Applying theme based instruction in teaching academic writing to preintermediate teenagers at vietnam us society english center (vus)

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY --- NGUYEN TRONG NHAN APPLYING THEME-BASED INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO PRE- INTERMEDIATE TEENAG

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

-

NGUYEN TRONG NHAN

APPLYING THEME-BASED INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO PRE- INTERMEDIATE TEENAGERS AT VIETNAM

US SOCIETY ENGLISH CENTER (VUS)

Major: English Language Course code: 60220201

HO CHI MINH, OCTOCBER 2020

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

-

APPLYING THEME-BASED INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO PRE- INTERMEDIATE TEENAGERS AT VIETNAM

US SOCIETY ENGLISH CENTER (VUS)

Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics

In partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Linguistics

The thesis entitled APPLYING THEME-BASED INSTRUCTION IN

TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO PRE-INTERMEDIATE

TEENAGERS AT VIETNAM US SOCIETY ENGLISH CENTER (VUS) was

successfully defended and approved on 22nd December, 2020 at Hochiminh City University of Technology (HUTECH)

Academic supervisor : Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D

Examination Committee

3 Nguyen Dang Nguyen, Ph.D Reader 2

On behalf of the Examination Committee

Chair

Nguyen Tien Hung, Ph.D.

HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE

HCMC, 22nd December, 2020

MASTER’S THESIS REPORT

Student name: Nguyen Trong Nhan Sex: Male

Date of birth: 07/07/1994 Place of birth: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Major: English Language Student code: 1841900034

I- Thesis title:

APPLYING THEME-BASED INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO PRE-INTERMEDIATE TEENAGERS AT VIETNAM US

SOCIETY ENGLISH CENTER (VUS)

II- Objectives and contents:

The study aims to investigate the implementation of CBI with theme-based model

on teenage learners’ academic writing performance at VUS English Center, Ba Hom Campus, Ho Chi Minh City The research objectives are as follows:

 To examine the effects of Theme-based Instruction on teenage learners’ academic writing performance at VUS English Center

 To explore learners’ attitudes in terms of the advantages and disadvantages

of the implementation of THBI at VUS English Center

This research aimed to explore the effectiveness of this approach as a means of

learners at Vietnam US Society English Center (VUS English Center) three participants from VUS Young Leaders Class took part in a twelve-week experimental course using a wide range of Theme-based activities A pre-test and a post-test in form of English writing test were administrated before and after the course to measure progress in the Controlled Group and Experimental Group for any noticeable difference Besides, a questionnaire and an in-depth interview were also conducted after the experimental course to collect students’ attitude in terms of advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of ThBI on writing performance With Mean= 13.48 in comparison with 11.43 of the pre-tests in Experimental Group and that of 10.81 in Controlled Group, data analysis showed significant effectiveness of ThBI in teaching academic writing to pre-intermediate EFL learners Data collection from questionnaires also proved similar improvement

Twenty-in students’ attitude Twenty-in learnTwenty-ing Theme-based WritTwenty-ing course with regards to its advantages in learners’ motivation (Mean = 3.60), learners’ attitude towards the implementation of this approach in writing class (Mean= 3.63) and the effectiveness

on their academic writing performance (Mean= 3.52) In addition, results from depth interview also indicated good responses concerning learners’ motivation and attitude towards ThBI Disadvantages concerning the implementation of this approach in Writing classroom were also noted in interviewees’ opinions in terms

in-of low-level learners and cognitive imbalance Some valuable opinions as well as limitations and recommendations for future courses were also recorded

III- Starting date: 30/03/2020

IV- Completing date: 30/09/2020

V- Academic supervisor: Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D

ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN

Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today, entitled:

APPLYING THEME-BASED INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO PRE-INTERMEDIATE TEENAGERS AT VIETNAM US SOCIETY

ENGLISH CENTER (VUS)

In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher degree Committee of Faculty of English Linguistics, Ho Chi Minh City University

of Technology

Ho Chi Minh, October 2020

NGUYEN TRONG NHAN

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, NGUYEN TRONG NHAN, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Linguistics) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and uses of Master’s Theses deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan and reproduction for theses

Ho Chi Minh, October 2020

Signature

NGUYEN TRONG NHAN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many individuals have left their imprints in my path of exploring knowledge and in the course of doing this thesis I would like to acknowledgement their assistance, cooperation and encouragement without which this study would not have been completed

First and foremost, I would like to express my whole-hearted appreciation to my supervisor, Ms Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D - Dean of English Language Faculty of the University of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City for her dedicated assistance and valuable advice without which this paper cannot come into life She also shed light on the field of Research Methodology and reminded me of the contribution of us, English teachers and educators to the development of national Education and for the generations of elite learners who are fluent English users and confidently ready for the new era of global citizens and international integration

Secondly, I also would like to send my deep gratitude to Ms Ho Thi My Linh, VUS Training Quality Manager who gave me the permission to conduct this study at VUS classes and her constant encouragement and timely support as well as all the Teacher Care staffs for their kind support in arranging classes and schedules, lending my all the facilities and resources I needed in order to complete this thesis

Many truthful thanks also extended to all the TESOL lecturers and teaching staffs at HUTECH for their dedication and great support during my Master course here

In addition, this thesis cannot be completed without 44 students in my class and my colleagues who enthusiastically took part in the pre-test, post-test, the questionnaires and the experimental class which brought out the significant results and pedagogical implications of this research

Finally, my special thanks would like to go to my family and friends for their support and encouragement within my research doing time

ABSTRACT

Theme-Based Instruction under the broad term of Content-Based Instruction has been proved to be an effective approach in Language Teaching on valuing learner-centeredness, autonomy and creativity based on the firm foundation of Communicative Approach and Collaborative Learning This research aimed to explore the effectiveness of this approach as a means of honing academic writing proficiency for forty-four pre-intermediate EFL young learners at a private Vietnamese English center in Ho Chi Minh City Twenty-three participants from VUS Young Leaders Class took part in a twelve-week experimental course using a wide range of Theme-based activities A pre-test and a post-test in form of English writing test were administrated before and after the course to measure progress in the Controlled Group and Experimental Group for any noticeable difference Besides, a questionnaire and an in-depth indirect semi- structured interview via internet-based applications were also conducted after the experimental course to collect students’ attitude in terms of advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of ThBI on writing performance After being analyzed with SPSS software, with Mean= 13.48 in comparison with 11.43 of the pre-tests in Experimental Group and that of 10.81 in Controlled Group, data analysis showed significant effectiveness of ThBI in teaching academic writing to pre-intermediate EFL learners Data collection from questionnaires also proved similar improvement

in students’ attitude in learning Theme-based Writing course with regards to its advantages in learners’ motivation (Mean = 3.60), learners’ attitude towards the implementation of this approach in writing class (Mean= 3.63) and the effectiveness

on their academic writing performance (Mean= 3.52) In addition, qualitative results from in-depth interview also indicated good responses concerning learners’ motivation and attitude towards ThBI Disadvantages concerning the implementation of this approach in Writing classroom were also noted in

Some valuable opinions as well as limitations and recommendations for future courses were also recorded

Keywords: theme-based instruction, academic writing, modern teaching approaches, content-based instruction, communicative approaches, EFL young learners

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

ABSTRACT iv

LIST OF TABLES ix

LIST OF FIGURES x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xi

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Statement of problem 5

1.3 Aims and objectives the study 6

1.4 Research questions 6

1.5 Significance of the study 6

1.6 Scope of the study 7

1.7 Definition of key terms 8

1.8 The organization of the study 9

CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW 10

2.1 Introduction 10

2.2 Content-Based Instruction 10

2.2.1 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as the origin of Content-based Instruction (CBI)

2.2.2 The definition of Content-based Instruction 13

2.2.3 The models of Content-based Instruction 16

2.2.4 The pedagogical issues in Content-based Instruction in EFL classroom 19 2.2.5 The significance of Theme-based Instruction 24

2.3.2 The difficulties in academic writing acquisition 27

Linguistic competence 27

2.4 The advantages and disadvantages of Theme-based Instruction on academic writing 29

2.5 Attitude 30

2.5.1 Definitions of attitude 30

2.5.2 The components of attitudes 31

2.6 Previous studies 34

2.7 Conceptual Framework 35

2.8 Summary 38

CHAPTER 3 : METHODOLOGY 40

3.1 Introduction 40

3.2 Research design 40

3.3 Research site 41

3.4 Sample and sampling procedures 41

3.9 Summary 57

CHAPTER 4 58

4.1 Introduction 58

4.2 Results 58

4.2.1 Performance on pre and post Writing test of the studied groups 58

4.2.3 Interviews 69

4.3 Discussions 74

4.3.1 The effectiveness of ThBI on learners’ writing performance 74

4.3.2 Learners’ attitude towards the implementation of Theme-based Instruction in EFL writing class 75

4.3.3 Advantages and disadvantages of ThBI in EFL writing classroom 75

4.4 Summary 77

CHAPTER 5 78

5.1 Summary of the main findings of the thesis 78

5.2 Pedagogical implications 80

5.3 Limitations 81

5.4 Recommendations for further research 82

REFERENCES 84

APPENDICES 89

APPENDIX A 89

APPENDIX B 90

APPENDIX C 92

APPENDIX E 97

APPENDIX F 99

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Number of participants attended in each section of the study

Table 3.2: General information of the research participants

Table 3.3: Distribution of classes and content taught implemented ThBI activities

Table 3.4: Questionnaire items in relation to Research Question and Conceptual Framework

Table 3.5: Interview items in relation to Conceptual Framework

Table 3.6: Data analysis procedure

Table 4.1: Mean scores on pre and posttest of the controlled group

Table 4.2: Writing scores grouped by VUS ranking sheet

Table 4.3: Mean score on Pre and post-test of the EG

Table 4.4 Average score of individual section

Table 4.5 Mean score and Frequencies of Learners’ motivation in Experimental Group

Table 4.6 Mean score and Frequencies of Learners’ attitude

Table 4.7: Mean score and Frequencies of Effectiveness of ThBI on Academic Writing Proficiency

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Continuum of Content-Language Integration (Met, 1998)

Figure 2.2: Triadic model of Attitude

Figure 2.3: Conceptual Framework of the hypothesized influence of THBI on Learners’ attitude and Academic writing performance

Figure 4.1 Average score for each Writing indicator before and after the course of

Controlled Group

Figure 4.2 Comparison of Mean score between the two studied groups

Figure 4.3 Average score of individual section before and after the course of Experimental Group

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

CBI: Content-based instruction

ESL: English as a Second Language

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESP: English for Specific Purposes

ThBI: Theme-Based Instruction

VUS: Vietnam- USA Society

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study

The rapid globalization and the so-called “digital era” of ever-changing technologies have completely reoriented the traditional notions of Education as well as brought with it both opportunities and challenges As a result, Language teaching and learning as a whole and English Language teaching and learning in particular apparently could not make itself an outsider to meet the increasing demands for communication, cooperation, employment, research and other socio-economic issues to prepare for a generation that must not only learn to participate

in a more interconnected world but also appreciate and benefit from cultural differences

Inevitably, this addresses schools, teachers, educators and policy-makers in a crucial role in helping young people to develop global competence and hence in the quest of seeking a more effective solution for teaching in learning Consequently, in the subfield of English Language Teaching and Learning, recent decades have witnessed a strong wind of innovations and initiatives concerning applied Linguistics, Teaching Methodologies and Teaching Practices resulting in the fundamental shift from traditional Grammar-Translation or Audio-Lingual Methods to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as well as many of its offshoots such as Task-based Approach, Problem-based Approach, etc which offers a more effective, meaningful and contextualized platform for both teachers and learners while still sparing room for learners’ autonomy

Among those rising stars, Content-based Instruction has been favored for a reason Heavily rooted in the principles of CLT, Content-based instruction (CBI) is a significant approach in language education (Brinton, Snow, & Wesche, 1989),

considered an empowering approach which encourages learners to learn a target language by using it as a real means of communication from the very first day in class In other words, this communicative approach requires learners to use English to learn English simultaneously or English is used as a medium of instruction to deliver lessons for specific purposes to learners and subsequently helps enhance their proficiency The idea is to make them become independent learners so they can continue the learning process even outside the class Furthermore, this advancement is thought to be the remedy for learners’ boredom, exhaustion and motivation in old-fashioned classrooms dominated by rigid grammatical structures and decontextualized lexical resource of those aforementioned traditional methods

CBI is commonly known to be associated with three major models of sheltered model, adjunct model, and theme-based model (Richards & Rodgers, 2011) Among those, Theme-based Instruction has been proposed as the most widely accepted and popular in the field of ESL and EFL and as suggested by Stoller & Grabe (1997), it lies close to the language-driven end of the continuum This approach promotes learners’ motivation in typical subject interests with the integration of language and content (Briton, Snow & Wesche, 2003; Lamb, 2017) The content is the themes that are intended to be taught in the lessons such as sports, education, environment or other social heated issues As a result, the approach is beneficial to raise learners’ awareness of the ideas to be discussed in the content rather than just focus on the conventional norms Teachers are also able to make use of the combination of lingual and cognitive development to shorten the amount of time and effort in language learning (Snow, Met & Genesee, 2002)

Not only gaining popularity in teaching and learning Oral Communication skills, CBI has also grounded a firm start for Reading and especially, Writing proficiency, which is labelled as the most difficult of all four skills and brought about the idea for this study It is through this method that Brinton, Snow &

Wesche (1989) believe learners will develop the mastery of vocabulary, grammar, paragraph structure, communication skills and types and styles of writing (Shang, 2006) and also writing skills (Kavaliauskiene, 2004) Convincingly, Shih (1986) showed that CBI can be effectively useful in teaching writing as learners are supposed to write something related to the topic they have read or heard in class and the writing should focus on ‘synthesizing and interpreting’ the input thanks to

a rich source of information they have had when doing writing tasks

In the context of Vietnam, Theme-based Instruction (ThBI) application is the trend in tertiary education with the sheltered model in the integration between English and subject matters, which is also known as English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (Bui Phu Hung & Tran Thi Hai, 2016) It plays a significant role in enhancing cognitive process in English for learners to acquire the content and language at the same time, where the subjects are more focused

According to Nguyen Thi Chau Ngan (2011), ThBI implementation contributes to empowering learners’ interests in the subjects then the language competence is entailed to be enhanced

Regardless of its obvious strengths and proven effectiveness in English Language teaching and learning, there is little research that was conducted to investigate the effect of ThBI for teenage learners, especially at language centers

In English centers in Vietnam, although learners are somehow more fortunate to access a richer source of English materials with flexible teaching method in order

to have them well prepared for the English proficiency examinations and international certificates, there are still certain challenges to the learners’ route to master this foreign language Firstly, it is the mixed-ability classes with learners from a variety of age and background knowledge which causes much trouble to both teachers and learners to make their class time really efficient Secondly, it is

a fact that Vietnamese young learners often feel overloaded with their school time

which eventually results in lack of concentration, exhaust, boredom and significant decrease in creativity, especially in writing class To make this matter even worse, in writing assignments, they have to make efforts to remember most

of the provided lexical items and grammatical rules that are compulsory in academic writing papers Also, the lack of ideas is considered the biggest obstacle

in academic writing As teenage learners are not really mature, the amount of experience is relatively limited to some extent; thus, they cannot figure out the ideas for some academic topics Then, when they are stuck with the ideas at the beginning of the exercises, they tend to give up immediately This is the factor that reduces the outcome of the courses

As a consequence, the level of passiveness in acquisition is higher and the absence

of flexibility in idea composition still occurs due to the lack of understandings for particular social matters Obviously, this makes writing, especially academic writing, the toughest skill for most Vietnamese learners and instead of developing their own style based on enriched background knowledge and proper use of the foreign language acquired, learning by rote a model passage to cope with exams is very much the chance they bet In addition, though modern ESL/EFL teaching and learning approaches have shifted adequate attention to Communication Skills of Speaking and Listening as an overthrow of Grammar-Translation time and the effort to integrate all 4 English skills in a balanced curriculum, not enough respect and time has been paid for the role of Writing as it is worth In the globalization, academic writing is of importance as an entry for learners to express their identities and attitudes towards certain social issues, which creates opportunities for better education However, the innovations in methods are not sufficient and still under investigation in English centers in Vietnam

Therefore, it is significant to work out the appropriate method in teaching writing for academic purposes and subsequently constituting the problem for this thesis to investigate

1.2 Statement of problem

While most studies regarding the application of ThBI have been conducted in public schools, Universities…in English-Speaking countries or ESL classes where the themes have been integrated into the main curriculum, little has been done on the domain of language centers In the context of Vietnam, students at private English centers and international schools are thought to be more privileged than those in public school in terms of opportunities to access authentic English materials as well as the environment to use it However, the studied objects at VUS, while having many advantages over many others, still encounter some problems that might hinder their progress in English learning, especially Writing

skills Firstly, VUS learners are studying the textbook Solutions for

pre-intermediate level, though being updated and deemed to be communicatively approached, was still placed inadequate room for writing practice, as assigned in the course’s outline, making it a bit skewing to the amount of time spent on Grammar and homework correction A typical 3-hour class is usually occupied by either Induction Grammar, Work skills, Grammar Builder or Homework Correction as Vietnamese teachers are deemed to be better in explaining those Grammar rules, pattern and structures thanks to their Vietnamese mother tongue However, such heavy flow and the limit in class activities makes the writing time even more dull and boring to the learners, destroy both teachers’ and learners’ activeness and creativity Furthermore, with Listening and Speaking taken in charge by another foreign teacher, the writing section seems not to be in a smooth transition and isolated from the theme The big cluster of reading and grammar, without aid of authentic materials, easily distracted students from the functional and social meaning of what they have learnt, therefore preventing them from understanding and apply it meaningfully and flexible in the real context Moreover, not all the themes and topics in the course hit learners’ interest, and

of grammatical and lexical items, their writing score could not be improving over time in terms of coherence and cohesion, lexical resource and Accuracy

Altogether, this constitutes a gap and a good rationale for this study to be conducted, with hope to help enhance EFL learners’ writing proficiency as well as boosting their motivation in learning this challenging English skill by employing Them-based Instruction

1.3 Aims and objectives the study

The study aims to investigate the implementation of CBI with theme-based model

on teenage learners’ academic writing performance at VUS English Center, Ba Hom Campus, Ho Chi Minh City The research objectives are as follows:

 To examine the effects of Theme-based Instruction on teenage learners’ academic writing performance at VUS English Center

 To explore learners’ attitudes in terms of the advantages and disadvantages

of the implementation of THBI at VUS English Center

at VUS English Center, Ba Hom Campus?

1.5 Significance of the study

In the context of globalization nowadays, the language education sector is demanding for more appropriate teaching approaches to promote learners’ English competency Practically, the recent decades have witnessed a transformation from teacher-centered approach to student-centered approach where learners are the dominant factor in language acquisition and teachers play

a role of facilitators and supporters To handle the issue of the boredom in traditional teaching approaches and eliminate the difficulties learners encounter

in writing courses, ThBI is applied to maximize the effectiveness of ELT ThBI is familiar in tertiary education; nonetheless, there have been very few investigations on ThBI in language centers This study will practically shed a light on the application of the new approach in private sectors to innovate their teaching methods Learners are allowed to learn at their pace in their interests Moreover, the study is significant as it convinces the effects of CBI on teenage learners’ academic writing performance in various aspects It also addresses the learners’ attitudes towards the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of ThBI in academic writing This altogether will ultimately add

to the practical inventory of EFL teaching and learning for considering a better approach to enhance learners’ English proficiency and possibly propose an alternative for the national English curriculum

In addition, theoretically, the study will contribute to building the framework for other researchers to review, compare, and contrast in further studies for particular teaching contexts and eventually add to the literature of Theme-based Instruction

in particular and as a branch of Content-Based Instruction and Communicative Approach as a whole Furthermore, in the context of Vietnam, the study is beneficial to provide other Vietnamese researchers and teachers with more profound understandings of various aspects in the selection of the appropriate methods in English classrooms

1.6 Scope of the study

Due to the constraints of time and human resources, this thesis would like to zoom in to the implementation of Theme-based Instruction at VUS Language Center to enhance EFL learners’ academic writing proficiency with which other English skills such as Speaking, Listening and Reading would be beyond the

where the researcher is responsible for teaching and the students had already taken a diagnostic test as a pretest before the beginning of the course

This sample population was chosen due to its convenience and availability Moreover, concerning other psychological factors as well as the background knowledge, pre-intermediate EFL teenagers seem to be the most appropriate subjects for the study to carry out and subsequently exclude other object groups which were not in this range of age and English proficiency

1.7 Definition of key terms

For the purpose of the study, many terms must be defined to provide specific perspective on the issues discussed:

Content-based Instruction is an integrated approach to language teaching in

which language is the vehicle for instruction, not the immediate goal In a Content Based lesson, language is acquired within the context of the content AWithin the scope of this study, Content-Based Instruction will provide the cover principles to

imply specific learning activities in its sub-branch, Theme-based Instruction Theme-based Instruction is considered a method that emphasizes on not only the

language learning but also the topics as background knowledge Learners use English to learn the language and the content at the same time In this context, its focus is on the language study rather than the subject matter, on writing skills in particular

Academic writing refers to a style of expressions that researchers, specialists, or

academics apply for academic or professional purposes in a formal manner In this context, the academic writing class is designed for pre-intermediate level with the focus on writing opinion essays and limited to IETLS Writing task 2

Academic writing performance refers learners’ ability to meet certain standards

for a given academic writing assignment In this context, academic writing performance is assessed based on the rubric of Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resources and Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Attitude refers as an important psychological factor that affects greatly on

students’ learning process and even either facilitate or hinder their language acquisition In this study, it refers to the way students perceived that advantages and disadvantages caused by their positive or negative attitudes to the implementation of Theme-based Writing class

Pre-intermediate level is a level of defining a non-native English user’s English

proficiency, equals to A2 in The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)- an international guideline to measure language ability, using

a scale from A1 (beginners) to C2 (language masters) Pre-intermediate English user is evaluated for his ability to use English for everyday tasks and activities, understand common phrases related to topics such as personal information and employment

1.8 The organization of the study

This thesis consists of five chapters

Chapter 1-Introduction presents the Rationale of the study, the statement of problem, research aims and objectives, the research questions, the significance of the study and the organization of the overall thesis

Chapter 2-Literature Review provides some theoretical background on based Instruction as well as its sub-model Theme-based Instruction, the principles and framework for the implementation of Theme-based Approach in ESL/EFL context

Content-Chapter 3- Methodology describes in detail the design of the study, methodology employed, research instruments, participants, procedure and data analysis

Chapter 4-Results and Discussion reports the results and findings of this experimental study to see whether Theme-based Instruction affects learners’ academic writing proficiency and what advantages or disadvantage it might bring Chapter 5- Conclusions presents brief findings of the study and devotes for the

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction

This chapter aims at (1) overviewing the key concepts of CBI, ThBI and academic writing performance, (2) briefing the notion of Attitude, its components and how

it affects English learning acquisition, (3) reviewing the previous theories in language learning and teaching, and address the general views and pedagogical issues in THBI models and academic writing, reviewing the implementation of CBI in previous studies and (4) presenting the conceptual framework for this study

2.2 Content-Based Instruction

As Pica (2000) indicated, the language pedagogy arena today can by no means be conceived as nowadays without the “very robust contribution of communicative methodology to the language teaching community” In fact, despite some critics for its unbalanced curriculum as the neglect of accuracy over fluency, cultural inadequacy and the lack of pedagogical research base, Communicative Language Teaching has remained healthily over the past decades into the new millennium According to Richard (2005), this is because CLT refers to “a diverse set of rather general and uncontroversial principles”, it can be interpreted in many different ways and used to support a wide variety of classroom procedures

CLT has spawned a number of off-shoots that share the basic set of principles but philosophical details and instructional practice may be varied in different educational setting Those spin-off approaches include the Natural Approach, Cooperative Language Learning, Task-Based Teaching and Content-Based Teaching (Roger, 2001) - the heart of this paper Therefore, there is a prerequisite

to take hold of the fundamentals of CLT in order deeply understand the pedagogical operation of Content-Based Instruction and its model- Themed-Based Instruction for the proper implications in this paper context

2.2.1 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as the origin of based Instruction (CBI)

Content-Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) was introduced in the 1970s as a transformation from traditional teaching methods of Grammar translation method and Audio-lingual method With the aim at communicative competence, CLT is compared with grammatical competence Grammar and vocabulary are considered two primary components in second language teaching and learning; however, the process of mastery is involved in a huge number of difficulties due to the lack of grammatical competence in the second language and the strong influence of the first language (Nunan, 1999) Whereas CLT is applied in different classroom to enhance learners’ communicative competence in oral and written communication, Communicative competence is mistakenly assumed with oral communication

Aspects of communicative competence in CLT

Long before the appearance of Communicative Approach, there was a common fallacious belief that the ability to use a language for communicative needs is merely the attainment of performance levels in manipulation a finite set of linguistic elements: sounds, grammar, forms, patterns, lexical items, etc However, the concept was then developed under the views of language as context, language in interaction as the negotiation of meaning and a competent English user requires more than just knowledge of linguistic sets as Shumin (2002, p.204) put it “effective oral communication requires the ability to use the language effectively in social interactions” The importance of this notion has constantly drawn special attention from linguists Canale & Swain (1980), Hymes (1971), Sagvinon (1983), etc tried to elaborate the nature of this concept

As in Canale and Swain (1980), communicative competence includes four components: grammatical competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence and strategic competence

is necessary for learners to memorize, realize, and adapt to different contexts in communication to apply their language for specific purposes and functions They are recommended to interpret and respond the locutions to perform the appropriate acts via interactions (Austin, 1962) Second, the flexibility in language use is also necessary according to the particular elements in communication such as settings, partners, and cultural features The assumptions

or presuppositions should be eliminated to vary the interactions for different situations Third, genre analysis is still crucial to understand the intended messages in various types of written texts or oral contexts such as magazines, interviews, or reports Finally, learners need to possess the ability to maintain the conversation and minimize the impact of the limitation in language barriers

The value and principles of communicative language teaching

Communicative language teaching plays an important role in enhancing learners’ proficiency in comparison with the single analysis of grammatical competence (Savignon, 1997) Consequently, the most obvious advantage of this approach is that it enhances fluency, enables learners to interact and respond to other partners

in both spoken and written forms although they do not fully master the language (Lightbown & Spada, 2013) CLT also creates opportunities for learners to produce their personal use of language in the absence of dependence on the language competence itself (Richards, 2006)

According to some scholars, such as Thornbury or Howatt, there are 2 versions of CLT: a “weak” or “shallow-end” version of CLT and “strong” or “deep-end” one (Howatt 1984, p.279; Thornbury 2000, p.22) In the first one, it seems like grammar still taking the spotlight of the syllabus, though often being “dressed up

in functional labels: asking the way, talking about yourself, making future plans etc.” (Thornbury 2000, p.22) whereas in the strong version or so-called “deep-end CLT”, explicit grammar instruction is rejected and instead a syllabus of tasks

is proposed It is no wonder that this was the predecessor of the Task-Based Approach to language teaching, Thornbury pointed out (Thornbury 2000, p.22) CLT is an approach, which emphasizes the communicative potential of language and which is compatible with a great variety of classroom procedures and which according to Richards and Rodgers (2007, p.172) can be best described by the set

of following principles:

• Learners learn a language through using it to communicate

• Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities

• Fluency is an important dimension of communication

• Communication involves the integration of different language skills

• Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error

(Richards & Rodgers 2007, p172)

2.2.2 The definition of Content-based Instruction

Content-based Instruction (CBI) is a significant approach in second language teaching in which teaching is organized around the content rather than around linguistic forms as opposed to other traditional methods such as Grammar-Translation or Audio-Lingual Different definitions with some degree of similarity have been posed for it Brinton et al (1989, p.2) defines it as “(…) the integration of particular content with language teaching aims (…)” or “the concurrent teaching of academic subject matter and second language skills” Leaver and Stryker (1989, p.269) claim that CBI is an instructional approach in which “language proficiency is achieved by shifting the focus of the course from the learning of language per se to the learning of subject matter” This paper adopted the definition from Krahnke (1987, p.85) which is universally employed

in many latter studies:

It is the teaching of content or information in the language being learned with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the language itself separately from the content being taught

Although the term “content” is at the core of Content-Based Language Teaching and becomes popular in media since it first emerged, it has brought with it different meanings in different teaching contexts and most frequently referred to the substance or subject matter that we learn or communicate through language rather than the language used to convey it

As Genesee and Lindholm-Leary (2013) point out, there are alternative forms of CBI depending on the educational level, the organization of the curriculum and the relative emphasis on language or content CBI can take place at all educational levels: preschool, primary, secondary or higher education levels Regarding its role in the curriculum, it can refer to total immersion (approximately 90% of the school time in the second language) or it can just refer to content-based themes in language classes Met (1998) provided ‘a continuum of Content- Language Integration as follows:

Figure 2.1: Continuum of Content-Language Integration (Met, 1998)

which ranges from the most content-driven end, which is total immersion followed by partial immersion to the most language-driven at the other end, which are language classes with frequent use of content and theme-based courses

Principles of Content-based Instruction

Content-based Instruction (CBI) is believed to root itself in the principles of Communicative Language Teaching to focus on the functional and communicative uses of language and further grow out to logically develop

“some of the core principles of Communicative Language Teaching, particularly those that relate to the role of meaning in language learning” (Richards & Rodgers 2007, p 151)

In the words of Howatt, rather than “learning to use English”, pupil “use English to learn it” (Howatt 1984, p 279) A typical CBI class is revolving around the content, the subject matter to be taught and not a linguistic, grammatical or other syllabus type (Richards & Rodgers 2007, p.204) As the main focus of the CBI approach lies on the teaching of content it is easy to conclude that the teaching aim is to convey meaningful content to students (Richards & Rodgers 2007, p.204) Language is used to teach the subject matter and the language itself is acquired “as a by-product of learning about real-world content” (Richards & Rodgers 2007, p.205)

Theoretically, CBI based itself on two central principles:

 First, people learn a second language more successfully when they use the language as a means of acquiring information, rather than as an end itself

 Secondly, Content-Based Instruction better reflects learners’ needs for learning a second language (Richards & Rodgers 2007, p.207)

Regarding the underlying theory of language, Richards and Rodgers proposed the following three important premises:

• language is text- and discourse based

• language use draws on integrated skills

• language is purposeful

(Richards & Rodgers 2007, p.208)

Firstly, as previously pointed out above, CBI has been considered as the “strong version” or the successor of CLT where the target language serves as a vehicle for learning content Longer stretches of language are used, together with linguistic features that create coherence and cohesion within speech events and text types Next, if reading and writing proficiency seemed to be neglected in CLT, in CBI, on the other hand all skills are generally integrated in all activities

as they are in the real world This has made the scale more balanced and did a great favor to enhance the interdependence among the 4 skills For example, students in CBI classes are supposed to “read and take notes, listen and write a summary, or respond orally to things they have read or written” (Richards & Rodgers 2007, p 208) Moreover, grammar is considered a component of all language skills, not a separate one for language learning Lastly, according to Richards and Rodgers (2001), “language is purposeful” (p 208), when learners have purposes, which may be “academic, vocational, social, or recreational,” and concentrate on them, they can be motivated depending on how much their interest can be in their purposes (p 208) Language also includes the main purpose of communication To give students comprehensible input for their purposes, teachers have to ponder how teachers would be able to communicate with students in the target language Stryker and Leaver (1993), as cited in Richards and Rodgers (2001), suggested that teachers use the following examples: Foreigner talk or modifications that make the content more understandable: modification includes simplification (e.g., use of shorter T units and clauses), well-formedness (e.g., using few deviations from standard usage), explicitness (e.g., speaking with non-reduced pronunciation), regularization (e.g., use of canonical word order), and redundancy (e.g., highlighting important materials through simultaneous use of several linguistic mechanism.(p 209)

2.2.3 The models of Content-based Instruction

There are 3 models universally known to Content-Based Instruction: The Sheltered Model, the Adjunct Model and the Theme-based Model

The Sheltered Model

The sheltered model of CBI refers to the classroom where two teachers cooperate during the lessons, as indicated by its name “Sheltered” One of them is the specialist in the field for content and the other is an ESL specialist (Baker, 2006) This model aims to give the lectures in particular professions such as economics, finances, or literatures and English is a vehicle of communication in class The main role belongs to the content specialist to focus on the fields and the ESL teacher is responsible for checking the understanding of learners in technical terms and assists their learning process They may teach the class together or the class time may be divided between the two of them

This model is usually employed at University level in English L1 contexts The goal of teachers using sheltered CBI is to enable their ESL students to study the same content material as regular English L1 students This kind of team teaching requires teachers to work closely together to plan and evaluate classes It has been used successfully at the bilingual University of Ottawa, where classes are taught in English and French, (Briton, 1989)

The Adjunct Model

The adjunct model aims to prepare learners the sufficiency of competence to join

“mainstream classes” where the dominant language is the mother tongue (Richards & Rogers, 2001) This model is commonly applied at most universities

as ESP (English for Specific Purposes) to equip learners enough lexical competence to understand the subject matters Learners have to attend two separate courses with the same content and they are incorporated in the expected learning outcomes In addition, learners are encouraged to be accustomed to the target language learning strategies such as note-taking, reading and listening comprehension, or critical thinking

The Theme Based Model

an EFL teacher or team taught with a content specialist The teacher(s) can shape

a course of study designed to unlock and build on their own students' interests and the content can be chosen from an enormous number of diverse topics

In other words, this course is delivered by an English teacher and the theme of the lessons is around the interest topics of learners, which is effective to enhance the motivation and autonomy for learning language via the content of the text or conversation In addition, the profound knowledge related to the tasks, the themes, and the topics is also enhanced in this model (Brown, 2004; Briton, Snow & Wesche, 2003)

Theme-based teaching is characterized by the link of many different learning activities by their content and intertwined with communicative language teaching

There are many ways to include theme-based teaching in classroom One possibility mentioned by Cameron (2001, p.182) is to use content, teaching techniques or activities from other subject areas Secondly, the foreign language classroom provides content for other subjects The third way is that “whole subject lessons are taught in the target foreign language” (ibid, p.182) Besides, another possibility of including theme-based teaching is by integrating activities that come from different subject areas This approach is also called ‘activity-based’ Like other approaches and teaching methods, theme-based language teaching can be integrated in the regular classroom setting to different amounts and in varying concentrations (Cameron, 2001, p 184)

From his studies in general primary education applying theme-based instruction,

he also stated that the outcomes of theme-based learning may result in presentations (ibid, p 194) when learners might collect pieces of their work and later show to their parents and friends which possibly lead to a greater motivation for learning as well as for precision in language

Concerning the planning and implementation of this model in classroom practice, the dominant characteristic which distinguished Theme-based Instruction from

other approaches such as Project-based or Task-based Learning is that learners’ free choice of the lessons’ themes and topics Those choice points are for the teacher and the students to decide which activity to do or how much time to be spent on it which is always helpful to integrate the students’ current interests by, for example, “asking them to suggest themes, or to select a theme for the term from a list” (ibid, p 186) Two basic planning tools Cameron (2001) mentioned are brainstorming and webs (p 186) These facilitate collecting ideas and connecting them not only in a linear direction, so that themes and sub-themes can easier be developed from them Apart from that, Mumford states that it is advisable to integrate the students in the planning process because “learning becomes more meaningful when learners choose their methods and topics of study; the model of lifelong learning is brought into the school setting” (2000, p 6) The teacher is not the only one who has to come up with constructive ideas – students’ interests can be used as a further source, too (ibid., p 6) However, the first step would be to define the theme and then continue with the sub-themes Afterwards activities can emerge from the sub-themes The activities chosen for theme-based language teaching should be age-based

2.2.4 The pedagogical issues in Content-based Instruction in EFL classroom

The integration of content-based instruction with theme-based model as its branch in the context of EFL classrooms has entailed certain issues in principles and strategies to be taken into consideration

sub-Stoller and Grabe’s Six T’s Approach

In theme-based language instruction, teachers have to focus on both the content and language in a simultaneous manner; hence, the design of the lessons is integral to the success of the course Stoller and Grabe (1997) proposed the approach to ThBI with Six T letters in regards

They are: themes, topics, texts, tasks, transitions and threads

preferences, relevance, and pedagogical implications Second, topics are subthemes that should be arranged in the synchronized manner to build the coherence and unity of all lessons Third, texts are the material that learners have the highest amount of exposure to, which requires to be under the appropriateness

of length, difficulty, excitement, and readability Fourth, tasks should be challenging at certain levels that can encourage learners’ competition; however, complicated tasks may result in exhaustion and discouragement Moreover, transitions are compulsory to maintain the curricular coherence by the utilization

of discourse markers Finally, threads are also important as it contributes to develop learners’ critical thinking to link the previous understanding, evaluate, and synthesize the topics

Depending on specific context and other interfering factors, a theme-based lesson could be conducted in many different ways One possible approach to implement ThBI in EFL classroom could be like this:

 Preparation

- A subject of interest is chosen

- Finding suitable sources that deal with different aspects of the subject These could be websites, reference books, audio or video of lectures or even real people

 The lesson

- Using small groups

- Assigning each group, a small research task and a source of information in the target language to use to help them fulfil the task

- Groups sharing and comparing information

- A result in the form of an end product such as a report or presentation of some kind

Learner’s role

Students are actively involved in a Content-Based classroom setting On the one hand, they are in charge of their own learning process and their support of others and, on the other hand, they may also be the sources of content and joint participants in the selection of topics and activities Especially, in Theme-based Instruction practice, the role of learners is more significant by their autonomy and decisive role in determining the topics and classroom sequences Such participation has been found to be highly motivating and has resulted in the course changing its direction in order to better meet learners’ needs However, it also puts some pressure with some who are not familiar with those active roles and responsibilities There are quite a few students who might feel that they cannot keep up with the workload and quantity of new information (Richards & Rodgers 2001, p.213)

Teacher’s role

CBI in general and ThBI in particular anticipates a change in the typical role of the teacher in traditional classroom where teacher directs all the learning activities and heavily relies on textbooks as main source of material CBI requires the teacher more time and effort for he has to fulfil several roles, such as being a good language teacher while having an appropriate knowledge of the subject matter, juggling context and comprehensibility foremost in their planning and presentations For there is no fixed and ready-to-teach set of textbook or materials in CBI classes, teacher then will be responsible for selecting and adapting authentic materials for classroom use They become students’ needs’ analyst and material developer to create truly learner-centered classroom As Briton et al (2001, p 75) noted, “They are asked to view their teaching in a new way, from a perspective of truly contextualizing their lessons by using content as

a point of departure.” Stryker and Leaver suggested the following essential skills

 Using group work and team building techniques

 Organizing jigsaw and reading arrangements

 Defining background knowledge and language skills required for students’ success

 Helping students to develop coping strategies

 Using process approaches to writing

 Using appropriate error correction techniques

 Developing and maintaining high level of student esteem

The role of materials

Along with the role of teacher and learners, materials play a vital role in constructing a successful CBI lesson There is quite a variety of material available for teachers to use for Content-Based lessons First and foremost, authentic materials such as newspaper articles and advertisements are highly recommended to intrinsically attract students ‘interests and consequently promote language learning (Richards & Rodgers 2001: 213-214) as indicated by Dörnyei

“motivation is one of the key issues in language learning” (2001, p.1) In one sense, authenticity implies that the material used are like the kinds of materials used in the target-language instruction In another case, it also refers to all kinds

of media or printed stuffs that are not originally produced for the purpose of language teaching and learning

Besides, realia are another concept that has also been highly appreciated by many CBI practitioners Real-life objects such as: tourist guidebooks, cinema tickets, technical journals, railway timetables, newspaper ads, TB broadcasts, etc are found to be effective in engaging students, enrich classroom activities as well as offer better insights into the target-language’s culture However, it is important to note that although authenticity is critical in CBI practice, comprehensibility should also be received that of adequate attention CBI proponents suggest modification to ensure maximum comprehensibility,

especially through the teacher’s presentation This may mean linguistic simplification or adding redundancy to text materials to help reduce the heavy load of instructional media (e.g., video tapes/audio tapes) This will certainly mean providing guides and strategies to assist learners in comprehending the materials

Types of learning activities

Stroller (1997) suggested a list of learning and teaching activities for the implementation of CBI and all of its sub-branches in EFL classroom as follows: Language skills improvement

Vocabulary building

Discourse organization

Communicative interaction

Study skills

Synthesis of content materials and grammar

Assessment of Content-based Instruction

In traditional classrooms, learners’ performance is assessed and evaluated via the linguistic components of lexical resource or grammatical structures as they are two key components of language competence Nonetheless, the application

of ThBI concentrates on both content and language; therefore, the conventional

means of assessment are not applicable to fully determine the improvement of learners’ in EFL contexts Hence, the assessment in ThBI has to integrate the content in language tests as well (Kasper, 2000) Learners are compulsory to show their ability in critical thinking, synthesis, and analysis in producing a language in oral or written form rather than remember and report the memorization of linguistic features

In addition, as language is the way people express their identities, it is illogical

to separate the ideas and the language in terms of assessment (Brown, 2004;