CURRICULUM TRAINING

MODULE #1

Mark Feder

DirectorCurriculum and Training

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A curriculum is:

a series of planned instruction coordinated and articulated in a manner designed to result in the achievement by students of specific knowledge and skills and the application of this knowledge

the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives

all the planned learning opportunities offered by the ‘educational community’ and the experiences learners encounter when the curriculum is implemented

a plan or program for all of the experiences which the learner encounters under the direction of a school and consists of a number of plans, in a written form and of varying scope, which delineate the desired learning experiences

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The term curriculum has been defined in a variety of ways.

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For our purposes, we will say that a curriculum is map -- a map to help teachers lead students toward greater knowledge or proficiency

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In developing the INTERLINK curriculum, we departed from the conventional ESL curriculum in some significant ways. This presentation is intended to help you understand how and why this curriculum may differ from others you may have used in the past.

Review•Verb Tenses: Simple Present, Present

Continuous•Simple Past, Past Continuous•Simple Future, Going to•Modals: Can (ability, informal permission)•Should, Ought to (strong advice)•Must, Have to (necessity)•Could, May (permission)•May, Could, Will, Would (request)•Don't have to (lack of necessity)•Present Real Conditionals•Hope•Sequencing Words

Teach for Proficiency• Simple Present, Present Continuous (future meaning)• Present Perfect: affirmative, negative, interrogative• Present Perfect Continuous: affirmative, negative, interrogative)• Passive Voice (simple present, past)• Basic Reported Speech (present to past)• Modals: Past Forms (review modals)• Suggestion (could, might)• Strong Advice (had better)• Adjective Clauses (restrictive and non-restrictive)• Present Unreal Conditionals• Wish• Gerunds and Infinitives• So …that, Such that

Preview• Past Perfect• Past Perfect Continuous• Modals: Probability (may, could, might, should, ought to)

Structures

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If we look at a conventional ESL/EFL curriculum, we are likely to find lists of structural elements to be taught and reviewed.

Teach for Proficiency•Simple Present, Present Continuous (future meaning)•Present Perfect: affirmative, negative, interrogative•Present Perfect Continuous: affirmative, negative, interrogative)•Passive Voice (simple present, past)•Basic Reported Speech (present to past)•Modals: Past Forms (review modals)•Suggestion (could, might)•Strong Advice (had better)•Adjective Clauses (restrictive and non-restrictive)•Present Unreal Conditionals•Wish•Gerunds and Infinitives•So …that, Such that

Structures

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Such a list of grammatical structures raises some interesting questions:

•Is this a comprehensive list of what structures need to be learned and are they presented in the right order?

•How do we know when a structure has been learned and it is time to go on to the next one?

•Does learning these structures mean that the student knows about them or can use them?

•What does a student do in class when s/he already knows a structure?

•How does a teacher actually teach these structures?

Review• Asking for Repetition• Asking for Clarification• Asking for and Giving Information• Interrupting• Excusing/Apologizing• Suggesting/Declining {Let's, Why don't)• Basic Introductions• Basic Invitations

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The curriculum may also have a list of functions.

Teach for Proficiency•Asking for and Giving Advice•Asking for and Stating Opinions•Describing (people, places, objects)•Explaining (how to do something, reason for opinion)•Complaining•Making Requests and Recommendations

Functions

 Review•Asking for Repetition•Asking for Clarification•Asking for and Giving Information•Interrupting•Excusing/Apologizing•Suggesting/Declining (Let's, Why don't)•Basic Introductions•Basic Invitations

Teach for Proficiency•Asking for and Giving Advice•Asking for and Stating Opinions•Describing (people, places, objects)•Explaining (how to do something, reason for opinion)•Complaining•Making Requests and Recommendations

Functions

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The functions listed are certainly useful to the learner, but apart from providing vocabulary, formulaic language and various gambits, how does a teacher teach a student to ask for and give advice? How do we know at what point it is appropriate to introduce a given function? What is the relationship between structures and functions?

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In the curriculum of a typical intensive English program, the focus is on dispensing information about discrete language elements.

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Students are often preoccupied with learning rules and memorizing information

Lack of transfer of knowledge to usage and overall communicative competence.

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The result is that students may test well on elements they are taught, but fail to actually use those elements in their speaking and writing. In other words, the knowledge that students gain in class does not readily transfer to usage and overall communicative competence.

Teachers sometimes fail to address students’ needs because they are preoccupied with going over exercises and getting through the textbook.

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Textbooks add to the emphasis on material rather than on the learner. The teacher’s focus is on covering the material in the textbooks rather than on monitoring students’ learning.

Too much material to cover detracts from concern about what students are actually learning.

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Because a conventional curriculum focuses on material to be covered, sometimes the teacher is pressured to move on before students are ready. This is somewhat analogous to a train engineer keeping the train on schedule without any concern about whether or not the passengers are able to board or disembark.

A conventional curriculum:

• assumes that we know what structures a student needs at a given point in his language development

• provides the same regimen of items to be learned for all students in a class although their individual needs and readiness may vary

• tells us what to teach but offers little guidance about how to teach

• emphasizes teaching rather than learning

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Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the conventional curriculum is that it focuses on what is to be taught rather than on how the teacher can help the students learn.

•Grammar-based, focused on rules

•Teacher-centered, based on what is presented

•Theoretical, geared to increasing knowledge about language

•Deductive, makes student dependent on teacher

•Focus on discrete elements of language

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A conventional ESL/EFL curriculum may be characterized as follows:

•Student-centered - meaning that each individual is respected and the needs of students come first. Teaching is subordinated to learning. The teacher works on students while the students work on the language. Individual learning styles and preferences are recognized, appreciated, and accommodated. •Experiential - meaning that students learn by doing and through exposure to content-rich learning opportunities. Learning takes place outside as well as inside the classroom and students learn inductively through their own language experiences. •Pragmatic - meaning that students learn English rather than learn about English. The emphasis is on practical language skills and helping students develop the ability to use English rather than dispensing rules and information about English.•Interactive - meaning that the student learns through active participation and does not passively listen to lectures by the teacher. Learning takes place as a result of real communication based on authentic human interaction. •Holistic - meaning that each student is treated as a whole person with intellectual, emotional, social, and cultural needs and that language is learned as a whole system and not a collection of isolated skills. •Needs-based - meaning that the learning agenda is not pre-set but individualized and customized according to what the student knows and needs to know. Linguistic, cultural and affective needs are addressed to facilitate the learning process.•Heuristic - meaning that learning through discovery is promoted and students develop their own criteria for linguistic correctness. Students learn to be independent learners.

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In contrast, the INTERLINK curriculum is:

The needs of the student must come

first. The curriculum should help

teachers meet students’ needs and

not be in conflict with them.

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The curriculum has been designed to help teachers meet students’ needs and not be in conflict with them. The goal of this curriculum, in contrast to the conventional curriculum, is to allow the teacher to focus on the learner and not on an agenda of items to teach.

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