Interplay of ESL Interaction Patterns and Student-Centred Pedagogy in Multilingual Classrooms in Nigeria

In recent years, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has become the subject of attention, especially in East Asian countries, due to the introduction of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education in primary schools. However, limited empirical studies have been conducted regarding the feasibility and potentiality of content- and language-integrated instruction in these contexts (Butler, Nihon no shougakkou eigo wo kangaeru: ajia no shiten karano kensho to teigen [Thinking About Japanese Elementary School English: Inspection and Suggestion from Asian Perspective]. Tokyo: Sanseidou, 2005) with fewer studies related to Japanese primary schools (Yamano, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in a Japanese Elementary School: A Comparative Study of a CLIL Program in Early EFL Education. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Sophia University, Tokyo, 2012; Utilizing the CLIL approach in a Japanese primary school: A comparative study of CLIL and EFL lessons. The Asian EFL Journal, 15(4), 70–92, 2013a; Exploring the use of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in foreign language activities. JES Journal, 13, 20–35, 2013b; CLIL in a Japanese primary school: Exploring the potential of CLIL in a Japanese EFL context. International CLIL Research Journal, 2(1), 19–30, 2013c; Exploring the cognitive change of an elementary school teacher through CLIL practices. Bulletin of Utsunomiya University, Division of Educational Department, 65, 205–219, 2015). Therefore, this study explores the potential of CLIL application in a Japanese context from four important aspects, known as the 4Cs: Content (subject matter), Communication (language learned and used in the CLIL lesson), Cognition (cognitive skills), and Community/Culture (awareness toward learning community and pluricultural understanding) (Coyle, Content and language integrated learning: Towards a connected research agenda for CLIL pedagogies. The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10, 543–562, 2007; Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010; Mehisto, Marsh, & Frigols, Uncovering CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning in Bilingual and Multilingual Education. Oxford: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). This chapter first defines the Japanese primary EFL education and discusses the rationale for applying a CLIL approach in a Japanese primary school context. Then, based on the 4Cs perspective, it investigates the differences between a CLIL class of 35 students and a non-CLIL class of 36 students in conventional EFL instruction and analyzes results from three different data sets: classroom observations, pupil questionnaires, and teachers’ interviews. Lastly, the present study indicates the potential of a CLIL approach in a Japanese primary EFL environment regarding the 4Cs perspective: enhancing diversity and experiential learning because of the authentic content, accelerating classroom interaction, deepening students’ cognitive learning, and activating students’ cooperative learning as well as comprehension of global issues.

Language is a hallmark and the most enduring artefact of any community, playing a significant role in social interaction and the transmission of social values. Among the various approaches in language teaching, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) have consistently been at the forefront of research, receiving significant attention from practitioners and policymakers in Sri Lanka. This study investigates whether the use of TBLT and CLIL in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms enhances grammar learning. It aims to answer the research questions: a) “How do the CLIL and TBLT approaches enhance grammar teaching in ESL classrooms?” and b) “What are the perspectives of English teachers and learners on the use of CLIL and TBLT approaches in teaching grammar in ESL classrooms?” The study tests the hypothesis that TBLT is more effective than CLIL in teaching English grammar. The study involved sixty participants from one batch and two lecturers. Data were collected using pretest and posttest papers, semi-structured interviews, and open-ended questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS and thematic analysis. The findings indicated that both TBLT and CLIL positively impact grammar learning, with TBLT emerging as the more effective approach. Perceptions of these approaches highlighted learner interest and the challenges of incorporating these methods in the classroom.

The purported foreign language gains of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) over traditional EFL (English as a foreign language) programs with young learners are still unclear. Specifically, little is known about how CLIL time and timing impact grammatical complexity. Additionally, mediating factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and extramural exposure have been rarely controlled in the existing literature. This study analysed grammatical complexity in four groups of young learners in Spain ( n = 108) during an oral task. The sample comprised: (1) an EFL-only group (1,766 EFL hours), (2) a low-exposure CLIL group (1,766 EFL hours + 707 CLIL hours), (3) a high-exposure CLIL group (1,766 EFL hours + 2,473 CLIL hours), and (4) a younger high-exposure CLIL group (1,545 EFL hours + 2,164 CLIL hours). All groups were matched for SES and extramural exposure. The analysis included independent ratings and computational measures of overall sentence complexity, subordination, and coordination. Distribution, Kruskal–Wallis and post-hoc tests were conducted. Results showed significant differences in favour of the high-exposure groups over the EFL-only group in the ratings and in two of the computational measures: overall sentence complexity and subordination. This evidence highlights the potential of high-exposure CLIL to supplement grammatical instruction in EFL programs. Our results also suggest that the comparatively higher exposure of the younger high-exposure CLIL group has the potential to override the one-year cognitive advantage of the older, EFL-only learners.

This article summarizes the essential theoretical and empirical findings of a large-scale doctoral dissertation study on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) streams at German secondary schools (Gymnasium) with up to three content subjects taught in English (Rumlich, 2016). A theoretical account rooted in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL), language acquisition and educational psychology provides the basis for the development of a comprehensive longitudinal model of general EFL proficiency, which incorporates cognitive, affective-motivational, and further individual variables. In a second step, the model is used to estimate the effects of CLIL on general EFL proficiency, EFL self-concept and interest over a span of two school years (Year 6 to Year 8). The statistical evaluation of the quasi-experimental data from 1,000 learners finds large initial differences prior to CLIL due to selection, preparation, and class composition effects brought about by the implementation of CLIL within streams. After two years, the analyses found no CLIL-related benefits for general EFL proficiency or interest in EFL classes and solely a minor increase in EFL self-concept that might be attributable to CLIL. The results make a strong claim for comprehensive longitudinal model-based evaluations and the inclusion of selection, preparation, and class composition effects when conducting research on CLIL programmes in similar settings. The findings also suggest that not all language competences and affective-motivational dispositions might benefit from CLIL (the way it is currently taught in Germany) to the same extent.

Schools are increasingly using content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approaches to education, whereby the teaching of subject content and an additional language occurs in an integrated manner. While language and learning are inextricably linked and the rewards of CLIL many, integrated teaching requires a specialised professional awareness of how an additional language operates and is acquired within content classrooms. However, research focused on teacher language awareness (TLA) for CLIL is still sparse. Moreover, it has focused solely on CLIL teachers’ awareness of the target language, thereby disregarding the teacher plurilingual awareness (TPLA) required for effective CLIL, which is inherently multilingual and increasingly implemented in linguistically diverse settings. This study brings together the expertise of Dutch primary school teachers using CLIL to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, with the expertise in teaching in multilingual settings of UK teachers supporting English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners. Using a CLIL Teaching Wall activity within interviews, it was possible to gain rich insight into the characteristics of the TLA and TPLA underpinning teachers’ ability to recognise and teach to the language demands of multilingual dual-focused classrooms.

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is burgeoning all over Europe and this is particularly so in Spain. During the last 10 years, content language instruction through a foreign language (FL) (mainly English) has become a key area of curricular innovation. One of the main reasons put forward by the advocates of this approach is that students are more motivated as a result of participating in CLIL programmes. Since motivation is one of the most influential individual variables when it comes to learning an L2, the benefits of the CLIL approach are assumed. However, there is a dearth of studies which empirically confirm differences in motivation when comparing traditional English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction and CLIL. This article aims to shed light on this issue through a study carried out in the Basque Country (Spain) in two different grades. Three hundred and ninety-three compulsory secondary education students (aged 12–13 and 14–15) enrolled in EFL and CLIL courses participated in the study. The data were gathered by means of a previously piloted and validated quantitative questionnaire. The statistical analyses showed that CLIL students were more motivated; however, these results should be analysed with caution, taking into account a series of individual (age and sex) and contextual (socio-cultural) variables that may influence such results. The effect of these variables, which have little to do with the CLIL approach per se, has not always been sufficiently considered when explaining the positive outcomes of CLIL.

This study investigated the beliefs and practices of two English language teachers - an English as an Additional Language (EAL) speaker and an Anglophone speaker - towards Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at a regional Japanese university offering English medium instruction (EMI). Established in 2009, the university offers students EMI in the fields of international studies and regional development and international economy and prepares 1st grade students in a compulsory English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme adopting a CLIL approach. This study examined how the two teachers conceptualized and implemented their CLIL syllabi and what limitations and opportunities CLIL offered. Qualitative data elicited from a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) revealed CLIL as both a bridge into EMI and post-university life. For this purpose, both teachers scaffolded language and content materials, especially with general cultural and social science themes. Translanguaging was important in developing pragmatic integration of students' Japanese in classes. Difficulties were noted in teaching higher cognitive skills due to the test focus of secondary education. Pedagogically, both shifted along a CLIL continuum between language and content foci according to student needs. The perceived limitations stressed the problematic balance between content and language and a lack of a language threshold before embarking on CLIL. Further issues raised were the paucity of teacher development in CLIL and tension between content and language teachers in syllabus design. Finally, opportunities were mentioned in the knowledge transfer between content and language classes and the development of autonomous collaboration. Of final note, the teachers' linguistic backgrounds were seen as important for students. Overall, implications for this study suggested that teaching practitioners can reinforce their classroom instructions with research knowledge.

The intent of this preliminary research was to gain insights into the implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in The Canary Islands Autonomous Community, where since 2004-2005 many primary and secondary schools have been gradually adopting this methodology in the classroom. Hardly any research has focused attention on this context. This study attempts to fills this void in the literature by examining three different issues. Firstly, CLIL learners� performance in the English test in the University Admission Examination was compared with the performance of their non-CLIL counterparts; secondly, the variety of content-subjects taught through the medium of English was examined; and finally, attention was centered on the number of academic courses with any CLIL subject that the participants in the study had had. First year university learners from three different degrees who had been enrolled in English as a foreign language instruction (EFL) and CLIL completed a questionnaire designed ad hoc. These learners belonged to the first and second generation of CLIL instruction. The data gathered corroborate previous findings and identify some of the features of CLIL instruction in its first decade of existence in this region. The chapter concludes with several implications for research and practice.

The development of meaningful environments at school for the learning of Science as well as of foreign languages is an educational concern. CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), aimed at the students’ acquisition of both the foreign Language and specific subject Content, is an approach that may promote the learning of English in use during subject classes and could result in the improvement of conditions and practices of Science education. Research, actually, reveals that teaching methodologies aware of language – such as CLIL – and other semiotic modes implied in Science are beneficial for the learning of Science. Studying a CLIL programme (“English Plus” project, EP), in which Science is taught/learnt with/in English, is thus relevant. A case study on the EP project and its participants (English and Science teachers, students involved in different school years) in one lower secondary state school in Portugal was carried out. In the present research, qualitative data collected through teacher interviews are presented and discussed, with the goal of understanding the role of Language(s) (verbal language in the mother tongue or English and other representation modalities) in the teaching of Science for EP teachers, both in conventional and project classes. A greater teacher awareness and use of Language(s), when an additional language (English, here) is also present for Science education, results from this work. This contributes to research on CLIL Science studies and teacher reflections on adopting a language-focused approach for Science education, also when the mother tongue is spoken. Keywords: CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), EFL (English as a foreign language), language-focused science education, qualitative design, reflections on teaching.

Comparative studies in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) often show CLIL students to be at something of an advantage over their non-CLIL peers. However, such studies are often difficult to interpret given problems of cross-group comparability (different schooling systems, different number of instructional hours, bias attributable to selection/self-selection, etc.). This study focuses on a single group of schoolchildren (n = 22), aged eight years old, that were exposed to English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction in the fall term and to CLIL instruction (Science) in the winter term. The main objectives are to analyze the vocabulary of the class materials and to examine gains in productive lexical knowledge. Our results show that students were exposed to a greater number of words and to more abstract and technical vocabulary in the CLIL materials, but that they made significant progress in vocabulary learning in both contexts. The study also reveals that learning English through Science proved to be a more challenging experience than learning English in the EFL class.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an educational approach in which the target language is used as the medium to learn and teach both content and language. The widespread interest in CLIL can be seen in the increasing popularity of adopting it as a viable approach to promoting both content and language learning in Europe (Garcia, 2017; Ioannou Georgiou, 2012) and many English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) countries, for instance- Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam (Lee & Chang, 2008).In this paper, we show how informational picture books are quality CLIL materials. The engaging narrative writing and meaningful illustrations in such books convey accessible factual and content knowledge, an important feature in line with CLIL-related goals. The powerful text-illustration synergy in picture books provides a supportive platform upon which to develop learners' language skills as well as to expand subject knowledge. Next, informed by CLIL theories and practices, a CLIL pedagogical framework is proposed to provide a simplified representation of the complexity and scope of the CLIL instructional sequences and content. The framework strives to achieve a balance between the content and language components in CLIL lessons. Based on the framework, a sample CLIL lesson is provided with instructional examples of how teachers could incorporate an informational picture book into their lessons to scaffold students' development of language, content knowledge, and learning skills. It is hoped that the framework and activities presented will encourage primary subject and language teachers in Taiwan and serve as a springboard for them to incorporate informational picture books in their CLIL lessons.

ABSTRACTThe present paper presents a comparative study of the lexical profiles of young content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and traditional English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ written production. The different nature and amount of foreign language input received in these classes may have consequences in learners’ lexical profiles in writing. We scrutinized the writings of 72 CLIL learners and 68 traditional EFL learners for frequency bands of words used, word origin, L1 influence in lexical production, and phonetic spelling, and learners’ vocabulary sizes with the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT). Learners attended 4th of Primary, were 9–10, had Spanish as their L1. CLIL learners had received 700 hours of English and traditional learners 419. Despite the difference in amount and nature of the input received, very similar results were obtained. The young age of the learners may impose certain cognitive constraints on expression and metalinguistic awareness that might override hours of instruction and the beneficial communicative nature of the CLIL approach.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has become increasingly popular all over Europe. As the target language is invariably English, many see CLIL as a way of helping learners develop an optimal command of English as a foreign language (EFL). The focus of many research studies has been on gains in language proficiency but the aims of CLIL reach well beyond this. The present study concentrates on whether CLIL also contributes to building pupils’ confidence as EFL users, well-prepared for life in an internationalised world. Specifically, it looks at the impact on two constructs: ‘EFL confidence’ and ‘international orientation’. The study was undertaken with 11 groups of 12–15-year-olds at ‘grammar’ schools (i.e. preparing for university) in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy and involved 231 pupils: 123 pupils following CLIL streams and 108 mainstream pupils. The results indicate that all pupils, both CLIL and mainstream, showed a positive development on our two variables during their first two years at grammar school. The CLIL intervention seemed to produce only a small added value. This was only a small-scale study but it highlights the need for further investigation of the impact of CLIL with a wider range of learners.

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) research has expanded substantially in foreign language contexts. However, most studies until relatively recently have been carried out with young adults in university settings, despite the fact that, among young children, exposure to a foreign language (mainly English) is on the increase worldwide. This chapter focuses on current research with children learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) while they perform collaborative tasks in mainstream and content and language integrated learning (CLIL) contexts. The studies, carried out within interactionist and socio-cultural frameworks, are first steps in charting the territory with regard to young EFL learners and will hopefully lead to improved task-based language programs for such learners. Our findings show that children successfully negotiate to make language meaningful, show mainly collaborative patterns, focus on form, and feel motivated towards the tasks. Moreover, the findings reveal how some implementation variables (learner setup, task repetition, task modality) impact the children’s output and task performance. The chapter concludes by highlighting challenges and future research directions.

In Europe, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is becoming a popular and widespread practice of immersion education. In the Netherlands, for example, over 90 secondary schools offer a CLIL strand. Most CLIL teachers, however, are nonnative speakers of the target language, and do not have a professional background in language pedagogy. How, then, can these teachers effectively contribute to the target language development and proficiency of their students? In this paper we will discuss the findings of a study carried out in three secondary schools offering CLIL. The purpose of the study was to observe and analyse effective CLIL teaching performance facilitating language development and proficiency. The analysis was carried out by means of an observation tool for effective CLIL teaching, based on the following principles from second language pedagogy: (1) exposure to input; (2) content-oriented processing; (3) form-oriented processing; (4) (pushed) output; and (5) strategic language use. We will discuss how the CLIL pedagogy observed is related to content-based teaching and task-based language teaching, and provide recommendations for effective language pedagogy in CLIL. We will argue that not only CLIL teachers can profit from effective language-pedagogical approaches, but that language teachers can profit from effective CLIL approaches and experiences as well.