Content-Based English Teaching: English via Environmental Education

 

George M. Jacobs

Anita Lie

 

 

Modern language pedagogy emphasizes meaning over form as the best path toward communicative competence and accuracy. Content-based language teaching provides an important means of achieving this focus on meaning. Content can come from a variety of sources, such as personal matters, e.g., students' favorite music and food, occupational areas as in English for Specific Purposes, e.g., future engineers reading about engineering, and global issues, e.g., peace, human rights, and environmental education. This chapter describes the development of a book that drew upon environmental education for the content used to assist Indonesians in learning English. Seventeen teachers from ten different universities in Indonesia participated in the development of the book which was designed for non-English majors at Indonesian universities. This chapter describes the pedagogy involved in creating the book from the perspectives of environmental education and second language instruction. Key ideas regarding environmental education comprise a localized approach, a positive approach, and an action approach. Key ideas regarding language teaching include a meaning-based approach to learning form, a social learning approach, an integrated skills approach, and an emphasis on thinking skills.

 

 

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Jacobs, G. M., & Lie, A. (2004). Content-based English teaching: English via environmental education. In B. Y. Cahyono & U. Widiati (Eds.), The tapestry of English language teaching and learning in Indonesia (pp. 71-81). Malang: State University of Malang Press.

 

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