Processing Science Through Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): A Teacher’s Practicum

Abstract

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methodology, as implemented in Italy by the recent educational reform, requires non-language subject teachers to teach their curriculum in a foreign language. This study presents a professional training model developed by university CLIL experts for science teachers who were selected to teach their subject in English, and aims to address the difficulties that such content-based instruction raises in a country where English is mainly studied as a foreign language and exposure to language use is inadequate. Nevertheless, students and teachers alike are compelled to improve their language proficiency and conceptual understanding in order to be able to communicate professionally and/or academically regardless of the limited opportunities. The authors argue that due to the demanding nature that characterizes the learning of a non-language subject in English within such a setting, the practicum model provides useful insight into scaffolding techniques and accessibility processes that can be exploited by educators working in both foreign and second language acquisition environments. In addition, the three-phase model described in the study offers examples of teacher collaborative practices, the benefits of which have revealed innovative ways of capitalizing on CLIL as a training methodology that enables the two seemingly different worlds of the content matter and of the foreign language to work towards a common goal.