DISTANCE EDUCATION AND ONLINE CURRICULUM DESIGN AT THE VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY OF TUNIS

The project of “Transverse English “fits in the framework of the reform of the English programs in higher education initiated in order to meet the needs of the international workplace where English is undeniably the key to professional communication and success.
The main objective of the project is to reinforce the teaching of English in the establishments of higher education , to ensure the employability of future graduates and to improve the quality of the teaching of English through the use of innovative tools.
The Virtual University of Tunis’ project of "Transverse English" online course is composed of 6 modules of specialized English covering the following fields:
English for Sciences and Technology; English for Medical Studies and Biology; Legal English;English for Social Sciences; English for Arts and Languages and Business English.
This paper aims at presenting distance education in Tunisia with a focus on English language curriculum design for Tunisian universities. First, it presents the background and the main objectives of the project .Then; it highlights the challenges of curriculum design. Finally it outlines one of the modules implemented at the Virtual University of Tunis: English for Arts and Languages.
This course is addressed to first-year students of arts and literature. It is learner-centered and aims to foster effective communication in English both orally and in writing.
The course seeks also to further develop the major skills : reading, writing,Listening, and speaking and to broaden the semantic scope of students’ knowledge of English words and practical expressions.It also helps students read and appreciate the discourse of arts and literature.