A suggested syllabus model for a course in developing reading skills with special reference to the ELT Department at Gazi University

Abstract

The focus of this study is the development of a model syllabus for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) reading course taught to first year students of the Gazi University ELT Department. First, the general background of ESP, problems of the reading course at Gazi and the limitations of the study are presented. After a review of teaching ESP, approaches to general and ESP syllabus design, and models of communicative syllabuses, the data collection instruments, a questionnaire and an interview, are explained. The questionnaire was given to a sample of the third and fourth year students enrolled in the B.A. in the EFL teacher education program in the Gazi ELT Department. The interview was conducted with professors from., the department who teach English-medium content courses, such as linguistics, methodology, literature and translation. Both instruments had the same questions enabling the researcher to compare the answers of the two groups of respondents. The data obtained reveal that students and teachers have similar attitudes about the necessity and difficulty of reading skills. The interview results also reveal the lack of a clearly articulated set of goals and objectives based on students' actual needs and of a syllabus for this first year ESP reading course. Based on the review of literature and the data obtained in this study, a syllabus model, which incorporates students actual language requirements, and specific goals and objectives are presented. Finally, pedagogical implications of the prepared syllabus model and suggestions for further research are discussed.