Article # 2

The Whats, Whys, Hows and Whos of Content-Based Instruction in Second/Foreign Language Education.

By: Maria Dueñas.

This document present an analysis performs by Maria Dueñas for the second/foreign language education.  She explain and analyze the what, why, how and who of the content based instruction for the second/foreign language education.  The author divides and defines the concepts as follow:

• What as the nature and the scope.
• Why as the theory.
• How as the model and the parameter uses in the educational level.
• Who as the authors that helps to teach and explain the concepts.

The Whats: Description and Background.

Summary

The author explain that the optimal condition for learning a second/foreign language occurs when the language to be learn and some content are integrate in the classroom. Also explain that the uses of grammatical rules, vocabulary, operative functions and contextual situation are the base for the instruction of the language.

The Whys: Theoretical Underpinnings

Summary

In this section the author explain the theory that is the base for the second/foreign language teaching.  Different approaches for some authors are established in this section.

The Hows: Model of Content-Based Instruction.

Summary

In this section she explain four prototype for the model of CBI

1. Immersion education-In this model in the early ages the children are introducing to the education of a second language.
2. Sheltered courses- The sheltered course a second language is introduce by specialist to a group of students who are segregate from the native speakers.  This is use as a second language teaching. 
3. Adjunct courses- Is the integration of the language and content, because the classes are not implemented on their own but aim at assisting an existing regular subject matter class.
4. Theme based model-This model is the most popular and most used prototype of CBI at all level.  They used an integration of different methods as presentation, video, recording guest lecture also written techniques as newspaper, articles, essays and literature.

The Whos: Authors, Experiences and Scopes in the Existing Literature.

Summary

The author establishes that are a lot of authors that investigate the communication language instructions.  She mentions that the CBI has cross all over the nations and boundaries.  Additionally the term in the content field and improvement practice have increase in the areas.

Personal Opinion

After read this articles it really clear that the investigation in the area of the second foreign language still grow.  The author presents the different opinion and position in this matter. The opinion in which could be the best methods or strategy are variables.  Everyone have their position in how to teach the language.  I believe that the best time to teach the first and any other language are in the early age during the primary and secondary grades.  In this age the children are capable to retain and learn.  If we are capable to teach in the correct way the grammatical rule, increase their vocabulary using different method like reading, situation, they will be capable to learn any language.  Also in these days we still have another learning method that the children uses a lot, like internet, cable TV and others.

The Lexical Approach .

Is a method of teaching foreign language described by Michael Lewis in the 1990s.

The basic concept on which this approach rests is the idea that an important part of learning a language consists of being able to understand and produce lexical phrases as chunks.

In the lexical approach, instruction focuses on fixed expressions that occur frequently in dialogues, which Lewis claims make up a larger part of discourse than unique phrases and sentences. Vocabulary is prized over grammar per se in this approach. 

Nature of the lexis:

There is a distinction between vocabulary, traditionally thought to be constituted of single items, and lexis, which includes not only the single words but also the word combinations that we store in our mental lexicons. Lexical approach advocates argue that language consists of meaningful chunks that, when combined, produce continuous coherent text, and only a minority of spoken sentences are entirely novel creations. Michael Lewis presents this taxonomy of Lexical items:

• words (e.g., book, pen)
• polywords (e.g., by the way, upside down)
• collocations, or word partnerships (e.g., community service, absolutely convinced)
• institutionalized utterances (e.g., I’ll get it; We’ll see; That’ll do; If I were you . . .; Would you like a cup of coffee?)
• sentence frames and heads (e.g., That is not as . . . as you think; The fact/suggestion/problem/danger was . . .) and even text frames (e.g., In this paper we explore . . .; Firstly . . .; Secondly . . .; Finally . . .)

The Lexical Approach pays attention not only to single words but more importantly to collocations and institutionalized utterances and sentence frames. Michael Lewis states that.

Collocations:

A collocation is the readily observable phenomenon whereby certain words co-occur in natural text with greater than random frequency and is not determined by logic or frequency, but is arbitrary, decided only by linguistic convention. Some collocations are fully fixed, such as:

• to catch a cold
• rancid butter
• drug addict

Other Collocations are more or less fixed and can be completed in a relatively small number of ways, as in the following examples:

• blood / close / distant / near(est) relative
• learn by doing / by heart / by observation / by rote / from experience
• badly / bitterly / deeply / seriously / severely hurt

  
  Key principles:

•  Language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar.

•  The grammar/vocabulary dichotomy is invalid; much language consists of multi-words 'chunks'.

• A central element of language teaching is raising students' awareness of, and developing their ability to 'chunk' language successfully.

• Although structural patterns are known as useful, lexical and metaphorical patterning are accorded appropriate status.

• The central metaphor of language is holistic - an organism; not atomistic - a machine.

• It is the co-textual rather than the situational element of context which are of primary importance for language teaching.

•  Collocation is integrated as an organising principle within syllabuses.

• Grammar as a receptive skill, involving the perception of similarity and difference, is prioritised.

• Receptive skills, particularly listening, are given enhanced status.

• The Present-Practice-Produce paradigm is rejected, in favour of a paradigm based on the Observe-Hypothesise-Experiment cycle.