of a lesson

2 Examining teaching techniques

Case studies

CHAPTER 7 MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

Guidelines for monitoring and assessment

Types of monitoring and assessment

Placement assessment

Observation of learning

Short term achievement assessment

Diagnostic assessment

Achievement assessment

Proficiency assessment

Good assessment: reliability, validity and practicality

Tasks

1 Planning the assessment in a course

2 Evaluating a test

Case studies

CHAPTER 8 EVALUATION

What is an evaluation?

Steps in an evaluation

Purpose and audience of evaluation

The type and focus of the evaluation

Gaining support for the evaluation

Gathering the information

Formative evaluation as a part of a course

The results of an evaluation

Tasks

1 Focus of evaluation

2 An evaluation checklist

3 An evaluation plan

Case studies

CHAPTER 9 APPROACHES TO CURRICULUM DESIGN

Models of curriculum design

Doing curriculum design

Starting points

The process of curriculum design

Deciding on an approach

Summary of the steps

Tasks

1 Your curriculum design process

2 Choosing an appropriate approach

Case studies

CHAPTER 10 NEGOTIATED SYLLABUSES

Negotiated syllabuses

An example of a negotiated syllabus

Requirements for a negotiated syllabus

Syllabuses with some elements negotiated

Disadvantages and advantages of a negotiated syllabus

Tasks

1 Problems in implementing a negotiated syllabus

2 Partly negotiated syllabuses

3 Developing a negotiated approach to syllabus design

Case studies

CHAPTER 11 ADOPTING AND ADAPTING AN EXISTING COURSE BOOK

The course book, the learners and the teacher

Dividing the parts of the process

Strong reliance on the course book with minimal adaptation

Adapting a course book

Using source books instead of course books

Using computers and the internet

Evaluating a course book

Essential features: reducing the list of possible books

Choosing and weighting the features

Evaluating the evaluation forms

Presenting the results

Tasks

1 Designing a course book evaluation form

2 Evaluating a course book

3 Course book evaluation schedules

4 Using a course book

Case studies

CHAPTER 12 INTRODUCING CHANGE

Steps in introducing change

Seeing the need for change

Deciding on the size of the change

Realistic change

Using a variety of change strategies

Innovation, management and long term support

Tasks

1 Change that failed

2 Change in a school's program

Case studies

CHAPTER 13 PLANNING AN IN-SERVICE COURSE

Features of an effective workshop

Procedures and activities for reaching the goals

Understanding and remembering ideas

Experiencing and evaluating

Making material

Planning lessons and units of work

Problem solving

Sequencing the components of a workshop

Evaluating workshops

Tasks

1 Principles for in-service courses

2 Designing an in-service course

Case studies

CHAPTER 14 TEACHING AND CURRICULUM DESIGN

Environment analysis

Needs analysis

Principles

Goals

Content and sequencing

Format and presentation

Monitoring and assessment

Evaluation

Curriculum design and learner autonomy

APPENDICES

1 A verb form frequency count

REFERENCES

INDEX