CONTENT BASED INSTRUCTION AT AN UNDERGRADUATE ENGLISH TEACHING PROGRAM

Universidad de La Sabana 2014 CLIL Biennial Symposium

Sept. 12-13

José Luis López Caraballo

AGENDAABSTRACT

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

BACKGROUND

METHODOLOGY

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

CONCLUSION

ABTRACTThe program of Licenciatura en Educación con Énfasis en Inglés at Unicolombo seeks to contribute to the development of the communicative competence of pre-service teachers. To do this, the first year of the program is focused on the study of English for General Purposes (EGP), the second year continues with the study of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), making an important emphasis on the development of reading and writing skills. Finally, in the following three years, an English language immersion program is implemented through pedagogical content in the target language. After completing the whole program, pre-service teachers are expected to reach the level C1 according to the Common European Framework.This action research aims at enhancing the learning process in the English teacher education program in this higher education institution through the implementation of a content based instruction course that keeps the equilibrium of content and foreign language. The research evidenced that there is not a proper instructional and learning balance between the subject matter and the improvement of the foreign language. Therefore, it is necessary to design a pilot content-based course that simultaneously fosters the learning of content and English. These results will allow working on the pedagogical failures that hinder to reach the desirable English proficiency levels for the future English teachers.

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXTFundación Universitaria Colombo Internacional (UNICOLOMBO) is a higher education institution whose mission is oriented to the bilingual training of professionals in the service of society, in the context of demanding ethical, conscious Caribbean cultural identity, open to universal knowledge and understanding of other cultures, research and innovative humanistic sense.

EGP (B1)

SUBJECTS TAUGHT IN ENGLISH (C1)

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

PROBLEM DESCRIPTIONBy the end of the

career, the pre-service teachers are expected to reach a strong B2 level. Nonetheless, most of them reach a

B1.

There is a strong gap from the traditional

EGP to the Total Immersion

How to enhance the learning process in the English teacher education program at Fundación Universitaria Colombo Internacional through the implementation of a

content based instruction course?

It is necesary to implement an approach which keeps a balance between content and

linguistic features.

What can be done at Unicolombo? What are other universities in Colombia doing? What is the impact

of the implementation?

OBJECTIVES

To describe the teaching process of subjects taught in English at the undergraduate English Teaching Program at Fundación Universitaria Colombo Internacional.

To design a Content based Instruction course at the undergraduate English Teaching Program at Fundación Universitaria Colombo Internacional.

To determine the students´and teacher´s perceptions about the Content Based Instruction Course.

Specific

Objetives

General Objective

To enhance the learning process in the English teacher education program at Fundación Universitaria Colombo Internacional through the implementation of a content based instruction approach to reach the desirable English teachers’ proficiency level

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

EGP EAP CBI IMMERSIONBICS

CALPS

Tarnopolsky, 2013

CONTENT AND LANGUAGE CONTENT

TRADITIONAL ESP TEACHING: Focus on learning the language for professional communication (Robinson, 1991) e.g. EAP

INTEGRATED LANGUAGE ESP LEARNING: Learning the language and learning future profession are united, even integrated so that each one contributes to the other (Tarnopolsky, 2013) e.g. CBI/CLIL

TOTAL IMMERSION:There is no adjustment of level of the English language in which the subject is taught. (Tarnopolsky, 2013)

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

TRADITIONAL ESP TEACHING: Focus on learning the language for professional communication (Robinson, 1991) e.g. EAP

INTEGRATED LANGUAGE ESP LEARNING: Learning the language and learning future profession are united, even integrated so that each one contributes to the other (Tarnopolsky, 2013) e.g. CBI/CLIL

TOTAL IMMERSION:There is no adjustment of level of the English language in which the subject is taught. (Tarnopolsky, 2013)

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

“The teaching of content or

information in the language being

learned with little or no direct or

explicit effort to teach the language itself separately from the content being taught”.

Kranke, as cited in Richards and Rogers, 2001, p.204

CBI

In Europe is referred to as CLIL (Brewster, 2004; Corrales & Maloof, 2011)

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK CBI Models at a University Level

Theme-based Courses (TB)

Adjunct/Linked Courses (AL)

Sheltered subject-matter instruction (SSM)

Second language medium courses (SLM)

Dueñas, 2004Strong

Weak

BACKGROUND Universities and Programs Implementing CBI in Colombia

BACKGROUND Universidad de La Sabana, Chia

An account on teaching English content course in finances. (Restrepo, 2007)

Two types of models used; SLM and Sheltered. Teacher received support of the Foreign language Department. Design of the materials Class methods Class strategies Teaching procedures

T. Used workshops, the web, softwares. Intensive use of English in class. No translation.

Most of the students believed that it is an advantage to take a mainstream course in English.

BACKGROUND Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla

The emphasis of Content Based Courses at Uninorte is placed in two programs; Medicine and International relationships.

Corrales & Maloof, 2009, 2011

Bailey, Rey and Rosado, 2009; Gardner Jr. , 2011

Model: Theme based5 levels1-2-3 BICS4-5 CALP (e.g. Anatomy)

Model: Theme based8 levels1-2 BICS3- BICS-CALP (initial writing)4- Critical Thinking5-Intercultural Communication6- Advance Business Writing7- Business Speaking8- Professional Development course

One course it is based on prior knowledge, whereas the other prefers not to repeat information.

METHODOLOGY

Qualitative Paradigm

Action

Research

Techniques

Observation

Unit of Analysiscurriculum

METHODOLOGYObservations• 2012- 2014• Comittee, forums, panels• Classes taught in English (5 classes, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th semester)

• Pilot groups Focus groups• Teachers: 8 (post graduate)• Students: 15 (sixth and seventh semester)• Two meetings (one hour each)• Questionaire: Questions about Methodology, Syllabus and CBI experience

Tests• Students:110 (OOPT)• Teachers: 24 (OOPT) Unicolombo and CCA

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Students’ English level

Interaction

Content vs.

Language

Teachers’ English level

Class Observations

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS• There is no coherence between the mission and the praxis

• No transition between CCA and Unicolombo

Bilingual

Curricular Processes

• Always in English• Incidental correction of students language mistakes

• There is no balance between content and Language

• Little attention to the language of students

Classes

• Different methodology / Mixed ability English levels (B1, B2, C1, C2)

• Most of them use immersionTeachers

• Few of them participated• High affective filter• Mixed ability levels of English (A2-B2)Students

Teachers’

Focus groups

Syllabus

Methodology

CBI Knowledge

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Student’

Focus groups

Syllabus

Methodology

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Tests: Teachers (OOPT)

Jan Van de Putte, 2013

A2 B1 B2 C1 C20%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Tests: Students (OOPT)

Jan Van de Putte ,2013

DEBAJO DEL NIVEL EN EN NIVEL ADECUADO SUPERAN EL NIVEL0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

MCERL vs CCCA

CONCLUSION

Curricular reform Model for CBI implementation Teacher training Improve English levels (Teachers-Students) CBI course design Pilot groups for CBI implementation More research on the the topic Constant revision of processes Class observations to support teaching New syllabus

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Let’s stay in touch José Luis López Caraballo

jlopez@unicolombo.edu.coCite this paper in APA style as:

López, J.L., Romero, C. A., Vergara, L.K.(2014) Content-based instruction at fundación universitaria colombo internacional. Paper presented at the 5th biennialCLIL symposium, Universidad de la Sabana, Chia, Colombia