DEFINITION AND GENERAL MODELS

• The content-based curriculum removes the arbitrary distinction between language and content


• It reflects the interests and needs of the learners


• It takes into account the eventual uses the learners will make of the second or foreign language


• It exposes the learner to authentic materials and tasks


• It offers optimal conditions for second language acquisition by exposing learners to meaningful, cognitively demanding language;


• It provides pedagogical accommodation to learner proficiency levels and skills

• Theme-based language instruction


• Sheltered subject matter instruction


• Adjunct instruction

• Content as a point of departure


• Relation to student interests/needs


• Authenticity of materials and task


• Accommodation of language to L2 learner proficiency levels

• Topics in theme-based instruction are chosen to be of high interest to students


• The units incorporate all skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar)


• The teacher present topics as a vehicle for language development--i.e., teaching language (not content) is the main goal


• Courses may cover a variety of topics or treat one topic more in depth

• The class is taught by a content instructor, not a language instructor


• The content instructor is sensitized to the language acquisition process and to students' language needs and abilities


• There is accommodation to the students' level of language proficiency


• Content is not watered down


• Language acquisition occurs through content mastery; the focus is on content rather than language

• The linked classes are taught by content and language instructors respectively


• The purpose of the content class is content mastery; in the language class, the purpose is for students to master elements of the second language which are necessary for success in the content area


• The syllabi of the two classes are negotiated with respect to each other; typically, the content course provides a point of departure for the language class and dictates its sequence


• Coordination between content and language teachers is essential


• Language teachers need to be familiar with the content material (i.e., read the content textbook and attend content lectures whenever possible)


• The materials development load on the language teacher is heavy; this should be planned into the course assignment and teachers should be compensated or otherwise rewarded for the work load

Example: Indiana University [Lafayette & Buscaglia, 1985]. 4th semester French students are enrolled in a course on French civilization and culture which exposes them to both the subject matter and language in context.

Example: Northern Arizona University [Giaque, 1987]. French Department course offering on Greek mythology for advanced level students; the course received general Humanities credit. The aim of the course is both to familiarize students with Greek mythology and to improve their ability to speak, comprehend, read, and write.

Example: University of Texas, San Antonio [Milk, 1990] An "immersion style" sheltered content course in language acquisition was offered to bilingual and ESL teacher candidates. The goal of this course, offered in Spanish by the subject matter specialist (i.e., the teacher trainer), was to provide the new teachers with a first-hand experience in the potential benefits of content-based instruction and cooperative learning techniques.

Example: University of Hawaii - School of Travel Industry Management [Benouis, 1986; Hijirida & Iwamura, 1986]. Courses in French, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin were initiated by the School of TIM in collaboration with the respective FL faculties. The courses are designed for students with high beginning/low intermediate levels of proficiency due to the pressing professional need for FL skills are tailored to the skills these students require in the TIM field.

Example: Earlham College [Jurasek, 1988]. "Facilitators" from various disciplines who were fluent in a FL were first identified through a faculty development initiative. In collaboration with language faculty, these facilitators selected excerpts from texts used in their courses which were originally written in the FL and identified excerpts which could be read in the original by students who had some level of familiarity with the FL. The issue of student proficiency in the FL was addressed through three possible levels of application. Activities in the three levels vary in terms of the amount of text glossing, the length of the passage read, and the amount of L2 used in the subsequent discussion. Willing foreign language faculty may be called in to assist in the discussion activities.

Example: St. Olaf College [Watkins, 1990; Allen, Anderson, & Narvaez, forthcoming]. An "Applied Foreign Language Component" was added to 15 heavily-enrolled core courses at the college. These courses are taught in English 3 hrs./wk.; 1 hr.wk. is devoted to a discussion in the FL of selected texts read in the original. Language faculty are given released time to attend the discussion course; content faculty are paid a stipend as an incentive to teach in the AFLC.

Example: University of Rhode Island [Grandlin, 1989]. A joint concentration program in German and Engineering was instituted in an effort to provide American technologists with the tools necessary for "productive, fulfilling, and rewarding careers in the global workplace" (p. 146). To allow students to pursue the joint degree and complete a 6-month internship abroad in their 4th year, students' undergraduate degree requirements are extended to five years. The FL curriculum is altered for the students in the joint concentration program--their German courses in the first three years reflect their special purposes Engineering needs, and the "traditional" upper-level literature courses in the fifth year are supplanted by interdisciplinary engineering courses taught in the target language by engineering faculty.

Example: UCLA/Seoul National University, Korean Language Program [Russ Campbell, personal communication]. Immigrant students from UCLA whose whose home language is Korean but who lack cognitive academic language proficiency in this language are selected as participants in the Seoul program. In addition to the usual goals of study abroad programs, the UCLA program thus serves the additional function of home language maintenance/development.