Feasibility of CLIL Implementation in the Education System of Azerbaijan: Attitude towards CLIL and the English Language in Higher Educational Institutions

Abstract

<p>This article examines the feasibility of introducing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the education system of Azerbaijan, and determining the most preferred target language for this matter. Azerbaijan is a country with traditions of multilingualism. There are certain challenges within the society in terms of ensuring communication among different linguistic groups, which necessitate examining appropriate language policy and acquisition solutions. CLIL, which enables individuals to learn more than two languages at relatively high level, seems to be a promising approach for overcoming the linguistic communication problems in Azerbaijan, and enabling to take socio-economic and cognitive advantages of multilingualism.</p><p>Whereas the question of feasibility of certain language acquisition approach in a specific country requires studying several dimensions such as public attitude, economic aspects and legal framework, the focus of the empirical research of this article is directed to learning the attitude to CLIL, which is a relatively under researched field. In the research part, it is sought to answer questions whether CLIL is supported among students in Azerbaijan, and which foreign language is preferred most. Moreover, it was sought to examine the relationship among the variables of gender, social class, existing language skills, as well as attitudes to CLIL and target language preference.</p><p>It was found that CLIL is supported by participants, and English is the most preferred foreign language. It indicates that multilingual societies like Azerbaijan are supportive of language acquisition choices that help preserve and develop multilingualism. Moreover, it was found that attitude to language acquisition method and the language itself differ due to income level and existing language skills.</p>