The Role of an ESL Curriculum

Abstract

An ESL (English as a Second Language) curriculum plays a significant role wherever English as a Second Language is formally taught and if it is gbod quality it creates a sustainable ESL classroom with a pleasant and friendly atmosphere for the learners. A curriculum precisely prescribes what is given, and a curriculum framework provides teachers with clear goals and objectives for making creative, focused and results-oriented syllabi and lesson plans that improve learning and impress students. A great curriculum framework is a powerful tool for student retention and this research shows what the atmosphere in the university classroom was like in the absence of such an ESL curriculum and how it spoilt the teacher-students forum in university general English classrooms, with special reference to the faculty of Humanities and Social sciences of the University of Ruhuna. The present study also investigates how English as a Second Language can be effectively and systematically taught with the help of an ESL curriculum. The strategies that should be taken into consideration in an ESL curriculum and the way they are applied to the ELTU mechanism will be discussed. A special attention will be paid to the steps given by Hedge on ESL curriculum. Different questionnaires were given to both Arts students and the teachers of the ELTU.