This file explains well the definition of a curriculum and clarifies all about the Algerian middle school English curriculum

1. THE CURRICULUM
An Introduction to the Algerian Curriculum of English for Middle
School 2015
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Though none is sure about the future , nations are working hard to provide the best of
educational curricula, as major means to equip their citizens with the best thought and
needed skills and competences to control that future by understanding the different
subjects,to be able to step out of their comfort zone and try new living experiences.
For education, the curriculum is still a complex concept because the term itself is used in a
number of different contexts by theorists themselves.
As a teacher ,then ,I would define a curriculum as a lesson plan , as daily lessons , as the
whole plan of what is supposed to happen inside the school , as all the activities and
objectives that are to be achieved for a certain period or as a set of courses constituting an
area of specialization.
In deed , the curriculum as a huge concept can include all the concepts which have relation
to all the expectations for what will be taught and what students will do and will learn a
content study.
Looking at the big number of curriculum definitions in education provided on the net ,one
will sure confirm how huge is that concept in education.
As simple as it can be , a curriculum can be defined as the heart of the school as it guides the
teaching/learning process by giving teachers specific scopes of what to teach ,how and
when.
A little from curricula development , would start by Ralph Tyler 's, considered as the father
of modern curriculum, his proposal of curriculum model is developed by firstly identifying
goals and objectives which can be the syllabus , then listing , organizing and grading learning
experiences which can be methodology and finally, finding means for determining whether

2. the goals and objectives have been achieved ,which represents the assessment and
evaluation.
Inspired by lawrence Stenhouse , David Nunan in his book Task-based language teaching
explained how he was inspired by Stenhouse' perspective to curriculum, by emphasizing
process as well as product.
The Australian linguist David Nunan drew a distinction between the curriculum as a plan
which refers to the process and products that are drawn up prior to teaching, this consists of
three elements: Syllabus design which is concerned with selecting , sequencing , and
justifying content. Methodology which is concerned with selecting . sequencing and
justifying learning experiences and assessment and evaluation which is concerned with the
selection of assessment tools and procedures. Curriculum as an action which refers to the
moment-by -moment experiences of the classroom . finally, curriculum as outcome which
refers to what students actually learn as result of the teaching process.
On her personal blog ,Bri Staugher a member of Applied Educational Systems group
presented the project curriculum as eight essential components:1-Purpose That refers to the
need which the curriculum will fulfill for the class , the community or the education as a
whole. 2-Standards alignment That is to ensure the needed degree of uniformity in
curriculum to nation values , culture
and school missions indicated by the law , to help citizens gain the proper knowledge ang
skills to succeed in life.
3-Outcome It refers to the official list of goals or objectives we want our students to know or
be able to do at the end of the teaching period.4-Essential resources They include all
material needed for students when learning and all material for teachers when teaching.5-
Strategy framework It shows the different teaching approaches and methods teachers will
use to help learners learn.6- Course syllabus This includes the specific content or
information that will be taught in the class.7-Assessment method That can tell about
learners achievement level , it helps informing parents , administrators how we will
measure success among students.8- Capstone project It is the final assessment of the class
which is used to gauge how much students have learned. This can be a final exam as it can be
a presentation or a graded project.
For the Algerian school, rewriting the curriculum for teaching &Learning English in the
middle school was a great step towards harmony with modernity. Provided in May 2015 ,
the curriculum of English language still encompasses the guidelines for teaching English in
the middle school to what meets with the coherent legislative framework regulating our
educational system.
From the last perspective of curriculum components , an introduction to the Algerian
curriculum would be as follows:
For the purpose of teaching English in the middle school , the 2015 curriculum has the
following goals :• To help our society to live in harmony with modernity by providing the
learner with linguistic tools essential for efficient communication
• To promote national and universal values
• To develop critical thinking, tolerance and openness to the world
• To contribute to the shaping of a good citizen , aware of the changes and challenges of
today and tomorrow
• To give every learner the opportunity to have access to science , technology and world
culture while avoiding the dangers of acculturation.
The orientation law on National Education N 08-04-23 January 2008 has well set the
missions to the Algerian school .As to prepare the Algerian citizen for the future , the
Algerian school has the mission to make students demonstrate good citizenship , community
service and personal responsibilities throughout three major missions: Education ,
socialization and qualification. By learning English , the curriculum of English will support

3. students' socialization by helping them open up to the world by acquiring this
communicative tool , he will be able to exchange ideas , views and vision of the world within
his community members and within English speakers community as well.
In addition , and to align to the core values set for the Algerian school , the English
curriculum has well demonstrated its contribution to the shaping of the civic character of
the future citizen by aligning to the core values stated:- National identity , National
conscience , Citizenship and openness to the word. Including:
-Democratic behaviour
-Good conduct
-Being loyal towards the institution
-honesty
-Value of work , efforts and excellence achievement
-Tolerance/Accepting differences
-Modernity and scientific culture
-Respecting differences
-Cultural awareness , understanding the others
-Conflict resolutions
-Rights and duties
-Collaborative work and social happiness
By the end of the middle school , students will be able to integrate using English for learning
and communicating as they will be able to interact , interpret and produce oral and written
messages of average complexity in situations related to their environment and interests.
Besides focusing on the learner will enable him to actively engage in deeper acquisition of
knowledge and development of a number of interdependent competences: Interaction ,
interpretation and production through oral and written learning domains. With a cross-
curricular teaching & learning the English curriculum aims at helping learners acquire the
listed cross-curricular competences:-Intellectual -Methodological -communicative -Personal
and Social.
Concerning the resources the teachers use to teach and learners use to learn English in the
middle school to achieve the goals of the curriculum, four level-course books were provided
aligning to the curriculum recommendations, in addition to needed written supports, audio
files and many suggested online resources for teachers ( teachers guide pages 89-96).
About the strategy framework ,considering the major guiding principles of teaching English
in the middle school including:
a. The development of communication competence in English : The goal is to prepare the
learner for oral and written communication
b. The learner is in the centre of the learning process : The pedagogical act is no longer
based on the transmission of knowledge but it involves the construction of knowledge ,
taking into account the learner’s interests, likes and dislikes, etc
c. There is a constant interaction between teacher, learner , resources, at school and outside
school : The role of the teacher is to involve the child in his own learning and to help him to
learn how to learn.
Learner centeredness is one core method in 2015 curriculum besides the communicative
approach since it is accepted the language is more than a set of grammatical rules with sets
of vocabulary to be memorized. Additionally , the competency based approach is highly
advised since learning as asocial process is highly emphasized as well , and that is what the
following nine guiding principles of the curriculum focus on too:1- English facilitates two-
way communication with the world 2-Communicative competence is the aim of language
learning
3- Successful learning depends on supported and purposeful development 4-Meaningful
activities/tasks support and encourage

4. learning 5-Learning is an active, evolving process 6- Assessment of learning should be
ongoing 7- Active Learners 8- Facilitator 9- Supportive Learning Environment and
Classroom Management
Learning through project based approach is an other core approach recommended in 2015
curriculum , as a tool to provide opportunities for students to engage deeply in their
learning.
as to make learning meaningful and creative for the learners , cross-curricular learning is
then recommended in the middle school , thus teaching English has a great contribution to
teaching other subjects and vice Versa since learning through interconnected topics is
proved engaging and motivating.
To make learning more effective , the curriculum has recommended the task -based
language teaching to ensure the link of the classroom language learning with language use
outside the classroom to meet the real life communicative tasks.
by helping learners experience , analyze and decide on solutions for the problem solving
tasks suggested in the classroom and to reach that level of thinking strategies , teching
through problem solving tasks and situations is highly advised by the curriculum 2015
which has emphasized organizing teaching into different situations called teaching
situations.
For the course syllabus , the English curriculum has provided a full yearly syllabus for the
four middle school levels developed from the core conceptual framework .
One crucial component of the English middle school curriculum is how to gauge students'
progress in the classroom , for that the curriculum has emphasized the function of the
ongoing assessment and teachers' related competences as well. As assessment methods,
three proved effective ones were recommended: Diagnostic assessment , formative
assessment and
formal or summative one .
As the capstone project of any curriculum is the final assessment of the teaching class , the
English middle school capstone project is the certification BEM exam for which the
curriculum has supplemented many guidelines and building criteria.
Additionally , mini sequence projects were suggested to engage and motivate learners
researching , understanding and using information to train them learning to learn as a core
objective of all 21st century curricula.
As an educator , I can say that each teacher is a curriculum for his own students , living
together day after day ,each teacher can change positively his students' lives by being that
great human model that students will remember for the rest of their lives.
Saliha Khebizi
Raining Wednesday,December 9th,2020
Watch the content on You Tube channel:
Teachinlearning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWEwuD3l
mHA