Putting CLIL into Practice

Abstract

Facilitated by widespread grass-roots activity on the one hand and a favourable EU-level policy climate on the other, the teaching and learning of some school subjects through the medium of a foreign language (most frequently English) has experienced considerable spread in European educations systems since the 1990s. One might even say it has become an established niche in the mainstream. While local labels vary greatly (as do the exact practices), the name Content-and-Language-Integrated-Learning (CLIL) has established itself as an international umbrella term. Meanwhile, interest in this type of educational provision has also been growing in other parts of the world notably Latin America and South-East Asia. Links with related North American initiatives have also intensified in recent years. Since CLIL practice cuts across many apparent certainties that are deeply ingrained in education systems, such as the identity and responsibilities of individual subjects and those who teach them, CLIL has evoked a keen demand for guidance. The book market has responded to the demand with a number of publications that vary in their mix of practical, programmatic and conceptual content (Deller and Price 2007; Mehisto, Marsh and Frigols 2008; Coyle, Hood, and Marsh 2010; Dale and Tanner 2012; Llinares, Morton, and Whittaker 2012). The authors of the present book have been active as consultants, teacher trainers and materials writers in this arena in different contexts.