What is Content-Based Instruction (CBI)?

Content-Based Instruction has been defined as “the teaching of the content or information
in the language being learned with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the language
itself separately from the content being taught” (krahnke, as cited in Richards and Rodgers,
2001, p.24) It is an approach to language teaching that focuses not on the language itself,
but rather on what is being taught through the language; that is, the language becomes the
medium through which something new is learned. For example by studying the French
Revolution while using the French language. The language being learned and used is taught
within the context of the content. The theory behind CBI is that when students are engaged
with more content, it will promote intrinsic motivation. Students will be able to use more
advanced thinking skills when learning new information and will focus less on the structure
of the language.

CBI Background
The roots of CBI can be traced back many centuries. St. Augustine pointed out that:
Once things are known knowledge of words follows… we cannot hope to learn words we
do not know unless we have grasped their meaning. This is not achieved by listening to the
words, but by getting to know the things signified. (as cited in Brinton, Snow, & Wesche,
1989, p. 4)
The publication of Bernard Mohan’s work in the mid-1980s was the first appearance of
what is known today as CBI. Mohan’s Language and Content explored the different ways
in which the subject matter and the learning of a language can be achieved (Brinton, 2003).
Other authors who made an important contribution in order to launch this approach were
Cantoni-Harvey and Crandall (Brinton, 2003). It is quite obvious that the idea of basing
language teaching on content is not a new one and its roots can be traced back as early as
St. Augustine.

Teacher and Student’s role

This approach is very student-centered as it depends entirely on the students’ ability to use
the language. Students in a CBI class are supposed to learn a target language and some
concepts related to the content at the same time. It means that teachers should be
knowledgeable in the two areas and effectively “combine language and content
instruction”(Crandall,1999, p.608)

Teacher’s role Student’s role

 “Instructors must be more than just good -One goal of CBI is for learners to become
language teachers. They must be autonomous so that they are aware of their
knowledgeable in the subject matter and own learning process
able to elicit that knowledge from their -Students will support each other in
students” (Stryker and Leaver 1993:292) collaborative modes of learning
-They are responsible for selecting and -CBI is in the “learning by doing” school of
adapting authentic materials for the class pedagogy. This assume an active role by
-They have to create truly student-centered learners in several dimensions.
classrooms. -Ss need to be commitment to this approach
Materials
A key component of CBI is authenticity. Hutchinson and Waters define authentic texts aa
those that are “not originally constructed for language teaching purposes” (1987, p. 159),
Thus, an extract from a content area textbook, a cartoon, the lyrics to a popular song, or a
short story would all qualify as authentic textbooks. Texts and tasks used in CBI then come
from the real world. It is true that bringing and using authentic material in the class
modifies its original purpose, which was not to teach a language (Hutchinson & Waters as
cited in Brinton, 2003), but it is also true that the use of authentic material promotes the
learning of the culture of the target.
Procedures
What does a content-based instruction lesson look like?
There are many ways to approach creating a CBI lesson. This is one possible way.
Preparation
Choose a subject of interest to students.
Find three or four suitable sources that deal with different aspects of the subject. These
could be websites, reference books, audio or video of lectures or even real people.
During the lesson
Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a small research task and a source
of information to use to help them fulfil the task.
Then once they have done their research they form new groups with students that used
other information sources and share and compare their information.
There should then be some product as the end result of this sharing of information which
could take the form of a group report or presentation of some kind.
https://books.google.com.co/books?id=gibu9KpIUugC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=fals
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https://sites.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/Best%20of%20Bilash/content.html
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/content-based-instruction
Dialnet-ContentBasedInstruction-5181354%20(2).pdf
Advantages of content-based instruction
 It can make learning a language more interesting and motivating. Students can use the
language to fulfil a real purpose, which can make students both more independent and
confident.

 Students can also develop a much wider knowledge of the world through CBI.

 CBI is very popular among EAP (English for Academic Purposes) teachers as it helps
students to develop valuable study skills such as note taking, summarising and extracting
key information from texts.

 Taking information from different sources, re-evaluating and restructuring that information
can help students to develop very valuable thinking skills that can then be transferred to
other subjects.

 The inclusion of a group work element within the framework given above can also help
students to develop their collaborative skills, which can have great social value.

Disadvantages

 Because CBI isn't explicitly focused on language learning, some students may feel
confused or may even feel that they aren't improving their language skills.

 Particularly in monolingual classes, the overuse of the students' native language during
parts of the lesson can be a problem. Because the lesson isn't explicitly focused on language
practice students find it much easier and quicker to use their mother tongue.

 It can be hard to find information sources and texts that lower levels can understand. Also
the sharing of information in the target language may cause great difficulties. Some
students may copy directly from the source texts they use to get their information.