Purposes: Check initial understanding of CBI (stage 1). Show ability to conduct a one-session demonstration of CBI ability that could be used when applying for a job or presenting at a conference workshop (stage 2).

Product(s): 1) Stage 1: a draft outline of your demo lesson, so I can check whether you're getting off "on the right foot. 2) Stage 2: the complete lesson.

Evaluation: The following link is to the scoring guide for this assignment. If you read the scoring guide before you complete your assignment, you will know exactly what to do to get the score and grade you want.

Work samples from previous groups: 0736a "New Roommate"; 0736c "Subjunctive & Nutrition"; 0736d "Classical Ballet"; 0736e "Make a Flower Box" (and 0736z a real-world example of the same activity, but for L1)

Procedure (order of steps can vary somewhat):

1) Choose a content area, such as (for K-12) math, science, social science, fine and performing arts, or (possibly, but with caution) English, or (for college/university) math, biology, sociology, administration of justice, geography, nursing, accounting, marketing, graphic design - or even something else. Try to use a content area that will not tempt you to do a warmed-over version of the conventional "culture day" activities found in many conventional textbooks; that is, be cautious about choosing food, maps, love, or popular (or classical!) music.

2) Select a plausible general language proficiency level for your target language learners. If they are pre-adolescent, consider their likely cognitive level. Suggestion: avoid proficiency levels below Novice-High or above Advanced-Mid. Consult as well the "5 C's" standards (0001).

3) Imagine the sorts of things that learners in your chosen subject area do, and how those activities, when they involve communication through language, map onto your chosen proficiency level. Consider both receptive (listening and reading) and productive (speaking and writing) skills, and also your learners' likely understanding of the target culture. Your lesson need not - probably should not! - address all four basic language skills, but even in a 30-minute activity you are likely to want to address more than one skill. Also, it would be difficuty - but not impossible - to aim to elicit a productive skill without also supporting a receptive skill. Here is an example of a CBI activity for biology; you should NOT assume that it is of the highest quality.

4) Select some linguistic features which could be targeted by your envisioned activities, such as text type expansion, grammar, vocabulary (not necessarily all three categories; just one is also OK). Consider how you can convey and elicit those features with techniques other than (or at least in addition to) explicit grammar instruction, overt vocabulary lists, etc. Here it's good to remind yourself again about the prime characteristics of "Designing Effective Course Activities" (Kasper, Content-Based College ESL Instruction, pp. 190-98).

5) Start gathering support resources, such as authentic text materials, sound and video files, actual cultural objects, or other props and necessary supplies (volleyball for CBI for sports, crayons and paper for arts).

6) Now put together your Stage 1 presentation: Tell the main idea and what would go into the "box" (parts: instruction manual, what the teacher sees / has, what the student sees / does, resources [realia, supplementary texts, etc.], student outcomes, map to standards, assessment plan). But remember: 1) This is a PROPOSAL, not the finished product - you can summarize many parts, although you should provide a few brief samples of the "real thing." 2) The activity itself is a little one (one class hour or even shorter) - DO NOT enlarge the activity beyond those boundaries. 3) Assessment can be more/ other than testing language learning - for a short activity like this it might even be a quick survey of whether your learners felt they gained from the activity, and maybe which parts they particularly valued.

About the language you write: English is preferred; if that is your native language, use it. If English is not your native language, you may use any of the following without further consideration: Spanish, French, or German.

Problems? If you do not understand the terms of this assignment, or for some other reason encounter some obstacle in carrying it out, contact the course instructor. Such contact, at least until the process is abused, will count as "on-time" completion of the activity.