Improving the relevance of an English syllabus within a top-down teaching context

Fernando Peralta-Castro

doi:10.23913/ride.v12i23.1028

Abstract

This educational intervention aims to investigate the design of a language syllabus based on school needs within the context of a Mexican Higher Education Institution (MHEI) where the syllabus design process is top-down. Because the investigation requires the researcher to comprehend the subjects of study, data collection techniques which allow participants to express their beliefs and opinions are entirely appropriate. Therefore, in this study, interviews were carried out, as they are widely used in empirical studies, being a suitable way of gaining insight into the participants’ individual and collective process of reflective enquiry. A questionnaire to elicit beliefs and a language test were also administered. The results suggest that the Needs Analysis (NA) procedures implemented turned out to be very useful for gathering the kinds of data needed to enable to meet the learning needs of the teaching context more effectively. In addition, the research reveals that participant teachers were able to accept full responsibility for themselves and their actions as a result of the research, and were able to improve the syllabus as planned. The paper presents an analysis of both a General English Syllabus (GES) and of the School Based Syllabus (SBS) and reveals a clear contrast between them. The findings also suggest that the SBS design process may present challenges.

Highlights

English language is at a widely used language of the world
The General English Syllabus (GES) could not be implemented in the form that was originally conceived by the decision makers at the top of the hierarchy, because it was directed at school teachers, it was not derived from school experience and experimentation and it was not in line with the institutional reality of the school, the needs of the learners and profiles of the teachers
They said that the information could be written in different formats as well, and with different purposes; as the managers stated: In the large majority of cases English is used to read different types of text for different purposes, for example a press release of the company, instructions to follow a new process, emails sent by colleagues from other countries. (HRM1, English translation) The situations in which we use English most frequently are when we read operating manuals, emails, information shared in forums or chats, and short texts the company publishes in a magazine. (HRM2, English translation)

Summary

Introduction

English language is at a widely used language of the world. People devote large amounts of time and energy to the task of mastering this language. Government agencies of nonEnglish speaking countries have implemented curriculum reforms They have offered students opportunities to develop their English language skills, and have widely invested in infrastructure for the learning of English. The whole Mexican educational system in general and this institution in particular, has made every effort to provide students with opportunities to develop their English language skills Examples of these efforts include the allocation of infrastructure for the learning of English, as well as the provision of funding for the payment of wages of language teachers. They have been directed at school teachers working in a different educational culture and often cannot be implemented in the ways in which they were originally conceived (Nunan, 1991) This is related to what Graves (2008) has identified as hierarchical approaches to curriculum. Changes to the syllabus were made based on school needs, instead of the traditionally more centralized decision-making processes

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