Language-across-the-Curriculum (LAC) Approach

Language-across-the-Curriculum (LAC) Approach

Because the medium of instruction is the key to understanding the subject content in an EMI school, an LAC approach will help improve students’ language proficiency and understanding of academic content.

􀂾 What is an LAC approach?

An LAC approach is one that integrates language learning and content learning

􀂾 Why is there a need for such an approach?

Language cannot be effectively learnt without a context while learning in all subjects is dependent upon language. In view of the above, language and content are closely interrelated. In fact, content subjects provide a context for language while effective language development facilitates the learning of content subjects. It is therefore necessary to integrate language and content.

􀂾 What are the benefits of an LAC approach?

For the school: To ensure that there is an organisational structure in the school which helps to formulate and implement language policy across the curriculum. This enables teachers to contribute and get support in dealing with language in learning issues as well as to work for a common target.

For the teacher: To use the language to teach more effectively and help students learn more effectively.

Ø All the teachers can improve their skills in the foreign language.

Ø It helps the teachers teach the content Effectively in the foreign language.

Ø It helps the teachers make use of modern technology in his classroom effectively

Ø It helps the teachers update their knowledge

Ø It helps the teacher give clear instructions to students in FL

Ø It makes the teacher encourage clarifications by learners.

Ø It helps the teachers manage group activities effectively.

Ø It helps the school to keep a common target.

Ø It enables the teacher provide his own notes to students

 For the students: To minimise the problems of adjusting to the new medium of instruction and to learn the subject content better.

·        It helps the learners to improve their communication skill in the FL.

·         It helps the students to learn the content more effectively.

·         It helps the learners to expand their ideas.

·         It helps the learners discuss different issues in FL.

·         It helps the learners to collect technical terms related to different subjects.

·         It helps the students to submit original assignments free of plagiarism.

·         It opens a vast career world before the students.

·         It helps the students getting admitted in foreign universities.

·         It facilitates effective self study and refererring.

􀂾 What are the respective roles of content subject teachers and English teachers in an LAC approach?

English teachers introduce and teach the skills, reinforcing them from time to time in English lessons. Content subject teachers re-teach those skills or introduce related skills/concepts in their lesson, integrating language and content.

Example:

The idea of suffixes has been introduced in English lessons. The History teacher can introduce the new suffix ‘-ism’ and give examples such as ‘communism’ or ‘colonialism’, or consolidate familiar suffixes, like ‘ion’ in ‘rebellion’.

LANGUAGE TEACHER

1.     Teaches General Vocabulary

2.     Teaches the Structural Elements

3.     Informs the Subject Teacher what He Recently Taught.

4.     Teaches Prefixes and Suffixes.

5.     Teaches how to Create Definitions.

6.     Giving Guidelines to the Subject Teachers.

SUBJECT TEACHER

1.     Teaches the subject Related Vocabulary

2.     Makes them Practice the Structures

3.     Tries to Make them Practice Recently taught items in Language Classroom

4.     Teaches how to Use Prefixes and Suffixes in Sentences Related to the Concerned Subject.

5.     Helps them Create their own Definitions.

6.     Consulting Language Teachers for Clearing Doubts.

·         It is important for English teachers and content subject teachers to each know what the other is doing. For instance, the English teacher can teach students how to do a vocabulary log. The content subject teachers then ask students to keep a vocabulary log for their own subject. The English teacher can collect the vocabulary logs and check from time to time to make sure that students are on the right track.

·         As every subject has to contribute to the language development of students, a balance between an emphasis on English and an emphasis on content is recommended.

·         Since more time and effort has to be spent on the development of students’ language proficiency, the subject content may have to be reduced, especially at the initial stages.