Teaching English Through ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies: A Content-Based Language Teaching Approach

Accessible and hands-on, this textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to teaching language through content, an approach known as Content-Based Language Teaching (CBLT). A content-based, language-focused approach to teaching in the disciplines is essential to serving the language and disciplinary needs of English learners (ELs) in the classroom. Guided by learning standards and informed by research, this book demonstrates how content materials in the English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies can be harnessed to develop the English language proficiency of ELs as well as advance their disciplinary knowledge and skills.

Using content materials in ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies as a starting point, this textbook illustrates how to teach English as an additional language effectively by integrating language instruction with disciplinary teaching. It showcases numerous learning and instructional activities, complete with targeted language exemplified in sentential and discourse contexts, direct instruction, teacher modeling, guided and individual practices, and assessments, which are further backed up by detailed discussions of their goals, rationales, and implementation. This textbook also features a discussion of differentiation to address the varied needs of students. To further assist readers in determining how to incorporate language instruction, Peng identifies extensive possibilities for language teaching that are based on the same content materials and beyond those targeted by sample learning activities. Each chapter ends with three types of exercises―multiple-choice questions, open-ended discussion questions, and problems of application―to bolster understanding, promote reflection, and encourage application. Complementing the book are additional online resources, including ready-to-use PowerPoints, which are available on the book’s webpage at Routledge.com/9780367521134.

Covering key issues such as characteristics of effective language instruction, differentiation, and the challenges associated with CBLT, this is an essential text in TESOL methods and content-area language teaching, as well as an invaluable resource for pre-service and in-service ESL/EFL teachers and content-area teachers who are interested in furthering their students’ language and literacy development.

Long (Bruce) Peng is Professor of Linguistics and TESOL in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at the State University of New York, Oswego, USA.