Content- based Instruction: A Strategy to Develop Language Skills

to Students
Dolon Champa Das
Assistant Professor of English, B.P.Poddar Institute of Management & Technology, Kolkata, West Bengal

ABSTRACT

Students coming from vernacular background face problems when they have to use the target
language. Various activities are thought of related to the subject being taught and students are
geared to stimulate to think and learn through the use of the target language. Content-based
instruction (CBI) has led to the integrated teaching of the four language skills. For example, it
employs authentic reading materials which require students not only to understand information
but to interpret and evaluate it as well. It provides a platform where students can respond orally
to reading and lecture materials. It recognises that academic writing follows from listening and
reading, and thus requires students to synthesize facts and ideas from multiple sources as
preparation for writing. Thus CBI has helped students to get exposed to study skills and learn a
variety of language skills which prepare them for the range of academic tasks that they will
encounter.

INTRODUCTION:

Krahnke (1987) defines content-based instruction (CBI) as:

The teaching of content or information in the language being learned with little or no direct
explicit effort to teach language itself separately from the content taught. (p.65)
As a clarification to this definition Richard and Rodgers (2001), add that, CBI refers to an
approach to second language teaching in which teaching is organised around the content or
information that students will acquire, rather than around a linguistic or other type of syllabus.
(p.204)
To have a better insight into the content-based instruction, one should have knowledge of the
models that are present in CBI. These models are as follows:
1. Theme-based Model:
In this model selected topics or theme provide the content for students to learn (Brinton et al,
1989). Based on these topics and themes, language teachers extract language activities and
engage students in language practice and content learning simultaneously. As an example, under
the supervision of language teacher students work on the topic „picnic‟, and by doing certain
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activities, they get familiar with the concept of picnic and its related registers and jargon.
2. Immersion Model:
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This model can be considered as the prototypical content based approach. Snow (2001) explains
that “in the total immersion model, English- speaking elementary school students receive the
majority of their schooling through the medium of their second language” (p. 305).

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3. Adjunct Model:
Richard and Rodgers (2001) explained adjunct model instruction as:
In this model, students are enrolled in two linked courses, one a content course and one a
language course, with both courses sharing the same content based complementing each other in
terms of mutually coordinated assignment. Such a program requires a large amount of
coordination to ensure that the two curricula are interlocking and this may require modification
of both courses (pp 216-27).
In this model teacher tries to engage students in various activities related to the four language
skills (i.e. speaking, listening, reading and writing), for enhancing student‟s knowledge, literacy,
oral development, cultural understanding and thinking skills. For achieving this goal, Krashan
(1985) supports using extended text such as novel and short story for promoting literacy
development and getting students familiar with literary style.
4. Sheltered Model:
This model is based on the Canadian model of immersion education. Larsen –Freeman (2000)
defied sheltered model as a type of CBI model in which “both the native speaker and non-native
speaker of a particular language follow a regular academic curriculum” (p.142).
CBI is a useful approach in language and subject matter teaching. Richard and Rodgers (2001)
explain some of the assumptions and learning theories that existed and based on which CBI came
into existence. These assumptions and theories are as follows:
1. Students learn a second language in a better way when they make use of language as a
means of acquiring something else rather than an end in itself.
2. Some disciplines such as geography, psychology and literature due to their unique
features lend themselves better to content –based instruction.
3. Students learn best when instruction is related to their specific needs and CBI using
Larsen-Freeman (2000) terms as a part of the movement “language across curriculum”
(p.137) does so.

REASONS TO USE LITERATURE IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM:

There are debates regarding the use of literature in the language classes, in various books and by
lot of renowned applied linguists and literary personalities. McKay (1986) states some of the
undeniable benefits of using literature in language classroom. She believes that literature in
language classroom makes L2 learners motivated enough to read extensively in English and this
amount of reading leads to cultural knowledge and sensitivity and boosts learners' reading skills.
Langer (1997) states," because it taps what the learners know and who they are, literature is a
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particularly inviting context for learning both a second/foreign language and literacy" (p. 607).
Moreover according to Langer, literature allows students to reflect on their lives, learning, and
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language. Literature can open" horizons of possibility, allowing students to question, interpret,
connect, and explore" (p. 607).
Littlewood (1986) specifies four perspectives for literature and discusses these perspectives' use
in language teaching context. According to him, "at the simplest level literature is not

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qualitatively different from any other linguistic performance" he adds that "literature provides
instances of language structure in use, which can form the basis for instruction and practice in
language skills, especially accompanied by a varying amount of grammatical analysis and
explanation" (pp. 178-179). Littlewood (1986) explains the second perspective in this way that
the perspective comes into play when students who have passed the initial stages of learning and
are at later stages in which they become capable of sensitivity to stylistic variations. Therefore,
literature can be very beneficial in the sense that it becomes a vehicle for teaching the differences
between the varieties and it can be claimed that through the use of literature students become
familiar with different styles of writing and features of different genres. Littlewood (1986)
continues with the explaining of the third perspective and its benefits in ESL classes. He states
that " at the third level literature is the expression of the superficial subject matter as it relates
events or describes scenes: the plot of a drama or the story of a novel" (p.178).
A major problem in language teaching classes is the lack of authentic situation for language
teaching. Littlewood (1986) mentions three ways of compensating for the absence of real events
and authentic material in language classroom and literature is one of them whose benefits here is
related to this third perspective. Littlewood (1986) adds and explains the forth perspective "as a
level at which literature is a symbolization of the author's vision of these events and his or her
worldview" (p.178). It is at this level in which transition from receptive skills to productive skills
intensifies (i.e.) at this level literature might provide a basis for generalizing and theorizing in
language classroom.
Other linguists have also mentioned the benefits of literature in general and in language
classroom. Among them Fitzgerald (1993) states, literature can be a vehicle for improving
students' overall language skills. It can "expose students to a wide variety of styles and genres"
(p. 643). It is in literature that "the resources of the language are most fully and skilfully used"
(Sage, 1987, p.6). As we know that the language of literature's is a sophisticated one, and the
most superior form of language is employed in different literary works and nobody is capable of
versifying a piece of poetry in a second language unless s/he has acquired a language fully.
Therefore, it is sensible to attempt to make students become familiar with this sophisticated form
of language at later stages of language learning. In teaching language components such as
vocabulary, idioms and proverbs, literature surprisingly has a role. An example clarifies such a
claim fully. Many idioms and proverbs which exist in a language originate in the literature of
that language, and in teaching those idioms etymology we'd better go through and have a glance
at the literary work based on which the idioms came into existence. For instance, we have the
idiom "Achilles heel" in English which is based on an old literary work. Based on all these
comments and quotations concerning the benefits and uses of literature in ESL/EFL classrooms,
literature's significant roles in language classroom become undoubtedly obvious. However,
before making use of literature in language classroom, one important thing needs to be taken into
consideration.
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Selecting a suitable and interesting literary text for language classroom is of significant value.
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Most texts are obsolete and useless for language teaching context unless we have certain goals in
mind such as teaching archaic words and structures. Some literary texts don't arouse students'
interest and motivation and even are in complete contrast with students' values and culture. Use
of such texts should be prohibited because it leads to nothing and sometimes become
counterproductive. Based on all the above-mentioned information regarding content-based

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instruction and the benefits of literature, it is time todiscuss the benefits of collaborating content-
based instruction and literature teaching.

USE OF LITERATURE IN CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION

Brinton et al. (1989) made a list of several benefits of collaborating CBI and literature. For
example, knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, paragraph, structure, interactive communication
skills, and types and styles of writing can be acquired through the collaboration of CBI and
literature. To repeat the same benefits again, Abulhaija (1987) further supports that language and
literature are inseparable, for each has something important to offer in the development of a well-
rounded students. Literature teaches idiomatic language and cultural contexts; it betters
correctness in speech and writing, encourages extensive reading, boosts reading and
comprehension skills. Erkaya (2005) states that by integrating literature in the curricula, students
can acquire and learn the four skills more easily and effectively because of the literary, cultural,
higher order thinking, and motivational benefits.
Shang (2006) included the following objectives for a content-based instruction program in the
EFL literature curriculum.
• Build on students' educational background and personal experiences based on the topic of the
literature
• Help students comprehend the meaning that the author tries to convey in order to enhance
their reading ability
• Provide the opportunities for peer cooperative learning
• Enhance students' critical thinking and judgmental abilities
• Develop students' aural/oral fluency by asking questions and sharing their feedback
• Develop students' writing ability by writing an essay or comments related to the topic of the
literature (pp. 4-5).
Thus, through the above mentioned use of literature in CBI one can derive at a point that
literature is needed to teach the language skills to students in a better and an interesting manner.

ACTIVITIES THROUGH LITERATURE:

In a CBI model based on English literature, the classroom activities primarily revolve around
English literature content and secondarily deal with developing language skills. These
multifunctional activities are related to eliciting knowledge of content, acquisition of thinking
skills, and development of English language abilities. A novel or short stories can be a suitable
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source based on which these multifunctional activities can be designed.

Before mentioning some of these activities it should be born in mind that the novel or short story
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selected as the source of activities should be an interesting modern type of literary work and
students should be familiar with it culturally. A passage from “The Thief” by Ruskin Bond taken
from the book Fantasy: A collection of short stories is given below and a set of activities
consistent with CBI model for upper-intermediate students are provided.

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“I had been working for Arun for nearly a fortnight, and apart from the shopping, hadn’t done
much to exploit him. I had every opportunity for doing so. I had a key to the front door, which
meant I had access to the room whenever Arun was out. He was the most trusting person I had
ever met. And that was why I couldn’t make up my mind to rob him.
It’s easy to rob a greedy man, because he deserves to be robbed; it’s easy to rob a rich man,
because he can afford to be robbed, but it’s difficult to rob a poor man, even one who really
doesn’t care is he is robbed. A rich man or a greedy man or a careful man wouldn’t keep his
money under a pillow or a mattress, he’d lock it up in a safe place. Arun had put his money
where it would be child’s play for me to remove it without his knowledge.
It’s time I did some real work, I told myself; I am getting out of practice…If I don’t take the
money, he’ll only waste it on his friends…He doesn’t even pay me…
Arun was asleep. Moonlight cam in form the veranda and fell across the bed. I sat up on the
floor, my blanket wrapped around me, considering the situation. There was quite a lot of money
in that ward, and if I took it I would have to leave the town- I might make the 10:30 express to
Amritsar…”

ACTIVITIES & GUIDELINES FOR THE STUDENTS:

1. Textual questions:
Before reading the short story, students were asked certain questions such as
 Did you ever see a thief?
 Did you ever been pick pocketed?
 What happens when a thief is caught stealing?
 Why do you think a person steal?
This is a brain-storming session where students are not directly stated about the passage or the
short story they have to read and understand. This session helps students to guess what is to
come next.
2. Motivating activities:
Before reading the story, students were made to watch a short movie or video clip concerning the
thieves. Shot video clipping from the movies „Alibaba and the forty thieves‟, „Mackenna‟s Gold‟
etc. were played and as this motivates learners to learn the target language in an interesting
manner.
3. Teaching vocabularies:
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Various kinds of vocabulary activities were made, to make students understand the story better
and also to have a better knowledge of the different words and their usages. For e.g.
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a. Students were asked to find the words form the passage whose meaning are given below.
b. They need to explain the expressions that are provided.

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4. Post reading activities to check students’ critical thinking:
After reading the short story, students should be engaged in discussing the meanings conveyed
by the author; they should extract the themes, motif, and symbols of the story and relate them to
their own life. Through the interactive group discussion, students can develop their language
fluency and critical thinking abilities. For example, based on the above-mentioned passage, they
could talk about the word “robbed” and what it represents for the main protagonist of the story.
The danger of fear and centrality of personal legends and the major theme of the story could also
be discussed upon. The students could also be given some writing activities in the form of
compositions concerning the theme.
5. Group learning activities:
Students can form some groups with each member taking a role in an activity related to the story.
For example; students can come up with a different ending for the story in their groups and work
together and write a different ending paragraph for the story. Having finished the writing
assignment, they try to persuade the other groups that their choice for the end of the story is the
best choice.
6. Speaking activities:
Students should do an internet search about the author of the story and the next session they
should give a presentation about his or her biography and style of writing and the different books
that the author has written.

THE POST-LESSON EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT:

As has been discussed earlier, that, in the adjunct model the students need to attend two classes,
therefore in the content class they are taught different issues regarding the subject matter and in
language class they become familiar with content related language. The language trainer in this
model helps students do content assignments.
Both of these classes have pre-specified outcomes which are expressed from the students at the
end of the courses. Therefore, a variety of instruments to evaluate students' content and language
learning are required. For instance, whereas written multiple choices, True or False, or essay
questions could be employed to gauge students' reading comprehension ability, open-ended
questions format like writing an essay about the content taught during the term can be used to
assess both writing skills and subject matter learning. Shang (2006) proposes different kinds of
games such as "Jeopardy" through which students' aural/oral ability as well as vocabulary and
reading comprehension can be assessed. All these question types should be designed in a way
that address students' understanding of the content of the short story or other literary works
which were taught.
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A Practical Example:
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The activities mentioned above were carried out in the classroom consisting of 30 members and
the time duration of each class is 1 hour. The feedback obtained after the class was quite
promising. The participants were engineering students of second year and the only literary piece
they get for their syllabus is the book named „Fantasy: a collection of short stories’. The

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questions that come generally from this book during the examination are comprehension types or
broad answer types.
As the engineering students are not very keen in studying the literary pieces as their subject,
therefore the activities that were discussed earlier are done in the classes to make the learners get
interested in the subject. The class time was divided into two sections like two classes of adjunct
model. The first 30 minutes was devoted to the above-mentioned activities related to literature.
During the first half an hour, students seemed really motivated and engaged in the classroom
activities. The second half an hour was devoted to the different language activities related to the
story provided where the learners can enhance their critical thinking abilities, also care was taken
by the instructor to develop students four skills of language i.e. listening, speaking, reading and
writing.
At the end of the class, the author asked the learners to spend a few minutes of their time
answering some questions in the questionnaire set for them. The students unanimously believed
that the integrated lesson was a useful one and they had positive opinions about it. They even
asked to continue the class in this way since they thought during the class they were doing
something meaningful with a clear purpose for their future needs. They also believed that
through such lessons they could improve their language and literary skills
Majority of the students liked the group learning activity, where they need to come up with
different endings of the story and have to convince the other group members that their
conclusion to the story is best. This helped the students develop their convincing and persuading
skill also, as they need to reason out why the ending of their story is best.
Through the opinion of the students it could be inferred that they have improved their writing
skills and have known how to work as a team in a cooperative and coordinated manner. The task
related to the speaking activity the learner expressed satisfaction as they need to make a
presentation about the writer and present it in the next class.
In sum, the overall evaluation of the lesson was a successful one and the learners insisted on
being exposed to such material and activities for fulfilling their future needs about both English
and other subject matters.

CONCLUSION:

Ellis (2003) believes that," content-based courses are premised on the assumption that learners
will best learn language which engages them in learning subject content" (p.74). Based on this
quotation we know that a CBI model makes use of a language and a subject matter component.
Regarding the subject matter component it has been mentioned throughout the paper that some
disciplines such as literature lend themselves better to content-based instruction. Moreover,
literature roles in ESL/EFL classrooms are undeniably important in language pedagogy.
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According to Sagliano and Greenfield (1998), the use of collaborative content-based literature
teaching can improve EFL students' motivation and comprehension.
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Making use of literature in ESL classrooms is consistent with a focus on the development of
English fluency. By discussing the issues in the short story, students can convey thoughts
through language use language sophisticatedly and develop their critical thinking, reading,

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writing, speaking and listening skills. All in all it could be claimed that a collaborative CBI
program with a literature teaching component can boost simultaneous learning of academic
subject matter, English language skills and critical thinking abilities.

REFERENCES

i. Abulhaija, L. A. (1987). English language and literature in EFL situations. Retrieved

July,12, 2006, from the ERIC database.
ii. Brinton, D., Snow, M., &Wesche, M. (1989).Content-based second language instruction.
New York: Newbury House.
iii. Ellis, R. (2003). Designing a task-based syllabus. RELC Journal, 34, 64-81.
iv. Erkaya, O. R. (2005). Benefits of using short stories in the EFL Context. Asian EFL
Journal, 8, 1-13.
v. Sasikumar, V. (2010). Fantasy: a collection of short stories. Hyderabad: Orient Black
Swan.
vi. Fitzgerald, J. (1993). Literacy and students who are learning English as a second
language. The Reading Teacher, 46(8), 638-647.
vii. Krankhe, K. (1987). Approaches to syllabus design for foreign language teaching. New
York: Prentice Hall.
viii. Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. New York:
Longman.
ix. Langer, J. (1997). Literacy acquisition through literature. Journal of Adolescent and
Adult Literacy, 40, 602-614.
x. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
xi. Littlewood, W. T. (1987) Literature in the school foreign-language course. In C. Brumfit
and R. Carter (Eds.), Literature and language teaching (pp. 177-183). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
xii. Mackay, S. (1987) Literature in the ESL classroom. In C. Brumfit and R. Carter (Eds.),
Literature and Language teaching (pp. 191-198). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
xiii. Richards, J. C. & Rodgers, T. S. (2001).Approaches and methods in language teaching.
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Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

xiv. Sage, H. (1987).Incorporating literature into ESL instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
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Prentice-Hall.
xv. Sagliano, M., & Greenfield, K. (1998). A collaborative model of content-based EFL
instruction in the liberal arts. TESOL Journal, 7(3), 23-28.

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xvi. Shang, H. (2006) Content-based instruction in EFL literature Curriculum. The Internet
TESL Journal, 11, 1-7.
xvii. Snow, M. (2001) Content-based and immersion models for second and foreign Language
teaching. In M. Cele-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp.
303-318). Boston: Heinle and Heinle.

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