Integration of Content-Based Instruction into Elementary School EFL Instruction

Grace Chin-Wen Chien, Taiwan

Grace Chin-Wen Chien graduated from the University of Washington with a doctorate in education in June 2011. She is an assistant professor in Department of English Instruction of National Hsinchu University of Education in Taiwan. Her research interests are language education, language teachers’ education, and curriculum and instruction. E-mail: chinwenc@ms24.hinet.net

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Introduction
Material selections
Activity and assessment design
Students’ attitude towards English and CBI
Potential challenges for English and CBI
Conclusions
References

Introduction

Content-based instruction (CBI) is a method that integrates English with subject instruction and it aims not only to teach the language as a subject, but also to use the target language as a medium for learning academic subjects (Schleppergrell, Achugar, & Oteiza, 2004; Stoller, 2004).

However, most of the elementary school English education in Taiwan focuses on teaching the language skills, rather than linking English to content knowledge. This article discusses an English teacher’s integration of CBI and picture books into elementary school EFL (English as a foreign language) instruction to third graders in a rural elementary school in Taiwan in terms of material selections, activity and assessment designs, students’ attitude toward CBI, and challenges.

Material selections

Picture books are used widely as supplementary English teaching materials in elementary schools in Taiwan. Learning English through stories can help students acquire basic language functions and structures, vocabulary, and language-learning skills. Moreover, stories can be chosen to link English with other subjects. Four picture books were chosen as in Table 1. The content areas covered in these classes were multiplication in math, life cycle of butterflies and planting in science, and greetings in the social science.

Table 1: Picture Books and Content-Based Instruction

Activity and assessment design

For Hello World, students made a small book by drawing a country’s flag and writing the sentences “How do you say hello in _?” and “We say _in _.” Once students completed their small book, they asked their classmate questions. If they answered the questions correctly, they received signatures from their classmates.

Reader’s theater was the alternative assessment for The Carrot Seed. Students worked in a group of five and acted out the story by playing the roles of “father,” “mother,” “boy,” “brother,” and “carrot.” In addition, they used the mind-mapping to write down things that must be done for growing carrots such as watering the plants.

Students had to complete their small book for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Based on a picture of a butterfly on a flower on the first page, students answered two questions “How many flowers can you see in the garden? and “How many butterflies can you see in the garden?” on the second page. Students labeled the body parts on the third page. On the fourth page students completed the sentences about butterflies’ body parties such as “A butterfly has __wings.” Students labeled a butterfly’s life cycle on the fifth page and put them in order on the sixth page. On the back of the book was the self-evaluation and students had to put a check mark if they meet the requirements such as “I can use English to name parts of a butterfly.”

Alternative assessments are recommended for evaluating students’ comprehension of the content instruction (Short, 1993). Students responded that assessments such as reader’s theater, small book designs, and group activities helped them learn both English and content knowledge. One student said, “I made my own book. I want to use this book to teach my parents and my sister about butterflies.” Another student was proud of himself for being able to act out The Carrot Seed in the reader’s theater.

Students’ attitude towards English and CBI

Students responded that they liked the integration of picture book and CBI into their English instruction. CBI increases students’ interests with content knowledge and also provides students with a meaningful basis for understanding and acquiring new language structures and patterns (Snow 1989; Stoller, 2004).

Students were excited to learn flags and greetings of different countries. They wrote on the exit card, such as “I can say sawatdee kaa and do the action to a Thai worker working in the factory next door.”

Some felt that math and English are not difficult anymore. They wrote on their exit cards as follows: “English and math are not as difficult as I think. I like English and math more.” and “I can use English to say 12=2*6.” Moreover, students felt positive about acting out the book in Reader’s theater. After completing this small book project on All About Butterflies, students were happy that they learned the life cycle of butterflies in English. They wrote on their exit cards as “Next time I want to volunteer to be the tour guide for the school’s butterfly garden.”

Potential challenges for English and CBI

English teacher faced two challenges in integration CBI into English classes. First, the teacher was not familiar with the curriculum standards of content areas. The teacher expected third graders to use division to solve the math problem in The Doorbell Rang; however, they did not learn division till the end of third grade. Second, qualified elementary school English teachers are expected to teach English well; however, they may not have sufficient knowledge in other content areas, such as science. Therefore, CBI may be challenging to English teachers.

Conclusions

Through the integration of CBI and picture books into English classes, third graders in a rural elementary school in Taiwan learned English and content knowledge through classroom activities and alternative assessments. However, the English teacher faced two challenges: lacking knowledge in content areas and not familiar with students’ proficiency levels in content areas.

References

Schleppergrell, M. J., Achugar, M., & Oteiza, T. (2004). The grammar of history: Enhancing content-based instruction through a functional focus on language. TESOL Quarterly, 38(1), 67-93.

Short, D. (1993). Assessing integrated language and content instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 27(4), 129-141.

Snow, M.A., Met, M., and Geneseee, F. (1989). A conceptual framework for the integration of language and content in second foreign language instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 23(2), 201-217.

Stoller, F. (2004). Content-based instruction: Perspectives on curriculum planning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 261-283.

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