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Università Telematica Pegaso The CLIL teaching approach

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Indice

1 A FLEXIBLE APPROACH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

2 PLANNING THE 4 CS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

3 CLIL STRATEGIES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9

4 PLANNING THE CLIL CURRICULUM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14

BIBLIOGRAPY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16

WEB REFERENCES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18




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1 A flexible approach

The CLIL approach is flexible and it takes into account a wide range of contexts . In order

for this approach to be successful educators will engage in alternative ways of planning their

teaching for effective learning.

CLIL is not just language teaching enhanced by a wider range of content, it cannot be

identified with communicative teaching nor task based teaching but it may well incorporate a range

of common teaching techniques . Content teaching is not simple teaching a subject in another

language different from the students’ L1 mother tongue. In adopting a CLIL approach, there will be

elements of both language and subject teaching and learning which are specific to the CLIL

classroom as well as emerging CLIL methodologies.

The CLIL approach entails exploring a subject from a different perspective whilst improving

foreign language skills i.e. teaching in the target language to explore the subject from different

perspectives whilst developing specific foreign language skills. This requires coordination amongst

teachers, the subject teacher and the language teacher planning together to carry out cross curricular

projects. In this partnership the language teacher will be working on and planning for the teaching

of language thus developing amore content type approach to a theme i.e. take a topic like food and

carry out a comparative study between food and eating habits in English speaking western culture

and eating habits in Mediterranean Sea countries or Asia. The subject teacher , in this case maybe

geography may be planning the study of natural and agricultural resources that are available in

different countries.

Whatever the CLIL model used (subject /topic based, cross curricular based, project based,

integrated curriculum based) the teachers need a common plan and should identify which model




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will be used, define the fundamental principles upon which the approach is based, define the

learning outcomes, choose the teachers involved in joint planning, monitor and evaluate the process

to guarantee quality experience.

There are a range of models that can be adopted by a school or a group of teachers, there is

not a one and only model for CLIL.

The choice depends on a number of factors that the school will have to take into

consideration: such as teacher availability and/or the level of teacher and student language

competency. Other factors will also determine the model choice such as the amount of time

available within the curriculum to dedicate to language teaching, consequently the decision to make

will be whether the language is taught before starting the content programme (as a language

preparation course), during the content programme or also parallel to the content programme.

Extra curricular options may also be considered such as linking the CLIL programme to out-

of-school projects and activities to involve he students in.

“ The social situation in each country in general and decisions in educational policy in

particular always have an effect, so there is no single blueprint of content and language integration

that could be applied in the same way in different countries. – no model is for export “1 .

1 Baetens Beardsmore, 1993:39




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2 Planning the 4 Cs

In 1999, Coyle’s call for a re-conceptualisation of the modern languages curriculum in

schools stated:

The current modern foreign language curriculum and ensuing methodologies that developed

in response to communicative principles and teacher accountability- examination results, testing and

a drive to raise standards- are no longer entirely relevant and motivating to many young people.

That is not to say that all the many good aspects of current practice need to be thrown out. On the

contrary, they must not only be retained but also developed alongside dynamic and evolving

perspectives of types of learning and environments that encourage competent and confident

communicators. (Coyle 1999: )

What are these dynamic and evolving learning environments?

For sure planning an accurate and dynamic CLIL programme will support and guarantee an

evolving and advanced learning environment.

A CLIL topic or project can be built using the 4Cs Framework: Content, Communication,

Cognition, Culture. This way we take into account integrating content learning and language

learning in a specific context and we acknowledge the symbiotic relationship that exists between

these elements: progression in knowledge and understanding of content; cognitive processing;

interaction in a communicative context; development of language skills; cultural awareness .




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Communication is essential. Communication goes beyond the grammar system.

Communication is not just speaking but also writing, listening and reading all in English. Content

drives language learning and language is used to learn content.

Cognition means that for CLIL to be effective it must challenge the learners to think in a

higher thinking order. Students will analyse topics (arrange, explain and classify vocabulary).

Students will evaluate content thus judge and critique; they will also apply knowledge to solve

problems and experiment. Students will develop skills of synthesising so to create, invent and

generalise in English.

Content is the heart of the learning process, in it lies the acquisition of knowledge, skills and

understanding. Content is the specific subject, topic or theme. The content is the starting point of

the planning process. Teaching aims and objectives are what the teacher intends to do, the skills and

understanding that will be taught and developed. The learning outcomes focus on what the learners

will be able to do and understand at the end of each teaching Unit.

Culture is broadened and internationalism becomes a must. Studying through a foreign

language allows to discover different cultures and perspectives.

The 4 Cs framework was described by Do Coyle in 2005, it seeks to assure quality in terms

of guidance for: Content (progression in knowledge), Communication (interaction, using language

to learn), Cognition (engagement: thinking and understanding), Culture (self and other

awareness/citizenship).

For effective CLIL approach the teachers will need to start by laying out a set of plans for

each specific area of the framework




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Content Define what is being taught

Lay out aims and objectives the teacher has in mind

Define the learning outcomes for the students

Communication Establish the language that students will need to work with the content

Define specialised vocabulary or phrases needed

Consider structural language needs and grammatical coverage- the target

language

Which tasks and activities will be carried out

What the discussions and debates will be

Cognition Which thinking skills will be developed

Which questions will be asked and what answers are expected of the students

Which communicative tasks will involve higher thinking skills

Culture Which cultural implications lie within the topic

Explore target language countries

Develop a sense of internationalism through comparative activities and

learning

Develop and broaden the topic




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CLIL subjects come from many areas of learning such as history, geography, arts, music,

math and science and many more. When students are introduced to a CLIL lesson i.e. a history

lesson about explorers, they will be using the 4 skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking to

learn about and discuss the subject. In addition students analyse and evaluate the information using

critical thinking skills , this allows them to understand the information in depth . Students will be

exposed to different cultures and perspectives broadening inter-cultural awareness. Language is also

connected to real life students build grammar, vocabulary and language skills naturally by asking

questions and seeking answers; students develop their language skills in the same way they develop

their language skills in the L1 classroom in their mother tongue.

To summarise follow these steps :

Choose an interesting topic

Choose the vocabulary target

Choose the grammar structure

Choose the material to be used

Create a graphic organiser for students to analyse information (timeline, spidergram )

Give students the opportunity to use language creatively (class project).




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3 CLIL Strategies

To implement the CLIL approach in the classroom it will be necessary to resort to a few

simple strategies

Appealing Input

Providing multimodal input and distributing it across CLIL units produces highly

differentiated materials which accommodate different learning styles and activate various language

skills.

Choose the course materials carefully. Materials should include authentic texts and articles

or authentic resources in the target language . resources should be concrete and the topic should

always be contextualised. Resources should be graded or adapted for the students’ age and language

competence . The input language should be easily transferred to other cross curricular domains.

Class materials should include many images chosen from pictures, web sources, magazines

or books. Power point presentations may facilitate introducing a topic in a student friendly way.

Engaging students in brainstorming activities will allow to bring out what they already know and

this will facilitate teaching.

Audio-video material is very appealing to students and may cater to a variety of learners

(visual-auditory).

The resources used may involve a text book in the native target language , facilitating an

intercultural perspective. The material may be adapted from a text book in the students’ native

language. The content should , in any case, be meaningful and focus on global problems or issues.




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The internet offers a wide variety of resources for Content teaching in the form of ready

made lesson plans, downloadable resources, online activities, interactive software for IWB or even

videos.

Scaffolding Learning

To make sure that students successfully deal with authentic materials and the input given it

will be necessary to offer constant support.

The first type of support is offered during the input or presentation phase in which the new

topic is introduced. Vocabulary and language structures needed should be pre-taught and students

should be aware of the language they will be listening to then using. The nature of the selected input

(texts, charts, video clips) determines how much and what kind of input-scaffolding is needed. It

also indicates which subject specific study skills need to be practised with the students.

Continuous support should be offered to help learners construct their own learning, they

need to be taught how to learn efficiently . Learning skills and strategies, especially studying skills,

working with maps, charts and graphs or diagrams and pictures should be practiced throughout the

lesson and course.

The nature of the desired output ( presentation, survey, project) determines how much and

what type of output-scaffolding is needed.

Interaction and output

Languages are acquired most successfully when they are learned for communicative

purposes in meaningful and social situations. Combining a communicative and task based approach

will support language output and communication.




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Additional strategies and activities should be used to foster speaking and interaction:

Create a relaxed and comfortable learning environment to allow the emotional filter to be

lowered

Favour fluency and discourse allowing students to express themselves without worrying too

much about the form

Stimulate and trigger conversation through aimed questions (open answer questions)

Encourage students to summarise and present arguments in a personalised manner

Foster natural interaction through group work and pair work

Create opportunities for class discussions, debates and opinion sharing

Intercultural dimension

Looking at various topics from different cultural angles, realising that different cultures tend

to see things differently and have different values and beliefs can be very stimulating. The inter

cultural aspect represents the most enriching and most valuable experience that CLIL may offer.

Cultures differ in many aspects including the vies of self perceptions of time and verbal and

non verbal communication styles. Take into account that body language and non –verbal

communication represents a crucial element in communication at an international level .

HTO

Tasks and classwork need to be designed to trigger both higher thinking skills and lead to

authentic communication in different interaction formats (individual work, pair work, group work)




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High order thinking allows the topic and the content to come together and be elaborated by

the students. Effective teaching means creating environments in which students are engaged ,

challenged and saturated with different types of thinking .

Another way to think about this is to think of Blooms Taxonomy of Learning. At home the

students are memorizing information and perhaps checking their understanding. The focus is on the

lower order thinking skills. In class the students are applying their knowledge, analyzing, evaluating

etc. The focus here is on higher order thinking. The more challenging work is taking place when the

teacher is present. The work the students do alone is based around the lower order thinking skills

and in theory perhaps the time when they need less support from teachers. Students are often

working in groups and pairs and teachers are aware of the need to get students to communicate and

use the language. This is largely due to the impact of Communicative Language Teaching. In other

classes teachers may even be using discovery techniques and inductive/deductive approaches to

learning as well as task based approaches.

Revision of Bloom’s taxonomy by Krathwohl2

2 http://wilsonsflippedlab.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/climbing-pyramid-blooms-with-flip.html

https://www.flickr.com/people/53801255@N07/

http://wilsonsflippedlab.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/climbing-pyramid-blooms-with-flip.html

https://www.flickr.com/people/53801255@N07/




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Sustainable Learning

Teachers have to make sure that what they teach in class is taught in a way that new

knowledge becomes deeply rooted in the students’ long-term memory. Passive knowledge must be

turned into active knowledge. Learners should be able to retrieve knowledge and apply it to solve

problems and complete tasks.

Schooling should go beyond only the transmission of knowledge and achieve its «life-

shaping potential»

Developing the values ...of young people’s character; emphasising emotional as well as

cognitive learning; building commitments to group life…not just short-term team-work; cultivating

a cosmopolitan identity which shows tolerance of race and gender differences and willingness to

learn from other cultures…

Hargreaves, 2003




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4 Planning the CLIL curriculum

This is an overview on how to plan your CLIL curriculum and guarantee you are

implementing the approach in the classroom at every level

STEP 1 Decide what type of CLIL context applies to your curriculum

Define aims and objectives within the CLIL programme

Discuss the plan with colleagues

STEP 2 Establish which model you want to use (the 4C model?)

Identify the themes and units to be taught

Identify the linguistic elements to be taught

Identify the communicative language needed

Ensure that teaching objectives and learning outcomes are clear and

guarantee progression

STEP 3 Define the tools and materials that will be used in class and at home

Prepare the learning context

Identify teaching strategies and how to carry out scaffolding

Identify appropriate learning strategies and how learners can develop

autonomy

Prepare appropriate materials, which are not too demanding yet




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challenging enough. Cognitively appropriate and linguistically

accessible

STEP 4 Monitor progress and the programme

Record lessons and lesson plans

Record students’ feedback and response to lessons

Use assessment for learning procedures that related both to the

process and to the outcome

STEP 5 Evaluate the teaching and learning process

Evaluate the content taught

Evaluate language progress

Evaluate achievement of aims and learning objectives




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Bibliograpy

Anderson, L.W. (Ed.), Krathwohl, D.R. (Ed.), Airasian, P.W., Cruikshank, K.A., Mayer,

R.E., Pintrich, P.R., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M.C. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching,

and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Complete

edition). New York: Longman.

Bloom, B.S. (Ed.), Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., & Krathwohl, D.R. (1956).

Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook 1:

Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay.

Do Coyle University Nottingham, Content and Language Integrated Learning Motivating

Learners and Teachers

Cambridge University Press: Teaching Sceince through English, a CLIL approach

Do Coyle (1999) Theory and planning for effective classrooms: supporting students in

content and language integrated learning contexts Maish, J (ed.) Learning through a foreign

language , London, CILT

Garcia, O. (2009) Bilingual Education in the 21st Century, A global Perspective, Oxford:

Wiley-Blackwell

Hayward, D (2003) Teaching and assessing practical skills in science , Cambdrige: CUP

Marsh, D., Enner, C. , Sygmund, D. (1999) Pursuing Plurilinguism, Jyvaskyla University




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Snow, M. Met, M., Genessee, F. (1989) “A conceptual framework for the integration of

language and content in second/foreign language instruction” TESOL Quarterly, 23, 2,

pp201-217




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Web references http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/tips-howtos/encourage-higher-

order-thinking-30624.html

http://www.cala.fsu.edu/files/higher_order_thinking_skills.pdf

http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/effective-teaching-practices/revised-blooms-taxonomy

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Do_Coyle/publications

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