Content-Based Instruction for Language Learners
Your Instructor: Kathleen Bailey
Lesson 01
Chapter 5

Subject Areas Used As the Basis for CBI Courses

In the previous chapters, we defined what content-based instruction (CBI) is and looked at an extended example that illustrated the seven key characteristics of CBI. This chapter identifies subject areas that have formed the basis of content-based courses in ESL and EFL contexts. We will explore some of these in more detail in future lessons.

Table 1.1 provides a list of some these subjects, along with the authors' names and the publication dates. Complete references are given at the end of this lesson.

Table 1.1: ESL and EFL Content-Based Courses: Content Foci, Authors, and Publication Dates

Content Focus	Authors and Publication Dates
Architecture	Gonzalez and St. Louis (2002)
Art history	Rappan and Moser (1993/94)
Business	McGarry (1998)
Civil rights	Stoller and Grabe (1997)
Computer science	Egbert (2000); Kol (2002)
Culture	Hilles and Lynch (1997)
Environmental science	Kasper (2000a)
Health	Bailey (2000)
History	Bernier (1997); Nelson and Burns (2000); Schleppegrell, Achugar, and Oteiza (2004); Srole (1997)
Literature	Brinton (2001); Haynes (2000); Holten (1997); Kasper (2000b); Massie (2005)
Mathematics	Crandall (1987); Cuevas (1984); Kol (2002)
Psychology	Burger (1989); Snow (2001)
Science	Bycina (1986); Crandall (1987); Myers (2000)
Social studies	Crandall (1987); Short (1994, 1997)
Sociology	Schneider and Freidenberg (2002)
U.S. criminal justice system	Hones (1999)

As Table 1.1 shows, CBI as a curricular approach is well established in many ESL and EFL contexts. In this course, we will focus primarily on CBI for adult learners of English as a second or foreign language. However, CBI is being used in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary programs around the world.

Summary
This lesson introduced content-based instruction and defined it as an approach to curriculum design in which the learning of content is integrated with the learning of the target language.

We examined seven key characteristics of content-based approaches to language learning as defined by Jourdenais and Shaw: (1) learning language and content simultaneously, (2) focusing on relevant content areas, (3) contextualizing language through content, (4) supporting learners' linguistic development, (5) developing academic and/or professional language proficiency, (6) using authentic materials, and (7) integrating skills and increasing cognitive and linguistic complexity.

Next Steps

After you have finished this lesson, test your knowledge by taking a short, multiple-choice quiz. To access the quiz, click quizzes at the top or bottom of any page in this classroom. Select the quiz that corresponds to the lesson you have just completed. Then click submit. Good luck!

After the quiz, please complete the short assignment that follows. This will allow you to practice what you have just learned. To access it, click assignments at the top or bottom of any page. Choose the appropriate lesson and follow the directions listed there.

Also, visit the discussion area to converse with your colleagues about the topics covered in this lesson. To access it, click discussion at the top or bottom of any page. Choose the appropriate lesson and follow the directions. You will be able to post on the discussion board until the 'close date' listed. After that date, you can read the discussions but not post.

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Glossary
authentic materials: materials (whether oral or written) that occur naturally and that were not created specifically for language-teaching purposes
carrier topic: a reading, listening, discussion, or writing topic (e.g., basketball, traditional folk dancing) used to introduce grammar and vocabulary items and to "carry" the lesson. A carrier topic is not a topic studied for its own sake, and students are not expected to learn the subject matter.
content-based instruction (CBI): an approach to language curriculum design which integrates subject-matter learning with language learning
curriculum: the "what" of language teaching (lesson content, syllabus content, and program-wide course content) as opposed to the "how" (teaching methods)
EFL: English as a foreign language. Typically, the term "EFL" is used to describe environments where English is not the language of wider communication (e.g., in Chile, Cambodia, Slovakia, and Mongolia).
ESL: English as a second language. Typically, the term "ESL" is used to describe English used by non-native speakers in contexts where it is the language of wider communication (e.g., in England, Australia, and New Zealand).
needs assessment (also called a "needs analysis"): a range of systematic procedures for determining learners' needs for the language they are studying
passive vocabulary: vocabulary that learners may recognize or understand if they read or hear it used, but rarely use when they speak or write
schema activation: Schemata (singular schema) are existing knowledge structures in the mind. When a teacher "activates schema," he or she uses questions or other activities that get learners to think about what they already know about a topic. Doing this helps learners to better process incoming information (something they will hear or read) in a lesson.
target language skills: The term "target language" refers to whatever language the students are trying to learn. The term "skills" refers to listening, speaking, reading and writing.
text: stretches of oral or written language of indeterminate length (e.g., a stop sign, a poem, an oral report, a radio announcement, a television broadcast, a memo)

Follow-Up Reading
An excellent guidebook for ESL and EFL teachers is New Ways in Content-Based Instruction (Brinton and Master, 1997).

Content areas explored include environmental issues, mathematics, U.S. history, culture, mysteries, social or economic issues, animals, archaeology and cultural anthropology, short stories, social studies, current political issues, and language learning. The activities in this book are designed for students of different ages and English proficiency levels.

Bibliography
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