Around the World

Abstract

The purpose of this Portfolio is to create a CBI (Content-based Instruction) textbook that deals with Social Studies, a core subject, with topics and themes that are interesting and meaningful for Korean elementary school students. The reason I have decided to design such a textbook is because in recent years, many Korean schools and private language institutes have begun to incorporate CBI into their English curriculums, after-school programs and courses, often through subjects such as Social Studies, science, and mathematics. According to a joint survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2008, the Korean English education sector - especially the private English education sector - has seen a dramatic increase in immersion education programs since January 2008, when former president Lee Myung-Bak proposed introducing English-only instruction for non-English subjects, such as mathematics and science to the national curriculum (Jeon, 2012). However, based on my experience as a teacher, there is a major shortcoming in teaching CBI in Korean schools; namely, a lack of appropriate textbooks and materials to use in the classroom. Even though there are a plethora of English textbooks available, I have not found any books that meet the needs of my students regarding content, level of appropriateness, and teacher’s resources. With this problem in mind, I will design a textbook that builds on Brinton’s (2011) ideas for selecting a textbook. Firstly, I will create a textbook in which the content is appealing, relevant and stimulating for students. Currently, most existing Social Studies textbooks focus on North America as the target culture, dealing with topics such as “United States Government”, United States Regions,” and “Climate in the United States”. This could cause a problem since the content is often culturally inaccessible for Korean students, and they might struggle relating to or understanding the course materials. Therefore, I will incorporate reading passages and activities in my textbook that Korean students can relate to and apply to their own lives. For example, in my Sample Chapter, students will learn about “Storytelling around the World,” and then they will compare those stories with Korean stories and folktales. Some other interesting topics covered in the textbook include, Festivals and Celebrations, Great Inventions, and How Businesses Work. Secondly, based on CBI, I will integrate various strategies and skills related to Social Studies, such as map reading skills and interpreting graphs or charts; as well as skills and strategies specific to improving language competence, such as classifying, negotiating meaning, and clarifying.