Content and Language Integrated Learning from the Perspectives of English Language Teachers

Abstract

The aim of the study is to explore the perspectives of English language teachers about content and language integrated learning (CLIL) after their preparation of lesson plans and accompanying materials in line with the language-driven CLIL approach. The participants are five English language teachers who are enrolled in the MA program in the department of English Language Teaching (ELT) at a state university in Turkey. After receiving adequate theoretical background, they were given time to develop three language-driven CLIL lesson plans following the steps of a lesson template. When the participants completed each lesson plan based on the contents they chose, they received feedback from their peers and revised their lesson plans accordingly. At the end of the whole lesson planning procedure, their lesson plans were analyzed to uncover their CLIL lesson plan preferences in terms of content. Also, by means of semi-structured interviews, their perspectives about the lesson planning process and in what ways the process contributed to their improvement were revealed. It was found that the CLIL lesson planning process and its contribution to their improvement in certain areas were generally perceived positively. Thus, it can be suggested that English language teachers should be encouraged to develop CLIL lesson plans.