Scope is what the course covers (outcomes, language, skills, topics). Sequence is the order and spacing: when each item is introduced, revisited and assessed.
Sequencing principles
| Principle | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Need first | Teach what learners need soonest | Survival language before narrative tenses for new arrivals |
| Frequency | Frequent before rare | will before shall; get before obtain |
| Simple to complex | Form and concept | Past simple before past perfect; first before second conditional |
| Prerequisites | Build on known items | Present perfect vs past simple only after both are taught |
| Contrast later | Teach items separately, then contrast | some/any separately, then much/many/a lot of |
| Learnability | Developmental readiness | Questions with do after statements; third person -s is late-acquired: recycle, do not expect mastery early |
| Topic coherence | Group language around situations | Travel unit: past simple, transport lexis, asking for information |
| Spiral | Revisit each item in a wider or deeper form | Present perfect: experiences (A2) -> unfinished time (B1) -> continuous (B1+) -> perfect aspect across tenses (B2) |
Recycling plan
Introduce, then revisit within 1-3 units, then again before assessment. Recycling is not re-teaching: use the item in new contexts, tasks, reading texts and warmers.
| Item introduced | Recycle 1 | Recycle 2 | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 3: past simple | Unit 4 (story writing) | Unit 6 (warmer, reading) | Progress test 2 |
Scope and sequence chart
| Unit | Weeks | Topic | Can-do outcomes | Grammar | Vocabulary | Functions | Pronunciation | Skills focus | Recycles | Assessment |
|---|
Read the chart vertically (does every column progress?) and horizontally (does every unit hang together?).
Pacing
- Count real lessons: term dates minus holidays, exam days, events, likely absences (
scripts/pacing.py). - Keep 10-15% of lessons unallocated for review, catch-up and assessment.
- Weight units by their load rather than splitting time equally (a tense contrast unit needs more time than a lexical unit).
- Plan review lessons after every 2-4 units and before each test.
- Mid-term check: compare progress with the plan; cut or merge units rather than rushing.
Multi-level and multi-year programmes
- Align level exit outcomes so that one level's exit equals the next level's entry.
- Use the same unit structure across levels so learners and teachers know what to expect.
- Hold a programme-wide item map so items are not taught as new at two levels without a reason (spiral, not repeat).
Common problems
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Coursebook order followed blindly | Reorder or skip units to match learner needs; note it in the scope chart |
| Everything taught once | Add recycling columns and plan them into lesson materials |
| Too much in the first term | Move low-priority items to later or to self-study |
| No time for skills | Fix a minimum of skills lessons per unit (e.g. one reading/listening, one speaking, one writing) |
| Contrasts taught before both items | Use sequence_check.py prerequisites |
academic-english-eap-course-planner
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Build lessons for adult ESL learners who are developing literacy (LESLLA learners: pre-literate, non-literate, semi-literate, literate in a non-Roman script): learner profiles and sensitive initial assessment, principles (oral language first, known to new, systematic phonics with adult-relevant text, repetition, classroom skills, respect for experience), a lesson routine (oral warm-up, review, new grapheme, blending, segmenting, decodable text, writing, functional literacy, Language Experience Approach), a phonics sequence for adults, sight words, functional literacy targets (forms, signs, medicine labels) and portfolio assessment. Checks whether a reading text is decodable with the letter-sound patterns and sight words taught so far, catching untaught digraphs, listing non-decodable words with the untaught part, and suggesting the most useful next patterns.
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Turn authentic material (news articles, podcasts, videos, songs, menus, timetables, adverts, social media posts, forms, infographics) into language lessons by grading the task rather than the text. Selects texts for interest, relevance, exploitability, coverage, cultural load and rights; finds the 4-6 words to pre-teach, words to gloss on the page and words learners can ignore, plus names and cultural references to explain, with reading time by level; and builds a lesson shape (lead-in, pre-teach, gist or scanning, graded detail task, language focus on chunks and register, response) with task ideas per material type and level from A1 to C1. Covers copyright, fair dealing and fair use, Creative Commons and attribution.
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Write and review can-do statements for language courses, units, lessons and learner self-assessment, CEFR or NCSSFL-ACTFL style: action (observable verb) + text or situation + level-specific conditions, learner ('I can') and descriptor ('Can') versions, progressions of one activity from A1 to C1, and coverage of reception, production, interaction and mediation. Includes a verb bank by mode and level and condition and text-type banks. Lints statements for teacher-centred phrasing, knowledge instead of use (learn, know, understand the passive), missing context, two skills in one statement, vague quality words, grammar items as outcomes, overlong statements and missing modes in a set.
cefr-aligned-syllabus-builder
Build language course syllabuses aligned to the CEFR (A1-C2, plus levels, Companion Volume 2020): entry and exit levels, guided learning hours and course length (with an L1-distance adjustment), syllabus type (topic, functional-notional, task-based, skills-based, multi-strand), unit-by-unit can-do outcomes, grammar from a core inventory by level, vocabulary, functions, pronunciation, balance of reception, production, interaction and mediation, recycling and assessment points. Checks a syllabus for units without can-do statements, core grammar for the level not covered, items above the course level, skills missing from most units and units with no vocabulary or functions.