So far we have looked at some of the necessary background to drawing up a syllabus – needs analysis and indications of students' difficulties. Now it is appropriate to look at the syllabus itself. Basically, a syllabus is a specification of what is to be included in a language course. Designing a syllabus involves examining needs analyses and establishing goals. It then entails the selection, grading and sequencing of the language and other content, and the division of the content into units of manageable material.

The methodology employed in implementing the syllabus will include materials selection and development, and will involve a selection of the learning tasks, activities and exercise types, and how they are to be presented, in a particular environment, for teaching and learning; it will conclude with assessment and evaluation. In other words, in a simplified sense, the syllabus is concerned with ‘what’ and the methodology with ‘how’. Together they cover the planning, implementation and evaluation of a language course. Excellent descriptions and discussions of syllabus design are included in Robinson (1991), Nunan (1988a; 1988b), Hutchinson and Waters (1987), McDonough (1984), Johnson (1982), Mackay and Palmer (1981), Dubin and Olshtain (1986), Coffey (1984), Candlin et al. (1975; 1978), McDonough and Shaw (1993), White (1988b), Breen (1987).

Once the syllabus has been drawn up, the course can be designed, and then realised by means of timetables, and finally evaluated by utilising various kinds of feedback (see Chapter 5).