Content-based Instruction : Bridging the Gap Between What Students Can Do and What They Need to Do

Content-based Instruction : Bridging the Gap Between What Students Can Do and What They Need to Do

This study aims to examine whether or not sustained content-based instruction is associated with attainment of different levels of oral proficiency. For the purpose of the study, a sustained content-based course was designed for high level university students and implemented to a group of students whose oral proficiency ranged from lower-intermediate to advanced level. To test for the effects of the course on the students' oral proficiency, three different measures of spoken language proficiency were obtained via interviews: general English proficiency, content-specific English proficiency, and the combination of English proficiency and content knowledge. Results of the study indicated that all students, regardless of their proficiency, showed improvement in their oral proficiency, but that intermediate students made the most progress. The findings of the study suggest that Korean universities should implement more sustained CBI courses to cater to this advanced group of learners.