CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING TOWARD PROFICIENCY: AN ANALYSIS OF ITS POTENTIAL IN A PUBLIC BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an approach that has been adopted in various countries around the globe, mainly as a strategy to host immigrants immersed in a foreign school. In Brazil, it has been implemented with different purposes, as an immersion program for local students. However, not much is known about this adaptation, especially in the public sphere. Hence, this paper aims to investigate CLIL as an English teaching approach in Brazil. Specifically, we analyze its implementation in a public school in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on how integrating the teaching of language and content may improve students’ proficiency. We do so investigating students’ beliefs on the approach through a semi-structured interview. The interviews contained ten questions concerning their experience while learning English, more specifically in the context of High School, that were carefully analysed and helped us characterise the Brazilian CLIL and point the features that can be considered crucial for the students’ learning process. Through students’ answers we were able to identify as main factors for students proficiency: (a) students’ motivation; (b) teacher-student rapport; (c) the friendly English speaking environment; (d) use of English for communicative purposes and (e) the influence of CLIL. The analysis led us to believe that, so far, the program has been achieving its main objectives.Keywords: CLIL; bilingual schools; proficiency.