INTRODUCTION

A syllabus is an extremely important document because it will likely be the most viewed
document in our course by our students.
DEFINITION OF SYLLABUS
A syllabus (pl. syllabi or syllabuses; from Latin syllabus "list", in turn from Greek
sillybos/sittybos "parchment label, table of contents")
Generally, a syllabus is defined as a course of study offered by a learning institution
in a specific period of time (Debin and Olshtain, 1986).
Farrant (1980: 173) defined a syllabus as a series of statements of what is to be
learned.
For the purposes of this unit, a syllabus will be defined as a course outline comprising
a collection of topics on the same subject matter and a series of statements of what is to
be learned within a given time frame.

OBJECTIVES
The teacher can determine what topics are to be taught at
each level: class, grade or form
It gives the teacher the basis for evaluation
it tells the teacher what pupils should learn.
The teacher can easily prepare materials needed to deliver
lessons.
, the syllabus may suggest the skills to be evaluated and the
weighting of each skill
DIFFERENT BETWEEN SYLLABUS AND CURRICULUM
SYLLABUS

CURRICULUM

Is a more detailed and

operational document of
teaching and learning
elements.

Contains a broad description

of general goals.

Translates the philosophy of

the curriculum.

Indicates overall philosophy

of education that applies
across subjects.

Is a collection of related
topics on the same subject.

Reflects national and political

trends.

ELEMENTS OF SYLLABUS

Course Objectives outline the learning that pupils should be

able to demonstrate at the end of the course.

Course Content. In each subject area, there are certain topics

that should be included at each level.

Methods of Evaluation. This indicates the means and strategies

of evaluation, the skills to be evaluated and the number of test
papers, including the nature of the papers.

TYPES OF SYLLABUS APPROACH

ProductOriented
Syllabuses

ProcessOriented
Syllabuses

The Structural
Approach

Procedural/TaskBased Approaches

The Situational
Approach

Learner-Led
Syllabuses

The
Notional/Functiona
l approach

The Proportional
Approaches

HOW TO DEVELOP SYLLABUS

Ideally, syllabus is
group of teachers
team of curriculum

developed based on needs analysis conducted by a

in collaboration with needs analysts/experts and a
development.

The steps of syllabus design cover the following:

1. Planning
2. Dissemination
3. Implementation
4. Evaluation
5. Revision
The steps can be reflected in the following figure: Systematic Model for
Syllabus Design.

(Adapted from Brown, 1996)

STEPS OF DEVELOPING SYLLABUS

Planning and
Specification

Dissemination and
Implementation
stage

Identify existing content

Develop testing
standard, resourceful materials,
and textbooks

Use the information collected

through needs analysis

Develop teaching
materials

Identify competencies given in

the content standard

Train teachers or
socialize the syllabus

Identify contents in basic

competencies

Conduct on-going
evaluation of the
program

Evaluation and
Revision Stage
Evaluation is
conducted by a
team of curriculum
development or
related experts the
result of evaluation
is used to
reconstruct the
syllabus.