Abstract:

Knowledge of the language is not the aim but the means of acquiring further knowledge, thus higher standards can be achieved both in the target language and the subjects. Foreign language teaching exists to support the subjects, not for its own sake. I hypothesized that this bilingual method would help our students to reach both the English language proficiency and a high standard of academic knowledge in different subjects such as biology. In recent years, especially in the last decade, increasing numbers of language teachers have turned to content-based instruction to promote meaningful student engagement with language and content learning. When the instructors of biology present the bases of natural science and form the abilities of their students, the notions of nature are discussed in a foreign language. This method of science teaching requires a well-planned and constructed explanation. The formation of the given notion in the students’ minds depends upon comprehensible vocabulary and many-sided explication and interpretations. By using these techniques in a daily routine, we can reach the double imprinting – memorising and understanding notions in English and in the given mother-tongue as well - as the technical terms appear in two forms in the learners’ lexicon. The newly formed notion creates an image in the mother-tongue while building a logical approach in both languages and links to its definition in any of the languages that can augment memory retention. In this special Content Based Instruction (CBI) starts with the grouping and analysing of technical terms, words essentially needed for successful comprehension and cognitive development. Practically, one should create a chart of these new words and expressions that contains all these terms classified into three levels of acquaintance. The first level contains the terms which are brand new nouns and therefore must be interpreted and clearly explained within the chapter. These terms should be formulated as concisely as possible with the knowledge of previously acquired lexicon in sight. The second level involves technical terms already studied in the mother tongue in previous monolingual classes. The final group comprises those terms which are known in both the mother tongue and English. These words/expressions have a key importance in teaching progress and help students understand the logical links between the scientific facts. If one examines at the logical relationships among technical terms one can see the possible sequence of the presentation. In this way, we can create a linear structure of lexical items. The successful comprehension of these definitions should be checked immediately, right after their introduction with different oral and written activities such as group work, model description, gap filling, puzzles, etc. In this present paper I am introducing this possible method of CBI in details used at Varga Katalin Grammar School, Szolnok, Hungary. Basically, subject teaching in a bilingual programme requires more than the simplification of the above-mentioned objectives. Snow (1991) divides the objectives into two. One of them is called content-obligatory objectives while the other is named content-compatible objectives. The content-obligatory language is the language which is required for students to master concepts in any given content class. The second objective includes specification of the types of language which pair naturally with content material.

Keywords:

Content Based Instruction, double imprinting, classification of technical terms, logical links, teaching biology, ELT.