Keys to Effective CBI Courses

Abstract

This paper investigated how the college English as a foreign language (EFL) learners can effectively function in a Content-Based Instruction (CBI) course by enhancing their level of comprehension and participation. The paper reported a case study with two CBI courses offered at a Korean university. The study took a form of action research whose focus was to provide an account of how the CBI courses were conducted, and address the issue of how to improve the teaching practice of the instructor in a more ecologically valid way in implementing efficient CBI courses. Through the analysis of video-taped classroom observations, questionnaires, and interviews as well as comments from the professional observers, the paper showed that the instructor used questions frequently as a means of interaction between herself and the students, and that between the students, among other research findings. Having reflected on the way the instructor taught and interacted with the students and examined how they responded to the CBI course, the paper made suggestions concerning how to offer CBI courses in a more productive and relevant way considering the college level EFL adult-learners’ linguistic and cognitive experience and skills.