The primary purpose of this paper is to help support language teachers with an interest in creating a content-based course from scratch but may not know where to begin this challenging and sometimes daunting process. Specifically, this paper acts as a reflection on creating a content-based course in a context where the teacher is new to the school and is required to create a course design with limited knowledge of learner ability, class size, school culture, and motivation level of students, thus requiring a transformative pedagogical approach (Norton, 2010; Norton and Toohey, 2011). This paper covers the content of choice selected for the course, the justification for this content, the preparation planning of the course materials, and how teacher identity can interfere or thrive within the context of a content-based curriculum. This paper concludes with a call for continued research to help develop a more enriching and purpose-driven content-based course for future iterations and to remind teachers who are taking the brave new step of creating these types of courses that this is a positive step forward for building teacher identity, teacher-learner rapport, and overall learner engagement. Additionally, the paper ends with the argument that content-based courses, which initially can be an intense amount of preparation, can be a worthwhile and wholeheartedly unique experience for language learners, and even perceived as a motivational boost and alternative to a more traditional skills-based course with a ready-made, predetermined syllabus.
Kyle UNDEM (Mon,) studied this question.