Content Based Approach
By: Amanda Berry, Christina Shrewsbury, and Elham Patavani
What is Content Based
Language Teaching?
CBLT is an umbrella term
for a multifaceted
and integrated approach to
foreign
language acquisition.
Students are focused on
subjects that are both
relevant and important to
their own lives (Brown,
2020).
It is widely agreed upon that content-based
language learning is most effective
when it provides
both meaningful communication about
content and
intentional language development
(e.g., Pica, 2000).
CBL contrasts with other approaches as
language skills are not taught in
isolation from other content. It relies
on authentic texts and materials,
enabling the learning of skills and
concepts related to multiple disciplines
at once.
• The core goal of CBLT is
to approach teaching
and learning with a
mixture of relevant
content and language
integration.
Goals of the Method
• There is no explicit
language curriculum or
defined outcomes,
rather the goal is to
successfully combine
various subjects within
second language
acquisition.
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According to The National
Foreign Language Center,
student engagement relies on
the following objectives:
• Content is learned in L2.
• Content learning is priority.
• Language learning is secondary.
• Content objectives determined by
course goals or curriculum.
• Teachers must select language
objectives.
• Students evaluated on content
mastery.
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Teacher Roles
• Knowledgeable
• Keep context and
comprehensibility foremost
• Select and adapt authentic
material
• Students needs analyst
• Learner centered
classrooms
Student Roles
Roles of the Teacher
and Student
• Autonomous
• Collaborative modes of
learning
• Active roles
• Sources of content
• Content-based learning provides students with the space to remain actively
involved in their individual learning. They can help choose related materials or
suggest topics. Ultimately, they're in charge of their learning as they will be
autonomous and supportive.
According to the National Foreign Language Center:
• Teachers must make themselves learn the content beforehand and
understand how language develops in instructed settings.
• A variety of materials is necessary, including print, nonprint, authentic,
and culturally appropriate. Content should be adaptable
and modified respectively. After, they should have a range of assessment
options.
Teacher-Student
Interaction
Teachers support learner-content
interaction in the classroom as
they introduce topics through
engaging and authentic
multimedia, activities, or
projects.
For example, if the students are
interested in learning about the
solar system, the teacher can
Student-Student
Interaction
Once students are broken into smaller
groups, students will facilitate their own
learning amongst their
peers. Collaboration will occur and should
be followed up by a group presentation to
the rest of their class to reflect on what
they have learned.
Students must remain both autonomous
and active, and within group work,
dialogue practice, or presentations, they
hold both themselves and their peers
accountable.
A Teacher's
Perspective:
• "As your students are exposed to
linguistic input, their brains
process it and intake what they can
make sense of; in a nutshell, what
they understand. That processed
input is applied to students’
mental representation of language,
and poof! The seemingly magic
work of language acquisition
happens subconsciously as
students’ conscious focus is on the
content" (Bex, 2019).
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Language Skills
that are
Emphasized
when using a
Content Based
Approach
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Reading:
Content of the lesson is delivered
through written form. When the
written language is the L2,
recognition of the language being
learned is solidified visually. This
improves vocabulary, spelling and
grammar and increases fluency
(Elena, 2001).
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BY.
Speaking:
Students engage in their new language by
speaking it with one another as well as the
instructor. When using the content-based
approach, students ask questions regarding
their lesson in the new language as well as
engage in activities guided by the teacher
using the L2. Speaking the new language
reinforces form and function as well as
vocabulary and grammar (Elena, 2001).
Writing:
• General studies curriculum
usually requires the student to
engage in a significant amount of
writing. When the student writes
in the L2, they are putting
listening, speaking and reading all
together to recall how to write in
the new language (Elena, 2001).
What role does the
students native
language have in a
Content Based
Approach Model?
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(Snow, 2001)
When used
• The student native language can
be used to help reenforce
concepts when using L2 in a
general studies curriculum.
• It is preferred that the
student or instructor use native
language minimally to
assist the student in finding the
L2 terms or phrases for what
they need to communicate.
When not used
• When using an immersive
method to the Content Based
Approach, there is a focus on the
L2 and avoidance of native
language in the classroom.
• Some of the immersive methods
begin as early as kindergarten
requiring students are taught all
content in L2.
Methods to help
students manage
their emotions:
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Reduce classroom stress.
•
An easy way to help manage the emotion of
students is to to reduce stress within the classroom.
One way to accomplish this is to avoid deducting
points from assignments for things like messy
handwriting (Tips for Teachers).
•
Staying aware of the social atmosphere within a
classroom can also assist an instructor in reducing
stress for the students. Knowing which students get
along and work well with one another and which
ones do not and working with that knowledge
when assigning group projects or seating
arrangements can help.
•
Minimizing homework assignments and making
them due in two days rather than one is another
effective way to reduce stress (Tips for Teachers).
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Find the good and Praise it.
Some students may be hard on themselves or
have someone in their life who is hard on them.
Focusing on the good aspects of their work or
behavior and frequently praising it will help them
manage feelings of inadequacy, fear or guilt (Tips
for Teachers).
Avoid embarrassment.
A long-standing method of correction has been
embarrassment. Shaming a person to get them to
perform better is unnecessary and ineffective. If a
student is in need or correction, taking them aside
and privately discussing the issue with them is
much better for them emotionally than doing so
in public.
Show Compassion.
The struggles are real. Instructors need to empathize with their students
and show compassion for the emotions that students deal with.
Utilize Available Resources.
Mental Health America suggests the Pax Good Behavior Game, the
Positive Action Program and the Raising Healthy Children Program. These
programs have been shown to use social and emotional learning to make
life lasting improvements. Lower crime rates, increased employment
opportunities and higher income potential are some of the documented
outcomes from using these programs within the classroom (Tips for
Teaching).
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The way the teacher
responds to student errors.
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Because students can have limited language knowledge
but are still able to communicate in the target language
errors related to structures during fluency-based exercises
are known as a natural thing.
The teacher should record these errors and correct them
during accuracy-based exercises.
If a student makes grammar or pronunciation errors but is still able to
communicate meaning: interruption and correction is not recommended.
Fluency exercises and exposure generally decreases the frequency of errors of
this type.
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Assessment

"Assessment is meaningful and a positive learning experience for students,
student’s assessment is considered as an essential element for providing them
with a positive learning experience. under CBLT, formative assessment is
prioritized so that the teacher can better identify where students have
difficulties"(Azzoug & Hamitouche)
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Assessments Forms
1.Scrambled sentences
Students are given a text in which the sentences are
messed up and they have to put the sentences in their
correct place. This text may be a text they have seen
before, or it may be a completely new text. This type of
exercise shows students the coherence of the language.
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Assessments Form
2.Picture strip story
A piece of the story is given to one of the students in
a small group; He shows the first picture of the story
to the rest of the group and asks them to predict the
second picture. And this itself is a kind of problemsolving.
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Assessments Forms
3. Role play
This exercise is very important in this method
because it gives students the opportunity to practice
communicating in different contexts and social roles.
This exercise exists in two types, structured and
unstructured.
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Reference

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362001009_Competency_Based
_Language_Teaching_Implementation_in_PreService_Teacher_Training_College_of_Bouzareah_The_Case_of_the_Fift
h_Year_Students_High_school_teachers
References
•
Elena García Sánchez María. (2001). Present and future trends in
Tefl. Universidad de Almería.
• Eli Hinkel. (2005). Handbook of Research in SL Teaching and
Learning. Routledge.
•
Snow, M.A. (2001). Content-based and immersion
models for second and foreign language teaching.
Teaching English as a second or foreign language, 3.
•
Tips for teachers: Ways to help students who struggle with
emotions or behavior. Mental Health America.
• Bex, M. (2019, September 3). Why language
teachers love Content Based Language
Instruction. Comprehensible Classroom.
Retrieved September 18, 2022.
• Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2020). In Teaching by
principles: An interactive approach to language
pedagogy (pp. 57–58). essay, Pearson Education.
•Met. M. (1999, January). Content-based
instruction: Defining terms, making
decisions. NFLC Reports. Washington, DC: The
National Foreign Language Center.
•Pica, T. (2000). Tradition and transition in English
teaching methodology. System, 28, 1-18.
•YouTube. (2020). Content-Based Approach.
YouTube. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
References
•YouTube. (2019). Content-Based Instruction.
YouTube. Retrieved September 18, 2022.