The Impact of CBI on College English Autonomous Learning Ability

The concept of content-based instruction (CBI) refers to the combination of teaching foreign language and subject knowledge. This study makes a comparative analysis on a questionnaire conducted among 60 non-English majors, concentrating on the relationship between CBI approach and English learning ability. The findings show that English teaching under the CBI approach has positive impact on students’ autonomous learning ability, in which students’ autonomous learning psychology and behavior become more active, and self-management learning ability has improved. CBI class needs cooperation of teachers and students. The pedagogical implications we get from this study are diversifying forms of class organization, updating teaching concepts, and constructing independent learning settings actively. This kind of idea is good for students’ school learning and lifelong learning. CBI and Autonomous Learning Ability CBI Concept of CBI. Briton (1989)[1] refers to content-based instruction (CBI) as second language teaching philosophy, organizing teaching activities on subject or information students need to learn, rather than around the outline of linguistics. Karl Krahnke (1987)[2] defines it as “a teaching method for acquiring the acquisition of language in the teaching of content or information.” The core of CBI is to combine language learning with subject knowledge. CBI approach chooses a more natural way to develop language ability, which is consistent with the way to learn the native language. The learners focus on a certain topic in teaching course, from the rigorous discipline knowledge to the hot topic. In the process of learning, learners can regard the foreign language as a tool to explore the theme, and to enhance the ability of foreign language using in the discussion. CBI is a major reform of the traditional teaching methods. Traditional foreign language teaching focuses on grammar, and discourse competence, namely language usage, resulting in the so-called “dumb English”. CBI is a kind of teaching idea, not a specific teaching method, and has no unified teaching mode. There are four kinds of common teaching modes about CBI: theme-based approach, sheltered content course, adjunct course, and language for special purpose course. Development of CBI. CBI can trace its root back to the immersion program, which is designed primarily to teach English speaking children speak French in Montreal, Canada in 1965. The result of this study indicated that the French immersion education was successful in developing proficiency in French and subject teaching. It means that immersion programs attempted to stimulate natural language learning by maximizing language input and exposing learners to the target language and culture. After that, a large number of surveys were conducted, a lot of students play important roles in these surveys, they can communicate with different students and also learn language skills from them, and the results show that CBI was effective to enhance learners’ language ability so that they can get great improvement in language learning. In China, the first time the 1990s witnessed the introduction of CBI, some scholars who returned from abroad discussed the theory and teaching models of CBI. They thought that this kind of teaching idea will bring great revolution in education. They gave some advices on how to apply CBI to classroom, but at this stage, the main features of CBI research are mainly theoretical. Since