Patsy M. Lightbown
Focus on Content-Based Language Teaching
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors and publisher are grateful to those who have given permission to reproduce the following extracts and adaptations of copyright material: p139 Figure from Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual and children in the crossfire. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Reproduced by permission. p75, 83 Extract from ‘The helping behaviours of fifth graders while using collaborative strategic reading during ESL content classes’ by J. Klingner and S. Vaughn, TESOL Quarterly 34/ Wiley-Blackwell. Reproduced by permission. p69 Extract from ‘Content-based language teaching in China: contextual influences on implementation’ by Philip Hoare, Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 1 Feb 2010 Taylor & Francis, reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals). p6 Table from ‘Time on task and immersion graduates’ French proficiency’ by Turnbull, M., Lapkin, S., Hart, D., & Swain, M. in French second language education in Canada: Empirical studies (pp. 31–55). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Reproduced by kind permission of Dr Miles Turnbull and Dr Sharon Lapkin. p307 Extract from ‘Cognitive content engagement in content-based language teaching’ by Stella Kong and Philip Hoare, Focus on Content Based Languages Teaching, Volume 15 Issue 3, p320, copyright © 2011 by SAGE. Reprinted by Permission of SAGE. p124 Extract from within Catherine Doughty, Jessica Williams (eds) Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition, 1998. © Cambridge University Press, reproduced with permission.
Acknowledgments
In writing this book, I have benefited from the experience and insights of educators and researchers who have sought to understand and to improve students’ opportunities to learn language and to learn academic content taught in a new language. Many of their names appear in the text and in the reference list, but it was not possible to include all of the important and valuable publications I have learned from. I only hope that I have acknowledged all of those whose work I have drawn on directly. I am grateful to the teachers and teacher educators whose classes and workshops have shaped my understanding of CBLT. Special thanks to the staff and students in the dual immersion program at the Christopher Columbus Family Academy, where I have seen wonderful examples of CBLT in action.
I am grateful to Oxford University Press, especially to Julia Bell and Ann Hunter for their support and attention to detail. Several colleagues have helped me identify and locate valuable materials among the thousands of publications relevant to CBLT. I thank Roy Lyster and Howard Nicholas for their help. Finally, my friend, colleague, and frequent co-author Nina Spada has been an important part of this project since we began working together on this Key Concepts for the Language Classroom series. She is a constant source of encouragement, reality checks, and laughter. I cannot thank her enough.
Series Editors’ Preface
The Oxford Key Concepts for the Classroom series is designed to provide accessible information about research on topics that are important to second language teachers. Each volume focuses on a particular area of second/foreign-language learning and teaching, covering both background research and classroom-based studies. The emphasis is on how knowing about this research can guide teachers in their instructional planning, pedagogical activities, and assessment of learners’ progress.
The idea for the series was inspired by the book How Languages are Learned. Many colleagues have told us that they appreciate the way that book can be used either as part of a university teacher education program or in a professional development course for experienced teachers. They have commented on the value of publications that show teachers and future teachers how knowing about research on language learning and teaching can help them think about their own teaching principles and practices.
This series is oriented to the educational needs and abilities of school-aged children (5–18 years old) with distinct chapters focusing on research that is specific to primary- and secondary-level learners. The volumes are written for second language teachers, whether their students are minority-language speakers learning the majority language or students learning a foreign language in a classroom far from the communities where the language is spoken. Some of the volumes will be useful to ‘mainstream’ teachers who have second language learners among their students, but have limited training in second/foreign language teaching. Some of the volumes will also be primarily for teachers of English, whereas others will be of interest to teachers of other languages as well.
The series includes volumes on topics that are key for second language teachers of school-age children and each volume is written by authors whose research and teaching experience have focused on learners and teachers in this age group. While much has been written about some of these topics, most publications are either ‘how to’ methodology texts with no explicit link to research, or academic works that are designed for researchers and post-graduate students who require a thorough scholarly treatment of the research, rather than an overview and interpretation for classroom practice. Instructors in programs for teachers often find that the methodology texts lack the academic background appropriate for a university course and that the scholarly works are too long, too difficult, or not sufficiently classroom-oriented for the needs of teachers and future teachers. The volumes in this series are intended to bridge that gap.
The books are enriched by the inclusion of Spotlight Studies that represent important research and Classroom Snapshots that provide concrete examples of teaching/learning events in the second language classroom. In addition, through a variety of activities, readers will be able to integrate this information with their own experiences of learning and teaching.
We are pleased to launch the series with this volume Focus on Content-Based Language Teaching.
Introduction
In