Designing a grammar-vocabulary syllabus as the foundation for students before taking the TOEIC preparation course at the English Centre TiengAnh.com.vn in Hanoi.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

----*----

PHẠM THÙY DƢƠNG

DESIGNING A GRAMMAR-VOCABULARY SYLLABUS AS
THE FOUNDATION FOR STUDENTS BEFORE TAKING THE
TOEIC PREPARATION COURSE AT THE ENGLISH CENTRE
TIENGANH.COM.VN IN HANOI
(THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH HỌC NGỮ PHÁP-TỪ VỰNG LÀM
NỀN TẢNG CHO HỌC VIÊN TRƯỚC KHI THAM DỰ KHÓA HỌC
LUYỆN THI TOEIC TẠI TRUNG TÂM TIẾNG ANH
TIENGANH.COM.VN TẠI HÀ NỘI)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology
Code : 60140111

HÀ NỘI – 2014


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

----*----

PHẠM THÙY DƢƠNG
DESIGNING A GRAMMAR-VOCABULARY SYLLABUS AS
THE FOUNDATION FOR STUDENTS BEFORE TAKING THE
TOEIC PREPARATION COURSE AT THE ENGLISH CENTRE
TIENGANH.COM.VN IN HANOI
(THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH HỌC NGỮ PHÁP-TỪ VỰNG LÀM
NỀN TẢNG CHO HỌC VIÊN TRƯỚC KHI THAM DỰ KHÓA HỌC
LUYỆN THI TOEIC TẠI TRUNG TÂM TIẾNG ANH
TIENGANH.COM.VN TẠI HÀ NỘI)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field : English Teaching Methodology
Code : 60140111
Supervisor: Dr. Kiều Thị Thu Hƣơng

HÀ NỘI – 2014


DECLARATION
I hereby, certify the thesis entitled “Designing a grammar-vocabulary syllabus
as the foundation for students before taking the TOEIC preparation course at the
English centre TiengAnh.com.vn in Hanoi” is the result of my own research for the
Minor Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies,
Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The thesis has not been submitted for any degree
at any other universities or institutions. I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in
the library can be accessible for the purposes of study and research.

Hanoi, 2014

Phạm Thuỳ Dƣơng

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Dr. Kieu Thi Thu
Huong, without whom this thesis could not have been completed. Her thoughtful
suggestions and comments at the early stages of the thesis have been valuable. She not
only gave me reliable guidelines but also shared much of her experience in language
studying and teaching. I am also indebted to her for her invaluable guidance,
intellectual support and constant encouragement.
I also want to send my special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hung Tien for his
valuable and interesting course in Research Methodology, which provides me with
essential techniques to complete this thesis.
My deep appreciation goes to all staff, lecturers and members at Faculty of PostGraduate Studies of University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam
National University, Hanoi for their work and services. I would be very grateful to my
lecturers, whose profundities have influenced my way of thinking about doing
research. Especially, I am grateful to the librarians who supplied me with sufficient
materials.
My thanks are also extended to all my students, my colleagues in the English
centre TiengAnh.com.vn, and all the people who have assisted my research work. I
would like to thank my friends, my classmates for their advice and useful documents.
Last but not least, my gratitude is due to my family, especially my husband, for
their endurance and constant support during my M.A. course. They have always given
me their endless love, understanding and encouragement. To all of them I dedicate this
work.

ii

ABSTRACT
This study has been conducted to investigate some main requirements of the
TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary with the purpose of designing an
appropriate syllabus for the grammar-vocabulary course as the foundation for the
TOEIC preparation course in the English Centre TiengAnh.com.vn in Hanoi.
The subjects of the study are ten actual TOEIC tests. The data have been collected
by both quantitative method, including two statistics, and qualitative method which is
five informal interviews. The study confirms that to prepare good foundation before
entering the TOEIC preparation course in the centre, students should carefully study
some grammatical points as well as some vocabulary topics that the test normally
covers. The findings exhibit that ten grammatical points and eighteen vocabulary
topics chosen from popular TOEIC books have high occurrence frequencies in the
TOEIC test. Therefore, they should be emphasized by the syllabus designer and the
teacher of the course so that the students could be equipped with the most suitable
knowledge before taking the TOEIC preparation course.
Based on the findings, a grammar-vocabulary syllabus is constructed for the
course. Some limitations as well as suggestions for further study are also presented at
the end of the research.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ......................................................................................................I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... II
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................... III
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ IV
ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................... VII
LIST OF FIGURES, CHARTS AND TABLES .....................................................VIII

PART I: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 1
1. Rationale for the study .............................................................................. 1
2. Aims of the study ........................................................................................ 3
3. Research questions ..................................................................................... 3
4. Scope and significance of the study .......................................................... 4
5. Methods of the study .................................................................................. 4
6. Design of the study .................................................................................... 5

PART II: DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................... 6
1.1 An overview on syllabus design ............................................................. 6
1.1.1 Definition of syllabus ....................................................................... 6
1.1.2 Types of syllabuses ............................................................................ 7
1.1.2.1 Grammatical syllabus (Structural syllabus) .............................. 8
1.1.2.2 Functional-notional syllabus………………………………..10
1.1.2.3 Procedural syllabus/Task-based syllabus ................................ 10
1.1.2.4 Content syllabus ..................................................................... 11
1.1.2.5 Lexical syllabus ....................................................................... 12
1.1.2.6 Structural-lexical syllabus (grammar-vocabulary syllabus) ... 13
1.1.3 Approaches to syllabus design ........................................................ 14

iv


1.1.3.1 Synthetic approach ................................................................. 14
1.1.3.2 Analytic approach .................................................................. 15
1.1.4 Steps in syllabus design ................................................................... 15
1.1.4.1 Needs analysis ........................................................................ 16
1.1.4.2 Goals and objectives setting ................................................... 17
1.1.4.3 Content selecting and grading ................................................ 18

1.2 An overview of the TOEIC test ............................................................. 18
1.3 Summary ................................................................................................. 21

CHAPTER 2: THE METHODOLOGY ............................................... 22
2.1 The setting ............................................................................................... 21
2.1.1 An introduction of TiengAnh.com.vn and the grammar-vocabulary
course..................................................................................................................21
2.1.2 The current grammar-vocabulary syllabus .................................. ...23
2.1.3 The target learners ........................................................................... 24
2.1.4 The teaching staff ........................................................................ ...24
2.2 The methodology ................................................................................... 25
2.2.1 The subjects ................................................................................. ...25
2.2.2 Data collection instruments ............................................................. 25
2.2.3 Data collection procedure ................................................................ 26

CHAPTER

3:

DATA

ANALYSIS,

FINDINGS

AND

SUGGESTIONS .................................................................................................. 27
3.1 Data analysis ........................................................................................... 27
3.1.1 The occurrence frequencies of grammatical points in 10 TOEIC tests27

3.1.2 The occurrence frequencies of some vocabulary topics in 10 TOEIC
tests. ...................................................................................................................31
3.1.3 Teachers‟ opinions about the proposed syllabus ............................. 36
3.2 Findings and suggestions ......................................................................38
v


3.3 A proposed grammar-vocabulary syllabus .......................................... 38
3.3.1 Goals and objectives of the syllabus ..................................................... 38
3.3.1.1 Goals of the syllabus ..................................................................... 38
3.3.1.2 Objectives of the syllabus ......................................................... ...39
3.3.2 Syllabus content .................................................................................... 39
3.3.2.1 Grammatical points in the syllabus .............................................. 39
3.3.2.2 Vocabulary topics in the syllabus ............................................. ...39
3.3.2.3 Organization and duration of the syllabus ................................ ...40
3.3.2.4 A proposed grammar-vocabulary syllabus ............................... ...40
3.4 Summary ................................................................................................ 40

PART III: CONCLUSION ......................................................................42
1. Summary of the findings and suggestions .............................................42
2. Limitations of the study ...........................................................................42
3. Suggestions for further study .................................................................43

REFERENCES ...........................................................................................44
APPENDICES .............................................................................................. I
APPENDIX 1 ................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX 2 ...............................................................................................III
APPENDIX 3 ............................................................................................. VII

vi

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication
COBUILD: Collins Birmingham University International Language Database
ETS: Educational Testing Service
Qs: Questions
GP: Grammatical point

vii


LISTS OF FIGURES, CHARTS AND TABLES
Figure 1. Classification of syllabuses (Nunan, 1988)…………………………………8
Figure 2. An overview of the TOEIC test format………………………………..........19
Table 1. List of grammatical points collected from 5 TOEIC books…………............27
Table 2. List of vocabulary topics chosen from 2 TOEIC books……………….........32
Table 3. The occurrence frequencies of 18 vocabulary topics in 10 TOEIC tests......35
Chart 1. The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 1&2………….........28
Chart 2. The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 3&4………….........28
Chart 3. The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 5&6………….........29
Chart 4. The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 7&8………….........29
Chart 5. The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 9&10………...........30

viii


PART I. INTRODUCTION
The Introduction sets the rationale for the study, as well as the aims, the scope and

significance, the methods, and the design of the whole paper. This part also raises
the research questions that are set out to work as the guidelines for the whole
research.
1. Rationale for the study
For the last few decades, together with Vietnam‟s international economic
integration, English has become the foreign language used widely in enterprises,
organizations, hotels, restaurants..., and also a compulsory subject at most schools
in our country. People learn English for a number of purposes: to communicate with
foreigners, to read materials or documents in English to support their jobs, to
enlarge their knowledge of the world, to pass exams at schools, and to get
certificates of proficiency in international English language tests. To keep up with
that trend, over the past few years, the Ministry of Education and Training has paid
more attention to teaching and learning foreign languages, especially English than
ever before. It is stated in the project entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign
Languages in the National Education System, period 2008 – 2020”, which can be
known as “National Foreign Languages Project 2020”. According to this project,
most Vietnamese students graduating from vocational schools, colleges and
universities must have capability of using a foreign language, especially English,
confidently in communicating, studying and working in an environment of
integration by the year 2020. (Decision No 1400/QĐ – TTg approved by the Prime
Minister on 30/9/2008)
In reality, many English language learners in Vietnam, especially students at
vocational schools, colleges and universities, as well as employees in enterprises
and organizations are now requested to possess certificates of proficiency in
English. Among many types of certificates of proficiency in English such as IELTS,
TOEFL, TOEIC, SAT, GRE, etc; TOEIC, which stands for Test of English for
1


International Communication, is considered the most popular certificate that many

schools, enterprises and organizations demand their students or employees to
achieve. The TOEIC test was developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) in
1979 at the request of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Japan. It is
the worldwide standardized test of workplace English proficiency for non-native
English speakers. With its widest score range from 10 to 990, TOEIC can measure
all English levels from beginning to advanced which is proper for all working
positions, from basic jobs to management; thus this is the preferred English
language assessment tool to measure the progress of learners and help them to
achieve their set-goals in their careers. For the time being, the TOEIC test is
becoming more and more popular in South East Asia. Each year, businessmen
spend thousands of dollars preparing for the TOEIC test in the hope of achieving
more than 900 points, because they consider this as a key to success in the
international business environment. Consequently, studying and preparing for the
TOEIC test is a growing trend for students and employees in South East Asia
countries. Like many other international standardized tests, the TOEIC test covers
all four skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. It is divided into three tests.
The TOEIC Listening and Reading test is a paper-based one that provides an
accurate measurement of the English capabilities of non-native speakers in
listening, reading, and grammar. The TOEIC Speaking and Writing tests are
internet-based tests that measure a person‟s ability to speak and write in English in
the workplace, using key expressions and common, everyday vocabulary. However,
in Vietnam, the TOEIC Listening and Reading test, which can be known as the
traditional one, is more popular than the TOEIC Speaking and Writing tests.
According to IIG Vietnam, the ETS‟s officially authorized country representative in
Vietnam, the TOEIC Listening and Reading test-score is being used as the
benchmark for graduation at more than 127 universities, colleges, vocational
schools, as well as a human resources evaluation tool in more than 350 enterprises.

2

To keep up with the needs of English learners who desire to acquire high scores in
the TOEIC test, the English centre TiengAnh.com.vn continually organizes offline
classes to equip learners with necessary knowledge before taking the real TOEIC
test. There is a grammar-vocabulary course which was constructed as the
foundation for the learners before they enter the TOEIC preparation course. As a
teacher of English in this centre, the researcher is responsible for teaching both the
grammar-vocabulary course and the TOEIC preparation course. She is also in
charge of designing syllabuses for these courses. However, she herself finds that the
current grammar-vocabulary syllabus does not really fit the requirements of the
TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary. In her point of view, it is
necessary for the teachers to equip learners with adequate amount of vocabulary as
well as grammatical structures so that at the end of the course they will feel
confident enough to enter the TOEIC preparation course. Moreover, the centre
always encourages teachers to improve the content of the courses to update the
latest trends in teaching and learning English. For all the reasons mentioned above,
the author is encouraged to choose the study: “Designing a grammar-vocabulary
syllabus as the foundation for students before taking the TOEIC preparation
course at the English centre TiengAnh.com.vn in Hanoi”, as it is practical,
applicable and suitable for her to proceed.
2. Aims of the study
The main aim of the study is to provide students foundational grammar-vocabulary
knowledge to help them perform better in the TOEIC test.
3. Research questions
The study aims at finding out answers to the following questions:
1) What are some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar
and vocabulary?
2) What items should be included in the grammar-vocabulary syllabus as the
foundation for the TOEIC preparation course?
3

4. Scope and significance of the study
The study focuses solely on designing a grammar-vocabulary syllabus which is
applicable for the purpose of equipping learners with an appropriate amount of
vocabulary and grammatical structures before taking the TOEIC preparation course.
Within the scope of this minor thesis and because of time limit, the researcher just
carries out the study on the traditional TOEIC Listening and Reading test and she is
going to use the term “the TOEIC test” as the short form of “the TOEIC Listening
and Reading test”.
The TOEIC test includes two sections: Listening Comprehension Section and
Reading Comprehension Section (details in figure 2).
+ For studying some main requirements in terms of grammar: Of the 4 parts in
Listening Section and the 3 parts in Reading Section, part 2 in Listening and part
5& 6 in Reading are chosen to be investigated because they focus much on testing
grammar.
+ For studying some requirements in terms of vocabulary: Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 are
explored.
The other parts focus more on skills, so they should be studied in further research
which may aim to design the syllabus for the TOEIC preparation course.
Once finished, hopefully the study will be useful for not only English teachers in the
English centre TiengAnh.com.vn but also for other English teachers and course
designers.
5. Methods of the study
In order to achieve the aims of the study mentioned above, the study will utilize
both quantitative and qualitative research method. The quantitative method is used
to collect data by means of two statistics. The first one is conducted in parts 2, 5, 6
of 10 actual TOEIC tests to find out the occurrence frequencies of grammatical
points in the TOEIC tests. The second one is conducted in parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of 10

4


actual TOEIC tests to find out the occurrence frequencies of some vocabulary topics
in the TOEIC tests. It aims at investigating some main requirements of the TOEIC
test in terms of grammar and vocabulary. The qualitative method is used to collect
in-depth data through informal interviews with 5 teachers at TiengAnh.com.vn.
6. Design of the Study
The study consists of three main parts:
Part I (Introduction) provides the basic information of the study such as the
rationale for the study, the aims, the research questions, the scope and significance,
the methods and the design of the study.
Part II (Development) includes three chapters: Chapter 1, Literature Review, which
looks at relevant theories for syllabus designing to form the theoretical ground for
the study. Chapter 2, The Methodology, presents the setting, the methodology used
in the study, subjects, data collection instruments (statistics and interviews) and data
collection procedure. Chapter 3, Data analysis, Findings and Suggestions, reports
the results of the study and discusses the main findings according to the research
questions. A grammar-vocabulary syllabus as the foundation for students before
taking the TOEIC preparation course is also proposed in this chapter.
Part III (Conclusion), which summarizes the findings, presents the limitations of
the study as well as some suggestions for further study.

5


PART II. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter presents the theories relating the syllabus design, especially grammarvocabulary (structural-lexical) syllabus design, and it also introduces an overview of
the TOEIC test.

1.1. An overview on syllabus design
1.1.1. Definition of syllabus
The syllabus is an essential factor in the achievement of communicative competence
in second language learning. It also plays an important role in the success of the
teaching and learning. There are some dissimilar ways in defining the notion of
“syllabus” on the views of different scholars. They define “syllabus” on the narrow
approach and the broad approach to syllabus design.
Widdowson (1984), a narrow view language specialist, believes that:
The syllabus is simply a framework within which activities can be carried out: a
teaching device to facilitate learning. It only becomes a threat to pedagogy when it is
regarded as absolute rules for determining what is to be learned rather than points of
reference from which bearings can be taken.
Widdowson (1984: 26)

Sharing the same viewpoint as Widdowson, Nunan (1988: 6) points out, “A
syllabus is a statement of content which is used as the basis for planning courses of
various kinds, and that the task of the syllabus designer is to select and grade this
content.” He also states, “Syllabus design is seen as being concerned essentially
with the selection and grading of content, while methodology is concerned with the
selection of learning tasks and activities.” Nunan (1988: 5). Yalden (1987: 87)
refers to syllabus as a “summary of the content to which learners will be exposed.”
In short, the scholars following the narrow approach share the opinion that it should
be made a clear distinction between syllabus design, which is concerned with the

6


“what” of a language programme, and methodology, which is concerned with the
“how”.
On the other hand, Yalden (1984), a broad view scholar, assumes:

The syllabus replaces the concept of “method”, and the syllabus is now seen as an
instrument by which the teacher, with the help of the syllabus designer, can achieve a
degree of “fit” between the needs and aims of the learner (as social being and as
individual), and the activities which will take place in the classroom.
Yalden (1984: 14)

According to Yalden‟s definition, he considers the teachers as the assistants of the
syllabus designer. The teachers can adjust the syllabus to fit the learner‟ needs and
aims in the classroom. Hutchinson and Waters (1993: 90) support the broad view as
well, “A syllabus is a document which says what will (or at least what should) be
learnt, it should state out the goals, content, and activities to be carried out in a
particular, and well-defined context.” Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 80) also
define syllabus as at its simplest level “as a statement of what is to be learnt”. In
conclusion, the broad view supposes that a language teaching syllabus should
involve the combination of subject matter (what to teach) and linguistic matter (how
to teach). It actually performs as a guide for both teachers and learners by providing
some goals to be accomplished. In fact, it deals with linguistic theory and theories
of language learning and how they are utilized in the classroom.
To sum up, there are many dissimilar viewpoints in syllabus design. Each one has
its own strong and weak points. Therefore, syllabus designers should take into
account the objectives and the learner‟s needs to design an appropriate syllabus that
meet the requirements of the course.
1.1.2. Types of syllabuses
Syllabuses are not totally distinct from each other. All actual language teaching
syllabuses are integrated products of two or more of the types of syllabuses. For a
particular course, one type of syllabus usually dominates, while other types of
content might be integrated with it. In fact, the way in which the instructional
7

content is employed in the real teaching procedure is the determining element in
choosing a syllabus. In this thesis, I am going to follow Nunan‟s point of view to
classify syllabuses. According to Nunan (1988: 27), there are two major types of
syllabuses: product-oriented syllabuses and process-oriented syllabuses: “…the
product syllabuses are those in which the focus is on the knowledge and skills which
learners should gain as a result of instruction, while process syllabuses are those
which focus on the learning experiences themselves.” In other words, the productoriented syllabuses focus on the end products or results of the teaching and learning
process, while the process-oriented syllabuses focus on the process through which
the outcomes are to be brought out. Besides, I am going to add one more type of
syllabus that is lexical syllabus (Willis, 1990: 129-130) into the list of syllabuses
here.

Figure 1. Classification of syllabuses (Nunan, 1988)
1.1.2.1. Grammatical syllabus (Structural syllabus)
Traditionally, grammatical syllabus is the most common syllabus type due to the
fact that grammatical forms are the key to master a language. Grammatical syllabus
focuses on teaching learners the forms of parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, etc), sentence patterns, verb tenses, clauses, voices, and other
grammatical rules. In grammatical syllabus, it is assumed that language is made up
8


of “a finite set of rules which are combined in a various ways to make meaning”
(Nunan, 1988: 29). This is why Wilkins (1976: 2) calls this type of syllabus
planning a “synthetic approach”. He describes the “synthetic approach” in the
following terms:
A synthetic language teaching strategy is one in which the different parts of language
are taught separately and step by step so that acquisition is a process of gradual
accumulation of parts unit the whole structure of language has been built up.
Wilkins (1976: 2)

According to Nunan (1988: 28), grammatical syllabus is “the most common
syllabus type was, and probably still in, one in which syllabus input is selected and
graded according to grammatical notions of simplicity and complexity.”
Nevertheless, he also points out that:
….grammatical complexity does not necessarily equate with learning difficulty. In
other words, what is grammatically complex will not necessarily be that which is
difficult to learn, and that which is grammatically simple will not necessarily be that
which is easy to learn.
Nunan (1988: 28)

The strong point of this syllabus is that the strategy of teaching based on the
principle of working from the familiar to the unfamiliar, and using the familiar to
teach the unfamiliar so that learners find easy to learn. As McDonough (1981: 21)
states, “The transition from lesson to lesson is intended to enable material in one
lesson to prepare the ground for the next; and conversely for material in the next to
appear to grow out of the previous one.” Besides, the weak point of this syllabus
type is that only one aspect of language-formal grammar is concerned. In reality,
there is more than one aspect of language to be taken into consideration. Thus, this
syllabus type helps learners to understand the grammatical rules to describe a
language, but it does not always help them use the language, especially in actual
communicative situations.

9


1.1.2.2. Functional-notional syllabus
In contrast with the grammatical syllabus, functional-notional syllabus emphasizes
the real communicative function of language. The content of the language teaching
is a collection of the functions that are performed when the language is used.

According to Nunan:
Many teachers, on first encountering the terms „function‟ and „notion‟ find them
confusing. In general, functions may be described as the communicative purposes for
which we use language, while notions are the conceptual meanings (objects, entities,
states of affairs, logical relationships, and so on) expressed through language.
Nunan (1988: 28)

In other words, with this syllabus type, the content of the language teaching is a
collection of the functions that occur in daily life, such as: greeting, introducing,
informing, apologizing, requesting, inviting, etc; and the notions of language
relating to size, shape, age, color, time, etc.
The advantage of this syllabus type is that learners are easy to use their language in
the communicative situations with useful functions and notions. Nevertheless,
functions and notions are quite abstract and some learners may have difficulties
thinking of communicative functions outside a specific context. And the different
kinds of structures are often used to express the same communicative function, so
that it is difficult to follow a progression from simple to complex structures.
1.1.2.3. Procedural syllabus/ Task-based syllabus
As against the product-oriented syllabus in which the content is stated in terms of
the outcomes of instruction, the process-oriented syllabus is concerned with “the
classroom process which stimulate learning” (Nunan, 1988: 42), so what the
syllabus designer has to do is to specify real - world learning goals and learning
tasks and activities. In other words, “…a syllabus which is organized around tasks,
rather than in terms of grammar or vocabulary.” (Richards, Platt, and Weber,
1985: 289)
Nunan (1988) states:
10


Both task-based and procedural syllabuses share a concern with the classroom

processes which stimulate learning. They therefore differ from syllabuses in which the
focus is on the linguistic items that students will learn or the communicative skills that
they will be able to display as a result of instruction. In both approaches, the syllabus
consists, not of a list of items determined through some forms of linguistic analysis,
nor of a description of what learners will be able to do at the end of a course of study,
but of the specification of the tasks and activities that the learners will engage in in
class.
Nunan (1988: 42)

Students are involved in real communicative situations and are provided clear and
immediate need for language learning. The tasks are focused rather than the
language or topics. They are series of complex and purposeful tasks that the
students want to practice with the language they are learning. Prabhu‟s “Bangalore
Project” (1979) is a classic example of a procedural syllabus. Here, the question
concerning “what” becomes subordinate to the question concerning “how”. The
focus shifts from the linguistic element to the pedagogical, with an emphasis on
learning or learner. Within such a framework, the selection, ordering and grading of
content is no longer wholly significant for the syllabus designer.
1.1.2.4. Content syllabus
Content-based instruction refers to an approach in which teaching is organized
around the content rather than around a linguistic syllabus. Content syllabus differs
from task-based syllabus in that
…experiential content, which provides the point of departure for the syllabus, is
usually derived from some fairly well-defined subject area. This might be other
subjects in a school curriculum such as science or social studies, or specialist subject
matter relating to an academic or technical field such as mechanical engineering,
medicine, or computing.
(Nunan, 1988: 48)

This syllabus is intended to design a type of instruction in which the goal is to teach

specific information and content using the language that the learners are learning.

11


Though the subject matter is of primary and vital importance, language learning
occurs concurrently with the content learning. As compared with the task-based
approach of language teaching that is concerned with communicative and cognitive
processes, content-based language teaching deals with information.
1.1.2.5. Lexical syllabus
The lexical syllabus takes “word” as the unit of analysis and content for syllabus
design. Various vocabulary selection studies can be traced back to the 1920‟s and
1930‟s including West (1926), Ogden (1930), and Faucet et al (1936). Recent
advances in techniques for the computer analysis of large databases of authentic text
have helped to resuscitate this line of work. The modern lexical syllabus is
discussed in Sinclair and Renouf (1988), who state that “the main benefit of a
lexical syllabus is that it emphasizes utility - the student learns that which is most
valuable because it is most frequent”. Sinclair & Renouf (1988: 155) find that, as
with other synthetic syllabuses, claims made for the lexical syllabus are not
supported by evidence, and the assertion that the lexical syllabus is “an independent
syllabus, unrelated by any principles to any methodology” (Sinclair et al., 1988:
155) is subject to the criticism leveled by Brumfit against notional-functional
syllabuses that it takes no cognizance of how a language is learned. Since the
observations were made, however, Willis (1990) and has gone some way to provide
such a theoretical justification.
As one of the advocates of the lexical syllabus, Willis (1990: 129-130) states that
“taking lexis as a starting point enabled us to identify the commonest meanings and
patterns in English, and to offer students a picture which is typical of the way
English is used”. Specifically speaking, Willis‟ lexical syllabus is firmly based on
real language. It draws on the COBUILD research which provides an analysis of a

corpus of natural language of twenty million words. The name COBUILD stands
for “Collins Birmingham University International Language Database”. It means

12


that the dictionary is based on a “corpus” - a collection of British and American
newspapers, books, TV programs, real-life conversations, etc. The editors analyzed
the corpus with a computer, getting useful information about the English language.
The latest dictionaries from other big publishers like Longman and Oxford are now
based on a corpus, too. The COBUILD corpus provides the content of the lexical
syllabus, the commonest words and phrases in English and their meanings. It also
provides some insights into that content which modifies and shapes the way
syllabus designers treat the language in the course books.
One of the most significant features of designing such a syllabus is the shift of
responsibility for learning onto learners. Instead of offering discrete patterns to the
learners, we enabled the learners to experience a corpus of language which is in
many ways typical of the language as a whole, and to learn from examining and
analyzing this corpus. By exposing the learners to carefully selected language, and
by arming them with analyzing that language for themselves, the syllabus helps the
learners successfully achieve their goals. Specifically speaking, it is the issue of a
dynamic element in the process that is the learners' creativity. In fact, by exploiting
the creativity, the learning is vastly made more efficient.
1.1.2.6. Structural-lexical (grammar-vocabulary) syllabus
A structural-lexical syllabus is one where the principle objective is for learners to
acquire the grammatical structures and vocabulary of the language they are
learning. There are two benefits of a structural-lexical syllabus. Firstly, learners
move from simpler to more complex structures and may grasp the grammatical
system more easily. Secondly, while learners are doing grammatical analysis, it may
fit in well with what they are discovering about the language.

On the other hand, the potential disadvantage of the structural-lexical syllabus is
that it does not address the immediate communication needs of the learners who are
learning a language within the context of a community where the language is
13


spoken. In fact, the sociolinguistic aspects of communicative competence are not in
focus at all in a strictly structural-lexical syllabus. It is therefore more useful in a
context where learners do not have immediate communication needs.
1.1.3. Approaches to syllabus design
In order to design an appropriate syllabus for the objectives, designers have to take
into account the approaches to syllabus design. According to Wilkins (1976), there
are two approaches to syllabus design: synthetic approach and analytic approach.
1.1.3.1. Synthetic approach
Synthetic syllabuses segment the target language into discrete linguistic items for
presentation one at a time. In Wilkins‟s word, a synthetic language teaching strategy
“is one in which the different parts of language are taught separately and step by
step so that acquisition is a process of gradual accumulation of parts until the
whole structure of language has been built up.” (Wilkins, 1976: 2). At any one
time, the learner is being exposed to a deliberately limited sample of language.
Synthetic approach refers to the learner‟s role. The learner‟s task is to re-synthesize
the language that has been broken down into a large number of small pieces with
the aim of making their learning task easier.
Nunan (1988) states:
Initially, people tended to equated synthetic approaches with grammatical syllabuses.
However, some applied linguists feel that the term “synthetic” need not necessarily be
restricted to grammatical syllabuses, but may be applied to any syllabus in which the
content is product-oriented.
Nunan (1988: 28)

In this sense, many traditional syllabuses would be called “synthetic”. It could be
lexical, structural/grammatical, or notional-functional syllabus. The synthetic
syllabus relies on the learner‟s assumed ability to learn a second language in parts
which are independent of one another, and also to integrate the pieces to use them
for communicative purposes.
14


1.1.3.2. Analytic approach
In contrast with synthetic approach, analytic syllabuses offer the learner target
language samples, which while they may have been modified in other ways, have
not been controlled for structure or lexis in the traditional manner. Users maintain
that prior analysis of the total language system into a set of discrete pieces of
language that is a necessary precondition for the adoption of a synthetic approach is
largely superfluous. Analytic syllabuses “are organized in terms of the purposes for
which people are learning language and the kinds of language performance that
are necessary to meet those purposes.” (Wilkins, 1975: 13)
Analytic approach does not refer to what the syllabus designer does, but to the
operations required of the learner. Analytic syllabuses present the second language
in whole chunks at a time, without linguistic interference or control. They rely on
the learner‟s assumed ability to perceive regularities in the input and to induce rules.
Procedural, task-based syllabuses are samples of the analytic approach.
1.1.4. Steps in syllabus design
Designing a language syllabus is a complex process which requires designers to
follow some obligatory steps. Each designer has his/her own view on this issue.
According to Graves‟s (1996) viewpoint, designing a syllabus includes six steps:
1. conducting needs assessment, followed with needs analysis,
2. determining the goals and objectives of the course,
3. conceptualizing the content,
4. selecting and developing materials and activities,

5. organizing the content and activities,
6. evaluating and considering resources and constraints.
Nunan (1988) has another point of view on this issue. According to Nunan, it
should be included four steps in designing a syllabus:
1. analyzing needs and goals
2. selecting and grading content
15