INFORMED APPROACHES

Autor: Pedro Devera

Carnet: 1188508

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:

CBI refers to an approach to

second language teaching in

which teaching is organized

around the content

information that students will

acquire, rather than around a

linguistic or other type of

syllabus.

CONTENT BASED INSTRUCTION

CBI is grounded on the following

two central principles:

1. People learn a second

language more successfully when

they use the language as a means

of acquiring information, rather

than as an end in itself.

2. Content-Based Instruction

better reflects learners’ needs for

learning a second language.

CONTENT BASED INSTRUCTION

Theory of Language:

Language is text- and discourse-based: CBI addresses the role of language

as a vehicle for learning content. The focus of teaching is how meaning and

information are communicated and constructed through texts and discourse.

Language use draws on integrated skills: CBI views language use as

involving several skills together.

Language is purposeful: Language is used for specific purposes. The

purpose may be academic, vocational, social, or recreational but it gives

direction, shape, and ultimately meaning to discourse and texts.

Theory of Language Learning:

People learn a second language

when they use the language as a

means of acquiring information.

Learning occurs when students

are presented with target

language materials in a

meaningful, contextualized form

with the primary focus on

acquiring information.

CONTENT BASED INSTRUCTION

Practical Applications:

_ LSP.

_ Foreign language immersion

programs.

_ Vocational and workplace

instructional contexts.

_ University-level foreign

language instruction.

_ Bilingual education.

CBI PROS:

_ There is strong empirical

support for CBI.

_ CBI stimulates students to think

and learn through the use of the

target language.

_ CBI integrates teaching of the

four traditional language skills.

_ CBI employs authentic reading

materials.

CONTENT BASED INSTRUCTION

CBI CONS:

_ CBI demands well-trained

teachers.

_ CBI teaching materials may be

expensive. Materials must be

adapted for low-proficient

students.

_ CBI applicability in Venezuelan

public high-school education is

an uphill task.

Personal Opinion:

CBI is an empirically based

approach that draws upon the

principles of Communicative

Language Teaching and seems to

be suited for academic literacy.

As a matter of fact, all of the

courses offered in this post-grade

reflect several CBI principles.

CONTENT BASED INSTRUCTION

References:

Richards, J., & Rodgers,

T. (2001). Approaches and

Methods in Language

Teaching, second edition.

United Kingdom, UK.

Cambridge University

Press.

TASK BASED INSTRUCTION

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:

an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of

planning and instruction in language teaching.

It is a logical development of Communicative Language

Teaching.

Activities that involve real communication are essential for

language learning. Activities in which language is used for

carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning.

TASK BASED INSTRUCTION

Theory of Language:

_ Language is primarily a means of making meaning.

_ Multiple models of language inform TBI: task-based instruction draws on

structural, functional, and interactional models of language.

_ Lexical units are central in language use and language learning:

Vocabulary is here used to include the consideration of lexical phrases,

sentence stems, prefabricated routines, and collocations, and not only

words as significant units of linguistic lexical analysis and language

pedagogy. Conversation is the central focus and the keystone of language

acquisition.

TASK BASED INSTRUCTION

Theory of Language Learning:

Tasks provide both the input and output processing necessary

for language acquisition.

Task activity and achievement are motivational: this is because

they require the learners to use authentic language.

Learning difficulty can be negotiated and fine-tuned for

particular pedagogical purposes: specific tasks can be designed to

facilitate the use and learning of particular aspects of language.

TASK BASED INSTRUCTION

Practical Applications:

Language for Specific Purposes.

Foreign Language Education.

Academic Literacy.

TBI is more student-

centered, allows for

more meaningful

communication, and

often provides for

practical extra-linguistic

skill building.

The risk that students will stay

within the narrow confines of familiar

words and forms.

Some students can "hide" and rely on

others to do the bulk of the work and

learning.

Difficulty of implementing task-based

teaching where classes are large and

space limited and/or inflexible.

TASK BASED INSTRUCTION

PROS CONS

TASK BASED INSTRUCTION

Personal Opinion:

TBI is an approach that may be used in Venezuelan public

high-schools because it might match the administrative

evaluation system (three terms a year, each divided in 70%

and 30% of a total grade). In this way, it may promote

learning and increase motivation in students while at the

same time; it remains within the public high-schools

administrative constraints.

TASK BASED INSTRUCTION

REFERENCE

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and

Methods in Language Teaching, second edition.

United Kingdom, UK. Cambridge University Press.

THE END