Most online meetings platforms, such as Google Meet or Zoom, operate in a similar transparent fashion: The instructor enrolls participants and controls “the room”, enabling what students see on their (computer/tablet/phone) screen. To teach classes online you basically need a meeting platform with options for screen sharing and grouping. While it is true that face-to-face instruction is superior for some aspects of language learning, we can still achieve the same levels of successful learning in our online classes.

It may be impossible to achieve all of these conditions fully, but it is important to have these instructional goals in mind, and to work toward establishing them in every class.īecause many English classes are now being taught online, instructors may feel limited, unable to achieve the learning conditions that they could achieve in live face-to-face classes. This interaction involves predicting, brainstorming, pair sharing, small group discussion of opinions, peer review of content, and original student presentations on meaningful topics, along with a format for feedback from classmates. Peer interaction is the primary means through which learning takes place.If the course material that the class is using is not sufficient in these ways, again you as the instructor need to expand and adapt activities in order to develop more topic-oriented discussion. Activities are primarily idea-focused (rather than language-focused) and involve discussion to develop solicitation of others’ views, critical thinking, and agreement or disagreement.The content is inherently interesting and relevant to your students - or as the instructor you must find ways to make it more interesting and relevant, through framing of activities, grading of material, and supplementation with other media.In order for CBI to be successful, the instructor has to be patient, flexible, and willing to create three conditions for success: Just using content as a basis for your course won’t guarantee success. Of course, the results are not automatic.

The key reason that content-based instruction is so effective is that you are working with affective, cognitive, and social engagement at the same time. Over the years I have grown to believe that CBI can accelerate language learning in a variety of contexts, with learners of all ages and levels of proficiency, and not just in academic programs. The Contemporary Topics series, now in its fourth edition, has grown in parallel with the developments in content-based instruction and also through my own research on how students acquire language.

What is important is that the content is substantial - it is appropriate, relevant and worth learning for your students. In CBI, the course content can be practical “how to” demonstrations, current event documentaries, inspirational talks, or pop culture events like films and music. Basically, content-based instruction, or “CBI”, means acquiring language while learning content - or through learning content.ĬBI doesn’t necessarily involve using a curriculum with academic lectures - history, physics, economics, philosophy and so on. Build active engagement with Contemporary Topics online classesĬontent-based instruction is a great way to increase student engagement and motivation.

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