General ESOL course of Manchester for the Syrian refugees

How useful a task-based syllabus is in the survival
General ESOL course of Manchester for the Syrian
refugees.
Survival English is the term used to describe someone’s basic needs by
using English in the English-speaking setting to thrive, stay, or work
(Popescu, 2014). To order to cope with daily life in the unfamiliar world of
the learners, teachers must often revert to cover simple English. In
comparison, choosing a fitting syllabus for these learners would not be a
simple matter. This study is, therefore aimed at examining the suitability
of using task-based syllabus in the Language Academic Center affiliated
with a joint initiative named “Let us speak English”. In addition, I will
clarify the features of the Task-based Syllabus and the sense that involves
Syrian refugees learning the language English to live in the UK. I will then
discuss the effect of using this syllabus on the learners, and this will be
either positive or negative.
I have spent a large part of my life in Syria and teaching the language
English at a high school for more than two years because it was my
chosen occupation. From my personal experience in Syria, I have slowly
learned that while Syria has been devastated by the horrific conflict and
the plague of war from the political standpoint, the different areas of the
country nevertheless believe in the importance of education as one of the
most important resources for survival elsewhere. Syria’s education system
is focused largely on an examination-oriented model, and many places
that still remain at the elevated level believe in passing the exams
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(Vincent 2018). Most of the Syrian learners in this language centre are
professional craftsmen who come from such a background in Syria, mainly
in the 21-30 age range. Students in Syria have graduated from numerous
technical schools. They are inspired to learn new things and to blend into
modern culture accordingly. Therefore, designing a fitting course that
suits adult students (in this situation, the learners) may be very difficult,
because as instructors we are also faced with different challenges
because of difficulties (Popescu 2014). The key goals of the course will be
essentially to involve these learners in the social situation they would
experience in their everyday lives. The language centre, divided into two
classes, admits 40 students, each class consisting of 20 learners. The
learner’s majority are A2 grade, with a limited percentage of students
studying English to pursue a route to study at the university.
Nevertheless, as the project is the collaborative initiative in which the
teacher has full freedom to add whatever information they choose, it was
accepted and approved by the management committee. All the learners
were typically mixed-gender; however, as I discovered that most of
them were men.
Students at the language centre showed a valuable ability to undertake a
fair function of contact, such as applying for the position, communicating
to health workers, and exchanging telephone details. Therefore, I would
like to analyses the suitability of a task-based syllabus specifically as
this is kind of process-oriented and may have an effect on these kinds
of learners. TB syllabus is, in essence, a syllabus, which uses tasks as the
syllabus research unit (Long & Crookes, 1992). Defining what is implied by
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assignments is, therefore useful. As per Nunan (1989), the role is a part of
the classroom work, engaging students in creating, working,
understanding, and communicating in the chosen language when their
attention is based primarily on meaning rather than type. Therefore, it
seeks to affirm that the goals and topics of the course represent the
objectives of the learners who are learning language and language skill
varieties, which are important for reaching such learners (Wilkins, 1976).
Additionally, all of this syllabus will focus on learner empowerment, in the
context that students are free for using any kind of language resources
they have accessibility and not limited to set structures, and put the
light on the activities that they need to carry out. In other words, this can
provide the sense of obligation and independence (Van den Branden,
2006) that can also contribute to increased motivation for learners.
Nevertheless, some views tended for seeing this kind of syllabus as
ignoring the approach to the grammar, as manipulating language for
deriving meaning does not ensure automatic immunity to type (Skehan,
1996:41). Thus, one strategy that I could use is to connect oriented tasks
that require the use of the pre-determined linguistic function while
retaining the concern for the communication of messages and the choice
of linguistic tools for the learners (Ellis, 2003 as cited in Carless, 2007).
This kind of syllabus will challenge the mentality of Syrian learners as
the most of them used for learning in a conventional method and also will
be demanding on the part of the instructor for asking them to engage in
solving the task of expressing their performance. When successfully
applied, the task-based syllabus will offer many advantages because of
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the learner’s preferences and requirements. In this case, the task-based
syllabus is just not enough, so it might be supplemented by a negotiated
syllabus that could also inspire learners to know so perform their utmost
as they are involved in choosing and shaping the activities.
In order to understand why TB syllabus could be effective in this sense,
many teachers dissatisfied with the use of standard syllabuses such the
PPP model (Willis 1996b), which showed its inability to reach appropriate
levels of target language competence (Skehan, 1996a). The task-based
syllabus does have the job as an explanatory unit (Long, 2014), which is
counter to other aspects, such as lexis or grammar, which is typically built
after a Need Evaluation of the learners. The real truth of the syllabus that
is task-based is that it holds a substance that depends on tasks to be
completed, so it is not like structured syllabus that has just tasks, and is
best called task-supported (Ellis, 2009: 224). In fact, Crooks and Long
(1993) say that the TB syllabuses are based on L2 learning analysis, L2
teaching space exploration, and the goals of the course content are met.
As the SLA findings note, in an additive process, language could not be
studied sequentially. This is also suggested that digital syllabuses are
unacceptable since they rely on defining and teaching language concepts
sequentially. It can support analytical syllabuses like the task-based
syllabus that seek to stimulate the internal processes leading to
acquisition (Nunan, 2004). Skehan (1996a) notes that the danger of TB
activity is that if this is used alone, this will boost fluency but does not end
with improvement in language. Focusing on shape therefore is a required
component of TB guidance (Willis, 1996b). This is to be careful in
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introducing TB in this sense where the emphasis on type not only adds a
vocabulary for pupils, but it can also increase the saliency of the target
language features for making it easier to recognize and lead to supporting
feedback for intaking (Long & Crookes, 1992).
Furthermore, through constructive language instruction, students can
understand more, which is also endorsed by Nunan (2004), where the bulk
of the class time will be dedicated to language use. One reason why
the TB syllabus could work in this sense is for using the real-life
vocabulary and the authentic situation, which the learners can face in the
future. In other words, learners can acquire more language skills through
the practice of the exercises, they will be able to gain more linguistic
techniques, which they can use when they are exposed in real-life for the
same setting as interviewing skills from Job. It should be achieved with
genuine materials with plenty of examples of reading and listening texts,
and TBLT should afford numerous learning experiences for students. In
this sense, the crucial feature of encouraging learners to link the language
to their actual environment will provide significant support for making TB
syllabubs works better in such a teaching setting.
A lot of drawbacks could come from being used syllabus based on the tasks. On the scientific
level, Swan (2005) questions the assumptions underlying TBLT by questioning the online
theory that learning happens only through conversation. She explains this by an instance of
adding particle か (ka) for forming the Japanese questions, suggesting that with this
experience, one would be able to construct questions without automatically acquiring them.
In addition, Seedhouse (1999) criticizes the contact within the task-based approach by
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arguing that this can only provide a narrow communication space. However, when using
TBLT, learners and teachers can face different difficulties. The teachers would need to
prepare themselves with a broader variety of expertise (Skehan, 1996a), in particular, Syrian
teachers who taught in Syria and now the volunteer with the Language Centre, and their
ability for dealing with the inconsistent language. At the same time, Wills (1996b) notes that
instructors can feel unsatisfied by moving out and allowing students more freedom and
autonomy over their learning, particularly students from Confucian cultural backgrounds. In
the other hand, learners can use their current experience for completing tasks that seem likely
to cause difficulties for completing beginners whose linguistic skills are limited. The
areas, which may impact the project are the presence of learners and trust as the learners of
the Syrians used to learn in conventional methods (instructor initiation, student reaction, and
instructor follow-up), which could serve as an obstacle to implementing any aspect of
activities. Therefore, we might need to incorporate TBL components, but in some of the
learning sessions we still have regular teaching.
TB syllabus proponents make the resounding argument in favour of the TBLT, and while the
educational advantages of using the classroom tasks undoubtedly clear. Opponents
like Seedhouse (1999) and Swan (2005) argue that although assignments are helpful, using
them as the fundamental for the syllabus design is illogical. Nonetheless, I accept as
valid that the TB syllabus gives learners the greater chance of learning
success in the L2 as Crook and Long (1993) showed that SLA research
originally claimed that the learning sesson is not the linear method of
gradually acquiring the new forms. Synthesized syllabuses tend to operate
on the basis of learners being able in translating the pre-specified
linguistic knowledge into the intake the teacher provides. Perhaps the
task-based syllabus’s biggest strength is that it will not rely on this theory
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but instead seeks to cultivate better the optimum conditions for taking
place for the L2 acquisition (Nunan, 2004). Finally, the design of the
syllabus approach that does not define forms in advance gives the instructor greater
versatility and the ability to make full use of their professional expertise. During the language
emphasis stage of the class, forms that catch the interest of learners may be revisited,
enabling teachers not only for teaching these forms but also for exemplifying common uses
and alternate interpretations.
In comparison, task-based structures like those proposed by Willis (1999b) are exactly those,
mere frames. Good teachers can understand that improvements and modifications should be
made to properly suit their different classes of learners, such as Moser (2005), who adopts the
structure of Willis during the lesson using the language journals to promote an emphasis on
language type. While the task-based syllabuses that pose difficulties and challenges, I believe
they provide the best opportunities for most learners for acquiring the L2 communicative
skills. Reflecting on the language learning experience with the grammatical syllabus, I always
touched the material had no real-world connection, so I felt no desire to grasp the pre-
specified grammatical structures it provided. By engaging in L2 with friends outside of the
classroom, however, I felt that I made substantial enhancements to my L2 ability, because I
find learning by acting very beneficial. While critics may be able to illustrate TBLT’s
possible shortcomings, it’s worth noting that there is no unproblematic syllabus. I conclude
that the reasons set out on this paper offer a compelling basis for the introduction of
the design of the task-based syllabus strategies for refugees from Syria.
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