Transcript
Page 1: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

CBLLCONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN

AND

MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

Page 2: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

CBLLCONTENT-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING

English across the curriculum: a challenge or mystification ?

•Reasons for content based language learning

•Characteristics of content based LL

•Content

•Classroom activities

•Open issues and problems

Page 3: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

Reasons for content-based language learningWhy

It’s learner-centred

• increases motivation• promotes learner’s self-

confidence • it’s subject-integrated,

therefore interdisciplinary

• based on cognitive constructivist mind process

• stimulates use of multiple intelligences and creative decision-taking, ability to reconstruct and represent, autonomy

institutional policy

•EU-recommended•Italian MPI -supported•responds to youth exchange project needs•responds to growing multi-ethnic classes

relevance to work

•professionally/vocationally oriented •focused on practical outcomes•task-based, goal-based•responds to need for better discipline-integrated educational paths (interdisciplinarity)

Page 4: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

WHATContent & Characteristics

Content: choice of content considers:

•Learner’s needs analysis a)educational purposes (academic,

literature, British studies)

b)professional/vocational purposes

•Variables: a)absolute

b)variable

•Choice should fall on most suitable subjects because of their

highly interdisciplinary value

Page 5: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

Characteristics•Meets specific learner’s needs

•can also make use also of underlying methodologies and activities of the disciplines served

•when part of school curriculum it’s more motivating if it falls to the centre of continuum

•presumes students’ more focused cognitive attention

•concentrates on subject matter and leaves linguistic aspect on the background: it’s more meaningful

•requires some initial intensive vocabulary intensive instruction if field is new

•is multidisciplinary activity

•requires cooperation between language and subject teachers

•requires teachers with good competence in both language and subject

•requires well designed and well-balanced assessment criteria

•implies and allows code shift from L1 to L2 and viceversa

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Activities1.Implies a lot of •Task-based activities,•problem solving, •simulations, •role play, •case study, •project work•mind maps, charts, tables, graphics

2.Makes use of more •peer teaching•authentic material and less simplified language texts but more simplified subject texts•innovative techniques and technologies ITC

3.Subject activities are more structured and language ones more focused on meaning

Page 7: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

Open issues and problems

•Activities implying lots of self made material and T’s work overload

•Balance between language & subject weighting in assessment

•Need for special school & class organisation: department in charge, small groups, timetable

•Involves teamwork and regular meetings to add to teacher’s work

•Possible difficulties encountered by lower achieving students

Page 8: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

OUTCOMES

Improved students’ competence in speaking English

Smooth introduction to English and graduality

Students’ grades in bilingual subjects above the average

Students’ and parents’ fear of extra overload not substantiated

Students’ improved autonomy, self direction, motivation

Teachers’ improved team work management and didactic competence

Page 9: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

MODEL TYPES OF CBEL

Language-based types Subject/content-based types

•FLT

•Import topics into FLT (content-based FLT

•Theach language in support of FL-medium lesson

•Teach whole subject lessons in FL

•Dual teacher lesson

•Teach whole/part of subject in FL

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ROLE OF LANGUAGE TEACHERS/SUBJECT TEACHERS

•Multidisciplinary teacher

•Expert evaluator

•Lot of teacher/peer interaction

•Teacher may not be the primary knower of the carrier content but students may be more expert

•Theacher as material editor: choosing , adapting, writing the right material

•Teacher as researcher in understanding the discourse of the texts students use

•Teacher as collaborator : language expert suppoting the subject teacher

L1 L2Peer interaction

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Testing and assessment

Language

competenceSubject

competence

Page 12: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

CBEL

PEDAGOGY

MINORITY

LANGUAGE EDUCATION MINORITY GROUPS IN

LANGUAGE EDUCATION

GOALS , AIMS

TEACHING L2 ABILITY

L teacher’s role

S teacher’s role

Policy & administration

contentCode switching

Teacher talk Student talk

Learning strategies Task

design tasks

available

Assessment

testing

Language demand

materials

MIND MAP

Page 13: CBLL CONTENT BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

“The best method is whatever is best for the learner.”

“...Teachers can teach, but only learners can learn.In the end one is responsible for his own progress.”

from The Council of Europe Guide


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