A case-study of using content and language integrated learning methodology in tertiary education course design

Abstract

This article examines the principles of Content-Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) as a theoretical basis for a course of English for academic purposes and discusses the results of a pilot project based on a combination of CLIL and Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) methodologies. Although the two methodologies share common features, such as the use of authentic materials or emphasis on students’ needs, they differ on their goals, general approach, and required classroom hours. The CLIL approach is based on a balance between content-centered learning and mastering a foreign language through the content, while LSP is a special form of a foreign language instruction that teaches students how to use it in a particular field of knowledge or line of work. A pilot course in English for Special Purposes, described here, was developed to prepare students for further full English-language instruction in some of their major disciplines. Due to the limited number of classroom hours and the focus on mastering primarily the language of specialization, the course mainly applies LSP approach in combination with some CLIL techniques and methods, such as guided reading, text markup, visual support, linguistic support, and multimodal input. The course was run as a pilot project throughout one academic year, weekly in the form of two-hour English classes, and involved two groups of third-year students majoring in International Relations or Regional Studies with 25 participants in each. In a follow-up survey, the students reported increased motivation, better word retention, improved fluency and better listening comprehension.