What is a notional functional syllabus?

A notional-functional syllabus is a set of materials to be learned by students of a second language. While learning to perform communicative activities, students practice language structures that refer to certain situations and ideas (notions).

What is functional notional approach example?

For example, a lesson might be about how to buy something at a shop, in which case its notion is shopping and one of its functions might be asking prices. Functions often lend themselves naturally to specific grammatical patterns or common expressions.

What is functional notional approach in teaching?

The term “functional-notional approach” embraces any strategy of language teaching that derives the content of learning from an initial analysis of the learner’s need to express three different kinds of meaning: Functional (i.e. the social purpose of the utterance); Modal (the degree of likelihood); Conceptual – the …

How does the functional notional syllabus differ from the structural syllabus?

For instance, the content of a structural syllabus deals with the grammar step by step, from simple items to comlex ones. On the other hand, the notional/functional syllabus is organised according to learners needs. Therefore, a grammar strucure in spite of its comlexity could take place at the early units of book.

What are the characteristics of the functional syllabus?

The notional-functional syllabus concerns two important elements: one is a notional or conceptual view, which is involved with some concepts such as time, space, movement, cause and effect; another one is functional view which is used for intentional or purposive description and classification.

Who created notional functional syllabus?

As described by Wilkins (1976), the functional-notional syllabus has its starting point something different form either the grammatical syllabus or the situational one.

What is Notional-Functional Syllabus?

Therefore, a notional-functional syllabus is a kind of communicative syllabus which organize units with the foundation of some functions such as asking question, expressing opinions, expressing wishes, making suggestions, complaining, and apologizing rather than including units instructing noun gender or present tense ending (Wilkins, 1976).

What is notional/functionalism?

The Notional/Functional Syllabus 3 4.  If language is seen as a relationship between form and function, notional/functionalism takes the function side of the equation as primary and the form side as secondary.  It holds that basic to language are the uses to which it is put. The Notional/Functional Syllabus 4 5. The Notional/Functional Syllabus 5

How did functional and communicative views of language influence Notional-Functional Syllabus?

Above all, it can say that how the notional-functional syllabus’s focus on the meanings and functions of language was strongly influenced by functional and communicative views of language.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a notional syllabus?

The advantages of the notional syllabus include that it could consider the communicative facts of language from the beginning with concerning of grammatical and situational factors. So it is superior to the grammatical syllabus possibly (Wilkins, 1976).