Influencing Factors on In-Service Teachers’ Competence in Planning CLIL

Magdalena Custodio-Espinar

doi:10.5294/laclil.2019.12.2.2

Abstract

In spite of the multiple competencies necessary to design and deliver proper Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) lessons, the teachers’ linguistic proficiency is the primary competence considered in the accreditation of CLIL teachers in Spain. However, teachers’ competence in planning CLIL lessons is key to bilingual education. This article explores this competence and reports on the several factors that influence the level of integration of CLIL methodological principles in the lesson planning style of in-service teachers at primary and secondary education. The factors studied are the stage of education, curricular subjects, teacher education, status at school, years teaching CLIL and type of school in a sample of 383 in-service CLIL teachers. Results show statistically significant differences in all the factors studied except in the stage of education (primary-secondary) and the type of school (state-semiprivate). These results reveal a high heterogeneity in the sample, which allows the description of the CLIL teacher profiles according to the factors that influence their competence in planning and delivering CLIL lessons. It is concluded that education and training in CLIL competencies, such as planning CLIL lessons, is also necessary in order to achieve a more homogeneous competence profile of the teachers. Therefore, a review of the academic programs and of the accreditation model so as to guarantee that they include prescriptive education and training in CLIL is recommended, since the quality and sustainability of bilingual programs also depends on teachers’ competence in CLIL and not only on the students’ academic results.

Highlights

In a political context of international cooperation in the field of education, important methodological and didactic changes are taking place in classrooms
Results show statistically significant differences in all the factors studied except in the stage of education and the type of school. These results reveal a high heterogeneity in the sample, which allows the description of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teacher profiles according to the factors that influence their competence in planning and delivering CLIL lessons
A majority of these bilingual programs have opted for the CLIL approach, “a dual-focused educational initiative which advocates the learning of academic content and a foreign language simultaneously” as defined in Pavón-Vázquez and Ellison (2013, p. 68)

Summary

Introduction

In a political context of international cooperation in the field of education, important methodological and didactic changes are taking place in classrooms. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), which emerged in Europe in the 90s as an innovative approach to integrate content and language learning (Marsh, 1994), has already extended beyond the borders of the European Union (Ruiz de Zarobe, 2013), awakening the interest of practitioners and education authorities in. The increased implementation of CLIL in schools across Europe since the 1990s responds to an international strategy of the European. “a dual-focused educational initiative which advocates the learning of academic content and a foreign language simultaneously” as defined in Pavón-Vázquez and Ellison One of the reasons that have highly contributed to the popularity of CLIL in Spain is the fact that the learning of curricular content in a foreign language (L2) allows increasing the number of the L2 learning hours without making any changes in the official curricula

Objectives

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion