Investigating How Content-based ESL Instruction Compares with Regular Content-area Literacy Instruction

The purpose of this study is to explore how content-based ESL instruction compares with regular content-area literacy instruction. This qualitative study was conducted at two different elementary schools in the Midwest of the United States. Four teachers participated in this study: two ESL teachers and two regular classroom teachers. All four teachers were quite different from, and at the same time similar to, one another in terms of their perspectives in content-based instruction (CBI), teaching approaches and teaching materials. For the similarities between the two types of instruction, all teachers had done various kinds of groupwork and they tried to connect their lessons to the students' daily lives. All four teachers also emphasized the importance and difficulties of teaching vocabulary in CBI. On the other hand, ESL teachers and regular classroom teachers had different perspectives on content-based instruction. ESL teachers thought CBI was one of ESL programs and effective, but regular classroom teachers thought it was normal to teach in their classes. Besides, there were differences in the degree of difficulty of the content areas. The ESL class dealt with easier content than the regular same-grade classes. The teaching materials were different according to the two classroom settings. I maintain that although there were similarities between teaching ESL students and English-speaking students through the content areas, there were specific aspects that could be more effective for ESL students, and these need to be studied further.