Content-Based Approach In English Language Teaching Essay

English language teaching has undergone a sea change in the recent years. The role of the teacher has progressed from that of an instructor to a facilitator. The approach to teaching has moved from being teacher centric to learner centric. Gone are the days when students could do textbook based grammar exercises but were baffled when it came to its application in real life scenario. Grammar exercises have now been replaced by interesting activities like role plays, extempore speeches, debates, group discussions, story telling and presentations. Thanks to technological advancements teachers now have started using them to make the class more educative, pragmatic and thought provoking. This paper attempts to take a look at the reasons for using

The biggest advantage of the content based approach is that students gain a very clear understanding of which specific rule of grammar they should use in a given structure and when best to make use of that structure in real life context. This method helps the students to gain confidence in communication unlike the traditional method where students were excellent in doing grammar based exercises in textbooks but were completely diffident when it came to its application in real

He adds that this method increases intrinsic motivation and engages the learner more actively in the learning process, and also states that CBI is very much in line with the principles of task-based language teaching. Brinton (2003, cited in Nunan, p. 132) has identified five principles of CBI. They are, * Instructional decisions are based on content rather than language criteria * Skills should be integrated as much as possible * Students should be involved actively in all phases of the learning process *Content should be chosen for its relevance to student’s lives, interests and /or academic goals *Authentic materials and tasks should be selected (Nunan 2004,