A glimpse into the effectiveness of L2-content cross-curricular collaboration in content-based instruction programmes

A glimpse into the effectiveness of L2-content cross-curricular collaboration in content-based instruction programmes

• Lo, Yuen Yi Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1-20, 2014

Routledge

2014

• D Curriculum
  • DE Secondary Education Programmes
• F Learning & Teaching
  • FE Medium of Instruction, Language of Teaching, Bi-& Multilingual Education, Problems of Bilingualism, Code-mixing & Code-switching

Teacher Collaboration Cross-curricular Collaboration Content-based Instruction Programmes Bilingual Programmes Second Language Learning

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Secondary Education

In content-based instruction (CBI) programmes, students learn content subjects through a second language (L2), so that they can incidentally learn the language. To further facilitate students' L2 development, the collaboration between L2 and content subject teachers has been strongly advocated. Previous research on such kind of collaboration mainly focused on how it may be realised, and on identifying potential obstacles, while its effectiveness remains under-explored. This paper reports the findings of a small-scale project conducted in a Hong Kong secondary school in which CBI is practised. Teachers of English, Integrated Humanities and Science collaborated in the design and teaching of several units for Grade 8 students. With data collected from teacher meetings, lesson observations, and students' performance on the pre- and post-tests, this study evaluated whether and how cross-curricular collaboration contributed to students' L2 learning. The findings show that students in classes where cross-curricular collaboration was practised demonstrated a better understanding of the targeted grammatical items. This could be attributed to enhanced teachers awareness of students' needs, a more suitable curriculum and changes in teachers' pedagogical foci in lessons. This study thus suggests the potentials of cross-curricular teacher collaboration and provides important implications for further enhancing the effectiveness of CBI.
[Copyright of International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2014.916654]

• English

Journal Articles

• 13670050

• 10.1080/13670050.2014.916654

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/35a2390e

2014-10-22