DESIGNING LANGUAGE COURSES: A GUIDE FOR TEACHERS Kathleen Graves School for International Training A TeacherSource Book Donald Freeman Series Editor Heinle & Heinle Thomson Learning"' Boston • ·.: !bany • Bonn • Cincinnaci • e.erroit • London Mo.drid • Melbourne • Mexico Cir:y • New York • Pacific Gr~ Po.ris: • S n Fra.ru::isco • To!qo • Toromo • \Vashingmn iJ:[...]... Understanding (1 99 9) For a clear and useful summary of more traditional views oflanguage course design, see Curriculum Development in Second Language Teaching," the firsr chapter of Jack Richards' book, The Language Teaching Matrix (1 99 0) 12 • DESIGNING LANGUAGE COURS£5: A GUIDE FOR TEACHERS 2 DEFINING THE CONTEXT n a pedagogical grammar course I reach, I begin each unit by asking my gradM uace students co... curriculum within a specified period of time, as was the case with Michael Gatto in El Salvador (see page 1 4) 0~ as in Ali Pahlavanlu's case in Iran (see page 1 8), teachers may have to develop a curriculum that is governed by economic, religious and legal factors To continue the analogy with buildirig a house, reaching within a prescribed curriculum and exam system is similar ro working with an already developed... srudents and stakeholders can help us make decision$ about What is appropriate to cover and how students will be assessed , An Iranian teacher, Ali Pahlavanlu;'describes the way in which the stakeholders in his context in a language school in Iran constrained what he could realistically do 'in his course Ali taught in a private language instimte His students were young adult men and women in segregated classes... informacion about a program's "human aspects, that is, the physical, social and psychological contexts in which learning cakes place" and is related co "administrative, financial, logistical, manpower; pedagogic, religious, cultural, personal, or other factors that might have an impact on the program." (1 995, p 4 0) In Ali Pahlavanlu's case, studencs' learning needs were not directly shaped by che investors,... within a given amount of time will allow us to be realistic about what we-tea~her and students Can accomplish Knowing what equipment or support is available will help us make choices about how much and what kind of material to prepare As David Markus po.!gts out, the constraints of our context can actually help us ro focus on what is realistic and appropriate and thus plan for success Information about... " 'designing a language course is a work in progress'" mear s ecaUse it involves human beings, teaching-and the' planning and thinking which are a part of it-is not an enterprise that can· be easily quantified, codified, and replicated Rather teach jog is an ocymic, nnp.c.~alienging, satisfying, and frustrating process It is not_an imperfect craft, bur a dynamicone Any acnVlry associated with teaching is... know as much as possible about the conte."(t in o.rder to make decisions about the course Tbe two teachers below illustrate how different the contexts of reaching English as a second or foreign language can be The first reacher, Patricia Naccarato, describes the program in which she taught for two summers I ' [The context is] a private language scli:6ol with branches in Florida, · California, and suburban... DESIGNING LANGUAGE COURSES: A GUJDE FOR TEACHERS information abour: their cultural backgrounds You· can find chis irifot'ma~ion during initial or ongoing needs assessment, as outlined in Chapter 6 Some of the information listed on the chart may be more relevant to one co·mext than another For example, information about funders and the communir:y is rele~ vane in an adult education cours~, bur may not... which means being as specific as possible about the students, setting, resources, and so on Chapter 3 is about articulating one's beliefs and understandings about language, social context, learning, and teaching These rwo chapters are foundational because they guide the decisions for the other chapters Chapters 4 and 5 are about somewhat abstract processes·in the sense that you do not have to factor... rhat rhe publisher had sent me instructional manuals for health care workers in rural areas! (I still wonder what rhe healrh care workers did with rheir books on syllabus design .) While I didn't see it that way at the rime, not having the books as the course began was fortunate because it forced me to ask the teachers in the course to· use their own expe~ rience te3.ching language courses as the basis