15 Karl Krahnke 1987 proposes that Content-based Instruction is a simple
teaching methodology in the sense that it is the teaching of content or information in the language being learnt with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the
language itself separately from the content being taught.
b. Principles for Content-based Instruction
Brinton 2001 proposes several key principles for Content-based Instruction. The first one is to base instructional decisions on content rather than
language criteria. It means that CBI allows course planners or materials designers to choose appropriate content which will later dictate or influence the selection
and sequencing of language items. The second principle is to integrate skills. In its implementation, CBI covers all four language skills Listening, Speaking,
Reading, and Writing as well as three language elements Grammar, Vocabulary, and Pronunciation. This principle represents what happens in real life; that we
use multiple skills simultaneously in our daily interactions with others. The third principle suggests that teachers involve students actively in all
phases of the learning process. Littlewood 1981 states that a CBI classroom is learner-centered because students are actively engaged in class activities. They do
not only learn from teachers’ input but also from interactions with their peers. The fourth one is to choose content for its relevance to students’ lives, interests, andor
academic goals. The content selection in CBI courses depends on the student and the instructional setting. Determining what is relevant or interesting for students
may be uneasy for teachers and curriculum developers, but as they go through the
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16 instructional time, they may get enough opportunity to decide what topics fit their
students’ interest and needs. The fifth principle is to select authentic texts and tasks. Brinton, Snow,
and Wesche 1989 define authentic texts as written or oral texts which are created for a purpose other than language teaching, while Brinton 2001 defines authentic
tasks as the ones that resemble the real-life tasks that learners are going to perform. They provide certain structures or language features for students to
identify which can then be taught in isolation. The last principle is to draw overt attention to language features. So, even though the focus of CBI is to give
sufficient comprehensible input which mostly comes from the teachers and peers, building awareness and drawing attention to specific language features found in
authentic texts are also important.
c. The Role of Teachers and Students
