Task-Based Syllabus Design

Traditional approaches to curriculum design and development draw a three-way distinction between syllabus design, methodology and assessment / evaluation. Syllabus design is concerned with selecting, sequencing and justifying content. Methodology is concerned with selecting, sequencing and justifying learning experiences and processes. Assessment is concerned with measuring learner outcomes, and evaluation is concerned with determining how well the curriculum has served the needs of the learners. From this traditional perspective, task selection and design has to do with methodology, and the notion of 'task-based syllabus design' is a contradiction in terms. However, with the emergence of communicative language teaching (CLT) this all changed. CLT reconceptualized language, not as lists of content to be memorized, but as sets of procedures for achieving communication. From this point of view, the distinction between syllabus design and methodology became difficult to sustain. Certainly, the view presented in this paper is that the use of 'task' as a basic building block for syllabus design is justifiable.