Kamis, 11 November 2010

Conceptual and Functional Meaning of Syllabus

The content of an utterance can be thought about in terms of major types of meaning: (a) The propositional or conceptual meaning of utterance, & (b) illocutionary force. The conceptual meaning expresses our perception of events, entities, states, location, time, etc., including grammatical elements such as agents & instruments. In a syllabus, these elements are realized as notions or semantic-grammatical categories. On the other hand, the illocutionary force of an utterance expresses its meanings: whether the particular utterance function in a positive context as a request, an apology, invitation, etc.
According to Wilkins (1976), the notional syllabus which he proposed can incorporate conceptual & functional parts in to a learning/teaching syllabus. The key query need to be answered in coursework designing are no longer related to specific units or structural point, as was the case with a structural syllabus. Now, questions relate to the general goals of the language coursework. Such goals, when defined in general terms, advocate language use for communicative purposes. Thus, Wilkins says: In drawing up a notional syllabus in lieu of asking how speakers of the language express themselves, or when & where they use the language, they ask what it is they communicate through language. The key questions are:
one.    What kind of semantic-grammatical knowledge does a learner need to have in order to communicative effectively?
three.    What kinds of skills are needed for communication?
three.    What types of learning/teaching activities will contribute to the acquisition of the communicative skills?
In a notional syllabus, the focus on grammar is no longer the internalization of rules, but a view a grammar within a communicative frame work. In other words, one time the communicative task is defined they can select structural features necessary to complete it.

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