Let’s think about the following conversation. The conversation is fictional but plausible.
Teacher: Why were you absent yesterday, Jeffery?
Jeffery: Cause I had to take my little sister to the hospital, cause she had a fever and was crying. My parents were not at home, so I call my aunt, then I wait for her to come and get my sister. We took her to the hospital.
Jeffery’s oral English competence is excellent. Meaning is clearly delivered to the teacher regarding why he was absent with minimal hindrance to communication. However, Jeffery’s speech indicates that he does not consistently mark the verbs for the past tense. This kind of speech is typical among English Language Learners (ELLs).
When ELLs’ basic conversational English skills are as high as Jeffery’s, what language teachers could do to help learners have an even higher level of English? Should language teachers drill more to assist learners express themselves more concisely or conduct additional grammar practice for mastery of verb tenses? The answer to these questions is definitely no; not for learners who have this level of fluent communicative competence. Learners who could produce this level of high oral language can survive in social settings but surviving in academic areas is another matter (Echevarria, & Graves, 2000).
What these ELLs need is strong academic English proficiency that helps them perform successfully in content areas because a strong proficiency in oral English does not necessarily translate into ELLs’ academic success (Cummins, 1980).
Traditionally, language instruction focuses on language forms; that is, learners know what to say and how to say it in various situations along with basic reading and writing skills. Nevertheless, language teachers could achieve those goals as well by moving beyond the functional language syllabus and by adopting Content-Based Instruction (CBI) in their syllabus which targets content-rich and high-standard curriculum with critical thinking skills(Kasper, 2000).