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Philippine Normal University

National Center for Teacher Education


College of Graduate Studies and Teacher Education Research
FACULTY OF ARTS AND LANGUAGES

BE502/MLE503 (Teaching Strategies in the BE/MLE Classroom)


2nd Semester S.Y. 2013-2014
Dr. Florencia Marquez
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CONTENT-BASED LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION


Content-based Language Instruction
- This is the use of subject matter for second/foreign language teaching purposes. Subject matter
may consist of topics or themes based on student interest or need in an adult EFL setting, or it
may be specific, such as the subjects that students are currently studying in their elementary
school classes.
- Most content-based models can be found in the foreign and second language settings; they can
also be implemented in to teach English-speaking children at the elementary level in immersion
programs or applied to secondary and postsecondary settings.
- Models of content-based instruction differ in implementation due factors such as educational
setting, program objective, and target population.

The Rationale of Content-Based Instruction (from www.carla.umn.edu)


- According to Krashen (1994), second language occurs when the learner received comprehensible
input not when the learner is memorizing vocabulary or completing grammar exercises. For him
“comprehensible subject-matter teaching is language teaching.”
- According to Swain (1985), in order to develop communicative competence, learners must have
extended opportunities to use the second/foreign language productively. Thus, in addition to
receiving comprehensible input, they must produce comprehensible output.”

Support from SLA research:


- Natural language acquisition occurs in context and is never learned divorced from meaning, and
content-based instruction provides a context for meaningful communication to occur (Curtain,
1995; Met, 1991);
- Second language acquisition increases with content-based language instruction, because
students learn language best when there is an emphasis on relevant, meaningful content rather
than on the language itself;
- "People do not learn languages and then use them, but learn languages by using them" (GUGD
website)
- Cummins' (1981) notion of Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) as contrasted with
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) shows that students need to be learning content
while they are developing CALP; there is not enough time to separate language and content
learning; postponing content instruction while students develop more advanced (academic)
language is not only impractical, but it also ignores students' needs, interests, and cognitive
levels (consider severe time constraints on language study prescribed by U.S. higher education,
Byrnes, 2000).
Research on Instructional Strategies that Support CBI
- Research on extensive reading in a second language shows that reading coherent extended materials leads to improved
language abilities, greater content-area learning, and higher motivation (Elley, 1991).
- CBI approaches, which promote the importance of learning strategies, provide the curricular resources for development of
the strategic language and content learner (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990).
Support from Educational and Cognitive Psychology
- The presentation of coherent and meaningful information leads to deeper processing, which
results in better learning (Anderson, 1990) and information that is more elaborated is learned and
recalled better.
- Facts and skills taught in isolation need much more practice and rehearsal before they can be internalized or put into long
term memory; coherently presented information (thematically organized) is easier to remember and leads to improved
learning (Singer, 1990); information that has a greater number of connections to related information enhances learning, and
content acts as the driving force for the connections to be made.

Models of Content-based Instruction

1. Immersion Education
- This model is mostly found in elementary schools where students are educated in a non-native
language. The focus of instruction is on content—it is expected that students will master the
regular school curriculum, even though they are learning it in a language that is new to them.
a. Total immersion - In this model, the entire school curriculum is taught initially through the
foreign language, with content instruction in the L1 gradually increasing through the
grades; in partial immersion, at least half the school day is spent learning school subjects
in another language.
b. Partial immersion – there is 50/50 time allocation for native language and second/foreign
language to teach academic content.
2. Theme-based Model
- In this model, courses are language-driven: the goal of these courses is to help students develop
L2 skills and proficiency. Themes are selected based on their potential to contribute to the
learner’s language growth in specific topical or functional domains. Theme-based courses are
taught by language instructors to L2 Learners who are evaluated in terms of their language
growth. Students (and their teachers) are not necessarily accountable for content mastery.
Indeed, content learning is incidental. Each of these approaches is discussed in more detail below.
3. Sheltered Model
- In this model, courses are taught in the L2 using linguistically sensitive teaching strategies in
order to make content accessible to learners who have less than native-like proficiency. Sheltered
courses are content-driven: the goal is for students to master content; students are evaluated in
terms of content learning, and language learning is secondary.
4. Adjunct
- In this model, both language and content are the goal. Students are expected to learn content
material while simultaneously acquiring academic language proficiency. Content instructors and
language instructors share responsibility for student learning, with students evaluated by content
instructors for subject matter mastery, and by language instructors for ‘language skills. Unlike
sheltered courses, where students are all learning content in an L2, in the adjunct model content
classes may be comprised of both L1 and L2 content learners, but language instruction is almost
always for L2 learners.

Activity 1 Determine what kind of content-based model is used in the each program.

1. In Culver City in California, students learn to read, do mathematics problems, and conduct
science experiments in Spanish; they go about the business of school like all other children in
their second language. In this program, the foreign language is generally used for most or all
academic instruction beginning in kindergarten or grade 1.

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2. An eighth grade language teacher was teaching a unit “Shopping for Clothing.” She integrated
mathematics by having students calculate the final cost of a pair of jeans that was discounted by
15% and taxed at a rate of 8%. Another elementary school teacher taught the unit “Animals of
the World.” Because her students were learning the concept of multiplication, the language
teacher also integrated mathematics by having students work through story problems that
involved animals. ("There are three trees. There are four monkeys in each tree. How many
monkeys...?")

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3. In the U.S., some ESL subject matter classes are designed to enable students to acquire the
school curriculum even when taught in a language in which they have limited proficiency. In these
classes, subjects such as social studies or mathematics have content learning as their goal, and
teachers use a variety of instructional strategies to make abstract concepts and course
information accessible to students who lack the level of language proficiency required to master
content in mainstream classrooms.

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4. In Maryland, Montgomery County has organized its secondary school foreign language curriculum
in Levels 4-6 around content topics. Teachers design units based on topics such as social issues
(e.g., immigration), history, or the arts. One of the newer textbooks for secondary school Spanish
has organized its third year program around topics of interest to adolescents. Students develop
language skills while exploring questions such as: “How can we control violence?” “Should
community service be required for graduation?’’ “How does art communicate to us?”

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5. In the University of Rhode Island, students may earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in German along
with a Bachelor of Science in engineering. Language and content courses are coordinated to
ensure that students develop a range of intercultural communication skills, including those
needed in the global marketplace.

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6. At UCLA, a summer program for entering freshman links ESL courses with academic courses
frequently taken to fulfill university requirements (such as history, political science or
psychology). ESL and academic course instructors coordinate course syllabi and instruction to
ensure both language and content learning .

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Activity 2 Arrange the following content-based models in the continuum of content and language
integration
Adjunct Model Partial Immersion Total Immersion

Language Classes Sheltered Immersion Theme-based courses

Content- Driven Language-


Driven

1. _____________ 2. _____________ 3. _____________ 4. _____________ 5. _____________ 6.


_____________

Activity 3 What do you think are the advantages and potential problems of content-based language
instruction?

Advantages Potential Problems

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

References
Celce-Murcia, M. (2006). Teaching English as a second or foreign language. US: Heinle and Heinle.
Peachey, Nik. (August 13, 2003). Content-based language instruction. The British Council.
Retrieved February 16, 2014 from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/content-based-instruction
Met. M. (1999, January). Content-based instruction: Defining terms, making decisions. NFLC
Reports. Washington, DC: The National Foreign Language Center. Retrieved February 18, 2014 from
http://www.carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/modules/principles/decisions.html
Prepared by
Bernard M. Paderes
bernardpaderes@gmail.com

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