Content-Based Persian Language Instruction at the University of Maryland: A Field-Report

Content-based language instruction (CBI) has been increasingly gaining prominence in foreign language education. There is, however, a paucity of reports on less commonly taught language programs in the USA that have adopted this approach. This paper reports on the introduction of CBI in a Persia...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ali Reza Abasi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages 2014-01-01
Series:Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ncolctl.org/files/contentbase-persian.pdf
Description
Summary:Content-based language instruction (CBI) has been increasingly gaining prominence in foreign language education. There is, however, a paucity of reports on less commonly taught language programs in the USA that have adopted this approach. This paper reports on the introduction of CBI in a Persian language program at the University of Maryland. The paper begins with an overview of the most common CBI models in higher education settings. Next, a description of a particular CBI model developed in response to the program needs is presented, followed by a description of an offered course based on this model and a discussion of the views of the students, content faculty, and the language instructor. In conclusion, key considerations and the lessons learned in the process of implementing CBI are discussed.
ISSN:1930-9031