Content-Based Instruction for Language Learners
Your Instructor: Kathleen Bailey
Lesson 01
Chapter 3

The Seven Characteristics of CBI: A Classroom Example

In the previous chapter, we examined seven defining characteristics of content-based instruction (CBI). In this chapter and the next one, we will look at an extended example of these characteristics in a content-based course.

An overview of the course
The example comes from an experience I had a few years ago. I taught an eight-week summer course in the intensive English program at my school, the Monterey Institute of International Studies, in Monterey, California. Content-based instruction is widely used at this school, even with lower-level ESL students.

This content-based course was designed for high-beginners and lower-intermediate students. It met twice a week for two hours, for a total of thirty-two hours. The summer curriculum centered on learning about the United States, and the overarching theme of my particular content course was U.S. national parks.

I chose this theme for several reasons. Many of the students were in the U.S. for the first time, and a number of them planned to travel after the summer session ended. Some students also intended to return to the Monterey Institute to enter a degree program in the fall; others planned to go to different schools in the U.S.

An informal needs assessment at the beginning of the summer showed that many students found speaking and listening in English very difficult. Many had strong grammar backgrounds but were weak in conversational skills, reading, and writing. Several expressed an interest in travel, sports, and the environment.

Three of the characteristics at work
How did Jourdenais and Shaw's defining characteristics come into play in the content-based course I taught? Let's look at the first three of the seven characteristics.

1. Learning language and content simultaneously
The first characteristic of CBI is that students learn language and content simultaneously. My ESL students were exposed to a great deal of English while they were learning about national parks. The entire class was conducted in English. We began by reading about the history of the national park system and drawing a timeline labeled in English. We watched videotapes about Yellowstone, Yosemite, Denali, the Grand Canyon, and Volcanoes National Park. The students interviewed people who had visited or worked at national parks.

Later, students researched a park of their choice. This project involved using encyclopedias and other library resources (in English) and could involve using the Internet as well. Although the students were welcome to speak in their native languages, they spoke mostly English in class and only spoke English with me.

2. Focusing on relevant content areas
The second characteristic of content-based instruction is that the content being studied should be relevant to the learners' academic and/or professional needs. None of the students in my course was planning to be a park ranger! However, focusing on national parks lent itself very well to discussions about history, mathematics, geography, geology, politics, and the environment. A great deal of academic vocabulary was involved. Also, during class activities and homework, the students actively used their study skills, communication strategies, and learning strategies.

3. Contextualizing language through content
A third characteristic of content-based instruction is that the language is contextualized through the content. The material used in the course on national parks consistently contextualized vocabulary and new grammatical structures in descriptions of scenery, animals and plant life, geologic formations, weather, climate, and outdoor activities.

In addition, the language was recycled as we studied different parks. We began with Yellowstone and Yosemite, because Yellowstone National Park is the oldest and Yosemite is the best-known park in California. But the same kinds of vocabulary and grammatical structures and issues arose when we learned about the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. Soon the students were confidently talking about geologic time, annual rainfall, and flora and fauna in the various parks.