CONTENT-BASED, TASK-BASED

AND PARTICIPATORY
APPROACHES
• THESE APPROACHES MAKE COMMUNICATION CENTRAL.
• THEIR DIFFERENCE IS A MATTER OF THEIR FOCUS.
• THESE APPROACHES GIVE PRIORITY TO PROCESS OVER
PREDETERMINED LINGUISTIC CONTENT.
• STUDENTS USE ENGLISH TO LEARN IT, INSTEAD OF LEARNING
TO USE ENGLISH.
• THESE APPROACHES HAVE IN COMMON TEACHING THROUGH
COMMUNICATION RATHER TAN FOR IT.
 CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION
• THE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION OF CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION IS THAT
IT INTEGRATES THE LEARNING OF LANGUAGE WITH THE LEARNING OF
SOME OTHER CONTENT, OFTEN ACADEMIC SUBJECT MATTER.
• IT HAS BEEN OBSERVED THAT ACADEMIC SUBJECTS PROVIDE NATURAL
CONTENT FOR LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION.
• WHEN STUDENTS STUDY ACADEMIC SUBJECTS IN A NON-NATIVE
LANGUAGE, THEY WILL NEED A GREAT DEAL OF ASSISTANCE IN
UNDERSTANDING SUBJECT MATTER TEXTS; THEREFORE THERE MUST BE
CLEAR LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES AS WELL AS CONTENT LEARNING
OBJECTIVES.
• THE LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES ARE DICTATED BY THE TEXTS.
• THE SELECTION AND SEQUENCE OF LANGUAGE ITEMS ARISE FROM
COMMUNICATIVE NEEDS, NOT PREDETERMINED SYLLABI.
EXPERIENCE
• SISTH GRADE CLASS IN AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN TAPEI STUDYING GEOGRAPHY
AND ENGLISH THROUGH CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION.
• MOST STUDENTS ARE JAPANESE SPEAKERS, SEVERAL ARE NATIVE SPEAKERS AND A FEW
KOREAN SPEAKERS.
• THE TEACHER PRESENTS THE WORD “GLOBE”: STUDENTS ANSWER WITH SIGNS, WITH THE
WORD “WORLD” AND OTHERS STAY SILENT
• THE TEACHER TAKES OUT A GLOBE AND ASKS THE STUDENTS WHAT THEY KNOW ABOUT
IT.
• THE STUDENTS, ENTHUSIASTICALLY, CALL OUT ANSWERS. THE TEACHERS WRITES THE
CONCEPTS DOWN IN THE BLACKBOARD.
• WHEN THEY HAVE TROUBLE EXPLAINING THE CONCEPT, THE TEACHER SUPPLIES THE
MISSING LANGUAGE.
• NEXT, SHE DISTRIBUTES A HANDOUT BASED ON A VIDEO “UNDERSTANDING GLOBES”.
• THE TOP SECTION ON THE HANDOUT IS ENTITLED “SOME VOCABULARY TO KNOW” AND
READS THE WORDS LISTED.
EXPERIENCE
• BELOW THIS LIST IS A MODIFIED CLOZE PASSAGE TO FILL IN THE BLANKS. WHEN THEY FINISH
DOING SO, SHE SHOWS THEM THE VIDEO. THEY FINISH FILLING THE BLANKS THAT THEY HAVEN’T
DONE BEFORE.
• WHEN THE VIDEO IS OVER, THE CHILDREN PAIR UP TO CHECK THEIR ANSWERS.
• THEN, THE TEACHER CALLS ATTENTION TO A PARTICULAR VERB PATTERN IN THE CLOSE.
• SHE TELLS THE STUDENTS THAT THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE PRESENT PASSIVE, WHICH THEY
WILL BE STUDYING IN THAT LESSON.
• SHE EXPLAINS THE PURPOSE OF THE PASSIVE AND THEN SHE EXPLAINS HOW LATITUDE AND
LONGITUDE CAN BE USED TO LOCATE ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD.
• THE TEACHER SAYS “THIS CITY IS LOCATED AT LATITUDE 60° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 11° EAST”
USING THE PRESENT PASSIVE TENSE AND GEOGRAPHY TERMS TOGETHER.
• SHE GIVES A NUMBER OF AND THE STUDENTS POINT TO A PLACE IN THE GLOBE.
• AFTER SEVERAL TRIES, A GROUP OF STUDENTS ANSWER CORRECTLY.
• FOR HOMEWORK, THE STUDENTS ARE GIVEN A MAP AND A DESCRIPTION OF AUSTRALIA. THEY
HAVE TO READ THE DESCRIPTION AND LABEL THE MAJOR CITIES AND POINTS OF INTEREST ON
THE MAP.
THINKING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
OBSERVATIONS
1. THE CLASS IS STUDYING GEOGRAPHY
2. THE TEACHER ASKS THE STUDENTS WHAT
THEY KNOW ABOUT A GLOBE
3. THE STUDENTS CALL OUT THEIR ANSWERS
ENTHUSIASTICALLY AS THE TEACHER
WRITES THEM ON THE BLACKBOARD
4. THE TEACHER SUPPLIES THE MISSING
LANGUAGE WHEN THE STUDENTS HAVE
TROUBLE IN EXPLAINING A CONCEPT IN
THE TARGET LANGUAGE.
5. THE TEACHER READS THE NEW
VOCABULARY AND THEN THE STUDENTS
WATCH A VIDEO ENTITLED
“UNDERSTANDING GLOBES”
PRINCIPLES
1. THE SUBJECT MATTER CONTENT IS USED FOR
LANGUAGE TEACHING PURPOSES
2. TEACHING SHOULD BUILD ON STUDENTS’
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
3. WHEN LEARNERS PERCEIVE THE RELEVANCE
OF THEIR LANGUAGE USE, THEY ARE
MOTIVATED TO LEARN. THEY KNOW THAT IT IS
A MEANS TO AN END, RATHER THAN AN END IN
ITSELF
4. THE TEACHER “SCAFFOLDS! THE LINGUISTIC
CONTENT, E.G. HELPS LEARNERS SAY WHAT IT
IS THEY WANT TO SAY BY BUILDING TOGETHER
WITH THE STUDENTS A COMPLETE UTTERANCE
5. LANGUAGE IS LEARNED MOST EFFECTIVELY
WHEN IT IS USED AS A MEDIUM TO CONVEY
INFORMATIONAL CONTENT OF INTEREST TO
THE STUDENTS.
THINKING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
OBSERVATIONS
6. THE STUDENTS FILL IN THE VOCABULARY
WORDS IN THE BLANKS IN THE MODIFIED
CLOZE PASSAGE AS THEY WATCH THE VIDEO.
7. THE TEACHER PROVIDES A NUMBER OF
EXAMPLES USING THE PRESENT PASSIVE WITH
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE CO-ORDINATES.
8. THE STUDENTS ARE GIVEN THE LATITUDE AND
LONGITUDE COORDINATES, AND THEY HAVE
TO COME TO THE FRONT OF THE CLASSROOM
TO FIND THE CITY ON THE GLOBE.
9. FOR HOMEWORK, THE STUDENTS ARE GIVEN A
MAP, WHICH THEY ARE TO LABEL BASED ON A
DESCRIPTIVE READING THEY HAVE BEEN
GIVEN
PRINCIPLES
6. VOCABULARY IS EASIER TO ACQUIRE WHEN THERE
ARE CONTEXTUAL CLUES TO HELP CONVEY THE
MEANING.
7. WHEN THEY WORK WITH AUTHENTIC SUBJECT
MATTER, STUDENTS NEED LANGUAGE SUPPORT.
FOR INSTANCE, THE TEACHER MAY PROVIDE A
NUMBER OF EXAMPLES, BIULD IN SOME
REDUNDANCY, USE COMPREHENSION CHECKS, ETC.
8. LEARNERS WORK WITH MEANINGFUL,
COGNITIVELY DEMANDING LANGUAGE AND
CONTENT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF AUTHENTIC
MATERIAL AND TASKS
9. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE INVOLVES MORE
TAN USING LANGUAGE CONVERSATIONALLY. IT
ALSO INCLUDES THE ABILITY TO READ, DISCUSS,
AND WRITE ABOUT CONTENT FROM OTHER FIELDS.
• THE LESSON WE JUST HAVE OBSERVED IS AN EXAMPLE OF LANGUAGE IMMERSION (ACADEMIC SUBJECTS ARE LEARNED THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

• SNOW HAS REFERRED TO CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION AS A METHOD WITH MANY FACES:

▪ ADJUNCT MODEL: CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION ARE INTEGRATED. STUDENTS ENROLL IN A REGULAR ACADEMIC COURSE AND ALSO TAKE A LANGUAGE COURSE LINKED TO THE ACADEMIC COURSE. THE
LANGUAGE TEACHER HELPS STUDENTS TO PROCESS THE LANGUAGE IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND ACADEMIC CONTENT AND HELPS THEM TO COMPLETE ACADEMIC TASKS (WRITING TERM PAPERS).

• IN SHELTERED-LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN A SECOND LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT, A THIRD MODEL OF CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION HAS BEEN USED. NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS FOLLOW A REGULAR ACADEMIC
CURRICULUM.
• FOR CLASSES WITH NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS, SHELTERED INSTRUCTION IS GEARED TO STUDENTS´ DEVELOPING
SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY. TEACHERS USE PARTICULAR INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES AND MATERIALS. AN
ADVANTAGE IS THAT STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE TO POSTPONE THEIR ACADEMIC STUDY UNTIL THEY REACH A HIGH
LEVEL. THEY ARE HIGHLY MOTIVATED BECAUSE THEY ARE LEARNING CONTENT THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE
ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS.

• COMPETENCY-BASED INSTRUCTION (FOR ADULT IMMIGRANTS) OFFERS STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP

THEIR SECOND LANGUAGE SKILLS AT THE SAME TIME THAT THEY ARE LEARNING LIFE-COPING SKILLS FOR
WORKING.
WHOLE LANGUAGE APPROACH
• USED FOR CHILDREN WHO SPEAK ENGLISH AS A NATIVE LANGUAGE AND FOR SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS.

• IT CALLS FOR LANGUAGE TO BE REGARDED HOLISTICALLY, RATHER THAN AS PIECES: VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR STRUCTURES AND PRONUNCIATION POINTS.

• STUDENTS LEARN TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF WHOLE TEXTS, RATHER THAN LEARNING LANGUAGE PIECE BY PIECE (THEY LEARN BEST). TEACHERS PROVIDE
CONTENT-RICH CURRICULUM WHERE LANGUAGE AND THINKING CAN BE ABOUT INTERESTING AND SIGNFICANT CONTENT. THEY SEE ERRORS AS PART OF LEARNING AND
ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO READ AND WRITE TO PROMOTE THEIR ENJOYMENT AND OWNERSHIP.

• TEACHERS EMBRACE THE IDEAS OF VYGOTSKY (1978): LEARNING, AS A SOCIAL PROCESS, IS BEST SERVED BY COLLABORATION BETWEEN TEACHER AND STUDENT AND
AMONG STUDENTS.
LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE APPROACH: STUDENTS LEARN TO READ FROM TEXTS BASED
ON THE STUDENTS’ LIFE EXPERIENCES. THEY TAKE TURNS DICTATING A STORY ABOUT
THEIR EXPERIENCES TO THE TEACHER WHO WRITES IT DOWN IN THE TARGET
LANGUAGE. EACH STUDENT THEN PRACTICES READING THE STORY WITH THE
TEACHER’S ASSISTANCE.

• PROCESS WRITING: A TECHNIQUE IN WHICH THE TEACHER INVOLVES IN THE PROCESS

OF WRITING. STUDENTS INITIALLY BRAINSTORM IDEAS ABOUT A TOPIC AND BEGIN
WRITING, THEN THEY HAVE CONFERENCES WITH THE TEACHER AND CLASSMATES,
DURING WHICH THEY RECEIVE FEEDBACK, MAKE REVISIONS AND CARRY ON WRITING.
STUDENTS LEARN TO IMPROVE THE EXPRESIÓN OF MEANING AND THE FORM OF THEIR
WRITING AS THEY DRAFT AND REDRAFT.

• DIALOG JOURNAL KEEPING: IT INVOLVES STUDENTS WRITING IN CLASS OR FOR

HOMEWORK REGULARLY, AFTER EACH CLASS OR ONCE A WEEK. THE TEACHER READS
THE STUDENT’S JOURNAL ENTRY AND WRITES A RESPONSE TO IT, BUT DOES NOT
CORRECT ITS FORM.
TASK-BASED INSTRUCTION
THIS APPROACH AIMS
TO PROVIDE LEARNERS
WITH A NATURAL
CONTEXT FOR
LANGUAGE USE.
AS LEARNERS WORK TO
COMPLETE A TASK,
THEY HAVE ABBUNDANT
OPPORTUNITY TO
INTERACT.
 THIS IS A CLASS OF 40 TEN-YEAR-OLD STUDENTS
3. STUDENTS ARE
IN SOUTHERN INDIA WHO AREDIVIDED
ADVANCED
IN FIVE
1.EXPERIENCE
T SAYS THE LESSONS GROUPS AND GIVEN A
WILL BE ON BEGINNERS IN ENGLISH.
CARD WITH THE
TIMETABLES AND AND SCHEDULE FOR ONE
STARTS WRITING THE DAY OF THE WEEK. STS
DURATION OF THE HAVE TO TALK AND
CLASS PERIOD ON A ORGANIZE THE
TIMETABLE
2. SHE HADTO
T ASKS STUDENTS INFORMATION TO
PREVIOUSLY
TELL HER THEDRAWN COMPLETE THE CLASS
ON THE BLACKBOARD
DIFFERENT PERIODS’ SCHEDULE. THE FIRST
DURATION AND THEN GROUP THAT IS
CALLS SOME FINISHED COMES TO
STUDENTS TO THE THE BLACKBOARD TO
FRONT TO COMPLETE COMPLETE IT.
THE DAYS OF THE 4. AFTER THE STS CHECK, T COLLECTS
WEEK. THE REST OF THEIR WORK TO READ IT AND RETURN IT
THE CLASS HELPS WITH THE FOLLOWING DAY.
SPELLING.
HAVE TO FIND A WAY
TO SURVEY THEIR
6. ONCE THEY FINISH,
CLASSMATES’
STS HAVE TO
PREFERENCES OF THE
SUMMARIZE AND
FAVOURITE THREE
REPORT THEIR
SCHOOL SUBJECTS.
FINDINGS. THEY MAY
THEY MIGHT USE A
USE PERCENTAGES, A
QUESTIONNAIRE OR
BAR GRAPH, A PIE
INTERVIEW OTHER
CHART OR SOME
CLASS MEMBERS.
OTHER VISUAL
DISPLAY.
DURING ALL
EXPERIENCE THE TASKS,
MUCH
INTERACTION
IS NEEDED!

OBSERVATIONS
1. TIMETABLE COMPLETION
2. CLASS HELPS TEACHER TO
FILL OUT A CLASS
SCHEDULE.
3. T FIRST HAS THE STUDENTS
LABEL TIME PERIODS AND
THEN THE DAYS.
4. T ASKS STS IF A PARTICULAR
ANSWER IS RIGHT
5. T ASKS ABOUT SATURDAY.
‘DO WE HAVE SCHOOL?’
THINKING ABOUT THE
EXPERIENCE
PRINCIPLES
1. PERCEIVED PURPOSE AND CLEAR
OUTCOME.
2. PRE-TASK: IT HELPS STUDENTS SEE THE
LOGIC INVOLVED IN WHAT THEY HAVE
TO DO AND IT ALLOWS THE LANGUAGE
NECESSARY TO DO IT TO COME INTO
PLAY.
3. LOGICAL THINKING IS BROKEN DOWN
INTO SMALLER STEPS. THE DEMAND ON
THINKING SHOULD BE JUST ABOVE THE
LEVEL WHICH THE LEARNERS CAN MEET
WITHOUT HELP.
4. T SEEKS WAYS OF KNOWING HOW
INVOLVED THE STS ARE TO MAKE
ADJUSTMENTS IF NEEDED AND ENSURES
UNDERSTANDING IN A MIXED-ABILITIES
 OBSERVATIONS
6. ‘SATURDAY’: STS REPLY
‘HOLIDAY’. T SAYS ‘YES, IT’S
A HOLIDAY’.
7. STS DO THE GROUP TASK.
8. STUDENT’S PAPERS WERE
MARKED BY T.
9. STS ARE ASKED TO DESIGN A
WAY TO SURVEY AND TO
FIGURE OUT A WAY TO
REPORT THEIR FINDINGS.
THINKING ABOUT THE
EXPERIENCE
PRINCIPLES
6. T SUPPLIES CORRECT TARGET BY
REFORMULATING WHAT THE STUDENTS
SAID.
7. JIGSAW TASK: PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY
TO ENGAGE IN AUTHENTIC SPEAKING
AND LISTENING TO DEVELOP
COMPREHENSION AND SPEAKING SKILLS.
8. FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS NEEDED,
FOCUSING ON MEANING.
9. STS HAVE INPUT INTO THE DESIGN AND
THE WAY THEY CARRY OUT THE TASK.
AUTHENTIC AND MEANINGFUL
INTERACTION.
THINKING
THREE ABOUT
TYPES OFTHE EXPERIENCE
TASKS
EXPLANATION: IN THIS LESSON:
1. INFORMATION-GAP • EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION • EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
TO COMPLETE A TASK. TO COMPLETE THE TIMETABLE.
ACTIVITY:
• IT REQUIRES STUDENTS TO • STUDENTS SURVEYED THEIR
GIVE PERSONAL CLASSMATES ABOUT THEIR
2. OPINION-GAP TASK: PREFERENCES, FEELINGS OR FAVOURITE SUBJECTS
ATTITUDES IN ORDER TO
COMPLETE A TASK.

• STS DERIVE SOME NEW • STUDENTS WERE ASKED TO

3. REASONING-GAP INFORMATION BY INFERRING FIGURE OUT HOW BEST TO
IT FROM INFORMATION THEY DISCOVER THEIR
ACTIVITY: HAVE BEEN GIVEN. CLASSMATES’ FAVOURITE
SUBJECTS.