Challenges of a Content-Based Syllabus in a Freshman English Context in Turkey

Abstract

The selection of a particular syllabus design; what to teach and in which order, would inadvertently reflect the beliefs and values on 'language' and 'language learning' as the types of syllabus are also manifestations of how the nature of language and language learning viewed. While most Freshman English Programs seem to reflect the common practices of 'compartmentalized' nature of the Turkish education system where students are divided into science and social majors and receive ESP or EAP, a pioneering Freshman English Program at Istanbul Sehir University has been integrating literary texts; short stories and novels in an attempt to transform the idea of 'language as a rule-based system' into 'language as a socio-semantic system'. This paper will present a brief overview of the initial stage of this pioneering thematic content based syllabus put in action in 2015-2016 academic year sharing the underlying reasons behind the course design and the challenges faced in the attempts of aiming to build on cultural competence, language and critical thinking skills with a communicative approach helping students to respond to the demands of a tertiary education at their best abilities.