Curriculum Proposal

Jhon Alexander Estrada Hincapié
Curriculum Proposal
To redesign the institutional English curriculum at Tecnológico de Antioquia, I have

decided to use the Understanding by Design framework (UbD) created by Jay Mctighe and
Grant Wiggins. It has the following key tenants that allow us to plan and structure a
curriculum. First, the curriculum planning is descriptive and thought purposefully. Second,
it is essential the development of student understanding and transfer of learning. Third, it
has a backward design. Fourth, it is important to contrast curriculum with standards to
improve quality. Fifth, teachers are facilitators of meaning making as well as they inform,
give feedback, and advise to students. Sixth, students’ understanding is revealed when they
apply it autonomously in real situations. Seventh, the adjustments of the curriculum are
based on reflection to maximize students’ learning opportunities.
Before planning the curriculum, it is necessary to carried out an environment analysis. It

involves looking at some factors that come from learners, teachers and from a teaching
learning situation (English course), that will determine the outcomes, the content and the
instruction and assessment carried out through a course. Then, the curriculum will be
created following a backward design. It has three stages. First, identify desired results. It
means establishing long-term performance goals, regarding transfer, meaning making, and
acquisition purposes. Second, determine assessment evidence. It is divided in performance
tasks that asks for students understanding and ability to use what they learn in authentic
situations, and other evidence, it refers to observations, tests, etc., that help to complete
what students know and can do. Third, plan learning experiences and instruction based on
the transfer, meaning making, and acquisition objectives.
This curriculum framework allows us to work with the Task-Based Language Learning
approach. It is an approach in which teachers focus on real communication and meaning
and not on structures. Teachers are facilitators who provide students the necessary input
and feedback to prepare them to develop a set of tasks and be able to produce meaningful
output. As a result, student is prepared to face real life communicative situations.
Before structuring the curriculum, it is important to consider some aspects as well as the
analysis of the context.
● Setting: Public university
● Population: English level 3
● Students´ age: 17 to 25 years old
● English level: A2 according to the CEFR
Context
Based on an environment analysis, it is concluded that most of the students has little
knowledge about English since most of them have studied in public schools, learning
through traditional and prescriptive language methods. For this reason, most of the students
do not have much interest in learning English, and they consider that it is just a requirement
for graduating. However, they like to face challenging activities as well as to work on
topics that relate to their surroundings and experiences. On the other hand, there are some
proficient who can help their classmates and, they can be language models for them. That is
why, it is very important to promote speaking activities in the classroom that allow students
to interact and learn from one another. Besides that, the institution has excellent
technological resources; especially an English lab where students can practice their
language skills. Also, there are monitors who are in charge of club conversations, and
grammar courses. They can help students to practice English outside the English classroom.
Each English course is divided in sixteen weeks. Students have four hours per week.
Therefore, it can be more productive to focus on three units during the semester and not six
of them.
UNIT 1
MY SURROUNDINGS
DESIRED RESULTS
Established goal: Create texts addressed to different types of people or situations.
Transfer Goal: Students will be able to describe the people and the context that surrounds
by interviewing other students.
Meaning Goal: Students will understand why it is important to address others using ethical
and moral language and giving real and proper information.
Acquisition Goals:
Linguistic: Students will know how to produce accurate short sentences that have a proper
meaning according to the context.
Pragmatic: Students will know when to use a descriptive layout regarding its
characteristics.
Sociolinguistic: Students will know how and for whom a text is aimed.
ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Assessment task: Answer the questions of an interview about family, neighborhood,
workplace, and university. Students will interview each other
Assessment criteria
o Use appropriate words for family

o Use appropriate words for neighborhood
o The text keep relation with its respective images
o Descriptions expresses attitudes about family
o Descriptions expresses attitudes about neighborhood
o Words are placed correctly within the sentences
o Appropriate use of transitional words in the text
 Appropriate use of prepositions of place.
UNIT 2
STORIES OF MY LIFE
Established goal: Write short texts about familiar actions, experiences, and plans.
Transfer goal: Students will be able to express their experiences with their families and
friends through short written narrative and oral texts.
Meaning goal: Students will understand why it is important to share and value their
experiences with their families and friends.
Acquisition goals:
Linguistic: Students will know how to tell short stories and anecdotes using the simple past
accurately.
Pragmatic: Students will know how to tell short texts using a narrative layout.
Sociolinguistic: Students will know how to narrate their experiences with their families and
friends using an informal register.
Assessment Evidence
Assessment task: A journal/video/presentation where students narrate at least three of their

most appealing experiences with their families or friends.
Assessment Criteria:
❏ Has a proper use of the simple past structure.
❏ Appropriate word order within the sentence.
❏ Appropriate use of irregular and regular verbs.
❏ The text expresses feelings towards the experience.
❏ Appropriate use of transitional words.
❏ Appropriate use of capital letters.
❏ The text has connection with the images.
Other assessment evidence (follow up activities)

- Quizzes
- Games
- Observations
Activities Competences Resources Assessment
Listen to different people Identify phrasal Recordings Summative

around the world talking verbs and (elllo.org) - Assessment
about their childhood expressions related task
memories. Complete the to the past. Videos - Post on the
information in the chart. (YouTube) social
Identify different
network
accents.
Social - Questions in
Invite a proficient English Ask questions in a networks
the
speaker to tell an anecdote. formal way (Instagram, interview
Then, students can Facebook,
interview him/her. (interview format) WhatsApp, Formative
etc.) - Follow up
activities
Students bring pictures of Use informal
- Participation
their vacations. They can language to post
use the ones they have personal Feedback is
posted on social networks. information on provided in
Then, students can write a social networks. both
story in English and post it summative
on their social networks and
using the #tbt formative
tasks
Write some
funny/weird/scary
anecdotes. Are they real
stories? Students will read
their classmates anecdotes
and try to guess if they are
real or fake.
UNIT 3
HELPING THE OTHER
Established goal: Gives and follows instructions, recommendations and suggestions about
topics related to his/her immediate context.
Transfer goal: Students will be able to follow and give instructions, recommendations and
suggestions regarding people and daily situations through short conversations.
Meaning goal: Students will understand that give and follow instructions,
recommendations and suggestions allow them to keep the order and promote interactions
with others.
Acquisition goals:
Linguistic: Students will know how to provide commands, suggestions and advice through
simple sentences.
Sociolinguistic: students will know the importance of giving suggestions, commands and
advice using formal and informal registers depending on the situation and the person.
Pragmatic: Students will know how to provide the right comments to help the others to
fulfil the different situations.
ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Assessment task: role-play about daily situations (go to the hospital, traveling, cooking,
etc.)
Assessment criteria:
❏ Use of the different modal verbs (can-could-should-may-might-etc.)
❏ Proper use of connectors of sequence (later, after, then, before,)
❏ Each modal verb is used in a proper way.
❏ The message is clear and easy to understand.
❏ Use expressions and exclamations.
❏ Appropriate tone of voice.
❏ Words are well pronounced.
❏ Use of contractions is allowed.
❏ There is eye contact.
❏ Provide the right advice/suggestions/comments according to the situation needed.
❏ Ask different types of questions.
References
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding By Design®

Framework. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision …, 1-13. Retrieved from
ftp://ftp1.sd34.bc.ca/ProD/VC/BackwardDesign/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
Nation, I. and Macalister, J. 2010. Language Curriculum Design. NY: Routledge

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Jhon Alexander Estrada Hincapié

To redesign the institutional English curriculum at Tecnológico de Antioquia, I have

Before planning the curriculum, it is necessary to carried out an environment analysis. It

● Setting: Public university

● Population: English level 3

● Students´ age: 17 to 25 years old

● English level: A2 according to the CEFR

Established goal: Create texts addressed to different types of people or situations.

o Use appropriate words for family

Assessment task: A journal/video/presentation where students narrate at least three of their

Other assessment evidence (follow up activities)

Activities Competences Resources Assessment

Listen to different people Identify phrasal Recordings Summative

McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding By Design®

Nation, I. and Macalister, J. 2010. Language Curriculum Design. NY: Routledge

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