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Kathi Bailey talking about content-based instruction (videoscript) "In this lesson, we're going to examine very generally what content-based instruction is. We'll discuss seven characteristics that are typical of this type of instruction, and we'll also look at a number of topics that have been used as the subject matter in content-based courses."

Defining Content-Based Instruction

Content-based instruction (CBI) is an approach to language curriculum design. It involves "the integration of content learning with language teaching aims" (Brinton, Snow and Wesche, 2003, p. ix). The term refers to "the concurrent study of language and subject matter" (ibid.). In other words, students are learning content (for example, math, science, social studies, business, etc.) at the same time they are developing their target language skills.

Carrier topics are not content-based instruction
In many language-learning texts, a reading or listening topic is often used to introduce grammar and vocabulary items. In these cases, the subject matter is called the carrier topic.

For example, a reading textbook might have a lesson focusing on the present tense and action verbs. One passage might be about basketball, another about folk dancing, and a third about the traffic in Mexico City. All three passages would use action verbs in the present tense.

But do students need to learn about basketball, folk dances, and traffic in Mexico City? No. These simply provide a context for learning and practicing the verb forms. This is what is meant by a carrier topic. The topic "carries" the language element that the lesson focuses on. A carrier topic is not studied for its own sake.

Form and sequence of the language in CBI
Another difference between CBI and other kinds of language curricula is how the elements for language study are selected. For example, in a grammatical syllabus, the items to be learned are grammar points. They are pre-determined either by second language acquisition research or by teachers' judgments about what grammar points to present first, second, third, and so on. The syllabus can even be determined by the course textbook.

In content-based instruction, however, "the form and sequence of language presentation are dictated by content material" (Brinton et al., 2003, p. ix). Instead of having a pre-set grammar syllabus or a pre-determined list of vocabulary items, the grammar and vocabulary to be learned come out of the content material.

An example of a content-based reading passage
Imagine you are teaching a content-based ESL or EFL course for young adults who are learning about biology. In a lesson about DNA, your class reads the two paragraphs below from the textbook.

In nature each organism inherits its DNA - and its traits - from its parents. Inheritance means an acquisition of traits after parents transmit their DNA to offspring. Think about it. Baby storks look like baby storks and not like pelicans because they inherited stork DNA, which isn't exactly the same as pelican DNA. Reproduction refers to actual mechanisms by which parents transmit DNA to offspring. For frogs, humans, trees, and other organisms, the information in DNA guides development - the transformation of the fist cell of a new individual into a multi-celled adult (Starr et al., 2006, p. 6).

These paragraphs allow your students to learn about the role of DNA in inheritance. They also provide several examples of present tense verbs used in scientific reporting. An instructor would probably want to review or teach several vocabulary items: organism, inherit, acquisition, transmit, and so on. This is an example of how content materials determine the form and sequence of the linguistic elements in content-based instruction.

In summary
To review then, the three key elements of our definition of content-based instruction are that

• the language and the content are learned concurrently;


• the study of language and content are integrated;


• the language to be focused on is determined by the content material.

In CBI, both the academic content and the target language information can be delivered, explored, and developed through a range of curricular models. But in all forms of genuine CBI, students are expected to learn both the subject matter and the target language. This idea is depicted in Figure 1.1 below.

Figure 1.1: The Relationship of Language and Content in Regular Language and Subject Matter Classes Compared to CBI

In many contexts, students learn language and subject matter separately.

In content-based instruction, students learn language and subject matter simultaneously.