1. Exploration of Critical Thinking Skills with Content - Based Instruction- Dr. Suneetha Yedla & Ms. Sailaja Mukku

Abstract:

At Present, topmost priority is given to the importance of critical thinking and innovation while teaching English to improve the students’ four basic skills of English: listening, speaking, reading and writing. A little attention focused is enough to cultivate thinking critically through the complex and challenging thinking activities. English teachers tend to follow specific regulations while teaching in classroom. Teachers usually abide to certain education doctrines which keep away students’ interests in English study; it’s the time for them to develop their innovation and critical thinking skills, so it’s better for Teacher to interact with students by posing some simple questions related to the text content and let them to coming up with some logical and innovative ideas to solve problems related to the content. Only those students who spend more time in working activities within the class room and outside the classroom definitely show good progress in English language too. Simple instructions in basic language skills don’t meet the requirement of social critical skills. Therefore, preference in English language teaching should be given to cultivate critical thinking skills and creative thinking ability rather than the simple practice of the basic skills and some linguistic knowledge.

This paper brings out the approaches related to the activities in promoting learners’ critical thinking skills and EFL skills with Content-Based Instruction. This study attempts to bridge the gap between approaches and instructional practices through the design and implementation of activities related to a content-based Instruction, to explore students critical thinking skills

Key Words: Content-Based Instruction, critical thinking, EFL, Approaches

Introduction:

Critical thinking is a that mode of thinking - about any subject, content, or problem - in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking decisions to overcome the problem logically. To develop critical thinking skills, students require sustained thematic input in addition to explanation and demonstration of relevant skills, thereby making content-based instruction is an ideal approach to prepare students for both the linguistic and cognitive demands of true education. Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically. I will try to try to define some of the approaches in CoBI to explore critical thinking skills of the learners.

Approaches to Content-Based Instruction:

Professionals in many instructional settings are developing approaches to content-based instruction (CBI) which emphasize the multiple benefits of integrating language and content instruction for second language (L2) students. The approaches vary, however, representing diverse contexts for instruction, different perspectives on the integration of content and language, and differing assumptions about content, language, and learning strategies. Despite differences in theoretical and practical orientations, these approaches to CBI uniformly view language as a medium for learning content. In addition, they endorse purposeful and meaningful language use in the classroom, while assuming a distinction between academic and social language. The following approaches have been influenced by a range of other CBI approaches; an overview of these will help to situate our views on CBI. Below I tried to outline four well-described approaches to content-based instruction.

1. CAL Approach:

One of the best-known approaches to CoBI is one we label the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) approach. For a number of years, CAL has been carrying out broad-based research on CoBI and training K-12 teachers in content-area instruction to make learning tasks more manageable for language students. CAL approach mainly focuses on

• Integration of the teaching content along with language
• The language used in particular academic content areas to comprehend the content

· To assess learner’s knowledge of language and subject matter Based on CAL's activities across the work, and its analyses of Approach to CoBI language demands in different content areas, many instructional recommendations, teaching techniques, and assessment tools have been developed to achieve CBI objectives.

Sample Activity for CAL approach: Conversation Grid

The following conversation grid activities provide opportunities to know the effect of CAL Approach in interaction and communication of the learners.

Instructions to the learners:

• Draw a large grid on the black/ green board a (sample grid) to explain the activity
• Review language structures and key words that have been previously taught and are needed to successfully complete this activity. The review should be oral and written with plenty of input from the learners
• Hand out the grids and explain the task ‘Today you’re going to interview five classmates. You will write their answers to your questions on this form.”
• Get the answer to the conversation questions, such as

What is your job now?

What do you like to do in your free time?

What else do you like to do?

• Talk about possible answers such as construction worker, doctor , Engineer and so on
• Model the task with one or two learner volunteers. It’s important to model several answers and questions so that learners know that full sentence answers such as “I am a construction worker” or short answers such as “construction worker” are both acceptable
• The time duration usually ranges between 20 and 30 minutes
• Finally when the general buzz quiets down, it is time to stop the activity. Discuss the information with the class, for example, “Tell the class something you learned about one of your classmates

As in all activities, modeling correct answers to issues such as “Her name” vs. “she name” is more effective than giving a big explanation about the correct grammar. Some will finish only one conversation while others may do several. That’s okay; learners learn and interact at different levels. Evaluation is ongoing and informal. The teacher in the class room to observe the conversations to note communicative abilities of the learners

Learned Objects

By this activity learners will have power of independent authentic conversation without teacher cooperation through grid activity. Learners will practice and enhance skills like critical thinking and problem solving language structures, vocabulary, and cultural aspects related to a topic.

2. EAP Approach:

A second well-known set of approaches to CoBI is English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction. This approach is best represented by studies reported in Adamson (1993), Wesche (1989) and Snow. They suggest that Content-Based EAP Approach follow one of three prototype models: sheltered instruction, adjunct instruction, and theme-based instruction. While teaching the content we have to choose any one of the prototype model in EAP approach according to the activity assign to the learners.

Sample Activity to EAP approach: Assembling an Object

It’s nothing but the description of, an object by looking at its photograph; a learner gives step-by-step directions to another student who attempts to assemble an object. The student who tries to assembling the object has a chance to ask more questions to identify the object.

Instructions to the Learners

• Devise an object that is easily taken apart and reassembled to the content (ready made manipulate able like Lagos or Tinker toys work well, but you may also use commonly available materials related to their course). The object can be a common object or an abstraction
• Build the object and take a photo of it Print out copies of the photograph
• Make learners in pairs and explain the rules of activity
• Give the directions to the given photograph, and give the components necessary to the assembler
• Teacher tried to make the students to involve in the activity through providing clues to the assembler regarding to the photograph on the board
• Turn the task into a friendly competition by posing questions such as….Who can correctly assemble the object first?

Procedure:

· While this task works well as a pair activity, we might prefer to turn it into a whole class activity. In that case, we need to choose someone to assemble the object and have him or her stand at the front of the class with all the pieces laid out on a table. The rest of the class gives directions while looking at a photograph of the assembled object.

· The teacher can guide the interaction by asking general yes/no questions:

“Does the green block go on top of the red block?”

We can lessen the difficulty level by decreasing the number of pieces. Or, conversely, can increase the difficulty level of this task by including superfluous pieces called distracters. If there are native speakers available, we can take them perform this task to gain a better understanding of the linguistic demands.

Learned Objects:

Through this activity learners will get authoritative power on language elements and grammar structures of a sentence by thinking critically and logically

3. Content Based Instruction

A third approach, sometimes overlapping with the second one, is that of university-level foreign language CoBI. There are two distinct contexts for this general approach.

The first one involves foreign language instruction that is organized around cultural, geographic, historical, political, and literary themes.

The second one context involves instruction in non-language courses (e.g., philosophy, history, anthropology, political science) that makes extensive use of informational resources in a foreign language or in content courses taught in a foreign language.

Sample activity to Content-based Instruction approach: The Press Conference

This is a great activity for practicing question forms in a fun way and gives structured speaking practice to lower levels.

Instructions to the learners:

• If we instruct the students that they have got the job of reporter for a magazine about famous people. They are going to interview some famous people and they need to prepare some general questions they may ask any famous person – actors, singers, sports stars, politicians etc
• We need to give some examples, like, ‘Do you enjoy your job?’ or ‘Are you happy being so famous?’ and get learners to write four questions and put them into a table with the questions going down the left hand side and space for five columns to the right
• Then teacher need to ask students which famous person they would like to be and give each one a sticky label or a sticky note for them to write the name of the famous person on and stick on themselves.

Procedure:

• Make learners into two concentric circles with the inner circle facing out and outer circle facing in
• Need to instruct learners that they are going to interview the person directly in front of them for two minutes and note down all the information they find out. They are also going to be interviewed
• The facing pairs take turns in the different roles of interviewer and famous person. At two minute intervals shout ‘stop’ and ask the outer circle to step one person to the right. Shout ‘start’ to give students two more minutes with a new famous perso
• When each learner has interviewed and been interviewed five or six times stop the activity and seat learners. The information they have gathered about the famous people can then be shared with the group orally or used for a piece of writing for a gossip magazine.

Learned Objects

Through his activity learners will have ability of critical thinking skills and ways to problem solving ideas with a large group but it can be a great way to keep learners speaking English for quite a long period of time we should identify their confidence grows as they get the hang of asking and answering the questions.

4. Content Information approach:

A fourth distinguishable approach is that developed by Mohan. In this approach to K-12 language and content instruction, learning centers around the use of discourse knowledge structures to convey content information. This approach provides teachers with a natural forum for introducing detailed content information while also helping learners see the discourse patterns that support and organize many types of content knowledge The key to the approach is the assertion that all content information is organized according to six basic types of knowledge structures:

Description

Sequence

Choice

Classification

Principles

Evaluation.

The first three types of knowledge structures (description, sequence, and choice) represent more specific ways to organize information;

The latter three (classification, principles, and evaluation) represent more general patterns for organizing knowledge, allowing for generalization and theorizing

Sample activity for CI approach Solve-It-Twice

This competitive game calls learners to take both adaptive and innovative approaches to problem-solving. It enables players to see that there are at least two equally good, rational problem-solving techniques for a single problem. The assumption is that players know the difference between an adaptive solution and an innovative one.

Instructions to the learners

• Teacher makes the students in to Teams—groups, or whole class as two team
• Paper and pens/pencils, one for each team
• Overhead, whiteboard, or chalkboard for point counting
• This game can be judged either by the teacher or by a predetermined panel of student judge
• The teams need to come up with two solutions for each problem an adaptive one and an innovative one
• A team receives a single point for a single response, as long as the judge or panel feels that the solution is appropriate
• If the team offers a solution that the judges find particularly “amazing,” two points can be awarded for that solution
• At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

Procedure:

• Each team chooses a player who does the writing and a player who read
• Aloud what has been written?
• The teacher randomly draws and reads
• Teams are given 60 seconds to write down two solutions: one adaptive and one innovative. Talking is allowed between team members
• The teacher or a judge calls “stop
• Teams present their solutions exactly as written. Judges determine points
• The maximum number of points per problem is three: one for the adaptive. Solution and one or two for the innovative solution. Teams alternate starting.

Learned Objects:

Learners will enhance their problem solving skills by focused on many problems through this activity. Learners will work together to solve the problems with critical thinking skills.

Conclusion

• First approach defines about students' needs, institutional expectations and corresponding objectives, resource possibilities, and teacher preparation. The results of such are view will determine the content, language, and learning skills which students will need to and be expected to develop
• Second approach focused on planners need to ascertain the extent to which the curriculum is institutionally predetermined or shaped by teacher and/or learner choices. While theme choices may be constrained by the institution, teachers, and/or content resources, specific topics may be open to student selection and/or negotiation
• Third approach explains about designers need to decide on the degree of "tension" a theme is permitted to generate. Tension arises when students consider complex and/or controversial issues associated with varying perspectives and alternative viewpoints on topics defining a theme unit In EAP context, for example, it is our view that themes which highlight and/or create some amount of tension promote student involvement and engagement with the content
• Fourth approach connects planners need to determine the number of content information units to be explored and designate the amount of time devoted to each content information unit It is also possible for multiple content units to run simultaneously over the course of a year, with student work on any given theme only occurring on an intermittent basis.

Advantages of Content-Based teaching

Finally The CoBI adds to learners interest in the subject it helps learners develop a wider knowledge. It is useful when teaching ESP classes (English for Specific Purpose) Involve learners taking information from multiple resources and therefore practice note taking and integrating discrete skills. It can be tailored to incorporate group work.

References:

• Richards Jack C. and Rodgers Theodore S 2001 “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching” Cambridge University Press
• Roy Lyster 2007 “Learning and Teaching Languages through Content: A counterbalanced Approach “(Language Learning & Language Teachning) John Benjamin’s Publishing Company
• Brinton, D. (2003). “Content-based instruction”. In D. Nunan (Ed.), Practical English Language Teaching (pp. 199–224). New York: McGraw Hill
• Snow, M.A.(2001). “Content-based and immersion models for second and foreign language teaching.” In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), “Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language” (3rd ed.) (pp. 303–318). Boston, Heinle & Heinle

Electronic Resources:

• www.cal.org/twi/rgos/content.html
• www.slideshare.net/amansaeede/17
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-based_instruction.