The fifth chapter is titled Syllabus and Materials. Since in Prabhu's theory, teaching (meaning-making through task-type activity) serves ultimately as a bridge for what is learned (grammatical competence) he stresses the dangers of overly detailed and "fixed" syllabuses. Instead, a teaching plan should provide a framework and guidance rather than "answers" or mandates to the complex phenomenon of teaching and learning.

Prabhu's discussion on materials is particularly tantalizing since he links broad principles with concrete suggestions. He stresses the value of "source books for teachers" rather than actual texts since the object of instruction is the stimulation of learning rather than coverage or mastery of particular material. Prabhu, then, argues that "'loosely constructed' teaching materials" are preferable over "tightly constructed" ones since the primary purpose of second language instruction is the enhancement of critical thinking skills through the building up of bridges between what students know and what they might learn. "[L]essons in the classroom are not acts of texts, or language presentation, but rather contexts for discourse creation" (p. 95).

In the final chapter, Pedagogic Change, Prabhu raises the critical issue of teacher acceptance of curricular innovations. He points to a "sense of plausibility" which allows a teacher to adopt change. A variety of factors: previous training and education, actual classroom experience and current "theories-in use" that may influence teaching orientation shape plausibility. He argues that the sense of plausibility of teachers will most likely be stimulated when there is no external mandate for change, but rather, when new theories, approaches and methodologies "are able to invoke some corroborative experience in teachers" (p. 105). This, in turn, will depend "on how powerful, well-articulated, or accessible the new perception is" (105). He believes that teacher perception is the single most important factor in stimulating a successful instructional environment.