Does the emperor have no clothes? A re-examination of grammar in content-based instruction

Abstract

Introduction The appearance of content-based instruction (CBI) on the language teaching scene is often traced to Mohan's, 1986 text, Language and Content. In this text, Mohan laid out the then quite revolutionary premise that language should and could not be taught in isolation from content, and that authentic content provided the richest and most natural context for language teaching to occur. Today, this premise is widely accepted, and the approach itself enjoys wide popularity. To better understand the approach, let us examine the following three definitions of CBI: (1) A content-based curriculum is simply one in which the basic organisational unit is a theme or topic, rather than the more customary grammatical patterns or language functions. The goal of this is to provide meaningful contexts for language learning instead of focusing on language as an object of study. At the foundation of this approach is the Krashenesque notion that acquisition is best promoted when language is presented in comprehensible and interesting communicative contexts. However, we diverge from Krashen and side with recent first language trends in reading and writing across the curriculum in the belief that instruction in higher-level language and study skills is warranted … and that such intervention can and does make a difference. (Bycina, 1986: 13)

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