The Integration of Language and Content: Form-Focused Instruction in a Content-Based Language Program

This comparative, classroom-based study investigated the effect and effectiveness of introducing a focus on form approach to a content-based, occupation-specific language program for adults. Thirty-six adults in two classes participated in a 10-week study. One group of 16 adults received content-based instruction that included a focus on form component while the other group of 20 adults received the same content-based instruction with a focus on meaning only. Pre-tests/post-tests/delayed post-tests measured learning of two grammatical forms, the present conditional and the simple past tense, as well as occupational content knowledge. Results indicated significant gains on most of the language measures for both learner groups but significant advantages for the form-focused group on the content knowledge tests. The results are discussed in relation to the impact of specific strategies designed to focus on form and the relationship between attention to form and comprehension of content in the context of content-based language programs. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)