Abstract
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Effective syllabus document design hinges on an alignment between learning objectives, teaching principles
and curricular policy. Much of the work on syllabus design in the English Language Teaching (ELT) context
focuses on the implementation of language teaching principles, such as those from the Communication
Language Teaching (CLT) approach. Limited attention has been paid to this alignment, which is pivotal for
ensuring the coherence and consistency between the intended outcomes, content selection and
organisation, and assessment tasks. Employing qualitative document analysis (QDA), this study identifies the
core syllabus elements and their alignment with current teaching approaches in twelve, localised ELT
syllabuses. Utilising elements from Richards and Rodgers’ (2014) methods analysis and Nunan’s (1988)
syllabus design, the analysis demonstrates that while CLT principles have been incorporated into the
syllabuses, misalignments remain, such as those between intended objectives and assessment tasks. This
paper offers an analytic framework to guide teachers in designing a more closely aligned syllabus and making
visible its connections.