“A specification of the content of a course
of instruction lists what will be taught
and tested”
What is a notional-functional
syllabus?
Therefore, it is a syllabus that has a
comprehensible explanation of the
functions and concepts to be cover
Notion
“Time, space, movement, cause and
effect”
Functions
“The intentional or purposive
use of language.”
How and why was the notional-functional syllabus
brought about?
Theories of language
Richards and Rodgers (2001, p.20) “language is a
system of structurally related elements for the
coding of meaning”
The notional-functional syllabus’s focus on the
meanings and functions of language was strongly
influenced by functional and communicative views
of language.
Theories of
learning
Process oriented theories
“build on learning processes, such as
habit formation, induction
Condition-oriented
theories
“emphasize the nature of the human and
physical context in which language learning takes
place”.
An analytic approach?
Language were seen as “building blocks which have to
be carefully accumulated” where there was “careful
linguistic control of the learning environment”.
2. Strengths and weakness of the
notional-functional syllabus
Analytic or synthetic?
Analytic approach (exposure to raw language and
subsequent induction of forms). Synthetic
approach (exposure to graded language and
gradual accumulation of forms)
Product or process-based?
Product-based - that is, focussing on what
language is learned, as opposed to
process-based, focussing on how language is
learned
Grading
Structural syllabuses had traditionally been
graded according to frequency of occurrence,
linguistic complexity, and natural order of
acquisition
Pragmatic
considerations
“if a structural syllabus and related course units make
explicit use of grammatical concepts and categories, it
enables learners to use formal strategies for acquiring
language, such as analyzing the tense system.”
3. Teaching situations and implications for the
notional-functional syllabus
How do we define teaching
situations?
We will assume the language being taught is
English. We will also assume that the teacher is
a native speaker of English
Institutional variables
Educational environment in
which such teaching can
take place.
Class size
A large class – particularly a diverse one – may
not be a suitable target for a
notional-functional syllabus.
Assessment
success in such assessment does not depend
on the ability to express notions and
functions but on some other area of
linguistic or communicative ability
Status
refers to whether an institution is a private “for
profit” institution or a public “not for profit”
Socio-cultural
variables
Individualism
In collectivist cultures, learners are
more interested in traditional methods
In individualist cultures, learners are
more open to new methods which focus
on exposure to authentic language
Gender bias
Represents a spectrum which ranges from masculine
to feminine perspectives on norms of behavior.
Learner variables
Language level
refers to the level of language ability
demonstrated by a particular
learner, usually classified in TEFL
Learner styles
“Concrete” or “communicative” learners
appear to be much more amenable to a
notional-functional syllaus
“prefer to avoid groups” and conformists
“emphasize learning ‘about language’
Motivation
Instrumental and integrative. The former
implies “needing a language as an instrument
to achieve other purposes
Status of English in
locality
This includes localities where English is the native
language; localities where English is an official language;
and localities where English is a foreign language.
4. The argument for choosing a notional-functional syllabus
Mixed situations
Those which tend to create situations where the adoption of a
notional-functional syllabus would be ill-advised.
The teacher would have to evaluate whether, on balance, a
notional-functional syllabus would generally promote or
diminish the acquisition of English as a second language
English teaching in Japan: Two scenarios
In the commercial English school, each chapter in the
text book has been given a functional title, e.g. “asking
for directions”, “expressing opinions” or “checking
information”.
Language activities focus very much on how
different speaker roles, contexts and statuses
affect
In the university, the prescribed textbook
includes chapters functionally titled
More traditional, structurally inspired “language
check” and task-based learning inspired
“ensemble” activities, where learners have to
complete information gap exercises