The Impact Of CBI On Chinese EFL Learners' Motivation And Anxiety

Content-based Instruction (CBI) integrates the learning of some specific subject-matter content with the learning of a second language. The overall structure of a content-based curriculum, in contrast to traditional language curricula, is dictated more by the nature of the subject matter'than by language forms and sequences. The second language then, is simply the medium to convey informational content of interest and relevance to the learner. CBI emphasizes that people do not learn languages and then use them, but that people learn language by using them. Quite a number of studies have proved that CBI can enhance ESL learners'motivation and reduce their anxiety. However, there have been very few reports on empirical studies on CBI in the EFL context, especially in the Chinese college English context. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore the impact of CBI on Chinese EFL learners' affective factors, focusing on motivation and anxiety.370 sophomore non-English majors from a key university in the mainland of China were involved in this study. They were of similar educational background, ages, life experiences and years of learning English and all had passed CET-4 before they took part in the experiment. The subjects were divided into the treatment group (185 students) and the control group (185 students). The subjects in the treatment group would study in CBI context and the control group would continue to study in the regular college English class. The experiment lasted for one year. Learners' motivation and anxiety in learning English were measured at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the experiment. The study included between-group comparison and within-group comparison. Learners in the treatment group were further divided into three subgroups:high proficiency (the top 30%), medium proficiency group (the middle 40%) and low proficiency group (the bottom 30%) according to their performance in the English test at the beginning of the experiment. Both quantitative and qualitative instruments were employed in the study, including data analysis, interview, classroom observation, and learner diary. The results were analyzed by SPSS 13.0 (Statistical Package for Social Science). The study attempts to answer the following questions:1) What is the impact of CBI on learners'motivation to learn English?2) What is the impact of CBI on learners'anxiety in learning English?3) What is the impact of CBI on learners'motivation and anxiety in different English proficiency levels?4) What is the feedback from EFL learners in CBI context? The results of the study revealed that:1) Learners in CBI context had a stronger motivation than those in the regular college English class. Learners in the treatment group demonstrated stronger desire to learn English. And they were more confident in learning English.2) At the end of the experiment, learners in the treatment group lowered anxiety to a significant extent, especially in the aspects of communication apprehension and fear of negative evaluation. As for the test anxiety, both groups reduced their anxiety, because learners in the control group spent more time preparing for examinations.3) Learners of high proficiency and medium proficiency in the treatment group enhanced motivation and lowered anxiety to a larger extent than learners of low proficiency for the reason that authentic materials used in CBI context were beyond the learners with low English proficiency, however, their anxiety was in a trend of decreasing all the way.4) Learners in CBI class approved CBI approach. They hold positive attitude towards this teaching method.In conclusion, CBI has a positive impact on promoting learners'motivation and lowering their anxiety. CBI implies the total integration of language learning and content learning. CBI emphasizes learning specific subject content and suites to the language in the real situation, paying more attention to the improvement of language ability of listening, speaking, reading and writing. In implementation of CBI, balance should be kept between language and content and special attention should be paid to low English proficiency learners.