By Asst. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt

Near East UniversityNicosia

March 2014

Content-Based Learning (CBL) / Content and language integrated

learning (CLIL)

1. What is CBL 2. Background 3. Theory of Learning 4. Types of CBL 5. Objectives 6. Principles 7. Learner Roles 8. Teacher Roles 9. Assessment 10. Pros & Cons 11. Activity

Presentation structure

Two for onecontent knowledge and increased language proficiencya study of both language acquisition and subject matter

What is CBL?

Language across the curriculum movement in 1970’s in England

  Integrate the teaching of reading and

writing   Specialized language courses with relevant

content   ESP

BACKGROUND

Cognitive Learning TheoryComprehensible input Hypothesis

The Whole Language Approach Scaffolding Language to be regarded holistically rather than as

pieces Top-down approach Meaning then Language Structures Best way of Learning when working to understand

the meaning of whole texts Learning process best when students are engaged

in purposeful use of language

THEORY OF LEARNING

Content-rich curriculum Errors as part of learning: encourage

students to experiment with reading and writing to promote both their enjoyment and ownership.

A social process: learning is best served by collaboration between teacher and students and among students

THEORY OF LEARNING

Adjunct Model Sheltered Model Theme Based Model

Types of CBL

Adjunct Model Language course that is linked to the academic

course Content material while simultaneously acquiring

academic language proficiency. Helping students process the language in order to

understand the academic content presented by the subject teacher.

The aim: to prepare students for "mainstream" classes where they will join English L1 learners.

Some adjunct classes are taught during the summer months before classes begin

Types of CBL

Sheltered Model

Sheltered because learners are given special assistance to help them understand regular classes

Both native and non-native speakers of a particular language follow a regular academic curriculum

To enable ESL students to study the same content material as regular English L1 students.

Two teachers can work together. The content specialist will give a short lecture. English specialist will check that the students have understood the important words by reviewing them later.

Sheltered-language instructors support their students through the use of particular instructional techniques and materials

‘sheltered’ instruction is geared to students' developing second language proficiency

Types of CBL

Theme Based Model These classes can be taught by EFL

teachers who create content material based on the needs and interests of the students.

The goal of these courses is to help students develop L2 skills and proficiency.

Content learning is secondary. Theme based CBL works well in EFL

contexts.

Types of CBL

Mastery of subject content Mastery of English Language

OBJECTIVES

The subject matter content for language teaching purposes

Teaching build on students’ previous experience. When learners perceive the relevance of their

language use, they are motivated to learn. They know that it is means to an end, rather than an end in itself.

The teacher 'scaffolds' the linguistic content Language is learned most effectively when it is

used as a medium to convey informational content of interest to the students.

PRINCIPLES

Vocabulary easier to acquire when contextual clues

When work with authentic subject matter, students need language support.

Meaningful, cognitively demanding language and content within the context of authentic material and tasks.

Communicative competence involves more than using language conversationally. Includes the ability to read, discuss, and write about content from other fields.

PRINCIPLES

Autonomous Support each other Active interpreters of input Willing to tolerate uncertainty Willing to explore alternative learning

strategies and sources of content

Learner Roles

Analysts of students’ needs Knowledgeable in the subject matter. Balances context and comprehensibility. A good knowledge about both the language and

the subject matter in order to reach his/her goal. Prepares materials that will increase the students

motivation for learning both the content and the target language.

Creates a learner-centered classroom environment in order to make the students use the target language actively while learning the subject matter.

Teacher Roles

CBL should not only focus on the evaluation of linguistic structure;

Students must be required “to integrate information, to form, and to articulate their own opinions about the subject matter’’

Interactive process Highly contextualised Meaningful and Authentic Should measure LA as cognitive higher order

learning task, not only Bottom-up, top-down processing.

Assessment

Language learning becomes more interesting and motivating.

Increase in intristic motivation Offers a wide educational knowledge to

learners in the form of the different topics instructed.

Helps students develop valuable study skills such as note taking, summarizing.

Develops collaborative skills

Pros of CBL

May give students the impression that they are not actually learning language.

Overuse of native language can be a problem in some parts of the lesson.

Finding information sources and texts at lower levels

The teacher must have a good knowledge about both the subject matter and the language

Difficult to comprehend the input. Assessment is difficult.

 Cons of CBL

Topic : Save water!Level: A1.1, A1.2, A2.1, A2.2Age: 8–12

Organization: whole class, groups

Aims: To identify ways of saving water in our everyday lives; to design a poster to encourage people to save water; to develop awareness of water as a precious resource; to collaborate with others.

Language focus: imperatives, use, everyday activities and routines

Materials: Essential - poster-size paper or card (one sheet per group), multi-coloured pens

ACTIVITY: Save water!

Procedure1 Briefly talk about the importance of water in relation to your context.

2 Ask the children to identify all the ways we use water in our daily lives, eg to have a bath or shower, to wash our hands.

3 Ask the children if they think it is important to save water and listen to their ideas.

4 Divide the class into groups.

Save water!

5 Ask them to think of as many ways as they can to save water and to note their ideas.

have showers and not bathsturn the tap off when you clean your teethuse the washing machine or dish washer only

when it’s full.

Save water!

6 Count up and review all the children’s ideas.

7 Give out poster-size paper or card and multi-coloured pens to each group. Ask the children to design a poster, including pictures and slogans, to encourage people to save water.

8 At the end, children can present their posters and water-saving ideas to the rest of the class. Also the posters can then be displayed either in the classroom or elsewhere in the school.

Save water!

Save water!

Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles, an interactive approach to language pedagogy. New York: Addison-Wesley. Davison, C., & Williams, A. (2001).  Integrating language and content:  Unresolved issues. In B. Mohan, C. Leung, & C. Davison (Eds.), English as a second language in the mainstream :  Teaching learning and identity (pp. 51-70).  New York:  Longman.  Dupuy, B. C. (2000).  Content-based instruction: Can it help ease the transition from beginning to advanced foreign language classes?   Foreign Language Annals, 33, 205-223.  Kasper, L. F. (Ed.) (2000).  Content-based college ESL instruction.  Mahwah, NJ: 

Lawrence Erlbaum. Krueger, M., & Ryan, F. (Eds.) (1993). Language and content: Discipline and content-based approaches to language study. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath. Larsen-Freeman, D., & Anderson, M. (2011). Techniques & principles in language teaching. (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univiversity Press.

REFERENCES