Syllabus design for english courses bambang Irfani

4. Skill-Based Syllabi 
Much less is known about the skill -based, task-based, and 
content-based syllabi than about the types already discussed. This is 
especially true of the skill-based syllabus, a type that has not been 
previously identified as a separate kind of instructional content in the 
l i t erat ur e on language teaching. The term "skill" in language teaching 
has generally been used to designate one of the four modes of 
language: s peaking, listening, reading, or writing (Chastain, 1976). 
Here, however, the term is used to designate a specific way of 
defining the content of language teaching.
A working definition of 
skill 
for this volume is a specific way 
of using language that combi nes st ruct ural and functional ability but 
exists independently of specific s et t i ng s or situations. Examples are 
reading skills 
such as skimming 
and scanning; writing 
skills 
such as 
writing specific topic sentences and certain kinds of discourse (e.g., 
memos, research reports, work reports); speaking skills of' giving 
instructions, delivering public talks, giving personal information for 
bureaucratic purposes, asking for emergency help over the telephone; 
and listening skills such as getting specific info rmation over the 
telephone, listening to foreign radio broadcasts for news or military 
information, taking orders in a restaurant, and so on. Another, and 
more traditional, way of viewing skill-based instruction is what is 
called competency-based instruct ion. Competencies are simi lar to 
behavioral objectives in that they define what a learner is able to 
do 
as a result 
of instruction. Extensive lists of competencies have been developed for 
adult ESL (refugee and immigrant) programs in the United States. 
Not all native speakers of a language are equally competent users of 
language. Also, individuals have varying competence in the different skill areas. 
For example, even though anyone reading this book may be considered a 

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speaker of English, including many native speakers, not all are reading with 
the same degree of efficiency. Some are more "skilled" readers than others.
At the same time, one person may be a particularly skilled reader but perform 
extremely poorly when required to carry on an emergency conversation on a 
mobile radio. Or someone who is an inefficient reader may be adept at getting 
people to buy waterbeds. 
The ability to use language in specific ways (settings and registers) is