Content-based Learning in Costa Rican Technical Education

This article examines the needs of teachers who are currently using or interested in content-based language instruction (CBI) in the classroom. Readers will learn basic CBI concepts and examine methods to connect and integrate content learning and language instruction.

This session will focus on the needs of teachers who are currently using or interested in content-based language instruction (CBI) in the classroom. Participants will learn basic CBI concepts and examine methods to connect and integrate content learning and language instruction.

A blog introducing the concept of CBLI and why it is beneficial for students.

An article defining CBI, describing its advantages and potential problems.

An article about CBI that talks about principles, types of CBI, sample lesson, advantages and disadvantages.

This course is designed for teachers who are already teaching -- or are preparing soon to teach – content-based instruction (CBI) courses in English. CBI courses present teachers with the challenge of balancing the teaching of both language and content. The ideal way to strike this balance will differ, depending on the teaching context. 

This session explores the benefits and challenges of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP), and will share practical ideas for how to prepare students for careers in hospitality and tourism.

An article on ESP that talks about the differences between EFL and ESL, roles of the teacher and students in ESP contexts.

This article discusses the need to bridge the gap between ESP classroom content and activities, and workplace needs. It suggests using observation, interviews, and questionnaires from the workplace to make teaching methods in ESP classrooms match employment needs. 

The authors espouse the need for negotiation in designing and delivering English for Specific Purposes (ESP) programs. Such negotiations take into account learners’ needs as well as structural limitations of the context and candid assessment of ESP providers. The article explores lessons from the field and the importance of needs analysis.

This website from the creators of the ECRIF Framework, Josh Kurzweil & Mary Scholl, presents the framework we use at I4CL to frame how we  see learners in their process of learning. Reimagined from the student perspective, ECRIF guides how we plan, facilitate, observe, and reflect upon learning experiences.

This article discusses the need to bridge the gap between ESP classroom content and activities, and workplace needs. It suggests using observation, interviews, and questionnaires from the workplace to make teaching methods in ESP classrooms match employment needs. 

This is a language learning platform with some major advantages. It teaches a foreign language with real-world videos on just about every topic and makes the language learning process enjoyable.

An article that talks about the origins, aims, core features and benefits of using CLIL.

In this section, you'll find CLIL lesson plans for a wide range of curriculum subjects as well as guidance on ways to teach CLIL and materials that might adapted to your learning contexts.

This session introduces a pedagogical framework for EFL reading. The ACTIVE reading framework suggests that six components can be part of reading instruction: A: Activate prior knowledge C: Cultivate vocabulary T: Teach for comprehension I: Increase reading rate V: Verify reading strategies E: Evaluate progress The session will focus specifically on ways that teachers can curricularize reading fluency by building readers' comprehension skills and reading rate. 

A short article describing some of the most well-known types of collaborative learning we can use in the classroom.

An article that talks about collaborative learning activities, provides examples of collaborative activities, and how they work.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we borrow from a common collaborative activity called Think-Pair-Share and ask students to interview a partner about an important person in their life. This collaborative activity promotes learner engagement in a number of ways.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we look at ways to make the sometimes tedious task of getting students into groups and pairs fun and language-focused.  The techniques shared below offer unique ways to create impromptu (spontaneously made), randomly allocated groups for communicative activities.  

This article explores more ideas for creating impromptu (spontaneously made) groups for collaborative learning activities and projects to provide students with opportunities to work with a variety of classmates who may have different perspectives, language skills, and personalities.