[(The English Language Teaching Curriculum: Design, Innovation and Management)] [Author: Ronald White] published on

Blackwell Applied Language Studies

by Ronald V. White

ELT teachers today are faced with a bewildering choice of aims, methods and materials. How can they design or choose language curricula best suited to their learners' needs? What options are open to them in designing and introducing new Syllabuses and methods? In answering these questions, the author begins by reviewing historically the development of ideas on language teaching and language curriculum. He describes various types of syllabus, both past and current, and he highlights the assumptions, principles and aims underlying them. Proposing curriculum renewal is one matter; introducing it into an existing system is quite another. The effective management and implementation of curriculum change forms the basis of the successful introduction of new syllabuses, materials and methods, issues about which the author offers theoretical guidance and practical advice based on evidence derived form the study of innovation in education.

Genres: Teaching

Unknown Binding

First published March 1, 1988

Reviews

[Magdalena Golden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and (by now - 2021) extremely dated (published in 1988). Other than the first few chapters (which offer some good background and make one think about the philosophy at the heart of teaching and education), most of the time the book just states the obvious which makes for very tedious reading. In particular, the last two chapters on innovation are just ridiculously dull. On the other hand, for the same reason, it will probably be very useful for finding citations for my assignments so there's that...

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a bit dated at this point. It was required reading for me, but I found the metaphors a bit obtuse and less clear than a direct explanation would have been. It did cover the basic syllabus types and ways of looking at syllabus in a useful way.

[Donald Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for my MA TESOL. A tad dry and definitely showing its age. Will revisit to take notes for my assignment. 2.5/5.

[Betty C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ordered a used copy of this for my Cambridge DELTA Module 3, where the main focus is on syllabus design.

There is some useful information for this particular course, but most of it can be found in later works such asSyllabus Design by David Nunan.

Mind you, I may have made a poor choice because as its title clearly states, the book is mainly about curriculum and only gives superficial treatment to syllabus design.

It definitely contains relevant chapters for anyone researching curriculum innovation.