11 the content or information that students will acquire, rather than around a
linguistic or other type of syllabus.” 2001:204. Here, Content-Based Instruction does not teach the pattern or the strict rules of the language, but pays most
attention to the context of where the language is used. Besides that, CBI also emphasizes on how this approach can help learners to understand the second or
the foreign language from their daily-life situations. CBI lies under the principles of Communicative Language Teaching that is
well-known around 1980s. It believes that the ideal situation of learning second or foreign language is as a classroom that focuses on the real communication and
enables learners to exchange the information; the subjects taught are more on contents, the subject matter from outside the domain. Hence, learners will learn
broader life context and learn language as a by-product of learning about real- world content Richard and Rodgers, 2001.
b. Principles According to Richard and Rodgers 2001:207, CBI is formed into two
central principles, namely: 1
People learn a second language more successfully when they use the language as a means of acquiring information rather than as an end in
itself. This first principle accommodates one motivation for CBI, to lead to more effective language learning.
2 CBI better reflects learners’ needs from learning a second language. This
is due to the fact that the need of learning second or foreign language by PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
12 ESLEFL students is mainly for academic studies or mainstreaming.
Hence, the main priority is to make the content of academic teaching- learning can be accessed as quickly as possible and also the processes
through which such learning and teaching are realized.
These two principles will be used as the basic consideration in conducting the CBI class in deciding the materials, making a syllabus, and conducting the
teaching-learning activities.
c. Theory of Language
According to Richard and Rodgers 2001: 207, there are numbers of theory about the nature of language that underlies CBI
1 Language is text- and discourse based. CBI addresses the role of language as a vehicle for learning the content. It
has implication on the centrality of linguistic entities longer than single sentences, because the focus of teaching is on how meaning and information are
communicated and constructed through texts and discourse. CBI involves study of the textual and discourse structure of written texts such as letters, reports, essays,
descriptions, book chapters, or of speech events like meetings, lectures, and discussions.
13 2 Language use draws on integrated skills.
CBI views language use as involving several skills together. In CBI class, learners are often involved in activities that link the skills, because this is how the
skills are generally involved in the real world. 3 Language is purposeful.
In this theory, language is used for specific purposes which may be academic, vocational, social, or recreational. But the purpose gives direction,
shape, and ultimately meaning to discourse and texts. For learners, in order to receive maximum benefit from CBI, they must get along clearly with its purposes
and the language codes that signal and link the expressions of purpose. Language is potential to communicate meaning. In order to make the learners comprehend
the content, teachers have to make some adjustments, modifications and simplifications that native speakers make in communicating with second language
learners. The discourse that results from these simplifications is often referred to as “foreigner talk.” The modifications include simplification, well-formedness,
explicitness, regularization, and redundancy Stryker and Leaver, 1993 in Richard and Rodgers, 2001: 209.
In short, there are three items of theories about the nature of language which underlies CBI proposed by Richard and Rodgers 2001. All of the theories
play the same strong influence in the implementation of CBI. The three theories are: language is text and discourse-based; language use draws on integrated skills;
and that language is purposeful. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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d. Theory of Learning
