Approaches to Course Design

Course design is the procesas by which the raw data about a learning need is interpreted in order tp produce an integrated series of teaching-learning expriences, whose ultimate aim is to lead the learners to a particularstate knowledge.

            There are probably as many different approaches to ESP course design as there are course designers. We can, however, identify three main types: language-centred, skills-centred and learning-centred.

1.      Language-centred course design

            This is the simplest kind of course design process and is probably the one most familiar to English teachers. It is particularly prevalent in ESP. However, logical and straightforward as it may seem, it has a number weaknesses:

a.       It start from the learners and their needs, and thus it might be considered a learner-centred approach, but it is, in fact, not learner-centred in any meaningful sense of the term. The learner is simply used as a means of identifying the target situation.

b.      The language-centred process can also be criticised for being a static and inflexible procedure, which can take little account of the conflicts and contradictions that are inherent in any human endeavour.

c.       One of the alluring features of this model is that it appears to be systematic. But in so doing it engenders the false belief that learning itself is sysmatic—that the sysmatic analysis and presentation of language data will procedure sysmaticlearning in the learner.

d.      The language-centred model gives no acknowledgement to factors which must inevitably play a part in the creation of any course.

e.       The language-centred analysis of target situation data is only at the surface level. It reveals very little about the comperence that underlined the perfomance.

2.      Skills-centred course design

            The skills-centred approach is founded on two fundamental principle, ones theorica, the other pragmatic:

a.       The basic theorical hypothesis is that underlying any language behaviour are certain skills and strategies, which the learner uses in order to procedure.

b.      The pragmatic basis for the skills-centred approach devires from a distintion made by Widdowson (1981) between goal-oriented courses and process orinted courses.

            The skills-centred model, therefore, is a reaction both to the idea of specific registers of English as a basis for ESP and to the practical constrains on learning imposed by limited time and resources.

3.      A learning-centred approach

            Before describing this approach, we should expand our explanation of why we have chosen the term learning-centred instead of the more common term learner-centred. The learner-centred approach is based on the principle that learning is totally determined by the learner. This has two implications.

a.       Course design is a negotiated process. There is no single factor which has an outright detemining influence on the content of the course

b.      Course design is a dynamic process. It does no move in a linear fashion from initial analysis to completed.

            A nedd analysis reveals that the ESP learners need English in order to be able to read texts in their subject specialism. But if we took consider other factors,before determining the content and methodology of the course.

a.       Can we only learn to read effectively by reading or can the other skills help the learners to become better reader? For example, is it posibble that learners might graps the structure of text more easily  by writing texts themselves?

b.      What are the implications for methodology of having a mono skil focus? Wiil it lead to a lack of variety in lessons or a limited range hof exercise types, which will soon induce boredom in the learners?

c.       How will the students react to doing tasks involving other skills? Will theyappreciate the greater variety and interest of the activities or will they say 'I dont need tom understanding spoken English, so why are you asking me to listen to something in English? I need to read

d.      Do the resourse in the  classroom allow the use of other skills? Is it quiet enough to do listening or speaking work? Can the teacher handle an integerated skills approach?

e.       How will the learner react to discussing things in the mother tongue? Will it help them to feel more secure? Will it enable them to express their views more easily and freely.

f.       How will the learners attitudes vary through the course? At first they may prefer a reading only approach, because it is novel and may give them a good sense of achievement.

g.      How do the learners feel about reading as an activity? Its it something they like doing , or is it an activity that they avoid where possible, even in the mother tongue? If the latter is the case, will a reading only approach help to remove some of their aversion to reading or will  it reinforce existing antipathies.