A Critical Review of an On-going University
English Curriculum Reform Project

A Critical Review of an On-going University
English Curriculum
Reform Project
Maiko Berger
Maiko Berger

Abstract
No curriculum is without theories, whether they are apparent or hidden. For instance, new programs are usually designed
Abstract
to remedy
the problems
in existingor toorimprovetheminstance,(Dubin new
and programs
Olshtain, are1986).
But designed
is it always
so?to
No eithercurriculum
is without
theories, whether
theycurricula
are apparent
hidden. For
usuallyeitherThisthepaper
will reporton an curricula
English language
curriculum
reformandthat
has taken
place
at isa itdual-language
university
fromremedyproblems
in existingor to improvethem (Dubin
Olshtain,1986).
But
always so? This
paper will
an insider’s perspective. This project is aimed at creating a curriculum that will support students with various needs whoreport on an English language curriculum reform that has taken place at a dual-language university from an insider’s perspective.
will further their study in English-medium lectures on the university’s multicultural campus and beyond. The report
This project is aimed at creating a curriculum that will support students with various needs who will further their study inincludes the backgrounds of and theories underneath the reform project; designs of the old and new English language
English-medium lectures on the university’s multicultural campus and beyond. The report includes the backgrounds of and theories
curriculum; challenges the developers faced, and how the project should be evaluated holistically as it goes through theunderneath the reform project; designs of the old and new English language curriculum; challenges the developers faced, and how
reform cycle. In particular, the aspects of evaluation and teacher development are closely examined. After merely one
the project should be evaluated holistically as it goes through the reform cycle. In particular, the aspects of evaluation and teacher
semester, it may be premature to assess its ‘effects’ using performance indicators. Yet, there is a certain obligation anddevelopment
arethecloselyexamined.
After merelyonesemester, it may
premature
to assessits ‘effects’
performancepressure onteachers
to demonstratethat
improvement
has beactuallyoccurred(White,1998).using
Therefore,
the author
indicators.
Yet, on-going
there is a andcertainobligationprogramand pressure
on the andteachers
to demonstratethat improvement
hasisactuallyoccurredargues that
longitudinalevaluation
developmentof pedagogy
and materials
essential
in order(White,1998).
author argues that on-going and longitudinal program evaluation and development of pedagogy andto deemtheTherefore,
innovationthe
meaningful.
materials is essential in order to deem the innovation meaningful.

Key terms:curriculum reform, curriculum evaluation, faculty development
Key terms: curriculum reform, curriculum evaluation, faculty development
1. INTRODUCTION
This review of curriculum is based at a relatively small university in Japan (hereafter University A) with around 5000 undergraduate
students. Half of the students are international students from around eighty countries, and the other half are domestic students. The
university employs a dual language curriculum, where English language courses are offered mainly to students whose stronger
language is Japanese. For these ‘Japanese-basis’ students, English language classes represent a significant portion of their university
life. On top of completing eight to twenty-four English language credits, students are required to complete twenty credits of content
lecture subjects, which are offered in English, in order to graduate. Therefore, English language courses, which students take in thefirst few years of their study, are designed to prepare students for English-medium lectures later on in their academic path.
Definition of Key Terms
1.1 Curriculum
The term curriculum has mainly two definitions, according to Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics by Richards
and Schmidt (2002, p.139).
1 an overall plan for a course or programme, as in the freshman composition curriculum.
2 the total programme of formal studies offered by a school or institution, as in the secondary school curriculum.
Many other definitions have been attempted by others, however, the Curriculum Reform project (hereafter CR) analysed here refers
to the second definition above, within which there are a number of language courses that can be identified with their respective
syllabi. The technical approach, according to Willis (1998), views curriculum as “a plan of what is to happen in school (p.340)” andthat fits the view of the project. For a curriculum to be educational, according to McKernan (2008), it should lead students tounanticipated outcomes. At University A, teachers make the language curriculum based on their knowledge and values, andexecutives at the university are the ultimate policy makers who evaluate the planned curriculum, based on objective and visible
results. Consequently, the curriculum is planned to reach those measurable goals.
167

Polyglossia Volume 22, March 2012

1.2 Syllabus
I would like to borrow a line from van Lier (1996) here, who advises that the “teacher should have a very ‘thick’ curriculum
available, but perhaps only a very ‘thin’ syllabus (p.205).” The term syllabus refers to “a description of the contents of a course of
instruction and the other in which they are to be taught” according to Richards and Schmidt (2002, p.532), or simply a design ofwhat to teach and learn. You could even say it is a sort of travel guide (van Lier, 1996). At University A, in the past, English
language syllabi were content-based, with topics such as environmental issues and intercultural communication. According to White(1998, p.110), when “the aim is to develop a flexible and adaptable control over the target language, a process or a proceduralsyllabus is likely to be more appropriate.” The major syllabus type now is that of skills-based, or multi-skill instruction, which“follows the principles of the communicative approach” (Hinkel, 2006, p.113), with each chapter or module revolving around topics.
Each class within one level although taught by different instructors, follows the exact same syllabus, and each level has a different
syllabus but follows the same structure and shares many qualities. How teachers present the materials to classes is up to eachteacher. A skills-centred course generally presents its learning objectives in terms of performance and competence (Hutchinson andWaters, 1987), and so do University A’s syllabi.
1.3 Curriculum Development
Curriculum development, which is often synonymous with curriculum design and syllabus design, is “the study and development of
the goals, content, implementation, and evaluation of an educational system” (Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p.140). When curriculum
is reformed, it is designed so as to change the contents, methods or outcomes of education (Johnson, 2009). This should include
needs analysis, objectives setting and evaluation. I argue that University A’s curriculum development, which is a process involving
many stages, started with a rather weak needs analysis, but employed a thorough objective setting from the teachers’ viewpoints.
Johnson may have taken a technical view of curriculum development, but McKernan (2008) defines it clearly as something to
improve the current practice, saying, “curriculum development is the process of planning, implementing and evaluating courses ofstudy, or patterns of educational activity, which have been offered as proposals for improvement” (p.32). I agree with McKernan’s
viewpoint and believe that any curriculum change should not be called ‘development’ unless it ‘improves’ aspects of the current
curriculum.
2. LANGUAGE CURRICULA BEFORE SPRING 2011
The language subjects at the university are planned and implemented by the Center for Language Education (hereafter CLE), which
is an institute within the university but does not belong to either of the two major subject colleges. Within the CLE there are three
sections, namely English, Japanese and Asia Pacific Languages. Under the curriculum implemented in 2006, many of theJapanese-basis students who need English instruction take two four-credit English courses each semester. Each course meets fourdays a week for a period of fifteen weeks. Students must complete Intermediate English 1 and 2, which can take one to threesemesters depending on the level students are first placed in. In one semester, several hundred students receive 120 hours worth ofEnglish instruction in a four-month period. The table below shows its overall structure.

168

A Critical Review of an On-going University English Curriculum Reform ProjectIntroduction to English (4 credits)↓
Fundamental English 1 (4 credits)+↓

Fundamental English 2 (4 credits)↓

Intermediate English 1 (4 credits)+

Intermediate English 2 (4 credits)↓
Advanced English 1 (4 credits)(Elective)↓
Advanced English 2 (4 credits)(Elective)

Table 1. English Program Overview under 2006 Curriculum
2.1 Theories Behind the 2006 Curriculum
The reviewer does not know exactly what educational theories the former curricula are based on. Slattery (2006) criticizes schoolsfor proclaiming its philosophy for mission statements but not clearly articulating their real concerns and problems. In this sense,
University A does articulate its mission statement, but whether they are addressed in the 2006 Curriculum is not known. The bestindicators are found in internal documents such as minutes from executive reviews and directors’ meetings. According to thedirector of CLE, University A’s traditional idea has been as follows: “Because all the students are required to raise their English
proficiency to the TOEFL 500 level at least, they must learn English until they reach this level in the compulsory subjects” (CLE
meeting minute, 18 May 2010). The philosophy of education underlining this statement is that of curriculum as product, in which
language is considered to be some kind of knowledge learners acquire and regurgitate in the form of test result. The university sets
this benchmark, because a TOEFL Paper-Based Test score of 500 is considered to be the minimum requirement in order to study at
North American universities. Bachman (1989) stipulates that standardized tests like TOEFL are unsuitable for formative evaluation,
but at the same time indicates its usefulness for the summative evaluation of a program. TOEFL is originally a norm-reference test,
the purpose of which is to “spread students out along a continuum of abilities or proficiencies” (Brown, 1995, p.115). However, thevast majority of educational institutions rely on the quality of TOEFL so much that people use it also as a criterion-reference test, toassess progress from the beginning to the end of a course, or to measure program effectiveness. Since the university supports thisoutcome-based education, the grade components in mandatory classes include certain target scores for TOEFL, even though lessons
are not tailored toward this commercial test. It is clear that the university has an obsession with such assessment-based pedagogies
and standardized outcomes.
2.2 The Ideal Shift
The CLE has used the TOEFL maximum score at the end of each semester as one measure of how much students improved theirEnglish ability. The CLE defines the highest score out of all the TOEFL and TOEIC scores that a student achieved by the end ofeach semester since his/her enrollment as the “maximum TOEFL score.” TOEIC scores are converted into TOEFL equivalent scores.
Considering the trend of recent university enrolees and the actual score growth over the course of their study, the TOEFL 500
benchmark seems obsolete. There are mainly two reasons for this argument. One is that the average English competency of theenrolees is on the decline. Japanese university students are reported to have lower competitiveness compared with students in othercountries in recent years (Kaneko, 2008). The other is when we examine the TOEFL scores spread over the past decade we caneasily find that students’ English proficiency is becoming more polarized than ever before. Both the rate of students who score169

Polyglossia Volume 22, March 2012

above 500 and that of students below 400 are on the increase. Over the course of their study, however, more than half of the students
improve their scores in one year, while some of them remain in the same proficiency level. Such trends in the data have helped CLE
directors shift their focus away from TOEFL, as can be seen in a statement by the CLE director. According to the ideal of University
A:“Higher level students have to make efforts aiming at a much higher level without being satisfied with their current
level, so we proposed that all the students must belong to either track, the Standard or the Advanced. At the same time,
we insist that students need much more time to learn English continuously in order to reach the required level. In thissense, we propose to abolish the current exemption system that has allowed the students not to study in consecutive
semesters. Ideally, every student should take 24 credits in accordance with their level, but this is unrealistic because
the CLE will run short of faculty members. Therefore, we proposed the current structure with two streams in theStandard Track” (CLE memo, 18 May, 2010).
As a result, certain decisions were made that reduced the weight of TOEFL scores.
2.3 Evaluation of the Old Curriculum
From the reviewer’s perspective, the view of education the university executives hold is not compatible with the actual
implementers, the teachers. As Graves (1996) exemplifies, two issues need to be considered for evaluation: how a teacher evaluates
students’ progress, and how she evaluates the course effectiveness. As has been displayed above, University A’s means of evaluation
has been through the TOEFL scores. However, language teachers are aware that the scores of a norm-referenced test that tests
receptive skills only cannot evaluate the course effectiveness.
3. ENGLISH CURRICULUM REFORM PROCESS
3.1 Trend at University A
Although it is not explicitly stated anywhere, the university overall has a custom of following a five-year curriculum reform cycle.
The reviewer joined the curricular program of the English section at University A in the spring of 2007, when a 2006 curriculum
was on its second year. Changes to individual courses within the CLE happened constantly. For instance, in the fall of 2007, twoteachers were tasked to create a new syllabus and teaching contents for an introductory level in about three months, to be
implemented in the spring of 2008. The motivation for this change was two-fold. First, the classes were taught by outsourced
lecturers, and there was a need to integrate teaching content with the main program. Second, the classes employed communicative
language learning but did not focus on fundamental writing or grammar, which seemed to cause problems when students moved up
to higher levels in the program. On another occasion, a group of teachers was formed to overhaul the syllabus for an intermediate
English course in the fall of 2008, which was implemented in 2009. Since as early as the year 2008, there were talks among teachers
who suspected that the whole university curriculum would change. The university-wide reform discussions did not materialize until
2009, but the CLE did not wait for the university to come down with decisions; rather, CLE prepared and proposed their ideal
changes in order to make certain the changes would occur on time. The curriculum reform process was long and involved manymembers of the program. Below is a summary of the CR implementation phase.
Phase & Time

ActionInitiation

Creation of curriculum overview

Fall 2008
Needs Analysis

Student survey

Spring 2009

Outlining target student profile
Creation of mission statement, goals170

A Critical Review of an On-going University English Curriculum Reform Project

Outlining each track and electives
Creating skills rubrics for current & new programs
Summer 2009
Fall 2009

Proposal submission for summer review
Discussion of fundamental policies to inform new curriculum
Planning Faculty Development (FD) workshops

Phase 1: Finalization

Finalization of English Curriculum Proposal

Spring 2010

Publishers’ visit
Textbooks selection

Phase 2: Introduction

FD sessions to introduce and discuss aspects of the new curriculum

Spring 2010

Creation of syllabi
Development of criteria to select supplementary materials and compilation of these materials

Phase 3: Preparation

FD sessions to discuss aspects of the new curriculum

Fall 2010

Forum presentation at a national conference on language teaching to introduce the reform process
Compilation of supplementary materials
Trial of selected materials, procedures and methods of evaluation in current courses
Creation of Blackboard (web learning tools) sections to support courses in the new curriculum
Creation of the timetable for the new curriculum
Assignment of coordinators and teachers to courses in the program
Preparation of schedules and other documentation for each course
Creation of orientation materials for each course
Orientation meetings to brief faculty on the new courses
Development of a system for evaluating and revising the program, and individual courses within it.

Phase 4: Implementation

Full implementation of all aspects of the new curriculum

Spring 2011
Phase 5: Evaluation andAssessing the curriculum

Revision
Table 2. Curriculum Implementation Timeline
The above phases were proposed early in 2010, and have been adhered to. It is expected that the curriculum will take two to
three years to fully implement. In view of the fact that a major curriculum reform occurs approximately every five years at
University A, the new curriculum is expected to last for three to five years. Therefore, at the three to four-year mark, acomprehensive evaluation of the curriculum should be undertaken, and the five-phase process outlined above should be re-initiated.
3.2 Design of the New Curriculum
I concur with the statement made by Dubin and Olshtain (1986) that the new program should be an improvement to the existing one,but this was not exactly why University A developed a new one. As the whole university was trying to reform the entire curriculum,
the decision initially came from the top, down. It is essential to begin the development process with a thorough survey of existing
curricula. Dubin and Olshtain (1986) raise five basic components to be examined: (a) the existing curriculum and syllabus, (b) the
materials in use, (c) the teacher population, (d) the learners, and (e) the resources of the program. These 5 components, however,were not covered in University A. Course developers should have an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing
program in order to develop a better one. In the paragraphs to follow, I will examine the most important components of the reform

171

Polyglossia Volume 22, March 2012

process, namely, who contributed and how, what roles learners served, objectives of the reform, how materials were selected, andfinally how all of these were managed.
Track

Placement

Subject Titles

Advanced

Completed

Extensive Reading

2

Reading(Elective)

compulsory courses

English Project 22

4 skills

English for Business 1

2

4 skills

English for Business 2

2

4 skills

Advanced English 2A

4

Debate, reading, writing

Advanced English 2B

2

Critical thinking, writing

Advanced English 1A

4

Listening, speaking, writing,

Advanced

TOEFL 525-550(Compulsory)
TOEFL 500-524

Credits

Skill Objectives

academic skills
Advanced English 1B

2

Reading, academic skills↑ Students may take Advanced English 1A & B once they completed 2 Standard Track electives
Standard

Completed

English for Business Writing

2

Business writing(Elective)

compulsory courses

English for Business Presentations

2

Business presentation

English Project 1

2

4 skills

Discussion and Debate

2

Speaking

Upper-Intermediate English A

4

Listening, speaking, writing

Upper-Intermediate English B

2

Reading

Intermediate English A

4

Listening, speaking, writing

Intermediate English B

2

Reading

Pre-Intermediate English A

4

Listening, speaking, writing

Pre-Intermediate English A

2

ReadingElementary English A

4Grammar, reading, writing

Elementary English B

2

Listening, speaking

Standard

TOEFL 480-499(Compulsory)
TOEFL 460-479
TOEFL 420-459
TOEFL 310-419

Table 3. English Program Overview under 2011 Curriculum
3.3 Development Team Contributors: Who was involved?
I strongly agree with McKernan (2008, p.6) that teachers have “a role to play in curriculum decisions, inquiry and improvement” asprofessional educators. Troudi and Alwan (2010) also recommend involving teachers in the curriculum development process for
affective factors. The English Curriculum Committee, hereafter ECC, was the driving force of the curriculum implementation. The
committee consisted of the English section director, deputy-directors and level coordinators. During phase 2 and 3, level
coordinators led groups of volunteers who worked on different skills. Later in phase 3, teachers grouped into different levels thatthey wished to teach, including elective classes. The preparation of the new syllabi and materials continued up until the very
beginning of the implementation phase. During this time, some faculty members left their positions or new members joined thefaculty. A great difficulty we faced with our curriculum innovation was an increase in teachers’ workload, as is pointed out by White(1998, p.114) – “Such an increase can occur at all stages: in preparing for the change (through staff meetings, workshops, in-service
courses); in planning lessons and materials; in the classroom itself (through having to adopt new roles and techniques); and after thelesson (in the marking of assignments and tests or processing questionnaire or interview data). Any important change in language

172

A Critical Review of an On-going University English Curriculum Reform Projectcurriculum will – indeed, should – involve such extra work.” All this has been experienced at University A.
As mentioned earlier, the process of this curriculum development began as a top-down innovation, or “power-coercive”, toborrow the term of Nation and Macalister (2010, p.177), but the actual change agent were teachers in classrooms who assisted theinnovation process. As the teachers saw reasons for the curriculum reform, and because they participated willingly to make thechanges, the approach to CR was that of “normative-re-educative” (Nation and Macalister, 2010, p.177). White (1998, p.118) also
notes, “If an innovation is indigenous to an institution, the process will tend to be from the bottom-up, whereas an innovation
introduced from outside may follow a top-down process.” In this case, the development teams identified their roles, specified theirtasks, and introduced changes with the help of other instructors, which helped the innovation seem less top-down. Nunan (1988,
p.14) advocates that effective “curriculum development is largely a matter of effective teacher development … that curriculum
change will only find its way into the classroom if teachers themselves become the principal agents of curriculum change throughcritical analysis and reflection on their current performance.” McKernan (2008) supports this by maintaining that “there could be noeffective curriculum development without teacher development” (p.19). This is so true because it is the teachers who will change
the materials, teaching and evaluation methods carried out in curriculum change.
Van Lier (1996) states that the first task in curriculum renewal is to examine and make explicit teachers’ theory, so as to makepedagogical decisions. I do not think there were thorough discussions on teachers’ theory of teaching. Nor do I know whether any ofthe development team members had received proper training to design course materials, which is a common issue all over (Dubin &Olshtain, 1986). Nevertheless, all of them had, to different degrees, had experiences coordinating the on-going program and there
was no other choice but to get involved. Nunan (1988, p.172) assures us that “there is no such thing as an ‘experienced’ teacher, if
by experienced is meant a teacher who can, at a moment’s notice and with minimal support, plan, implement and evaluate a course
in any area of the Program.” Therefore, there is no need to feel “I am not experienced enough to create a new course” because we
all need support from all sources. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that some teachers, including myself, often felt unprepared or
inexperienced for this innovation to succeed. Therefore, I conclude here that in any curriculum innovation, if teachers are invited tocontribute, these teachers need to be informed, encouraged and trained in the field of curriculum development and evaluation wellahead of time.
3.4 Preparing Teachers for the Upcoming Change
All teachers need to adjust their established beliefs or methodologies to the new curriculum, but this is not easy for most people(Wedell, 2009). At the early stage in 2010, ECC held two sessions that were fundamental to the implementation of the new
curriculum. The first was to discuss and confirm the fundamental policies that would shape the new curriculum, such as thefollowing.
a.

Teacher and learner roles and expectationsb.

Classroom procedures and techniquesc.

Use of educational technology in the classroomd.

Classroom management, especially discipline, providing feedback, and motivating studentse.

Participation and attendancef.

Language of instruction in the classroomg.

Role of independent learning and the Self Access Learning Centerh.

Use of our multicultural campusi.

Counselling and advising studentsj.

Purpose of level meetingsk.

Policy on plagiarisml.

Connection of English curriculum to University A's mission
173

Polyglossia Volume 22, March 2012

Arriving at the same understanding among the ECC members was crucial since they are the ones who communicate the ideologiesof the new curriculum to lecturers. For instance, some lecturers may have believed they are here to teach our students content, and it
is ECC’s job to make clear that we are heading toward a skills-focused syllabus. The other was to make a Faculty Development(FD) schedule for 2010 that would support the implementation plan. However, whether FD workshops did serve as a tool for
individual teacher development was not assessed. Therefore, self-evaluation of this in-service training will be beneficial.
3.5 Surveying the Existing Program
If I am to point out the lack of other possible participants for the curriculum reform, it is the minimal involvement by students.
Students’ voices in this process were collected from selected samples. The development group conducted a student survey toanalyse students’ needs in the spring of 2009, which partially informed the decisions made later that year. A total of 225 students
took the survey (Advanced level: 12, Intermediate: 124, Fundamental: 73, Introductory: 16). The summary of the survey revealed
the following points:
Teachers’ beliefs about our students were fairly accurate.



We should focus on having the core skills fore-grounded from the beginning of the ‘track’.



Lower level students are not finding implication or critical thinking to be of great importance, but it is necessary for their
TOEFL study.



We need to do a better job of making our goals clear to our students.

Based on the needs analysis and taking into consideration the university’s goals, the team spelled out the following: linguistic
profile of our target student, our own mission statement, goals of each “track”, an outline of different courses, their objectives, order,
the number of credits required, and the methods of evaluation. The proposal went through many versions, discussions and meetings
until it was approved at the university review, where the CLE director presented the reform plans to the university executives.
3.6 Objectives of the New Curriculum
Objectives, in the words of van Lier (1996, p.3), are “specific outcomes or products of courses which are outlined in a syllabus” thatguide teachers. At the same time, “they also help learners understand where the course is going and why” (van Lier, 1996, p.3). In
order to express objectives, the curriculum reform team created rubrics, or scope and sequence charts, with proficiency scores,
performance objectives such as language skill attainments in each level identified both through literature and through program
knowledge, all of which did not exist under the previous curricula. Graves (1996, p.20) also comments, “The teacher’s challenge is
to figure out which ones are appropriate for her course and how she will integrate them. They will be described and then outlined ina syllabus grid, which will be added to with each successive component.” We do this at University A to plan out the content of eachcourse. As the courses have skills-based features, objectives for each level and skill were identified. In order to examine what isachieved now and what needs to be continued or added, each skill team – speaking, reading, listening, writing, grammar, and testingteams – identified both old and new goals, in the form of CAN-DO statements. We referred to various indicators available, such as
TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, CEFR, and several more. We also paid attention to what skills are newly presented or reviewed. Hull(1996) stresses the importance of implementing achievement criteria “in a way that allows for creativity and initiative whileproviding for quality control” (p.192). This allowance of creativity was also one of our themes for the development, which waspresented at a conference in 2010. Nunan’s (1989) well-established idea seems to echo in that the planned curriculum should be
used more as a general guide rather than a strict manual. Objectives of the English program, which actually did not change from thelast curriculum, are spelled out in the English Teacher’s Handbook.
“Taking into consideration the mission and objectives of the university, the University A English program aims to cultivate ineach student the English language knowledge and skills that they will need in order to communicate clearly and confidently with
their fellow students, participate in lecture courses in English during their programs of study and use English in their working
lives following graduation. As part of their English language development, students will also receive support with test-taking
174

A Critical Review of an On-going University English Curriculum Reform Projectskills and will work to achieve higher scores on standardized tests such as the TOEFL and the TOEIC” (English Teachers
Handbook Spring 2011, p.2).
Since the English curriculum was planned around these objectives, one can say that it is the Objectives Model (McKernan, 2008).
Considering the curriculum ideologies identified by McKernan (2008), I believe University A at the surface level at least follows atechnical-behavioral ideology in which both students’ and teachers’ performances are accounted for, and the educational institution
is considered to be a preparation ground for the outside world. In other words, the university degree is, for students, a way toemployment. However, I also notice that teachers seek a personal-caring ideology, in which they are concerned with thedevelopment of their learners as a person, by promoting autonomous learning and nurturing confidence and leadership throughout
the curriculum. The reviewer personally associates strongly with this ideology, and believes that teachers should be a carer andadvisor even if that is not the main focus of their job description.
3.7 Use of Textbooks
There are three strategies to find the materials that meet the students’ needs, called adopting, developing, and adapting. In adopting
materials, 4 steps are suggested by Brown (1995): (1) deciding what kinds of materials are necessary, (2) locating the materials forconsideration, (3) selecting the materials, and (4) reviewing the materials as the language program progresses. The use of newmaterials, as Nunan (1988, p.19) observes, “will almost certainly have an effect on methodology and the sorts of learning activities
which take place in the classroom.” Under the 2006 curriculum, only the lowest level used textbooks. Van Lier (1996) affirms manyteachers “have a rather ambivalent attitude to language textbooks” (p.208). Some teachers cannot do without them, often because
they are required to use them. However, textbooks can prevent teachers from being innovative and creative. At the same time,
having textbooks helps create the balanced classroom as they “can provide the points of stability” (van Lier, 1996, p.208) for
students. Textbooks also support teachers as an objective pointer that guides and shows them the way. Upon the curriculum
development, the project leader was the one who suggested the use of commercially available series of textbooks. It would havemainly two benefits. One is that students’ transition from one level to another would be smooth if we have a series that matchedwith our objectives and levels of the students. The other is that the teachers’ class preparation time would be shortened once weobtain a textbook with teacher’s manual. The members of the development team agreed, and the investigation to find the mostsuitable textbook series took place.
Selection of the textbook series took a long and systematic approach. ECC reviewed literature on textbook selection, collected
textbook samples, invited several publishers to give presentations, and shortlisted several series that the English program would use
in most of the core courses. Based on recent literature on textbook selection, ECC created its own textbook selection criteria. We
considered appropriateness in light of the program, design and organization, usability, core skills, language foci, class activities andpractical considerations such as price and availability of hundreds of copies. At one of the FD workshops, all the participatingteachers reviewed books in groups using the selection criteria, discussing the pros and cons of each. We are all aware that “one size
never does fit all,” (Dubin & Olshtain, 1986, p.169) but in the end made the ultimate decision. Once a series of textbooks waschosen, the development of courses seemed to materialize.
3.8 Management and Leadership
Finally, I wish to discuss the roles of leaders who steered the whole project. Gross, Giacquinta, and Bernstein (1971, pp.210-211), inWhite (1998, p.142) suggest that subordinates have a right to expect management to do certain things:
1.

“To take the steps necessary to provide them with a clear picture of their new role requirements;

2.

To adjust organizational arrangements to make them compatible with the innovation;3.

To provide subordinates with necessary retraining experiences, which will be required if the capabilities for copingwith the difficulties of implementing the innovation are to develop;

4.

To provide the resources necessary to carry out the innovation;
175

Polyglossia Volume 22, March 20125.

To provide the appropriate supports and rewards to maintain subordinates’ willingness to make implementational
efforts.”

I think the above were more or less covered. However, White (1998, p.142) also remarks, “an educational manager should
1.

Take account of difficulties which teachers will probably be exposed to when they attempt to implement theinnovation.

2.

Provide for feedback mechanisms to identify and cope with barriers and problems arising during the period ofattempted implementation.”

The reviewer does not think these were considered, and would like to suggest taking them into account. Wedell (2009) discusses theroles of a leader in educational change. He mainly discusses state-level changes, but I think his observations also apply to local
contexts. I agree with Wedell’s points and feel the director of ECC fits perfectly well with the description, such as self-confidence,calmness, supportiveness and more. For the continuing efforts to evaluate and further develop the language curriculum presented
above, a leader needs to bear in mind the role as a coordinator. White (1998) again reminds us, that a coordinators’ role is not to
impose their own ideas on the English curriculum we introduced, but “to elicit, clarify, encourage, summarize and to keep the groupon target (p.146).” This is a task that can only be done with the assistance of other able members who may assume different roles,
such as needs analyst, researcher, and contents developer.
4. CHALLENGES OF THE NEW CURRICULUM
4.1 Evaluation of the New Curriculum
Nunan (1988, p.116) tells us, “No curriculum model would be complete without an evaluation component.” The act ofself-evaluation is vital to the institution. It will help teachers improve their teaching. Simons (1998) holds that self-evaluation not
only serves for its internal development, but also enables the school to “demonstrate and communicate the school’s achievements tothe broader community (p.366).” For universities, the public image of an institution is important, especially for admissions purpose.
It would be ideal to advertise the effects of the new curriculum to the outside world. In the spring of 2011, the new curriculum was
implemented, and now it is time to proceed to its evaluation. There are many factors to consider if we are to assess the success ofthe new curriculum. Even if we look at one course, several challenges can be addressed. At the micro level, for instance, problems
with Interactions Access textbook (Thrush, Baldwin and Blass, 2008) for Pre-Intermediate English courses are:

There is no explicit grammar focus. This has caused the lack of consistency in terms of grammar instruction.



The teacher’s manual is not helpful and contains many errors. Teachers need to create a lot of lesson plans, power point slides,
writing components, speaking assessments, and supplementary grammar worksheets.



The vocabulary targeted in the reading textbook is too easy for the learners.
At macro level, I could not say whether I was successful in involving all the teachers for course preparation. Dubin and

Olshtain (1986, p.173) mention, “No matter the number of people involved, a joint or team effort brings out idealized personality
types and special talents.” I could not reach this stage before the implementation, but after one semester I understand it more andhave successfully formed teams of reviewers and developers who are able and cooperative.
White (1998, p.115) also contends, “Finally, there is the question of evaluation. Since innovations are normally introduced so
as to ‘be more efficacious in accomplishing the goals of the system’ (Miles 1964, p.13), there is some obligation on those involved
to demonstrate that improvement has in fact occurred.” However, tracking students’ outcomes is quite difficult (Simons, 1998). I
think that University A’s CR was summative, but I am unsure as to whether it was based on an evaluation, and if so, what kind. Thiswas experienced in the recent CLE review in early August, in which the CLE director requested an answer: whether students
performed better or not. I consider the current situation as a formative assessment stage for the new curriculum. An important point
to bear in mind, to borrow words from White (1998, p.115), is that “products – that is, students’ learning – are supposedly to beassessed over a long span of time.” If, for instance, we are assessing an effect of the country-wide compulsory education, looking
176

A Critical Review of an On-going University English Curriculum Reform Project

over a decade would be the norm. The short-term effects could be observed in visible measurements such as proficiency tests scores,
or the success rate of job hunting for this university with students wishing to work at international venues. Still, effects ofcurriculum innovation may be viewed over a much longer term, perhaps even a lifetime.
4.2 Toward Teacher Development
One of the issues produced by the new registration system, which was already raised before implementation, was this: Because
registration will be automatically made in the compulsory language subjects under the new curriculum, there could be complaints
against faculty members. In the past, students were able to select for which teachers’ classes they wanted to register. Since this is notpossible anymore, some students might complain about the lack of choice. The best way to avoid this is to strengthen faculty
development programs, so that all classes are taught at the same standard. I would like to suggest a few strategies to promoteteacher development at CLE. Firstly, Carless (2004, p.640) advises us, “To begin to analyse an innovation’s success, it is necessary
to learn how teachers are carrying it out in classrooms at schools where the innovative curriculum is supposedly being
implemented.” As I referred to Nunan above at 3.3, teachers should critically analyse and reflect on their performances to really
implement and digest the new curriculum. At the moment, the CLE does not have a structured class observation scheme. Althoughpeer observation is encouraged, not many teachers do it, so this could be one area to pursue. Van Lier (1996) writes that teachers are
given time to plan but not to reflect. Conducting peer review and sitting down with colleagues to reflect on lessons would be one
step forward. Secondly, as Troudi and Alwan (2010) indicate, curriculum reform planners need to take into account the affective
issues among teachers. I consider it is beneficial if we consider the curriculum reform as an on-going development process, andfurther promote action research among teachers.
5. CONCLUSION
This review of the on-going curriculum reform has led to the following recommendations. It is imperative to conduct on-goingprogram evaluation over a long period of time, together with the development of teaching staff. The faculty can investigate the mostsuitable teaching materials and methodologies through peer review and action research, combined with a review of literature insimilar contexts. The following questions can be researched in the future: (1) How do English language teachers feel about‘curriculum change’? (2) Did the teachers’ practices change because of the new curriculum? (3) How do teachers’ involvements informing curriculum influence them as educators? These questions may be answered through an exploratory study among theEnglish program teachers. Other considerations may include establishing a systematized evaluation cycle, and investigation of theeffectiveness of the curriculum change on students’ achievement.
References
Bachman, L. F. (1989). The development and use of criterion-referenced tests of language proficiency in language program
evaluation. In K. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Brown, J.D. (1995). The Elements of Language Curriculum. New York: Heinle and Heinle.
Carless, D. (2004). Issues of teachers’ reinterpretation of task-based innovation in primary schools. TESOL Quarterly, 38 (4),639-662.
Dubin, F. & Olshtain, E. (1986). Course design: Developing programs and materials for language learning. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Center for Language Education. (2011). English Teacher’s Handbook. Oita: Center for Language Education, Ritsumeikan Asia
Pacific University.
Graves, K. (1996). Teachers as course developers: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gross, N., Giacquinta, J.B. & Bernstein, M. (1971). Implementing Organizational Innovations: A Sociological Analysis of Planned
Educational Change. New York: Harper and Row.
177

Polyglossia Volume 22, March 2012

Hinkel, E. (2006). Current perspectives on teaching the four skills. TESOL Quarterly, 40 (1), 109-132.
Hull, L. (1996). A curriculum framework for corporate language programs. In Graves, K. (Ed.) Teachers as course developers. (pp.
176-202). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning-centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Johnson, K. (2009). Second Language Teacher Education: a Sociocultural Perspective. New York: Routledge.
Kaneko, T. (2009). Kyoiku kaikakuno kadaito kihon koso. (Challenges of Educational Reform and Fundamental Structures.) Tokyo:
Kazama Shobo. 金子照基「教育改革の課題と基本構想―「第四の教育改革」をめざして―」風間書房
Nation, P. & Macalister, J. (2009). Language curriculum design. London: Routledge.
Nunan, D. (1988) The learner centred curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, D. (1989). Hidden agendas: the role of the learner in programme implementation. In Johnson, K.R. (1989) (Ed.) The second
language curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McKernan, J. (2007). Curriculum and imagination: Process, theory, pedagogy and action research. London: Routledge.
Miles, M. B. (Ed.) (1964). Innovation in Education. New York: Teachers College Colombia University.
Richards. J. & Schmidt, R. (2002). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Harlow: Pearson.
Simons, H. (1998). Developing curriculum through school self-evaluation. In Beyer, L. E. & Apple, M. W. (Eds.), The curriculum:
Problems, politics and possibilities. (pp.358-379). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Slattery, P. (2006). Curriculum development in the postmodern era (Second edition). New York: Routledge.
Thrush, E., Baldwin, R. & Blass, L. (2007). Interactions Access Listening/Speaking, Silver Edition. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
Troudi. S. & Alwan, F. (2010). Teachers’ feelings during curriculum change in the United Arab Emirates: Opening Pandora’s box.
Teacher Development, 14 (1), 107-121.
van Lier, L. (1996) Interaction in the language curriculum. Harlow: Longman.
Wedell, M. (2009). Planning for educational change: Putting people and their context first. New York: Continuum.
White, R. (1998) The ELT curriculum: Design, innovation and management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Willis, G. (1998). The human problems and possibilities of curriculum evaluation. In Beyer, L. E. & Apple, M. W. (Eds.), The
curriculum: Problems, politics and possibilities. (pp.339-357). Albany: State University of New York Press.

178