Moving Beyond the Grammatical Syllabus: Practical Strategies for Content-based Curriculum Design

In this concise and practical book, Martel advocates for a content-based approach to foreign language curriculum design that emphasizes communicative competence, cognitive engagement, and social justice. Intended primarily for busy teachers with limited preparation time, the book includes:

• An introduction to content-based instruction and its use to date in foreign language education
• Step-by-step strategies for designing content-based unit plans, lesson plans, and assessments
• A complete curricular unit that serves as a guiding example, including nine lesson plans and a summative assessment

The book is accompanied by a website that will feature additional examples of content-based curricular materials across a range of languages and proficiency levels, available at http://cbi.middcreate.net/movingbeyond.

Jason Martel is an associate professor of TESOL/TFL at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA.