ELT theory classifies curricula as belonging to one of two contrasting approaches: either process or product. While foundation-level teacher education literature offers strongly product-oriented advice, research- and theory-oriented texts stress the need to negotiate with learners, and to take language-learning processes into account. This article reports on a study of the actual curriculum-making practices of seven experienced teachers working in high-, medium-, and low-constraint teaching contexts. As courses unfolded, teachers confronted tensions generated by the competing demands of learners' requirements, contextual constraints, syllabus specifications, and their own theories of best practice. Although blended features of both approaches were evident in all courses, in other respects they differed from standard descriptions of either orientation. Teachers' practices showed the importance of process elements in high- and medium-constraint contexts; namely, close teacher-learner relationships and the teacher's ability to respond to how learners are receiving the curriculum.