Submitted by TE Editor on 31 January, 2006 - 12:00
In the first of these articles, Content and Language Integrated Learning, I gave an introduction to this field. In this second article I will look more closely at how CLIL is realised in the classroom and suggest a framework for planning CLIL lessons.
- Underlying principles
- Classroom principles
- Lesson framework
- Conclusion
Underlying principles
The principles behind Content and Language Integrated Learning include global statements such as 'all teachers are teachers of language' (The Bullock Report - A Language for Life, 1975) to the wide-ranging advantages of cross-curricular bilingual teaching in statements from theContent and Language Integrated Project (CLIP). The benefits of CLIL may be seen in terms of cultural awareness, internationalisation, language competence, preparation for both study and working life, and increased motivation.
While CLIL may be the best-fit methodology for language teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe, the literature suggests that there remains a dearth of CLIL-type materials, and a lack of teacher training programmes to prepare both language and subject teachers for CLIL teaching. The theory may be solid, but questions remain about how theory translates into classroom practice.
Some of the basic principles of CLIL are that in the CLIL classroom:
- Language is used to learn as well as to communicate
- It is the subject matter which determines the language needed to learn.
A CLIL lesson is therefore not a language lesson neither is it a subject lesson transmitted in a foreign language. According to the 4Cs curriculum (Coyle 1999), a successful CLIL lesson should combine elements of the following:
- Content - Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to specific elements of a defined curriculum
- Communication - Using language to learn whilst learning to use language
- Cognition - Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and concrete), understanding and language
- Culture - Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which deepen awareness of otherness and self.
CLIL Lesson Plans
Acids-Chemistry M.4
Biology for kids P.3
Beautiful Science Experiment P.4
No comments:
Post a Comment