Como Hacer Una Unidad Didáctica

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit
Cmo hacer una unidad didctica
Developing Thematic Units to Integrate L & C Instruction By JoAnn Crandall
JoAnn Crandall is Professor of Education and Co-Director of the MA TESOL Program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Beginning in 1998, she will also direct an interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Language, Literacy, and Culture. She is a former President of TESOL, WATESOL (the Washington area affiliate), and AAAL (the American Association for Applied Linguistics). http://userpages.umbc.edu/~crandall/index.htm IDENTIFY THEME OR TOPIC IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE TEXTS TO USE OR ADAPT IDENTIFY LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES Vocabulary Grammar Functions IDENTIFY ACADEMIC CONCEPT OBJECTIVES IDENTIFY CRITICAL THINKING/STUDY SKILLS/STRATEGY OBJECTIVES DEVELOP ACTIVITIES SEQUENCE ACTIVITIES INTO A UNIT
Sample Thematic Unit Plan

Topic: Student Profile: Language Skills: Listening: Speaking: Food and Nutrition Beginning or Intermediate/Elementary Grade Students Listen to a story (A Very Hungry Caterpillar) Talk about foods (good for you/not so good) Retell story Write dialogue for caterpillar and act out story Sing caterpillar song Read language experience story Read and sequence sentences from story (strip story) Fill out calendar/graph of caterpillars foods Fill out own calendar of daily foods 1
Reading: Writing:
Make a caterpillar book and label Understand the value of different foods Study skills/Strategies: Sequence information Make predictions and confirm/disconfirm them Language Objectives: Grammar: Like/dont like On + days of the week Past tense Vocabulary: Days of the week, colors, fruits, other foods (pizza, cake, ice cream), caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly Content: See Nottinghan unit scheme of work Co Doyle PPP presentation For more information check Steve Darn personal Webpage Do Coyle Model
Complete unit: Ancient Egypt

Students Teacher
The element of Culture in Nottinghan model and the emphasis on texts, thinking skills and graphic organizers in American models are the relevant elements of both models.
Complete unit in PPP

Steve Darn contribution: Clil
1, Clil 2, Clil3
Content-Based Instruction for Language Learners
by: Kathi Bailey Special thanks to Jodi Crandall, Anne Snow, http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/asnow/webvitae.pdf Fredricka Stoller, http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~fls/ Bill Grabe, http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~grabe/ Ryan Dannerow and Nancy Douglas for their valuable insights during the development of this course.
Step 1: Selecting the content domain

It is given to us , though we can in certain ways accommodate what we have to the new curriculum (integrated curriculum) See an example To know more about Models of bilingual education
Step 2: An Example of Exploitability in a Topic

See this simple example
Imagine that you are working with adult students in a university, a four-year college, a community college, or in an intensive English program which prepares learners to enter programs of higher education. One way to go about choosing the theme(s) and topics for a sustained content-based course or a themebased course would be to discover what sorts of disciplines the students will be required to study in order to complete their degrees. One course that is often required in undergraduate curricula is biology. In this chapter, we will look at a few paragraphs from a biology textbook to illustrate the concept of exploitability. The following paragraphs are taken from Biology: A Human Emphasis, by Starr, Evers and Starr (2006). At the beginning of a chapter, the authors remind students what they have already studied: By this point in the book, you know that a population is a group of individuals of the same species. Ecological interactions begin with characterizations of populations. We call these vital statistics demographics (Starr et al., 2006, p. 686). In this introductory note, the authors provide a definition, relate this new topic to what the students have already learned, and preview some of the information that will follow. The chapter begins with the following paragraphs: Characteristics of Populations
Each population has a gene pool and an evolutionary history, as explained in chapters 16 and 17. It also has a characteristic size, density, distribution and number of individuals in its various age categories. Population size is the number of individuals that potentially or actually contribute to the gene pool. The age structure is the number of individuals in each of several age categories. For instance, individuals are often grouped into pre-reproductive, reproductive, and post-reproductive ages. Those in the first category have the capacity to produce offspring when they mature. Together with the individuals in the second category they make up the population's reproductive base. Population density is the number of individuals in some specified area or volume of a habitat. A habitat, remember, is the type of place where a species lives. We characterize a habitat by its physical and chemical features and its particular array of species. Population distribution is the pattern in which the individuals are dispersed in a specified area. (Starr, Evers and Starr, 2006, p.686)
In this passage, the authors use italic font to note vocabulary that the students have encountered in earlier chapters of the textbook. The boldface words are new concepts that are being introduced for the first time.
If you examine the examples presented in the section Example of a reading text and its exploitation you will find that the process is the opposite
I Focusing on vocabulary
How many different ways can we exploit this brief text to help students learn both language and biology? First, let's consider the discipline-specific vocabulary and the general academic vocabulary (Carson, 2000, p. 27) that appear in this text. Discipline-specific Vocabulary age structure density distribution evolutionary history gene pool habitat offspring population density population distribution population size pre-reproductive, reproductive, post-reproductive ages reproductive base species General Academic Vocabulary actually array capacity categories characteristic characterize evolution features history pattern pool potentially pre-X, X, and post-X phases of something the type of X where together with
As this list shows, even this brief passage is highly exploitable for the study of both discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary in context.
II An exercise for connecting language and content
The passage above uses the expression "together with" in the following sentence: Together with the individuals in the second category they make up the population's reproductive base. This is a common syntactic pattern in academic texts. Other expressions which are used in parallel constructions include combined with, joined with, in conjunction with, paired with, in combination with, and in tandem with. In both reading and writing when working with this sort of phrase, it is useful to make sure students understand the additive meaning. For example, to check their understanding of both the expression and the biology concept, students can be asked to fill in the blanks in a "conceptual formula," such as the following: Reproductive base = _______________ ages + ______________ ages III Applying concepts by categorizing examples
Students can be asked to categorize examples using the new concepts they are studying. Below is an example that uses population data from Canada and concepts from the biology passage above. Directions: Each of the following statements represents population size, population density, or population distribution. To the right of each statement, write the name of the correct concept. STATEMENT
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Canada's population in 2000 was estimated to be 30,750,100. About 60% of the Canadian population is concentrated within a thin belt of land between Windsor, Ontario and Quebec City. Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area, but it only ranks 33rd in terms of population. The agricultural areas in the Prairies and eastern Canada have more people than the North, but not as many as southern Ontario or southern Quebec. Canada has an average of 3.3 people per square kilometre. The population of the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is approximately 92,250 people.
CONCEPT 1. population size 2. population distribution 3. population density 4. population distribution 5. population density
6. population size *The information about Canada comes from www.atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/. IV Follow-up tasks and applications
After doing the concept-labeling task above, students can pick a country that interests them. They can then search the Internet and/or encyclopedias or books about their chosen country to find out about its population, population distribution, and population density. Next, students can draw maps of their chosen country and indicate the areas of greatest and least population density. Finally, they can complete charts (such as the one below) to compare the different countries represented by their class members' research. Country Land Mass Population Population Density
Canada 9,976.140 sq.km. Brazil China Egypt
30,750,100
3.3 people/sq. km.
Such comparisons lead naturally to practice using comparative and superlative constructions. Students can also use the data to draw bar charts depicting the statistics for the various countries. Completing a diagram
This textbook is also exploitable in that it suggests tasks that students can do to help them learn the biology content. For example, students can complete a diagram like this one about the concept of "age structure":
Megatheme to be chosen if possible

To know more about the six Ts approach
Threads across themes You will recall from our earlier lesson on the Six-T's Approach that threads are links across themes that are used to generate a sense of coherence in the curriculum. As Massie planned her Anglophone African literature course, she found that certain ideas arose several times. These included the following: apartheid religion modernization colonization the post-colonial world (Massie, 2005, p. 80)
Step 3: Materials. Criteria for selecting materials

Below are some general guidelines that can be used to inform materials selection and development: Relevance
The first criterion for selecting materials is their relevance. Materials should be relevant to (1) the focal topic(s) of the subject matter discipline(s) involved, (2) the students' needs and interests, (3) the course objectives, and (4) the overall program goals. Exploitability
The materials should also be exploitable, which means that they are rich in opportunities to teach language through content: "There should be a wide range of language functions and structures available and these should map neatly onto the language syllabus" (Brinton et al., 2003, p. 89). Availability and accessibility
Materials must be available and accessible. It is not useful to select the most recent DVDs on a particular topic if you do not have access to a DVD player. Cost to the students is also an issue in many contexts. It does no good to select beautifully illustrated textbooks and ancillary materials if the students cannot afford to buy them. Practicality
The materials chosen must also be practical. If using videotaped news broadcasts, PowerPoint presentations, CDs, or audio recordings involves more technology than is practical for you to deal with, the lesson can become technologically top-heavy. Likewise, creating your own materials can be very rewarding and pedagogically sound, but it can also be very time consuming and costly. Suitability
Materials need to be suitable in terms of the students' ages, their interests, and their language proficiency. Teachers must also be sensitive to any cultural or religious restrictions on topics that can and cannot be addressed in school. For example, classroom discussions of birth control or gay rights are not appropriate in all cultures and may not be suitable in some ESL or EFL contexts. Below are additional guidelines for selecting materials in content-based courses (Brinton, et al., 2003, p. 90):
Content authenticity: How up-to-date is the content material? Is the coverage adequate? Does the material give students an opportunity to practice the more extensive types of reading,
writing and listening typically required in content disciplines? Task authenticity: Are the tasks required of students appropriate to the discipline/subject matter? Do they promote critical thinking? Interest level: Will the subject matter engage the students' interest? Difficulty level: Are the materials appropriate for the proficiency level of the students? How heavy is the lexical/semantic load? Is the length of the text appropriate? Accessibility: Do the students have the necessary background knowledge to engage the text? Is it culturally accessible? Is the information load appropriate (i.e., not too dense)? Is the text organized according to standard organizational patterns? Is the style/register appropriate? Availability: What content-specific materials (e.g., readings, audio/videotaped lectures, films) are available for use in the course? Are the materials affordable? Packaging: Is the text visually attractive? Do layout features (e.g., typeface, color, borders) contribute to students' comprehension of the content material? Textual aids: Are textual aids (e.g., glosses, study questions, indices) utilized to assist students in their comprehension and retention of the content material? Supporting materials: Is there a teacher's guide and/or answer key available? Is there a supplementary student workbook? Flexibility: Does the text lend itself to the integration of skills? To information exchange activities? Does it appeal to a variety of learning styles? Source: Are the texts drawn from a variety of sources, thus exposing students to different text types (e.g., narrative, descriptive, analytic)? Are various media utilized?
Step 4: Texts in academic and non-academic setting

Authentic versus non-authentic materials
"Authentic materials, in the context of the language classroom, include oral and written texts that occur naturally in the target language environment and that have not been created or edited expressly for language learners"
Table 7.1: Parallel Examples of Spoken and Written Texts in an Academic Context Spoken texts (things students listen to) ESL/EFL teacher speech lectures by L1 professors/researchers in the content area(s) (either live or recorded) an entire lecture course in the content area presentations by guest speakers other than the professors or researchers classmates' ideas and opinions in discussions, pair and group work, etc.; debates; classmates' formal presentations role plays, plays, theatre productions casual conversation in general, whether the learner is participating in the conversation or overhearing the conversation (e.g., in a cafeteria, the hall before class, etc.) Written texts (things students read) ESL/EFL textbook units chapters from actual L1 textbooks on the content an entire book about the content area a layperson's opinions (e.g., in letters to the editor of a newspaper) classmates' writings (journal entries, summaries, compositions, written summaries of group work, etc.) texts of plays, scripts casual reading material whether engaged in intentionally (e.g., pleasure reading), or at large in the environment (e.g., posters on bulletin boards, etc.)
Parallel spoken and written texts abound in non-academic contexts as well, as noted in Table 7.2. Many of these can also be used for academic purposes. Table 7.2: Parallel Examples of Spoken and Written Texts in Non-Academic Contexts Spoken texts (things students listen to) radio and/or television broadcasts factual information (e.g., recorded information about weather conditions, recorded movie theatre announcements) discussions about personal finance topics (e.g., conversations at the bank, making a purchase, questioning a bill, etc.) songs and poetry read aloud audio information on the Internet radio commercials and television advertisements telephone answering machine messages; recorded telephone conversations Written texts (things students read) articles (newspapers, magazines, etc.) charts, graphs, maps, schedules, flowcharts and other pictorial representations of factual information personal financial documents (e.g., money orders, bank statements, contracts, bills, application forms, lease agreements, etc.) written poetry and song lyrics written and/or pictorial and/or graph information on the Internet print medium advertisements (newspapers, magazines, flyers, brochures) emails, notes, memos, personal letters
work-related texts such as employee manuals, employee orientation meetings; interactions minutes of meetings, employment forms, work with clients, co-workers, and employers schedules, etc. broadcast announcements (e.g., in airports, written bulletins (e.g., about safety on the job, bus stations, stadiums, train stations, etc.) enrollment deadlines, etc.)
How to exploit a text For learners, a simple procedure needs to be established. Following a familiar CLIL format: Processing the text Organisation of knowledge Language identification Tasks
This procedure can be seen in the examples below: http://www.factworld.info/turkey/jeans/exploiting_an_interactive_text.htm
A Brief Look At The Miniskirt A CLIL Project

http://www.factworld.info/turkey/miniskirt/index.htm
Background Knowledge and Content-Based Materials

Content schemata and formal schemata
Content schemata consist of what we already know about a given topic or subject. Our content schemata allow us to connect new incoming information to our existing knowledge base. In this regard, you have probably noticed that it is easier to understand a reading passage or listening text about a familiar topic than one that is unfamiliar. Formal schemata are mental knowledge structures about the form or shape of a piece of discourse. For instance, we know the differences among sonnets, limericks, and haiku because we have seen these forms of poetry before. We recognize their shapes and know their distinctive characteristics. It is our formal schemata that enable us to recognize these forms, or genres. Top-down and bottom-up processing strategies
When we use top-down processing strategies, we utilize our background knowledge about the content and/or the form of an incoming text to help us understand it. Top-down strategies involve using the "big picture" (the context, the surrounding environment, and our awareness of culture) to help us understand what we are reading or hearing. When we use bottom-up processing, we focus on the small bits of information that can help us understand the incoming message. In language learning and use, bottom-up processing can involve listening for specific pronunciation cues, using a familiar word to help understand a text, listening for question intonation, and so on. Skilled readers and listeners actually use both bottom-up and top-down strategies to process incoming information. You can remember the relationship between top-down and bottom-up strategies by referring to the following figure: Figure 7.1: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processing and the Components of Language
Bottom-Up Processing Difficult Announcer spoke too fast and/or had an unfamiliar accent.
Top-Down Processing I don't know anything about this story or this topic.
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Announcer used unfamiliar vocabulary. Announcer used easy or common vocabulary. Easy Pictures of the scene helped me understand.
I didn't understand where this story was happening. I read about this in the newspaper. I knew something about this story before.
I could read the dates and numbers on the I have seen/heard this program before. screen.
Step 5: Schema Activation and Advance Organizers

We discussed the importance of helping students utilize their background knowledge about the content and/or form of an incoming text in order to understand it. For this reason, schema activation, is very important. This involves triggering the existing knowledge structures (both content schemata and formal schemata) to help learners process new information. Teachers can help students activate the appropriate schemata before listening and reading activities. Doing so involves using advance organizers, that is, any visual, procedural, or verbal mechanism for getting students focused on what they already know about the topic and the genre. In other words, listeners and readers can begin to organize their ideas in advance, prior to listening to and/or reading a text. Teachers can activate schema by using a wide range of advance organizers: Visual advance organizers include photographs, charts, graphs, titles, and headings. In textbook chapters which start with a list of objectives, reading and checking off the objectives can serve as an advance organizer. Verbal mechanisms include asking questions before a reading or listening passage (e.g., "What do you know about Yosemite National Park? Where is this park located?"). Procedural mechanisms include drawing a mind map about the topic, brainstorming what the reading or listening passage might be about, predictingthe three main points of a lecture, and so on.
Customizable graphic organizer templates with their corresponding thinking skills
An example of schema activation

While I was teaching EFL in Hong Kong for a year, I developed a listening activity based on a videotape about my school in Monterey, California. The videotape was called "Extend Your Global Reach." Before I played the video, I first asked the students to predict what it would be about. Given only the title, the students predicted marketing or political alliances. Then I showed them the subtitle, which named the school (The Monterey Institute of International Studies). The students guessed it was a school, and I asked them what they thought people study there. My Hong Kong students predicted that students in Monterey probably study international relations and business (both of which are correct).
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Next, I asked them where Monterey is, and they said California, but they did not know where. Then I showed them a picture of three students walking near a beach, and my EFL students were able to guess that Monterey is located on the coast of California. Then in groups they brainstormed questions to ask me about the Monterey Institute before we watched the video. All of these activities helped the students prepare for the listening activity by activating the appropriate schemata.
Step 6: Types of activities

Task-based learning is an approach to defining and organizing activities. It involves specifying a "sequence of communicative tasks to be carried out in the target language" (Willis and Willis, 2001, p. 173) rather than a sequence of language forms to be learned. This approach to syllabus and lesson design is compatible with content-based instruction since many task-based activities can be related to any given content. Such tasks can either be pedagogical tasks or target tasks.
Task-based curricula and content-based curricula are both examples of analytical approachesto syllabus design. An analytical approach is one in which "the learner is presented with holistic 'chunks' of language and is required to analyze them or break them down into their constituent parts" (Nunan, 2004, p. 11). This idea contrasts with the synthetic approach to syllabus design, in which the course designers "break the content down into its constituent parts and introduce each part separately and step by step"
Content-based instruction typically takes a more analytic approach. Students must analyze the language presented to them in texts rather than having the linguistic elements for study pre-selected by the course designers. CBI courses start with the themes and topics of the subject matter selected. Texts are chosen, based on those themes and topics, and tasks are developed. In the process of doing the tasks, the learners must analyze the language they are confronted with.
Kinds of tasks
Pedagogical tasks
Pedagogical tasks (such as a "spot the difference" in a pair-work activity using two complementary cartoons) are not likely to be done outside the language classroom. They are "created in order to 'push' learners into communicating in the target language, on the assumption that this communicative interaction will fuel the acquisition process" (Nunan, 2001, p. 61). Target tasks
In contrast, target tasks are things the learners probably would do outside of the language classroom, such as filling out an application form, participating in a job interview, or using a map to find their way through a city (ibid.). These are "real life" activities which can easily be exploited in content-based language lessons. Communicative tasks
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A communicative task is "a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form" (Nunan, 1989, p. 10). Communicative tasks are consistent with content-based instruction because there are many times when students are focused on content instead of language forms. For instance, one learner can describe her family to another, who must draw the family tree of the person who is speaking.
Elements of a Task
The elements that make up a task are "task goals, input data, and learner procedures" (Nunan, 2004, p. 40). To explore these three elements, we will revisit a topic from an earlier lesson on population size, density, and distribution (using the population of Canada as our example). Task goals
Task goals are defined as "the general intentions behind any learning task. Goals are broad statements about intended outcomes of participating in the task. For example, in the biology lessons on population density and distribution, the teacher might make the following goal statement: "I want my students to understand the concepts of population size, population density, and population distribution." In order to accomplish that goal, students would first read about these three concepts in their biology textbook and then categorize facts about Canada's population as being statements about population size, density, or distribution. Then they would locate information about these concepts as they relate to different countries, by using print media and by searching the Internet. Input data in tasks
Input data are "the spoken, written and visual data that learners work with in the course of completing a task" (Nunan, 2004, p. 47). Such data can be provided by a teacher, the students, their textbook, authentic materials, Internet searches, and so on. The input data are what the students work with to carry out the task itself. In our example above, the input data were the paragraphs from the biology textbook and the facts about Canada's population.
Characteristics of Populations Population size is the number of individuals that potentially or actually contribute to the gene pool. The age structure is the number of individuals in each of several age categories. For instance, individuals are often grouped into pre-reproductive, reproductive, and postreproductive ages. Those in the first category have the capacity to produce offspring when they mature. Together with the individuals in the second category they make up the population's reproductive base. Population density is the number of individuals in some specified area or volume of a habitat. A habitat, remember, is the type of place where a species lives. We characterize a habitat by its physical and chemical features and its particular array of species. Population distribution is the pattern in which the individuals are dispersed in a specified area. (Starr, et. al, 2006, p.686)
Directions: Each of the following statements represents population size, population density, or population distribution. To the right of each statement, write the name of the correct concept.
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* The information STATEMENT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. CONCEPT 1. ________
6.
Canada's population in 2000 was estimated to be 30,750,100. About 60% of the Canadian population is concentrated 2. ________ within a thin belt of land between Windsor, Ontario and Quebec City. Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms 3. ________ of land area, but it only ranks 33rd in terms of population. The agricultural areas in the Prairies and eastern Canada have more people than the North, but not as many as 4. ________ southern Ontario or southern Quebec. Canada has an average of 3.3 people per square kilometre. 5. ________ The population of the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is approximately 92,250 people. 6. ________ about Canada comes from www.atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/.
Country Canada Brazil China Egypt
Land Mass 9,976.140 sq.km.
Population 30,750,100
Population Density 3.3 people/sq. km.
Learner procedures
The third element of a task consists of the procedures learners follow in completing the task. This component "specifies what learners will actually do with the input that form the point of departure for the learning task" (Nunan, 2004, p. 52). An example would be the following steps: 1. Read the paragraphs from page 686 in your biology textbook (Starr et al., 2006, p. 686). 2. Read the handout with six facts about Canada's population. 3. Decide if each fact is a statement about population size, population density, or population distribution. Write the correct concept next to each fact. 4. Compare your answers with those of two of your classmates. 5. With a partner, choose a country to investigate. Write your choice of country on the chart on the bulletin board. 6. When all the class members have chosen their country, use the encyclopedia or the Internet to find the land mass (the physical size), population size, population density, and population distribution in that country. 7. Write your data on the chart on the bulletin board: Exploiting tasks with follow-up tasks There are many possible language elements and opportunities for skills practice that will arise in the
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completion of this type of task. For example, given the completed chart above, students can make statements using comparative and superlative structures and expressions. Students can write paragraphs about the country they researched, or write a brief essay comparing two or more countries. In doing so, they would use both the biology concepts and related target language structures. This activity relates to another goal: Students will compare and contrast two different countries on specified criteria.
Seven Principles for Task-Based Language Teaching

Nunan (2004, pp. 35-38) discusses seven principles that underpin the use of tasks in language teaching. These principles can apply just as well to content-based instruction. Principle 1: Scaffolding
In an earlier lesson, we defined scaffolding as providing just enough, but not too much, guidance for learners so that they can accomplish tasks on their own. These supportive mechanisms are then gradually removed as learners increase their skill and knowledge and become more confident. The issue of scaffolding is important in choosing and using tasks. According to Nunan, "Lessons and material should provide supporting frameworks within which the learning takes place" (Nunan, 2004, p. 35). He adds that "at the beginning of the learning process, learners should not be expected to produce language that has not been introduced either explicitly or implicitly" (2004, p. 35). The key to successful task-based learning and teaching is knowing when to remove the scaffolding. If the scaffolding is removed prematurely, the learning process will 'collapse'. If it is maintained too long, the learners will not develop the independence required for autonomous language use (Nunan, 2004, p. 35). Principle 2: Task dependency
This principle is the idea that "one task should grow out of and build upon the ones that have gone before" (Nunan, 2004, p. 35). We have seen examples of this principle in operation in earlier lessons when we considered the threads between and across themes, and the transitions between and across topics, tasks, and texts (Stoller and Grabe, 1997). So, for example, the task of comparing the population density and distribution of two or more countries arose naturally from learning about and categorizing the Canadian demographic data. Principle 3: Recycling
"Recycling language maximizes opportunities for learning and activates the 'organic' learning principle" (Nunan, 2004, p. 36). Recycling in content-based language lessons is the repeated introduction and use of teaching points, whether they are language elements or subject matter concepts. Things to be learned must be repeatedly reworked, across different lessons. This is so because if "learners will not achieve one hundred per cent mastery the first time they encounter a particular linguistic item, then it follows that they need to be reintroduced to that over a period of time" (Nunan, 2004, p. 36). This recycling reinforces learning and "allows learners to encounter target language items in a range of different environments, both linguistic and experiential" (Nunan, 2004, p. 36).
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Principle 4: Active learning
"Learners learn best by actively using the language they are learning" (Nunan, 2004, p. 36). This principle derives from experiential learning: the idea that students learn best by having experiences, by "actively constructing their own knowledge rather than having it transmitted to them by the teacher" (Nunan, 2004, p. 36). There are many implications and applications of this principle in CBI. For example, it suggests that we should provide learners with the tools to locate information and have them seek it out themselves rather than always providing it to them. Principle 5: Integration
"Learners should be taught in ways that make clear the relationships between linguistic form, communicative function, and semantic meaning" (Nunan, 2004, p. 37). In the context of CBI, this principle refers to the fact that focusing solely on the formal aspects of language is not sufficient to help students master both language and content. We can select texts and design activities that help to combine form, functional use of the language, and meaning. Principle 6: From reproduction to creation
Learners should be encouraged to move from reproductive to creative language use" (Nunan, 2004, p. 37). This principle means that students may start with scaffolded structures and expressions, but move into more self-regulated generation of original texts. In our example in Chapter 2, completing the chart about the various countries would be largely "reproductive" in Nunan's terms, because the learners write information they get from an encyclopedia or the Internet. In composing a paragraph or an essay, however, they would move to creative language use. Principle 7: Reflection
"Learners should be given opportunities to reflect on what they have learned and how well they are doing" (Nunan, 2004, p. 37). This principle can lead to report-back activities after doing tasks, and to the use of self-assessment tools in the classroom. Nunan states that "learners who are aware of strategies driving their learning will be better learners" (Nunan, 2004, p. 38). As teachers, we can help learners develop reflective practices. It is helpful to keep these seven principles in mind when designing tasks as part of contentbased instruction.
Visual Aids (Graphic Organizers)

Venn diagrams
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Timelines ( see links to make timelines online)
Gantt charts
Mind maps
Poster presentations: It can be used as an assessment tool [ fluency and greater self-confidence, response to different learnig styles ] Trade fairs: excellent for Christmas exhibitions / songs/ food shows/ recipes/ use of brochures [ fluency and greater self-confidence, response to different learnig styles ]
Project-based learning
Characteristics of project-based learning Stoller (1997, pp. 4-5) says there are six characteristics of project work: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Project work focuses on content learning rather than on specific language targets. Real-world subject matter and topics of interest to students can become central to projects. Project work is student centered, though the teacher plays a major role in offering support and guidance throughout the process. Project work is cooperative rather than competitive. Students can work on their own, in small groups, or as a class to complete a project, sharing resources, ideas, and expertise along the way. Project work leads to the authentic integration of skills and processing of information from varied sources, mirroring real-life tasks. Project work culminates in an end product (e.g., an oral presentation, a poster session, a bulletin board display, a report, or a stage performance) that can be shared with others, giving the project a real purpose. The value of the project, however, lies not just in the final product but in the process of working towards the end point. Thus, project work has both a process and product orientation, and provides students with opportunities to focus on fluency and accuracy at different project-work stages.
Benefits from Project work

6. Project work is potentially motivating, stimulating, empowering, and challenging. It usually results in building student confidence, self-esteem, and autonomy as well as improving students' language skills, content learning, and cognitive abilities.
Learning through doing
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All of these activities involve physical and/or visual products. The opportunity to create such products can appeal to different learning styles, generate new learning opportunities, and reinforce both language and concept learning.
Step 7: Integrating the four skills , When adding interacting? Vocabulary and grammar
Integrating the four skills
Some authors emphasize the integration of all four skills in CBI courses. Most of these authors agree that content-based instruction provides a natural context for practicing the four skills. For example, Owens provides the following table which shows how the various skills are practiced in content-based courses at the Asian University of Science and Technology in Thailand. Table 9.1: Component Skills Correlated with Teaching Formats (from Owens, 2002, p. 49) SKILL Academic listening Academic presentations Academic writing Academic reading FORMAT Weekly lectures by teachers Weekly oral presentations by individual students One term paper written by students individually Support for both oral and written presentations
Activities for Integrating the Four Skills in Content-Based Instruction
1. panel presentations: This activity is designed primarily for speaking and listening. We will add
reading and writing components, and also discuss how to develop a student-generated test.
2. newspaper and television broadcasts: This activity focuses initially on reading and listening,
but can be adapted to include speaking and writing components.
1. Panel presentations Below is a description of a panel presentation activity (Huntley, 1999). It focuses on students learning about the U.S. National Park system, though panel presentations can be based on any topic. A group of students begins by gathering information about their particular topic:
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Ask the students to plan an oral panel presentation lasting about 20 minutes based on the information they have gathered. Explain how to give an oral presentation and how to organize the information clearly. Stress the importance of focus in their presentation. Students need to identify the main points they wish to include in their presentation and provide relevant details to support them. In the panel presentation: One student will introduce the panelists. Each student will be responsible for giving part of the information. All students must be prepared to answer questions. All students can choose to present a sample itinerary of a trip to the national park or to describe various aspects of it, and they may include visuals to support their main points. All students will have approximately 1 week to prepare for this presentation, either in or out of class.
The rest of the class take notes, ask questions, give a question for the general test, make a summary . (Huntley, 1999, p. 113) Adding reading and writing
How can reading and writing be added to this activity? We can answer this question by thinking about the roles of the presenters and the listeners (realizing, of course, that students who are presenters at one point will be listeners for the other panelists). Presenters would certainly read as they gather information to prepare for the panel presentation, whether they use print media or electronic resources. They would also write as they prepare (and proofread) handouts, create overhead projector transparencies, write on the board, or develop PowerPoint slide shows. The students who are listeners can be encouraged or required to take notes during the presentations. Afterwards, they can ask questions of the presenters. You can also assign one student who is not a panelist to summarize the panel's main points. Such tasks give the audience members a clear purpose for listening. Building in a student-generated test
Another skills-integration activity is to build in a test development component. Each group of panelists writes a set number of test questions about the information they present. The teacher should collect these questions before the panel presentation and listen to make sure that the answers to the questions are indeed given by the panelists. The teacher should also check that the information is clear, that the test questions are not too picky or obscure, that the questions are clearly worded, and so on. After all the panel presentations, the teacher incorporates the students' questions in a test of the material that was covered. All the students take the test, even though each student will have helped to generate some of the test items. Then the students correct the test together in class, with the panelists providing the correct answers to the items they wrote. In this way, students have even more opportunities for reading and writing, as well as for discussing the topics presented by the panelists. The studentgenerated test also helps to build test-taking skills.
3. An activity using newspaper and television news
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This activity starts with reading and listening but can be easily adapted to include speaking and writing. The activity is called "Read It and Listen to It" (Drislane, 1999) and uses parallel news stories from television and newspapers. The procedures for using this activity are listed below (adapted from Drislane, 1999, p. 14):
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Find a newspaper article and a corresponding story on television. Prepare a vocabulary and reading comprehension worksheet for the newspaper article. Prepare a video worksheet with vocabulary and listening comprehension questions for the television news item. Give students the newspaper article to read along with the vocabulary and the reading comprehension worksheet for homework. At the next class meeting, have the students check their reading homework in groups. Distribute the video worksheet with the vocabulary and the listening comprehension questions. Have the students watch the video clip of the television news story in class and complete the listening comprehension worksheet afterwards. Have the students check their answers on the video worksheet in groups. Do a follow-up to link both exercises, such as a general class discussion or a writing assignment to be done at home.
The reading and listening comprehension worksheets prepared by the teacher are about the specific news stories the students read and see or hear. The reading worksheet contains a list of WH-questions for students to answer to check their comprehension after they read the newspaper article for homework.
The listening worksheet is used in class after they view the video clip of the television news broadcast.
As an alternative to preparing comprehension worksheets, if you have been working on summarizing skills, you can have the students summarize the broadcast and the article.
Practical activities for CLIL

Adding speaking and writing
The WH-questions on the worksheets can be answered by the students individually or in pairs, either in writing or by speaking. Students can also write the answers to the questions individually and then compare their answers orally in pairs or small groups. If you have chalk or whiteboards in your classroom, some students can write their answers on the board, and the whole class can compare their answers to those on the board. Then you can add an accuracy focus, during which the rest of the class helps these students correct any errors in what they wrote on the board. Providing evidence and predicting
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Students can be required to justify their answers with specific information from the article and/or broadcast. Providing such evidence leads to further discussion. Afterwards, there can be a prediction task in which students state their opinions about what will happen next as the unfolding news story evolves. The prediction task can be discussed orally in pairs or groups, or it can be written as homework. Comparing and contrasting the two media
Students can also be encouraged to compare and contrast how the newspaper and television reports presented the same topic. This can be done as a speaking or writing task. Academic language of comparison and contrast
Comparing and contrasting is a very typical type of writing required of students in higher education. Two teachers at Georgia State University, Gayle Nelson and Jill Burns, have used the compare and contrast focus and described an activity they use to help students in a sustained content course on American history. The course emphasized test-taking skills as well as content learning. One particular focus of the course was on writing compare and contrast essays. These authors define these terms for their students as follows: Comparison is a way to show that two or more things or ideas are similar. Sometimes, when instructors ask you to compare, they want you to look at both the similarities and the differences. Contrast is a way to show that two or more things or ideas are different (Nelson and Burns, 1999, p. 155). These authors show how the structure of particular sentence patterns is important in writing. They say that to show similarities, even lower-level students can focus on coordinating conjunctions, such as and or but. Transition words are important too. These include also, similarly, and likewise. There are a number of predictable sentence patterns that are used to compare and contrast in writing. These include the following: Table 9.2: Sentence Patterns for Comparing and Contrasting (adapted from Nelson and Burns, 1999, p.155) Sentence Patterns that Compare and Contrast A and B are similar in several ways. A and B are alike in several ways. A is similar to B in several ways. A is like B in several ways. A is the same as B in several ways. There are several similarities between A and B. A, like B, A, just like B, Not only A but also B Both A and B A and B both A can be compared to/with B When comparing A to/and B, we can see that They are quite similar. Learners can use these sentence patterns to compare and contrast different content (e.g., the two media presentations of a particular story, as described above). As we saw in an earlier lesson, students can use
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the Venn diagram format as a pre-writing exercise to identify what the two items being compared have in common and which of their characteristics are unique.
Vocabulary Building in Content-Based Instruction

Productive and receptive vocabulary
Carter says that in order to know a word, one must know it "actively and productively as well as receptively." What is the difference? Productive vocabulary consists of words and expressions students can generate (produce) in speech and writing.
Receptive vocabulary, in contrast, consists of words and expressions students can recognize and interpret in listening and reading but may not be able to produce at will.
Collocations
In his definition, Carter also talks about the need to understand "collocational partners." Collocations are words which are used together so often that we recognize them as partners in some sense of meaning. For example, everyday phrases such as "bread and butter" or "ladies and gentlemen" are collocations. Individual words may also routinely combine with other words to form these kinds of partnerships. For instance, the noun "belief" is often used in combination with adjectives such as "basic," deep-rooted," "popular," and "strong" but not with the adjective "heavy." Content-obligatory and content-compatible language Notice that most of the American models are used for students in post secondary levels
In many CBI courses, it is important to distinguish between what Snow, Met, and Genesee (1989) term content-obligatory and content-compatible language. Content-obligatory language is the "language essential to an understanding of content material" (Snow et al., 1989, p. 201). It includes vocabulary, grammar and functions.
Content-compatible language is "language that can be taught naturally within the context of a particular subject matter and that students require additional practice with" (ibid.). Such language is not absolutely necessary for successful learning of the particular content but can be usefully and naturally contextualized within it (ibid., p. 206).
Other authors (Donley and Reppen (2001, p. 7) discuss discipline-specific vocabulary (such as "igneous," "sedimentary," and "metamorphic" in geology) and more general academic vocabulary (such as "acquire," "content," and "exhibit"). These ideas are the vocabulary parallels to content-obligatory and contentcompatible language.
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Some areas glossary can be found at: http://esl.fis.edu/learners/index.htm
As mentioned in an earlier lesson, in classes taught by content teachers (e.g., biology), the disciplinespecific vocabulary will often be explained and exemplified. However, such teachers may assume that all the students in their classes (including the English language learners) are familiar with the general academic vocabulary. Thus, it is important for language teachers to make sure that learners are familiar with the key academic vocabulary they will encounter, in both their content-based language courses or mainstream content courses. A useful tool for identifying high-frequency academic vocabulary is Coxhead's Academic Word List (2000). For more information about this tool, see the Supplementary Material section at the end of this lesson. Supplementary Material
The Academic Word List

http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/research/awl/index.html For more information about Coxhead's New Academic Word List, visit the site above. Teachers and materials developers can use this list to help students learn general academic vocabulary. This tool was developed through a corpus-based search of approximately 3.5 million words of academic texts from "28 subject areas organized into 7 general areas within each of four disciplines: arts, commerce, law and science" (2000, p. 216). Twenty-eight specific subject areas were searched, including education, history, accounting, biology, computer science, and a number of others. Coxhead's academic word list is divided into ten sublists in order of decreasing frequency of occurrence. That is, the word families in sublist 1 occur in 3.6 % of the corpus, those in sublist 2 in 1.8 % of the corpus, those in sublist 3 in 1.2 % of the corpus, and so on. This sublist arrangement lets teachers to see which vocabulary is most important in terms of frequency.
School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies: Paul Nation's Vocabulary Programs
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/about/software.aspx Paul Nation has developed software that allows one to compare the words used in a given text against a number of high-frequency word lists in English. For more information and for a detailed explanation of how to run these programs, visit the site above.
Two very useful resources for dealing with vocabulary: Select the academic vocabulary for you in accordance with an AWL and provide gap fill exercise at a mouse click
Notes: Academic vocabulary identified by the AWL Highlighter at Nottingham University: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/awlhighlighter.htm Gap fill adapted from that generated by the AWL Gapmaker at Nottingham 23 University: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/awlgapmaker.htm
An example of vocabulary in an authentic text
As you read this text, consider the vocabulary that might be challenging for ESL/EFL students. Also, look for any collocations that may appear. Think about which of these words and phrases are contentobligatory (discipline-specific) and which are content-compatible (more general academic English vocabulary). Like nonliving things, all organisms are made of building blocks called atoms. At the next level are molecules. Life's unique properties emerge when certain kinds of molecules are organized into cells. These "molecules of life" are complex carbohydrates, complex fats, and other lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA. The cell is the smallest unit of organization with the capacity to survive and reproduce on its own, given raw materials, energy inputs, information encoded in its DNA, and suitable conditions in its environment. At the next level of organization are multi-celled organisms made of specialized interdependent cells, often organized as tissues, organs, and organ systems. A higher level of organization is the population, a group of single-celled or multi-celled individuals of the same species occupying a specified area. A school of fish is a population, as are all of the single-celled amoebas in an isolated lake. Next comes the community, all populations of all species occupying one area. Its extent depends on the area specified. It might be the Red Sea, an underwater cave, or a forest in South America. It might even be a community of tiny organisms that live, reproduce, and die quickly inside the cupped petals of a flower. At the next level of organization is the ecosystem, or a community living together with its physical and chemical environment. Finally, the biosphere is the highest level of life. It encompasses all regions of the earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere in which organisms live. Note that the terms which are content-compatible are not limited to the field of biology. Notice, too, that in the passage there are at least four collocations. These are phrases that occur together often, in many different contexts. Teachers can help students to recognize collocations and be aware of them in their reading and listening. ContentObligatory(DisciplineSpecific Vocabulary) biosphere cell community ecosystem multi-celled organism population ContentCompatible(General Academic Vocabulary) conditions encompass energy environment extent individuals information level materials occupy organize
Collocations building blocks complex carbohydrates raw materials school of fish
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properties specialize
Processing hierarchical Concepts Figure 9.2: Using a Concentric Circle Diagram to Record Definitions and Depict Relationships
Steve Darn example on vocabulary
Focussing on Grammar
In CBI instead of having a pre-set grammar syllabus or a pre-determined list of vocabulary items, the grammar and vocabulary to be learned come out of the content material. This fact presents some interesting challenges for teachers and students using content-based curricula. When to focus on grammar
One choice that a teacher must make is whether to provide grammar instruction before learners deal with the content or to help learners with the grammar structures after they have encountered them while listening and reading. There are pros and cons to both. For example, some learners prefer to have the rules first and then see examples. Others prefer to work with examples and then be told the rule. Still others prefer to work from examples and derive the rules themselves (often with the teacher's guidance). Instructors need to decide what is most appropriate for the given situation and group of learners they are working with. A Sample Unit Integrating the Four Skills, Grammar, and Vocabulary
In the final chapter of this lesson, we will combine the ideas presented in Chapters 1-4 and sketch out the goals for a unit of instruction based on the biology textbook cited earlier (Starr et al., 2006).
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Let's imagine that this unit we are working on is part of a sustained content course or a linked (adjunct) course on biology for ESL or EFL students. Using the Six-T's Approach (Stoller and Grabe, 1997), we can identify biology as the macro-theme, living organisms as the theme, and the hierarchy of living organisms as the topic. Figure 9.3: A Theme and Topic in a Content-Based Course on Biology
Let's look at the kinds of tasks and transitions which could be developed with this topic. Goals and activities of the biology unit
The goals of Unit 1 and some of the activities used to accomplish those goals are listd below: 1. Students will read and comprehend the first chapter ("Invitation to Biology") in their biology textbook (Starr et al., 2006). 2. Students will understand the relationships among cells, multi-celled organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere. 3. Students will apply their understanding of these relationships to an ecosystem of their own choosing. 4. In groups of three or four, students will choose an ecosystem and prepare a panel presentation about the organisms living in that ecosystem. 5. Individual students within the groups will each draft a composition (using vocabulary from the biology chapter) comparing and contrasting two living entities in the ecosystem chosen by the group. They will describe the entity and explain its place within the ecosystem. 6. Students will use library resources and the Internet to locate information for their panel presentation and writing assignment. Resources must include at least one journal, magazine or newspaper article, one radio or television program, and one source from a website. 7. Students will peer review their group mates' draft compositions. 8. Students will increase their receptive and productive use of the biology vocabulary presented in this chapter. 9. During the panel presentations, students will speak from notes based on their composition (rather than reading it aloud). 10. Students will increase their receptive and productive use of the other academic vocabulary items presented in this chapter. 11. Students will review subject-verb agreement in present tense verbs to increase their accuracy with the third-person singular s marker. 12. Students will revise their compositions based on feedback from their group mates, their listeners, and the teacher after the panel presentations. If the class you are teaching meets two hours twice per week for a total of eight hours of class time, the unit described above would probably take two weeks to complete. Some of these goals (e.g., researching the topic, drafting the composition, revising the composition) would take place outside of class. The goals can be trimmed or expanded depending on the curriculum and the time available.
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Developing a grammar focus
Let's revisit the text once more and take a different grammar point. In reading this text and focusing on the verbs used, you will see how important the verb to be is in this passage. Most of the verb forms are in the present tense. Second language acquisition research has shown (and teachers are well aware) that subject-verb agreement, and especially attaching the third-person singular -s to present tense verbs, are learned very late in English. Before having my students peer review their compositions, I would have them complete the diagram shown in Chapter 3. In addition, if time permitted, I would include the student-generated test idea, since taking tests in their content subject areas is a very important skill for academically oriented students. I would also have the class do an accuracy-oriented activity in which learners had to choose the correct form of the verb, as shown in the passage below. The verb forms in question are presented in parentheses and highlighted in green. Like nonliving things, all organisms (is / are) made of building blocks called atoms. At the next level (is / are) molecules. Life's unique properties (emerge / emerges)when certain kinds of molecules (is / are)organized into cells. These "molecules of life" ( is / are) complex carbohydrates, complex fats, and other lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA. The cell (is / are) the smallest unit of organization with the capacity to (survive / survives) and (reproduce / reproduces) on its own, given raw materials, energy inputs, information encoded in its DNA, and suitable conditions in its environment. At the next level of organization (is / are) multi-celled organisms made of specialized interdependent cells, often organized as tissues, organs, and organ systems. A higher level of organization (is / are) the population, a group of single-celled or multi-celled individuals of the same species occupying a specified area. A school of fish (is / are) a population, as (is / are) all of the single-celled amoebas in an isolated lake. Next (come / comes) the community, all populations of all species occupying one area. Its extent (depend / depends) on the area specified. It might be the Red Sea, an underwater cave, or a forest in South America. It might even be a community of tiny organisms that (live /lives), (reproduce / reproduces), and (die / dies) quickly inside the cupped petals of a flower. At the next level of organization (is / are) the ecosystem, or a community living together with its physical and chemical environment. Finally, the biosphere (is / are) the highest level of life. It (encompass / encompasses) all regions of the earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere in which organisms (live / lives). Working individually, students would read the passage and cross out the incorrect form of each verb. Then they would compare their answers with their peers. In revising and proofreading their own compositions, they would be asked to pay special attention to subject-verb agreement. As you can see from this brief description, this unit combines speaking, listening, reading, and writing with a focus on vocabulary and grammar. It utilizes and reinforces the biology subject matter while developing learners' English abilities.
( See the example applied to our situation done as Unit 9 assignment)
Step 8: Proficiency and Language Learners. Describing language proficiency: The SIOP Model
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Proficiency and Language Learners Describing language proficiency
The concept of proficiency combines fluency and accuracy. Proficient second language learners are able to speak, listen, read, and write confidently in the new language over a range of topics, with native-like speed and pauses, and using native-like rules of correctness. Proficient language learners may have developed their skills through formal instruction. Others may have acquired them through living in the target culture, being raised bilingually, or some combination of these. The SIOP model of language proficiency
Five stages of language proficiency are described in the SIOP model (the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) by Echevarria, Vogt, and Short (2004). These authors build on ideas from Krashen and Terrell (1983) and describe proficiency as follows: Preproduction : Students at this stage are not ready to produce much language. They primarily communicate with gestures and actions. They are absorbing the new language and developing receptive vocabulary. Early production : Students at this level speak using one or two words or short phrases. Their receptive vocabulary is developing; they understand approximately one thousand words. Students can answer "who," "what," and "where" questions with limited expression. Speech emergence : Students speak in longer phrases and complete sentences. However, they may experience frustration at not being able to express completely what they know. Although the number of errors they make increases, they can communicate ideas and the quantity of speech they produce increases. Intermediate fluency : Students may appear to be fluent; they engage in conversation and produce connected narrative. Errors are usually of style or usage. Lessons continue to expand receptive vocabulary and activities develop higher levels of language use in content areas. Students at this level are able to communicate effectively. Advanced fluency : Students communicate very effectively, orally and in writing, in social and academic settings (Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 224). The ACTFL guidelines
Another widely used description of various proficiency levels comes from ACTFL (the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages), a professional organization for language teachers. The guidelines are
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available for speaking and writing. For both of these skills, there are descriptors for learners at the following levels: Novice (Low, Mid, and High) Intermediate (Low, Mid, and High) Advanced (Low, Mid, and High) Superior
The Council of Europe levels
Another way of describing language proficiency is found in the Common European Framework for Reference (CEFR) used by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). The descriptors say what learners should be able to do in the four skills at each level: Council of Europe Levels C2 (ALTE 5) Description The capacity to deal with material which is academic or cognitively demanding, and to use language to good effect at a level of performance which may in certain respects be more advanced than that of a native speaker. The ability to communicate with the emphasis on how well it is done, in terms of appropriacy, sensitivity and the capacity to deal with unfamiliar topics. The capacity to achieve most goals and express oneself on a range of topics. The ability to express oneself in a limited way in familiar situations and to deal in a general way with non-routine information. An ability to deal with simple, straightforward information and begin to express oneself in familiar contexts.
C1 (ALTE 4) B2 (ALTE 3) B1 (ALTE 2) A2 (ALTE 1)
A1 (ALTE Breakthrough) A basic ability to communicate and exchange information in a simple way. Retrieved from http://www.alte.org/further_info/framework_english.pdf on November 28, 2006. Also published in Appendix D of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment pp 249-50. Cambridge University Press (c) 2001 ALTE. As you can see, there are various ways to describe learners' proficiency. Keeping in mind these statements about what learners can do will help us develop appropriate materials and activities for students in content-based courses. Understanding Scaffolding in Content-Based Instruction To continue this lesson, we will consider two important concepts from sociocultural theory: the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Both are related to providing appropriate lessons and activities for students at various proficiency levels. The zone of proximal development
When learners have mastered a skill and can use it confidently and independently, their use of that skill becomes self-regulated. According to van Lier, "beyond that there is a range of knowledge and skills which the person can only access with someone's assistance" (van Lier, 1996, p.190). The skills and knowledge that have not yet been fully learned but are within reach constitute the zone of proximal development (ZPD) (ibid., pp.190-191). Working in the ZPD
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There are actually multiple layers of ability in the zone of proximal development in any given learner at one time. For instance, a learner may be quite fluent in conversational English but more limited in academic English. Or a learner may have good pronunciation but have limited listening comprehension. At a more micro-level, a learner may be mastering English negation but still be struggling with question formation. The challenge for a teacher is to be aware of a student's current level of development on any particular issue and start there. In fact, van Lier cautions, "anything outside the circle of proximal development is simply beyond reach and not (yet) available for learning" (ibid.). The help learners need when they are working within the ZPD does not necessarily have to come from the teacher alone. Learners can also work productively by 1. 2. 3. 4. getting help from more capable peers, interacting with peers, helping less capable peers, and tapping their own inner resources (ibid., p. 193).
In this framework, "a learner's zone of self-regulated action can be expanded in a number of different ways, not only through the assistance of teachers or other experts" (van Lier, 1996, p.193). We will now turn to a discussion of appropriate assistance, or scaffolding. Revisiting the concept of scaffolding
In an earlier lesson, we learned that scaffolding consists of processes in which "assistance is provided from person to person such that an interlocutor is enabled to do something she or he might not have been able to do otherwise" (Ohta, 2000, p. 52). The scaffolding image is useful because a scaffold is intentionally temporary: When the building has been constructed, painted, or repaired, the scaffold is removed. This idea is key. Scaffolding is not doing a task for learners. Instead, it is helping them to do the task themselves, withdrawing the support as they gradually gain more independent mastery. Scaffolding Strategies for Language Teachers The central challenge (and benefit) of content-based instruction is making sure that students learn both the language and the subject matter. Doing so involves adjusting how we talk to learners, how we prepare listening and reading materials, and how we support subject-matter learning through a range of techniques. Several authors have discussed scaffolding, but Echevarria, et al. (2004) do so in the context of content-based instruction with a focus on learning strategies. According to these authors, teachers can use three types of scaffolding strategies to help language learners: verbal scaffolding procedural scaffolding instructional scaffolding
Strategies for verbal scaffolding
Echevarria et al. say that with verbal scaffolding, teachers who are sensitive to learners' current language
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proficiency level can "use prompting, questioning, and elaboration to facilitate students' movement to higher levels of language proficiency, comprehension, and thinking" (2004, p. 86). They add that "effective teacher-student interaction promotes confidence when it is geared to a student's language competence" (Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 86). These authors discuss three strategies for verbal scaffolding:
1. Using recasts: With this strategy, the teacher restates the learner's utterance but in the process
provides a corrected version of what the student apparently wished to say (Lyster, 1998). 2. Using "think alouds": With this strategy, teachers give examples of ways capable learners think about doing a task and monitoring their own activities. 3. Reinforcing contextual definitions: Using this strategy, teachers rephrase key concepts in context. For instance, I might say, "Recasts, or repetitions of learners' utterances with corrections incorporated, are important in language learning." Strategies for procedural scaffolding
Teachers can also use procedural scaffolding techniques (Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 86). One example of procedural scaffolding is to follow the pattern of explicitly teaching a point, modeling the activity, giving students an opportunity to practice the activity with others, and then finally having students do the activity on their own. These procedures are depicted in the figure below: Figure 10.1: Scaffolding Model: Teach, Model, Practice, Apply (adapted from Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 87).
Another strategy for procedural scaffolding, according to these authors, is to start with a whole-class activity and then use group and pair work to scaffold learners' participation in a recently learned skill or task. The groups and pairs can include one learner who has more experience or is more adept with the task or skill. Soon the learners will be able to perform the task on their own. This progression is shown in Figure 10.2. Figure 10.2: Scaffolding Model: Grouping (adapted from Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 87)
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Other procedural scaffolding strategies include doing one-on-one teaching (whether it is by the teacher, a teacher's aide, or a tutor), using coaching, and modeling (Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 86). Strategies for instructional scaffolding
Finally, Echevarria et al. say that "teachers can use instructional scaffolding to enhance student learning" (2004, p. 86). These authors give the example of using graphic organizers as pre-reading tools (Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 87). You will recall from an earlier lesson that graphic organizers can focus on the content of a reading passage or on its structure (for instance, using a Venn diagram with a chapter that compares and contrasts two concepts, or using a tree diagram or outline format to reinforce an author's four main points, and so on).
An instructional scaffolding technique: self quizzes
An instructional scaffolding technique that I like to use with my students is the self-quiz. In lessons where the content is factual (i.e., where there are right and wrong answers), I like to create brief review quizzes, either in the form of a partial outline or a cloze passage (a paragraph with blanks in it where some key terms have been removed). Students first take the quiz individually, and then they compare with a partner. Finally, they turn over the quiz and check their answers (where I have listed the correct answers or a completed version of the cloze passage or outline). This procedure helps students realize what they do not know or are not sure about. Also, I do not grade or collect these periodic quizzes, so students can use them to review later.
Modifying Communication with Learners
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In this chapter, we are going to look at additional techniques that can be used in content-based lessons to make language and subject matter more accessible for learners. Making language and content accessible
Discussing sheltered instruction, Schneider and Freidenberg (2002) list a number of ways to make language and content accessible for students. These authors are a sociology professor and a linguistics professor who collaborated on delivering a sociology course at Southern Illinois University. Their ideas are very helpful to CBI teachers in higher education contexts.
1. Adjust speech for learners: These authors note that several processes are
involved in adjusting speech for language learners. These include "speaking more slowly; pronouncing more carefully; pausing more often; replacing pronouns with nouns; making sure to face the class and not the chalkboard when speaking; avoiding unnecessarily esoteric words and explanations; and avoiding long, heavily embedded sentences" (2002, p. 158). Simplify written texts: Text simplification has been discussed by Schneider and Freidenberg as well. In their collaboration, the linguist "turned narratives into lists; highlighted key terms; eliminated pronouns and replaced them with nouns; provided parenthetical, simplified explanations for complex terms; broke the text down by adding headings; and turned long, embedded sentences into shorter, linguistically simpler ones" (2002, p. 161). Provide guided notes: These authors also describe a simplified lecture activity called
2.
3.
"guided notes" in which the professor's lecture was an adapted copy of the chapter which he read aloud (instead of delivering his lecture extemporaneously).
Guided notes "can take a variety of forms, from basic topic headings with space to fill in with explanatory notes (low structure) toa copy of the sheltered chapter with key words omitted and replaced with a blank line (high structure)" (2002, p. 162).
Content and Reading in CLIL: http://www.upf.edu/dtf/alpme/cases/case_02/analisi.htm Example of a reading text and its exploitation How to prepare texts (theoretical)
Using appropriate speech with language learners
In an earlier lesson, we learned about the SIOP Model. In this model, appropriate speech involves attending to (1) rate and enunciation and (2) complexity of speech. The first aspect addresses how the teacher speaks and the second aspect refers to what is said, such as level of vocabulary used, complexity of sentence structure, and use of idioms (Echevarria, et al., 2004, p.67). CBI teachers should be aware of both what they say and how they speak (for instance, by using recasts, as described above). Some specific ideas about how to adjust your speech for language learners are given below:
1. Adapt speech rate for the level: These authors note that effective teachers adjust their rate of
speaking depending on the learners' English proficiency levels:
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2. Monitor vocabulary: CBI teachers must carefully monitor their vocabulary in order to match their
speech to the students' proficiency. This practice is especially important with beginning students and false beginners, but even more advanced learners can benefit from vocabulary assistance. For example, in earlier lessons we considered discipline specific vocabulary and general English academic vocabulary. Typically teachers explain the former but they may (incorrectly) assume the students know the latter.
3. Use cognates: Echevarria et al. state that that using English cognates can help
students whose first language is based on Latin. For example, "using 'calculate the mass/volume ratio' (calcular in Spanish) may be easier for some students to understand than 'figure out the mass/volume ratio'" (Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 67). Even though we might think of "calculate" as a more sophisticated term, the fact that there is an equivalent term in Spanish may make it easier for Hispanic learners to understand than the twoword verb "figure out." This technique will probably work better if you have a group of learners who speak the same native language.
4. Avoid or explain idioms: Idioms can cause problems for language learners, especially
beginners. Echevarria et al. say, "English learners are better served when teachers use language that is straightforward and clear, and is accompanied by a visual representation" (Echevarria et al., 2004, p. 67). Teachers should either avoid using idioms or be aware of using them and explain such expressions when they arise. Adjust sentence structure: In discussing sentence structure, Echevarria et al. say that teachers "should use simple sentence structures like subject-verb-object with beginning students and reduce or eliminate embedded clauses" (2004, p. 67). Imperative statements are also syntactically simple. Saying, "Please open your books." is more straightforward than saying, "Why don't you all please open your books?" Alter questioning pattern: Effective teachers in sheltered content courses alter their questioning patterns by "modifying difficult, open-ended questions to elicit one-word answers or yes/no responses as needed to assess the demarcation lines between conceptual understanding, misunderstanding, and lack of comprehension" (Rosen and Sasser, 1997, p. 44). It can also be helpful to break down WH-questions to a yes/no question followed by a WHquestion. For example, instead of asking, "Why should people recycle aluminum and glass?" we can ask, "Should people recycle aluminum and glass?" Whether students respond positively or negatively, we can then ask, "Why?" As we have seen, there are many things that teachers can do to make both language and content more accessible to learners' proficiency levels. In the next chapter, we will consider how we can apply some of these ideas in sample content-based lessons. Altering tasks for different proficiency levels
5.
6.
Imagine using the thread of agriculture and industry to create tasks for language learners at different levels of proficiency who are studying California. Below are some different ways to pose a task about this thread for advanced, intermediate, and lower level students (beginners or false beginners). Notice that the task for the beginners is scaffolded with pictures and students are asked to name rather than to predict. Advanced: Consider California's location, its natural resources, geography, and climate. Based on the map and your own knowledge, predict the six main industries for this state. Intermediate: Think about California's location. Think also about its geography, its climate, and its
34
natural resources. Guess what the six most important industries (kinds of jobs) in California are. Lower level: These pictures show some important kinds of work in California. Name the six kinds of work in these pictures.
These pictures represent the following six industries: farming, mining, manufacturing, computers, filmmaking, and tourism. As next steps, students can then 1. do research (using the Internet, encyclopedias, or interviews of Californians) to find out where these industries predominate. 2. plot the locations of these industries on a map of California. 3. find out what sorts of jobs there are in these industries and talk about the desirability of particular jobs. 4. use newspaper want ads to find out what qualifications are needed and what the pay range may be for those positions. Scaffolding CBI lessons: six principles
Here we will consider six principles of scaffolded activity described by van Lier (2004, p.151). We will examine these guidelines in the context of a lesson with the theme of ecology, focusing on the topic of recycling. In this unit, students will find out about the following: 1. what recycling opportunities there are in the school and/or the surrounding community 2. what people believe about recycling 3. what people actually do The tasks used to accomplish these goals illustrate van Lier's six principles of scaffolded activity. These ideas could be used even with students at the advanced-beginner level (i.e., those having an understanding of the verb to be in the present and simple past tense, and some basic communication strategies). Contextual support and intersubjectivity principles
The contextual support principle states that "exploration is encouraged in a safe, supportive environment; access to means and goals is promoted in a variety of ways" (van Lier, 2004, p. 151). The intersubjectivity principle promotes "mutual engagement, encouragement, non-threatening participation" (ibid.). This means that the participants (the "subjects" in this action) are involved together in seeking and sharing information.
35
Both of these principles can be addressed in group and pair work. Learners can do a search for local recycling stations (by using the telephone book, by asking people, etc.). This search could then result in the students marking the recycling stations on a city or campus map. Contingency principle
The contingency principle states that "task procedures depend on actions of learners; contributions are oriented towards each other" (ibid.). That is, the conversations and procedures are contingent upon the learners themselves. What they discover as they seek out local recycling stations will influence how they investigate what people believe and do about recycling. For example, having located a recycling station near the school, pairs of students might observe activity there for a half an hour on two different days and report on their findings. The flow principle
The flow principal is the idea that "skills and challenges are in balance; participants are focused on the task and are 'in tune' with each other" (ibid.). If the texts associated with certain tasks are too difficult, students may get overwhelmed and discouraged, but if they are not challenging or interesting, students may become unmotivated. To prepare for an interview assignment on recycling, students could brainstorm questions in pairs and then write them on the board. In the process, appropriate vocabulary is discussed and selected. The teacher and the learners then correct the grammar and spelling in the questions on the board. Finally, they reach a consensus about which questions to include on a brief questionnaire which all students could use to structure their interviews. The handover/takeover principle
The handover/takeover principle proposes "an increasing role for the learner as skills and confidence grow; careful watching of learners' readiness to take over increasing parts of the action" (ibid.). To return to our recycling example, after the class composes the questionnaire, students can practice interviewing peers and the teacher in class before they go out to interview people on campus or in the wider community. The teacher hands over the task and the students take over the responsibility for carrying it out. The continuity principle
According to the continuity principle, "tasks are repeated with variations, and connected to one another (e.g., as parts of projects)" (ibid.). So for instance, after the class has drafted the brief questionnaire about recycling and has practiced interviewing, pairs of students will interview several different people about recycling, using the questionnaire as a guide for their interview questions. Students either write down the responses or audio-record them and later write them down. In the process of repeatedly interviewing new people, learners practice questioning and gain a great deal of experience talking with strangers.
Assessment 36
Learning through doing All of these activities involve physical and/or visual products. The opportunity to create such products can appeal to different learning styles, generate new learning opportunities, and reinforce both language and concept learning.
Poster presentations: It can be used as an assessment tool [ fluency and greater self-confidence, response to different learnig styles ] Trade fairs:
excellent for Christmas exhibitions / songs/ food shows/ recipes/ use of brochures self-confidence, response to different learnig styles ] [ fluency and greater
Project-based learning Characteristics of project-based learning

Stoller (1997, pp. 4-5) says there are six characteristics of project work: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Project work focuses on content learning rather than on specific language targets. Real-world subject matter and topics of interest to students can become central to projects. Project work is student centered, though the teacher plays a major role in offering support and guidance throughout the process. Project work is cooperative rather than competitive. Students can work on their own, in small groups, or as a class to complete a project, sharing resources, ideas, and expertise along the way. Project work leads to the authentic integration of skills and processing of information from varied sources, mirroring real-life tasks. Project work culminates in an end product (e.g., an oral presentation, a poster session, a bulletin board display, a report, or a stage performance) that can be shared with others, giving the project a real purpose. The value of the project, however, lies not just in the final product but in the process of working towards the end point. Thus, project work has both a process and product orientation, and provides students with opportunities to focus on fluency and accuracy at different project-work stages.
Benefits from Project work

6. Project work is potentially motivating, stimulating, empowering, and challenging. It usually results in building student confidence, self-esteem, and autonomy as well as improving students' language skills, content learning, and cognitive abilities
Step 7: Integrating the four skills , When adding interacting? Vocabulary and grammar
Special care should be given to the production of texts whether oral or written. Graphic organizers, scaffolding and collocations are the tools to a successful text 37
Steve Darn Materials Example of a complete unit: PPP presentation
Writing graphs http://www.admc.hct.ac.ae/hd1/english/graphs/index.htm Academic writing http://www.eslflow.com/AcademicWritng.html
38

Como Hacer Una Unidad Didáctica

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How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Cmo hacer una unidad didctica

Developing Thematic Units to Integrate L & C Instruction By JoAnn Crandall

Sample Thematic Unit Plan

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Complete unit: Ancient Egypt

Complete unit in PPP

Content-Based Instruction for Language Learners

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Step 1: Selecting the content domain

Step 2: An Example of Exploitability in a Topic

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

II An exercise for connecting language and content

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Canada 9,976.140 sq.km. Brazil China Egypt

3.3 people/sq. km.

Megatheme to be chosen if possible

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Step 3: Materials. Criteria for selecting materials

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Step 4: Texts in academic and non-academic setting

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

This procedure can be seen in the examples below: http://www.factworld.info/turkey/jeans/exploiting_an_interactive_text.htm

A Brief Look At The Miniskirt A CLIL Project

Background Knowledge and Content-Based Materials

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Step 5: Schema Activation and Advance Organizers

Customizable graphic organizer templates with their corresponding thinking skills

An example of schema activation

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Step 6: Types of activities

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

* The information STATEMENT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. CONCEPT 1. ________

Country Canada Brazil China Egypt

Land Mass 9,976.140 sq.km.

Population Density 3.3 people/sq. km.

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Seven Principles for Task-Based Language Teaching

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Principle 4: Active learning

Visual Aids (Graphic Organizers)

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Timelines ( see links to make timelines online)

Benefits from Project work

Learning through doing

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Activities for Integrating the Four Skills in Content-Based Instruction

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

3. An activity using newspaper and television news

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Practical activities for CLIL

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Vocabulary Building in Content-Based Instruction

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

Some areas glossary can be found at: http://esl.fis.edu/learners/index.htm

The Academic Word List

How to programme a bilingual didactic unit

An example of vocabulary in an authentic text