The Application Of Theme-based CBI To English Film Appreciation For Advanced English Majors

Theme-based CBI is a type of content-based instruction (CBI) which suggests integratinglanguage instruction with content instruction. According to theme-based CBI, a course can bedesigned around selected themes or topics chosen from one content area or from across thecurriculum. English Film Appreciation (EFA) is such a subject on the basis of both contentand language instruction. The author of the thesis intends to improve students'comprehensiveability of English and cultivate students'ability in appreciating English films by instructingthem to analyze and appreciate English films from multiple perspectives, such as film genres,film characters, film stories, film themes and western cultures as presented in films. Inaddition, EFA can arouse students'initiative and create an easy and interactive classroomatmosphere. Therefore, EFA provides good conditions for the implementation of contentbasedinstruction.Though EFA has been one of the important subjects of teaching in Chinese colleges, theeffect of teaching has never been satisfying. The principal reason lies in the lack of anappropriate teaching approach. Theme-based CBI as a teaching approach applied to EFA is anew attempt. This thesis proves the application of theme-based CBI to EFA successful andeffective as a result of designing EFA in the light of theme-based CBI, including setting up thecourse objective, selecting teaching materials, deciding on the contents, designing theclassroom activities, ways of testing, as well as the students'evaluation of the course design.The author devises a questionnaire for two class students to evaluate EFA course after oneterm's teaching. By contrast, students of the class in which the teacher has employed themebasedCBI to instruct EFA have made great progress in improving their comprehensive abilityof English. What's more, it can be found out from the result of the questionnaire that there aresome more merits which are unique to EFA in the light of theme-based CBI, includingcultivating a cultural consciousness, inspiring an understanding of life, improving independentstudy ability of students and so on. The findings of this research provide a good basis for thetheme-based CBI application on EFA in Chinese colleges.