2. Overview of Project- Based Learning
Typically referred to as learning language through content, CBI can be conceptualized in
a number of ways. Initially, CBI was associated with the immersion programs that
emerged in Canada in the 1960s. In the early origins of CBI, students
were concurrently taught the subject matter and the language skills.
Today, one of the most typical realizations of CBI
that is directly related to its original application is teaching a second or foreign
language for specific purposes (LSP), particularly English for specific purposes
(ESP), a pedagogical context featured in the present study. As applied in LSP/
ESP contexts, CBI is generally perceived as “an approach to language instruction
3. What is CBI
Typically referred to as learning language through content, CBI can be
conceptualized in a number of ways. Initially, CBI was associated with the
immersion programs that emerged in Canada in the 1960s. In the early origins of
CBI, students were concurrently taught the subject matter and the language skills.
Later, CBI was extended to the contexts with nonacademic content that focused on
topics that were of interest or importance to students (i.e., American history,
cultural stereotypes, technology in the twenty- first century) as well as to workplace
language programs that were helping employees gain proficiency in a second
language (L2) in order to perform their jobs.
4. Language for Specific Purpose
particularly English for specifi c purposes (ESP), a pedagogical context featured in
the present study. As applied in LSP/ESP contexts, CBI is generally perceived as “an
approach to language instruction that integrates the presentation of topics or tasks
from subject matter classes (e.g.,math, social studies) within the context of teaching
a second or foreign language
5. Introductory Engineering Course: Needs
Analysis
According to Long (2005), the purpose of a needs analysis (NA) is to determine
what specifi c needs students have in order to customize classroom instruction
and, at the same time, to be selective in choosing the topics, skills, discourse
practices, and tasks that are to be taught.
In the LSP literature, students’ needs are
often described in performance terms—that is, with respect to what students can
do with the content knowledge and the language they learned in a course.
6. project- based learning
(PBL)
In general, PBL as a method calls for students to learn concepts via collaborative
work that continues over an extended period of time and motivates the students
by engaging them in real- world tasks. When applied to an LSP/ESP context
specifically, PBL is viewed as a way to teach both language and content in a
student- centered activity that helps them establish “a direct link between learning
and its application”
