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Toward
More Reality and Realism in ESP Syllabuses
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Since 1989 ESP syllabus designers in Slovakia
have been more and more confronted with the needs of their clients. Slovak ESP teachers
have begun to realize that English/foreign language teaching and learning should be less
academic and more pragmatic. In other words, ESP syllabus/course designs should be
realistic both in qualitative and quantitative aspects-in their contents and feasibility.
As we know, there are two parties involved in the implementation of any syllabus
programme-teacher and learner. Basically, if the syllabus is to be designed realistically,
its contents must be coherent with the needs and wants of the clients. Additionally, the
contents should be technically, physically, and mentally conceivable and able to be
implemented within the time allotted in the curriculum. These requirements are without
dispute and should be among the premises when designing the ESP syllabus. This was not
always the practice in Slovakia. These problems became more evident after 1989 when the
Slovak English teachers compared their teaching practices with those of immigrant teachers
who were native speakers of English. The immigrant teachers were the first who indicated
openly the problem of steeply graded syllabuses (Healey 1994). Admittedly, Slovak ESP
teachers, myself included, were led to believe before that the syllabus and classroom
presentation should encompass as many items, topics, pieces of information as was possible
to press in the rather limited time allotted for ESP in the curricula. The mobilizing
slogan of the Slovak ESP teachers was, or still is: Better more than less, so as not to
miss or neglect something.
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But let us look at the problem of the syllabuses
and their "sense of reality" in a brief historical review. We can trace three
main approaches applied in syllabus design, which push them more closely to the reality of
foreign language communication and consequently to more realistic teaching/learning
programmes. There are three main types of syllabuses:
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- Structural syllabus. This type of syllabus represented the model of
foreign language teaching at its beginning. It was selected and graded according to
grammatical notions of simplicity and complexity, focusing only on one aspect of
language-formal grammar.
- Functional-notional syllabus. In the 1970s this type of syllabus became an
alternative to the structurally graded syllabuses in attempts to incorporate a broader
view of language communication. Communicative skills rather than language per se became
the focus of this syllabus type.
- Procedural and task-based syllabus. This latest type focuses on and
emphasizes classroom activities that stimulate internal learning processes. This syllabus
type specifies the tasks, activities, and problems engaged in the classroom which will be
carried out in the real world.
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This brief review of approaches (see chart
below) to foreign language teaching and learning demonstrates how the focus has shifted
from instruction/explanation aimed at acquiring knowledge and skills to processes through
which knowledge and skills are gained.
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Methodologies of foreign language teaching and
learning have developed to the point where they are complex and cover language
description, learning theories and needs analysis (Hutchinson and Waters 1987:22). These
are three major factors that should be reflected in any ESP course or syllabus design (see
above).
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To accept this in designing our own syllabuses
means to show an increased sense of reality and balance. There should be time and balance
reserved for not only presenting but also practicing linguistically and socially
appropriate language relevant to the topics and situations our learners need to function
in real life. Language objectives resulting from learners' needs should be included in the
syllabus hand in hand with authentic activities/ tasks demonstrating and practising the
language. If not, we face the danger that we cram the syllabus with too much
"language," leaving very little or no time for students to practice it.
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Practice is rather time-consuming (learning
needs time) and many of our ESP teachers object to feeling that very little is taught in
practice. We should not, however, forget to ask the question: How much of what is taught
is given a chance to be learned/practised, especially in such a subject as foreign
language?
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Knowledge, information, and instruction
delivered by the teacher or input texts should therefore have dynamic counterparts in
real-life tasks, activities, and problems to be solved by the learners. This
learning-centered dimension of the latest syllabus models was and still is neglected in
the Slovak traditionally designed syllabuses. (My generation of teachers is a product of
such syllabuses-full of academic and luxury knowledge that did not and does not
automatically generate practice and readiness of communication). The realistic, authentic
tasks for the learners should not be underestimated; these tasks have great potential.
Besides, they work as natural brakes to extensive classroom teaching.
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This was the kind of teaching experience our
language department faced when we tested the units from the newly prepared English
textbook for medical students. It was designed as a task-based textbook. The feedback we
got from testing its draft units showed that we needed to decrease the number of
units/topics in our ESP syllabus if we did not want to give up or reduce our students'
involvement in performing the tasks and problem-based activities. The revisions proved to
be time-consuming but very productive and effective. The students appreciated this model
of ESP syllabus and teaching more than the traditional ones, where they were supposed to
be more passive than active.
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Realism in the ESP syllabus should be expressed
not only in the quality but also in the quantity of its contents. ESP learners require not
only a desired and substantial "meal" but also an appropriate time for its
consumption, otherwise they cannot digest it. Foreign language learners generally need to
be involved in their classes, because learner passivity and non involvement will in fact
sabotage the desired outcomes. "If the processes actively engage the learners, then a
more positive outcome is assured" (Wajnryb 1992:124). Unfortunately, traditional ESP
syllabuses are not always meeting this demand. They are often overdesigned with
"content" and manage by the quantity of their input to force teachers to lag
behind the time schedule. This results in limited practical involvement of the learners.
Such syllabuses are not realistic but idealistic in their goals. What they offer is
impossible not only to teach but also to learn and master. More often they
"chase" both teachers and learners and cause frustration on both sides.
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In conclusion, we could say that realistically a
designed ESP syllabus shows balance in its content quality and quantity. There should be
balance between knowledge input communicated by the teacher textbook on the one side, and
the activities, tasks, and problems internalizing this input on the other side. More
importantly this balance should be realistically set in an adequate time frame. Timing, as
we know, is not always possible to change. Otherwise, the syllabus may be designed for its
own sake, being rather optimistic in what learners are really capable of achieving and
mastering.
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Finally, the reality of everyday life in
Slovakia and other East European countries starting market economies requires pragmatism
from ESP programs. These countries are facing a new age in syllabus/course designs in
which the premises of any realistic and successful syllabus/course design should be:
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- a marketing approach highlighting learners' needs and wants,
- authenticity in teaching/learning contents,
- realism in content quantity, vis- -vis item restrictions.
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Very inspiring and stimulating in this respect
is an article by John Harbord (1995) stressing not only the necessity "of the
day" to be as close to the learners' needs and potential as possible, but also
showing how to execute this approach.
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We could summarize it as follows:
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- do not dwell on routine;
- be attentive to learners' needs and potentials-design syllabus/course programmes for
them, not to impress superiors; and, last but not least;
- design syllabuses in more modules that balance quantity and quality of content input.
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This seems to be the latest paradigm for ESP
teachers: infusing more reality into teaching programmes and realistically designing the
syllabus.
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- Harbord, J. 1995. Needs analysis in executive language teaching. Slovakia, ESP Spectrum,
9, pp. 17-20.
- Healey, R. 1994. Levels difficulty and steeply-graded syllabuses. Slovakia, ESP
Newsletter, 4, pp. 12-13.
- Huthchinson, T., and A. Waters. 1987. English for specific purposes: A learner-centered
approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Littlewood, W. 1981. Communicative language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
- Munby, J. 1978. Communicative syllabus design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Wajnryb, R. 1992. Classroom observation tasks: A resource book for language teachers and
trainers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Anna
Jureckov ia an ESP teacher at the Jeasenius Factulty of Medicine, Comenius
University in Martin, Slovakia. |
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