Foghlaim chomhtháite ábhar agus teanga i gclár oideachais tosaigh do mhúinteoirí bunscoile

Abstract

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has been defined as an educational approach where content is taught through the medium of a second language. The focus is on the learning of content rather than on the language. Much of the underlying theory for CLIL draws on the research from immersion education. The Irish Government’s 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 proposes to improve the proficiency in Irish of primary school pupils by offering CLIL to all pupils. This paper examines the role of CLIL in initial teacher education and the contribution that it can make to improving student teachers’ proficiency in Irish and in preparing the student teachers to teach in Irish-medium schools. While a CLIL approach has become quite common at school level in many countries, the number of empirical studies on the effectiveness of CLIL approaches on learners’ language achievement is relatively small. This paper reports on a study in St Patrick’s College, Dublin City University, where 29 Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Primary) students opted to study a number of curricular areas through the medium of Irish utilising a CLIL approach.