下文选自上海外语教育出版社出版的《学习教学：英语教师指南（Learning Teaching: A Guidebook for English language teachers）》（作者Jim Scrivener）第五章“Planning”（备课）。
本文所说“教学大纲”，syllabus，并非我们传统所理解的类似于今天“课程标准”一样的“教学大纲”，而是类似于一种纲要，列出一段时间（比如一周、一月、半年等）的教学内容（contents of teaching），及其在教学过程中应处于的顺序（sequencing）。虽然看起来这两点都平平无奇，但事实上一个“教学内容”就够我们头疼的了：是以语音语法词汇为核心来组织内容，还是以听说读写技能为核心来组织内容？是追求前后格式一致，还是追求灵活多变？可以说，如果没有一个按照长期视角来组织教学内容的“教学纲要”，那么日常的教学活动是很难成功的。 教学进度与顺序表（Timetable）有两种写法：一是提纲式（skeleton），一种是详述式（detailed）。这两种写法各有优劣，用于不同的场合。总的来说，进行总体规划的时候不妨用提纲式写法，便于掌握全局，注入变化；向他人、向领导通报、汇报教学计划的时候，可以用详述式写法，方便对方快速了解教学内容和教学进度计划。 因篇幅有限，本篇选文还有Task 3、Task 4两部分没有列出来，朋友们可以点击下面链接访问相关小程序查看这两部分： 本期选文完整版 点此进入 I can plan a lesson. But how can I plan a day, a week, a month, a term?There are two main considerations:·What will I teach (ie what is the syllabus) ?·How will the separate items be sequenced (ie what is the timetable) ?On a day-to-day basis, teachers have a variety of reasons for their selection of lesson content:It's the language featured in the next coursebook unit.The main class teacher asked me to do it.I understand this bit of grammar myself!I think this will be useful for them.This is appropriate for their level A student has asked me about it.I always teach this item at this point in the course.I don’t want to work on the language item the book has next.I’ve noticed that the students seem to need this structure.I like teaching this language item.We negotiated and agreed that we would study this now.I think they might enjoy my lesson about this.They have problems with this.I'm following a syllabus.A syllabus provides a longer term overview. It lists the contents of a course and puts the separate items in an order. In some schools the syllabus may simply be the coursebook - Get to Unit 17 by half term. In others there may be a much more detailed requirement.A syllabus can be mainly grammatical or functional or lexical. Alternatively，it may be based on skills work (eg speaking and listening), or it may contain a mixture of work on systems and skills. Some syllabuses describe course content in terms of topics or tasks.Having a syllabus can be a great help, setting out clearly what you as a teacher are expected to cover with your class. It can be a burden, too, if it is unrealistic for your students in terms of what they need or are likely to achieve within a certain time.What syllabus are you currently working to? Is it prescriptive? Detailed? Non-existent? Useful? How does it affect what you do? Who decided on it? How much say have you had in it? How much say have your students had?How will the teaching content be sequenced?The day-to-day, week-to-week decisions about how to interpret a syllabus into a series of lessons are usually wholly or partly the teacher's job. This process typically involvs you looking at a school syllabus or a coursebook contents page and trying to map out how you will cover the content in the time available to you, ie selecting items from the syllabus and writing them into appropriate spaces on a plan. This is a timetable - you translation of the syllabus requirements into a balanced and interesting series of lessons.Timetables are usually written out in advance (some schools require them months ahead) and usually by the 'main' teacher of a class. In some places a head of department or director of studies may provide you with a pre-written timetable, though this is unusual.A timetable also enables other teachers to understand what work is being done in your class. The information it provides may be especially important if another teacher shares your class with you, if you are ill or absent one day, or if your director is concerned about your class in any way. It is also useful for your students to know what they will be doing. The timetable should give others a clear idea of what work was planned for a particular lesson and also show how that fits into the overall shape of the week and the course.A timetable might be a 'skeleton', using general headings (eg Tuesday 9.00 listening, 10.30 grammar and speaking), or it could be more detailed, specifying exactly what is to be done (eg Focus on Type 2 conditional and oral practice using coursebook Unit 7E; listening Ex. 3 page 56). Skeleton timetables are useful for planning the overall shape of a week or course; they help to ensure that there is balance and variety. For informing your director or another teacher about what you are doing in class a detailed timetable is more likely to be of use.The following two-day skeleton timetables are from a mid-level full-time English course for young adults who need English for general and social purposes. In each case, decide:·whether you would be comfortable using it as a timetable;·what conclusions you can draw about timetabling a course that might help you plan your own timetables.
Commentary ■ ■ ■ Timetable 1 looks problematic. It is clearly biased strongly towards work on language systems, and especially towards grammar and vocabulary. Work on the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing is minimal or non-existent. The last lesson of the day seems to include a game or a song as a sort of'bonus5 or 'extra5 rather than integrating speaking and listening work into the course. Whereas some element of systematic work and routine can be beneficial, there does seem to be a very predictable shape to this course (if it's 9.00 it must be grammar), that could prove unmotivating in the long run.Conclusion 1: a balance of activities on a timetable is important. Include work on language skills and language systems in appropriate proportions for your students' needs.Conclusion 2: variety is useful. Choose varied topics. Include varied activities. Don't always start the day with the same kind of work.Both of these problems seem to find some answers in timetable 2. There is an interesting balance of work on skills and systems. There is variety, both in terms of what is done and when it is done. There is also some sense of separate activities adding up to something bigger - for example in the three related activities based around 'news'. There is attention to links between work done on different days (the homework checking, for example, or the review of the previous day's work). If the aims of the course are in the area of 'general English' then this timetable seems to offer more chance of achieving them than the mainly grammar and lexis-based programme of timetable 1.Conclusion 3: It is important to plan in activities that will add to a sense of moving forward; of growing achievement and progress.Conclusion 4: It is essential to consider the objectives of a course; a course leading to a written grammar exam will have very different timetables from a general English course.
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