6 Transitions. Transitions are explicitly planned actions which provide coherence
across topics in a theme unit and across tasks within topics. Transitions create links across topics and provide constructive entrees for new tasks and topics
within a theme unit. The transition occurs when the students are asked to predict new topics, discuss the importance of prior task, consider issue that prior task
does not address, brainstorm additional concepts and associations, engage in guided speed writing, discuss the relationship between the latest reading and a
prior reading, and relate personal experiences to past and upcoming tasks.
b. The Steps for Implementing the Six-T’s Approach
According to Stoller and Grabe 1997, the implementation of the Six-T’s Approach comprises two parts. The first part is initial planning. The initial planning
is the foundation before the designers can generate the Six-T’s Approach. In the initial planning, there are five things that should be done. First the designers must
review students’ needs based on critical needs analyses, institutional expectations and corresponding objectives, resources possibilities, and teacher preparation. Those
things are useful to determine the content, language, and learning skills. Second, the designers need to ascertain the extent to which the curriculum is institutionally
predetermined or shaped by teacher andor student choices. Third, the designers need to decide on the degree of tension a theme is permitted to generate. Tension occurs
when students consider complex andor controversial issues associated with varying perspectives and alternatives viewpoints on topics defining a theme. Fourth, the
designers should determine the number of theme units to be explored and the amount of time in each unit. Fifth, the designer must consider their own commitment to CBI
and its objectives. Once the initial planning has been completed, the designers can go to the
next part, namely implementing the Six-T’s Approach. Furthermore, the steps for implementing the Six-T’s approach are:
1 Establishing the Contents. In this first step, the designer collects the contents
consisting themes, texts, and topics.
2 Selecting Possible Threads. The threads are formulated first before the tasks in
order to make coherence to the overall theme units. 3
Sequencing the Contents. In sequencing the contents, the designers need to
consider the availability of the contents, the difficulty of the contents, and the
cognitive demands made on the students. 4
Building the Teachers’ Commitment to Learn Additional Information.
According to Walmsley 1994 cited by Stoller and Grabe 1997, the teachers’ commitment refers to the need for the designers to ‘bump up their knowledge’.
Therefore, it can build the teachers’ motivation and enthusiasm and also provides
the teachers with additional options for classroom tasks. 5
Specifying The Objectives for Each Theme Unit. This step requires the
specification of core objectives for each theme unit in terms of language, content,
and strategy learning.
6 Designing Tasks. This step involves the selection of tasks to carry out the content
and language goals of each unit. 7
Designing Transitions. The next step is to determine the transitions that create
meaningful linkages across topics. With the transitions, the students sense the
logical progression from one topic to the next. 8
Modifying the Theme Unit. This final step involves the fine-tuning of theme
units while they are being implemented. The change also possibly happens during
the ongoing process of implementing the theme units.
Taking account of the fact that the Six-T’s Approach provides the means for developing a coherent CBI curriculum Stoller and Grabe, 1997: 7, this study uses
the steps of the Six-T’s as the part of the writer’s instructional model. However, this study does not include all of those steps in the writer’s instructional model. There are
three steps that are eliminated, namely building the teachers’ commitment to learn additional information, specifying the objectives for each theme unit and modifying
the theme unit. In addition, the detail explanation will be explained in The Theoretical Framework.
6. Teaching Reading to EFL Students
