Functional syllabuses and needs analysis

الملخص EN

The present paper is an attempt to shed light on the basic principles that should be taken into consideration when designing language syllabuses on the basis of language functions and learners’ communicative functions.

In fact, prior to any analysis of the EFL learners’ communicative needs, a comprehensive description of the learners’ social, linguistic and / or psychological background is vital.

Such description is significant in order to come up with a language syllabus that meets the needs of the learners.

The paper also addresses some obstacles that might hinder the design of functional syllabuses.