Content-Based Instruction in Primary and Secondary School Settings.

The volume opens with an introductory chapter written by Kaufman and Crandall volume editors, which orients readers to the broad social contexts in which English as a second language ESL

Content-Based Instruction in Primary and Secondary

School Settings.

Dorit Kaufman and JoAnn Crandall (Eds.) Alexandria, VA: TESOL,

2005 Pp iii + 234

䡲 The notion of integrating content- and language-learning objectives, often referred to as content-based instruction (CBI), is increasingly at-tracting global interest In instructional settings with large numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse students and a growing emphasis on performance-based evidence and accountability, CBI has expanded and taken on new configurations to meet these emergent situations Kauf-man and Crandall’s edited volume has captured Kauf-many of these trends in

this timely collection of 13 case studies, which showcase programs adopt-ing CBI in primary and secondary schools within and outside of the United States A variety of CBI models, including sheltered instruction, theme-based instruction, and sustained content-language teaching, are highlighted (Readers interested in issues related to CBI in higher edu-cation settings can refer to Crandall & Kaufman, 2002.)

This volume is organized around three themes, each encompassing four to five case studies Similarly structured, each study starts with a brief introduction to a program, followed by a description of the instructional context, the implementation of the program, and the distinguishing features of the program Each ends with a section called “Practical Ideas,” from which readers can easily draw on suggestions and adapt them for their own instructional contexts Each case highlights the uniqueness of its context, practices, challenges, and solutions As aptly mentioned by the series editor, Jill Burton, case studies are informative

by nature; together these cases present multiple perspectives on issues related to CBI

The volume opens with an introductory chapter written by Kaufman and Crandall (volume editors), which orients readers to the broad social contexts in which English as a second language (ESL) teachers have been assigned responsibilities for teaching not only language but also discipline-specific knowledge The first part of the book (chapters 2–6), titled “Partnerships and Contructivist Notions in Content-Based Instruc-tion,” includes five case studies which depict a diversity of instructional contexts These case studies highlight effective collaborative partner-ships with various stakeholders For example, chapter 2 (by Bunch, Lo-tan, Valdés, & Cohen) introduces a school-university partnership in Cali-fornia in which Grade 7 transitional limited-English-proficient students are placed in mainstream history classes The approach described main-tains the rigor of social studies content without watering down the aca-demic curriculum, a problem that occurs in some sheltered instruction Jakar, in chapter 3, presents a 3-year intervention project in Jerusalem designed to build a CBI English as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum for Grades 2–9 Successful stories of effective collaboration between ESL teachers and content teachers are described in chapters 4 and 5 Hurst and Davison (chapter 4) describe an English-medium international school in Bangkok that has adopted a sheltered immersion model Ber-nache, Galinat, and Jimenez (chapter 5) introduce a cotaught sheltered program in a middle school in Maryland, in the United States, where an equal partnership between ESOL and content teachers enables partici-pating teachers to make the best use of their respective expertise to maximize students’ learning of both academic content and language Chapter 6 (by Gordon) illustrates a school-university partnership that

applies Vygotskian theory in content-based ESL classrooms This set of case studies highlights the interpersonal, interdisciplinary, and cross-institutional collaboration that has contributed to the success of all five programs

Reflection and inquiry have become an integral part of professional development, as exemplified in the four case studies in the second sec-tion of the book, titled “Reflecsec-tion and Inquiry in Content-Based Instruc-tion Professional Development.” Dubetz, Abreu, Alegria, Casado, and Díaz (chapter 7) delineate a fruitful professional development study-group model, where teacher educators and primary and secondary school professionals meet regularly to solve problems in a bilingual pro-gram Olsen and Belnap (chapter 8) present the only case among the 13 that addresses the teaching of a less commonly taught language, namely Arabic, through CBI The program embeds Arabic in a high school social studies class to promote students’ reflection and better understanding of cultural issues Díaz-Maggioli and Burbaquis-Vinson (chapter 9) under-score the importance of reflective practice in helping language teachers make transitions from traditional language teaching to CBI approaches

in an Uruguayan elementary EFL program Arkoudis (chapter 10) dem-onstrates the importance of reflective communication between ESOL teachers and content teachers

The final section of the book is titled “Standards- and Content-based Curriculum, Assessment, and Professional Development.” There is, in the current educational environment in many countries, an increasing importance attached to standards and assessment systems Gottlieb and Boals (chapter 11) discuss how an alternative standards-based assessment system, customized for beginning ESL learners, facilitates learners’ aca-demic growth in realistic and meaningful ways This chapter is an im-portant contribution to the relatively scant literature on assessment in CBI In chapter 12, de Jong and Grieci demonstrate the importance of standardization of CBI curricula by presenting a bilingual ESL program’s transition from a traditional grammar-based focus to a content-based focus via a collaborative curriculum mapping process Similarly, in chap-ter 13, Bigelow, Ranney, and Hebble showcase how a sustained theme-based program adopted in an ESOL program at a junior high school in Minnesota aligns with district, state, and TESOL standards Another cru-cial issue in CBI—professional development for content teachers who must integrate a language focus into their content teaching—is ad-dressed by Teemant, in chapter 14 She discusses a distance-learning program intended to prepare K–12 mainstream teachers to reach the increasing numbers of ESL students enrolled in their classes and to meet the need for assessment-driven accountability for student learning The greatest strength of this book is its accessibility and credibility,

achieved through its case study methodology Furthermore, figures and appendixes interwoven throughout the book provide readers with illus-trative hands-on activities, thematic units, and curriculum templates Had the editors brought in case studies showcasing how other instruc-tional approaches (e.g., task-based instruction or project-work) could be easily accommodated within a CBI framework, the book would be even more valuable Nonetheless, due to the book’s demonstration of the versatility of CBI and the diverse contexts in which it is implemented, anyone interested in the practice of CBI will find useful thoughts, ex-amples, and discussions Though practically oriented, this book also pro-vides a springboard for further research Overall, it is an indispensable resource for teachers, teacher educators, program administrators, and other stakeholders dedicated to teaching both language and content to English language learners in primary and secondary schools

REFERENCE

Crandall, J A., & Kaufman, D (Eds.) (2002) Content-based instruction in higher edu-cation settings Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

JINGJING QIN

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona, United States