Content-Based Instructions – US Embassy
About This Course
This course is designed for teachers who are already teaching – or are preparing soon to teach – content-based instruction (CBI). We define CBI as instruction where the content (which could be math, history, science, etc.) is taught in a language that the students are still in the process of learning. In this MOOC, we will focus on the case of EFL. CBI courses present teachers with the challenge of balancing the teaching of both language and content. The ideal way to strike this balance will differ, depending on the teaching context. This MOOC was designed to prepare participants for future decision-making and problem-solving in the area of CBI.
Welcome to the Content-Based Instruction course. This course is provided by World Learning, as part of the OPEN Program. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
This course will be active from April 18 – to May 30, 2022. The course is preceded by an orientation module. This orientation will help you familiarize yourself with Canvas and how to get support. It is not mandatory, and it will be open for the duration of the course.
All coursework must be completed by May 30, 2022. No late submissions will be accepted.
Learning Objectives and Learner Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will
- Be familiar with techniques that help language teachers learn and teach content competently
- Know ways of analyzing and adjusting task difficulty so as to make lessons that are at an appropriate level for students who are learning content taught in their second language (L2)
- Be able to formulate clear learning objectives for CBI lessons and courses
- Be able to plan CBI lessons that both
- help maximize students’ content learning and
- promote English language learning
- Be equipped to make in-the-moment decisions about when and how to provide explicit language instruction in CBI classes
Expectations and Grading
Expectations
The facilitated MOOC will be open for 5 weeks, from April 18 to May 30, 2022. In order to complete coursework, participants will need to work on and offline between 3 and 5 hours per module. Assignments are all due on the course end date, May 30.
Grading
Participants work through the MOOC in a linear fashion: in order to advance to the next activity, a participant needs to have completed previous ones. You are, however, welcome to return to previous readings and activities, and you are encouraged to return to discussion boards for further discussion. Your grade in the MOOC is based on your participation in all activities. This includes frequent follow-on quizzes throughout the course. You may retake quizzes to try to earn a higher score. You must earn 70% or higher on each quiz in order to advance to the next activity.
Assessment and Certification
Participants who complete all activities and earn 70% or higher on the graded quizzes, within the timeframe of the course, will receive a badge.
Netiquette
In the virtual classroom, learning is generated from active participation in discussion forums and the free exchange of ideas and experiences. Therefore, when communicating on the discussion board it is important to adhere to a set of core principles that will help us increase the quality of online discussions, achieve group cohesion and maintain the community of practice, the key components of teacher professional growth:
- Try to be clear and direct
Make sure that your content title reflects the content of your post and that your post is succinct and direct. - Make it easier for colleagues to read your comments
- Put a blank space at the beginning of a message and between paragraphs.
- Be lean of expression. Remember, it takes considerable time and effort to read long messages.
- Be constructive
Respond to colleagues’ postings or comments in an encouraging and supportive tone. Think before you write or respond. Any criticism should be constructive—if in doubt, think about how you would feel reading a posting. - Be open to differences in opinion
Be open to other people’s opinions and try not to get emotional if someone disagrees with you. Make your learning experience a constructive and positive one by avoiding ‘flaming’. For example, capitals can be interpreted as shouting. Think before you push the ‘send’ button. Words are powerful and can hurt; avoid anything which could be misinterpreted in any way. - Accept others
Accept your peers’ differences, e.g., cultural and language differences. You are part of a community which means caring about your own progress and that of your colleagues’. - Cite other people’s work
If you use a quote or reference in your post; make sure that you cite it or provide a link to it. - No spamming
Please don’t send advertisements to your peers or use your peers’ emails in any way other than how they intend it to be used.
About The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program
The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program offers two types of professional development opportunities for English language educators: Global Online Courses and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The OPEN Program Courses are freely open for any interested participants.
All OPEN Programs courses use the latest in instructional technology to provide participants with an interactive distance-learning experience and are designed to familiarize participating teachers with current methods and issues in the field of English as a Foreign Language.
The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program also connects participants with U.S. English language teaching experts and creates a professional network of international colleagues.
The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) program offers virtual learning opportunities to foreign English language educators, professionals and learners worldwide. OPEN promotes the mutual exchange of culture and provides free access to teaching and learning materials that can be reused, adapted, and shared with others. OPEN professional development opportunities are developed by U.S. academic institutions and experts in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) offers professional development courses for English language teachers and educators, as well as other professionals around the world. The goal of the program is to increase the capacity of participants to use English effectively in their professional contexts, increase access to openly licensed learning materials, increase understanding of U.S. society, culture and values, provide opportunities for mutual exchange, and build the capacity of participants to apply what they have learned within their educational and professional communities.
Who
The OPEN program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State (Links to an external site.), Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with funding from the U.S. government, is administered by FHI 360.
The professional development opportunities offered through the program are designed and taught by a variety of partners, including universities, non-profit companies, private sector partners, and consultants. Together, the U.S. Department of State, FHI 360, and our partners offer online professional development opportunities to English educators and learners in over 100 countries.
What
OPEN offers online courses on a variety of topics, including teacher training topics such as Critical Thinking, Educational Technology, Assessment, and Teaching English to Young Learners, among others, as well as English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses such as English for Media Literacy, English for Journalism, and English Communications for Health Professionals, among others.
Courses Offered:
- Integrating Critical Thinking Skills into the Exploration of Culture in an EFL Setting
- Teaching Grammar Communicatively
- Using Educational Technology in the English Language Classroom
- Teaching English to Young Learners
- Professional Development for Teacher Trainers
- Content-based Instruction
- TESOL Methodology
- Assessment of English Language Learners
About Canvas Network
Canvas Network is an open space for educators to share, experiment, analyze, and create.
OUR MISSION:
To promote OPENNESS, INNOVATION, and EXPERIMENTATION in education by providing educators access to professional development courses and programs that will help them thrive and succeed in their careers.
To Canvas Network ‘open’ means:
- Open entry and open access. Open entry for learners around the globe and continual access to course content after the course end date.
- Open content. Open licensing options and content sharing to Canvas Commons where other instructors reuse, revise, remix, retain, and redistribute content.
- Open platform and ecosystem. Open platform to integrate and innovate with third-party tools.
- Open data. Open, de-identified Canvas Network data for researchers to analyze and synthesize.
- Platform neutrality. Your course. Your goals. Your way. We provide the platform for open innovation and experimentation.
About US Embassy
What does the US Embassy Do?
The primary purpose of an embassy is to assist American citizens who travel to or live in the host country. U.S. Foreign Service Officers also interview citizens of the host country who wish to travel to the United States for business, education, or tourism purposes.
U.S. Embassy, LondonEmbassy in London, England
The Embassy of the United States of America in London is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the United Kingdom. It is the largest American embassy in Western Europe and the focal point for events relating to the United States held in the United Kingdom.
Embassy of the United States, BeijingOffice in Beijing, China
The Embassy of the United States in Beijing is the diplomatic mission of the United States in China. It serves as the administrative office of the United States Ambassador to China. The embassy complex is in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
Other English Courses Offered from US Embassy
How To Apply For Open Vacancies In The US Embassy Of Khartoum
