Content And Language Integrated Learning Course Research Articles

Is social interaction a catalyst for digital environments? Exploring affordances of synchronous delivery in online CLIL

ABSTRACT Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has emerged as a pedagogical approach integrating foreign language learning with subject content. Nevertheless, its foray into the online environment, where courses are commonly delivered in two modes: asynchronous and synchronous, remains unexplored. By integrating synchronous delivery into an asynchronous-only online CLIL course, this study aims to probe how synchronous delivery affects students’ learning performances (learning behaviors and outcomes), and investigate learners’ perspectives on synchronous delivery as affordances for enhancing these performances. The study involved 969 learners and two teachers, with data collected from six sources for triangulation: tracking data from social media chat logs, website learning records, course scores, teachers’ reflective narratives, observation of synchronous learning, and student interviews. The findings unveil the effectiveness of synchronous delivery in promoting learning performances, evident in students’ proactive time management and interactive behaviors, as well as elevated learning outcomes. Three affordances – pedagogical, technological, and social – are offered by synchronous delivery for promoting learning performances. Particularly noteworthy are the social affordances, which significantly enhance learning behaviors and outcomes by fostering efficient interactions, cordial interpersonal relationships, and a learning community.

Exploring emotions in language learning: Learners’ self-awareness, personal growth, and transformation on a CLIL course

Emotions in language learning are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in learner motivation and flourishing in the learning process. In consequence, much of the research published to date has focused on what happens when different emotions are experienced and the various states that these may lead to. However, studies that consider how language learners understand the importance of emotions in the context of their learning efforts as well as examine ways this understanding is experienced from the perspective of a language learner are scarce in the literature. To address this gap, the present study investigates how Japanese university language learners experienced a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) course specially designed to explore emotions in language learning, including emotional literacy, motivation, character strengths, mindsets, integrated emotion regulation, empathy, and confidence-building connected to positive and negative affect. To interpret this experience, we take a qualitative exploratory approach to analyse the final diary entries of 24 course participants, using the lens of positive psychology applied to language learning. The coding of the diaries uncovered four areas key to understanding the students’ experience, which included social capital, self-awareness of emotions, personal growth, and transformation. The findings suggest that the students profited in diverse positive ways through active engagement and reflection on the rich tapestry of emotion-related constructs connected to language learning, leading to the emergence of new perspectives, growth and transformation related to an enhanced awareness of emotions in language learning.

Content and language integrated pedagogy and language learning motivation in a socioeconomically marginalized school context

AbstractWithin school contexts that are socioeconomically marginalized, complex factors often lead to languages learning being devalued in ways which adversely impact students' potential, particularly their motivation to learn an additional language (L2). This paper examines the role of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in shaping students' L2 learning motivation within a school setting that is socioeconomically marginalized, and how it may offer a solution to this challenge. Drawing on Dörnyei's (2005) theory of the L2 Motivational Self System, this study analyzes qualitative data from a Japanese/Science CLIL course taught in one such Australian secondary school setting. Although the findings confirm previous research on CLIL's generally positive influence on student motivation, it also identifies instances of a negative impact with a certain student group. The paper concludes with the implication of CLIL‐based approaches for languages provision in challenging school contexts.

The relationship between teachers’ pedagogical practices in CLIL and the development of students’ foreign language oral proficiency

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between foreign language (FL) oral proficiency development and teachers’ pedagogical practices in content and language integrated learning (CLIL). A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed to analyze changes in Japanese university students’ FL proficiency over time, alongside classroom observations and interviews that captured their teachers’ classroom pedagogies in CLIL courses. The results generally indicated that students improved their capacity to achieve communicative goals but failed to exhibit progress in oral linguistic competence. The former outcome was attributed to predominantly meaning-focused instruction, the use of dialogic pedagogy, and ample opportunities to practice FL speaking. In contrast, the absence of explicit language instruction and limited practice of fluency development tasks was perceived to lead to the latter outcome. These findings not only contribute to understanding the effects of CLIL on FL learning, but also shed light on the specific pedagogy-related factors that contribute to FL proficiency development.

Promoting gender-inclusive leadership perceptions among Japanese university students: A nine-week critical inquiry-based action learning program

The present study investigates gender equality in Japanese university students’ leadership perception and examines the changes in their perspective through a nine-week action learning program at two private Japanese universities. A mixed-methods practical action research design was employed in four upper intermediate-level first-year Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classes (N = 107). First, quantitative content analysis was performed to determine how the students perceived the concepts of leadership and gender through the images and descriptions used in their PowerPoint presentation materials. Then, the study employed qualitative content analysis to determine the changes in the students’ perceptions of gender equality in leadership through the critical inquiry-based action learning experience. The results showed that integrating gender-inclusive leadership content into the CLIL courses was effective in helping the students develop an impartial and inclusive perspective of leadership and gender. Furthermore, the critical inquiry-based action learning experience enhanced the students’ motivation for language acquisition and engagement in the CLIL courses.

CLIL AS THE VEHICLE OF TRANSITION FROM MONO- TO BILINGUAL INSTRUCTION AT SLOVAK UNIVERSITIES

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has demonstrated notable success in lower secondary and secondary levels of education, thus warranting consideration for its potential effectiveness in higher education. This scholarly exposition endeavours to delineate CLIL as a viable conduit for the gradual and voluntary transition from delivering specialized courses in the native language to conducting them in a foreign language, thereby facilitating bilingual instruction. Supported by empirical findings derived from ongoing Erasmus +, Visegrad Fund Project, KEGA (Slovak Cultural and Educational Grant Agency) initiatives, as well as research outcomes, the authors proffer a compendium of strategic recommendations designed to augment or inaugurate CLIL endeavours at the university level, particularly within non-philological study programs. Notably, integrating CLIL courses into teacher training programs across four faculties in Slovakia, which are responsible for preparing future English educators, offers promise for the widespread cultivation of CLIL-trained instructors and, consequently, a broader implementation of CLIL in higher education.

Translanguaging in a French-medium CLIL course: An action research on a novice teacher’s course preparation

While translanguaging has been regarded as an appropriate approach to addressing the challenges that teachers and learners experience in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classrooms, few studies have discussed translanguaging practices in the preparation of content for third language integrated learning courses. This study aims to explore teachers’ translanguaging practices when preparing CLIL courses through the medium of languages other than English (LOTEs) in a Chinese tertiary education institution. To address the research objective, we collected data including one novice CLIL teacher’s course planning and design documents, teaching materials and other reference materials, along with reflective reports written by the teacher. Through a frequency analysis and a thematic analysis of the data, this research not only documented the dynamic flow of translanguaging practices during CLIL course preparation, but also identified multiple functions served by different languages in the CLIL context. These findings have the potential to inform LOTE teachers involved in CLIL classrooms about different translanguaging pedagogies, and enrich the theoretical framework of translanguaging. FUNDING INFORMATION. This paper was supported by Program for Innovative Research Team of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (IRTSHUFE) under Grant [2020110925] and by [the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, SUFE] under Grant [2020110892].

Revisiting language teacher education in an ELF aware perspective: responses to innovations

Abstract Teachers’ and teacher educators’ individual theories, attitudes and beliefs underlying their daily practice, are often challenged by sociolinguistic changes, curricular innovations, or new language policies that may often trigger teachers’ resistance to change, particularly when they are required to adapt and revisit their teaching practices. In many European countries recent migration flows have modified the countries language landscapes; their school population is now growingly plurilingual and with different learning and language needs. In their out-of-school experiences, learners are more and more exposed to English through social media and to non-native speakers’ English (ELF), aspects not integrated yet in local language policies, nor in teacher education programs. It is thus important to design pre- and in-service teacher education programs aimed at sensitizing language and subject teachers to these new scenarios, using reflective practice approaches in multilingual contexts. These contexts require English language teachers, and teachers who use English in different fields such as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) or English Medium of Instruction (EMI), to reconsider their personal assumptions and beliefs, and to develop new competences that would incorporate the powerful reflective framework provided by ELF-awareness. The ELF-aware perspective had been adopted in recent courses for English teachers carried out in Italy, as the ENRICH CPD course, and in the CLIL courses for content teachers. The aim of this contribution is to present and discuss findings of two research studies carried out within the above-mentioned courses that were meant to make teachers aware of new instantiations of English through a reflective practice approach such as the ELF-aware approach, and to sustain their professional development as well as their agency. This paper is mostly related to the lessons learnt from the findings from teachers’ responses to course innovations and their agency development during these courses.

CLIL teacher beliefs as they emerge working in tandem

Abstract The current article investigates the beliefs of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) subject and language teacher tandems in a situation where they worked in close contact to design and deliver a CLIL course. The aim was to discover their underlying beliefs concerning setting learning goals, developing academic language proficiency, using authentic materials and cooperative tasks, and managing assessment. The Interpretative Phenomenological Approach revealed both overlapping and idiosyncratic beliefs involving all of the focal aspects. Common beliefs included the dominance of subject learning goals over language goals, the need to develop academic language proficiency, the use of authentic materials and cooperative tasks as sources of subject knowledge and skills, as well as the need to involve appropriate assessment in the process. Differences included flexibility in the process of goal setting, the definition of academic language proficiency, the meaning of authentic learning materials and the repertoire of tools available for scaffolding learning and managing assessment.

Assessing the content quality of essays in content and language integrated learning: Exploring the construct from subject specialists’ perspectives

Assessing the content of learners’ compositions is a common practice in second language (L2) writing assessment. However, the construct definition of content in L2 writing assessment potentially underrepresents the target competence in content and language integrated learning (CLIL), which aims to foster not only L2 proficiency but also critical thinking skills and subject knowledge. This study aims to conceptualize the construct of content in CLIL by exploring subject specialists’ perspectives on essays’ content quality in a CLIL context. Eleven researchers of English as a lingua franca (ELF) rated the content quality of research-based argumentative essays on ELF submitted in a CLIL course and produced think-aloud protocols. This study explored some essay features that have not been considered relevant in language assessment but are essential in the CLIL context, including the accuracy of the content, presence and quality of research, and presence of elements required in academic essays. Furthermore, the findings of this study confirmed that the components of content often addressed in language assessment (e.g., elaboration and logicality) are pertinent to writing assessment in CLIL. The manner in which subject specialists construe the content quality of essays on their specialized discipline can deepen the current understanding of content in CLIL.

Insights to Improve Online Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Sessions on Biorefineries: A Case Study for University Students in Spain

The implementation of educational programs that tackle specific contents and promote English skills is convenient, especially in areas where English skills are not properly developed at universities, such as Spain. Indeed, some subjects are currently presented in English for this purpose. CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), where students learn English as a part of specific subject goals of their degree, could be a suitable way to improve English skills while acquiring the corresponding competences. Moreover, online lessons are becoming important, especially during the COVID-19 outbreak, when it was an alternative for face-to-face teaching. The aim of this work was the implementation of an online CLIL course about biorefineries for chemistry, chemical engineering, and mechanical industrial engineering students. The course was a first approach presented as a specialization course that could be merged with related subjects in the future. The main objective of this session was the gradual introduction of English grammar and vocabulary (specific terms) and the promotion of students’ participation on oral discussions. The results were successful, showing that the students got motivated and obtained good grades. As possible improvements, the introduction of terms should be less continuous, otherwise the students could lose track of the lesson.

Online Learning during the Pandemic: A Qualitative Investigation of L2 CLIL Students Perceptions and Learning Challenges in China

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, online-based learning has become a prevailing trend for studying subject matters globally. Additionally, there is an increasing number of international schools teaching CLIL courses to domestic students and many of them are conducting classes online during the pandemic in China. Although the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach has been widely researched in European countries [1], there hardly exists investigations of distance learning within the CLIL context in Asia, especially in China. Therefore, to fill the gap, this qualitative study investigates Chinese EFL students' differential perceptions, learning process, and learning challenges towards offline and online CLIL classes. Six participants (four females and two males), who are L2 learners of English of similar ages (from 17 to 19) studying the same curriculum from one international high school in China, participated in semi-structured interviews (each lasting for an hour) to retrospectively reflect upon their learning experiences in online and offline classes. The current study used the thematic approach to perform content analysis on the interview data, in terms of class course delivery, interaction, workload, and flexibility. The findings indicated that the online learning environment adopted more flexible schedules, which gave students more opportunities to search questions online immediately in class and self-initiated review after class. Nevertheless, students were more motivated in offline classes as they had more interactions with teachers and classmates and did not experience distractive technical issues in class. In addition to the new language challenges in online classes, lack of oral practice was the primary obstacle for students to improve their English proficiency and understand the content knowledge. The findings could provide CLIL educators with a deeper understanding of students' online learning attitudes and experiences so that they can better plan classes and prepare students to conquer potential learning challenges.

Teaching CLIL Courses Entirely in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) has been found to be effective for increasing student motivation and engagement (Parong & Mayer, 2018), experiential learning (Hu-Au & Lee, 2018), and even improving spatial memory (Pollard et al., 2020). However, few studies have moved beyond the novelty of single-lesson VR experiences, nor have they used VR as the primary method of lesson delivery in language learning curricula (Kavanagh et al., 2017). Longitudinal data will help to elucidate a VR-specific pedagogy, providing evidence to support best practices, but they will not necessarily ensure that VR is actually adopted in classroom contexts. For that to take place, teacher buy-in is necessary, but there is also a lack of literature investigating the teacher side of planning and delivering VR lessons. The authors designed a longitudinal case study at a language focused university, in order to investigate the experiences of university lecturers who conducted eight-week Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses in VR using Immerse (www.immerse.online), a multi-user VR language learning platform. The study analyzes teachers’ perspectives on planning and implementing a VR curriculum. Post-lesson surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the instructors. The analysis findings for both the instructors’ experiences will be discussed, along with their implications for integrating VR into extended course curricula.

Effects of using the first principles of instruction in a content and language integrated learning class

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) designed according to the First Principles of Instruction (FPI). A 15-h Japanese CLIL course was implemented. A total of 16 university students attended the course and data were collected from multiple sources, including learning tests, questionnaire feedback, and dialogues in group discussions, were collected and examined. Analysis showed that students’ learning outcomes, including basic Japanese proficiency, intercultural communication content, and writing skills, were statistically significantly improved. Students had a high level of awareness of the elements of FPI designed in the course. In addition, all the FPI elements had a positive impact on basic Japanese proficiency except for the application element: the problem-centered, application, and integration elements positively impacted intercultural communication content and writing skills. The results show that students displayed individual differences in using the worksheet to summarize their writing ideas. Students spent most of the time in the group discussions in their native language. Even when Japanese was used, individual Japanese words were used rather than whole sentences in most cases. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses showed that the use of problem-centered theory FPI had a positive impact on the design of the CLIL. However, attention is needed to students’ individual differences and the guidance of students in applying basic language knowledge in problem-centered learning activities. Finally, it notes points that should be considered when designing CLIL in the future.

Development of second language productive skills through CLIL in a Japanese university: a pre-experimental longitudinal study

Abstract The benefit of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for second language (L2) development has been addressed by second language acquisition theory and investigated by empirical studies. However, previous studies have not demonstrated the effectiveness of CLIL precisely as most of their study participants took CLIL and non-CLIL courses concurrently. Additionally, existing studies have focused on the effectiveness of CLIL in primary and secondary education and rarely addressed it in higher education. The present study considered the limitations of the previous studies and investigated the development of L2 English productive skills (i.e., speaking and writing) through CLIL conducted in a university in Japan. This study employed a pre-experimental pretest-posttest design, in which all participants received CLIL instruction for four months undertaking the pretest and posttest. The results showed that their productive skills improved significantly. The analysis of pretest and posttest scores also revealed the specific areas of productive skills that benefitted from CLIL, such as Task Achievement (speaking and writing), Coherence and Cohesion (writing), and Grammatical Range and Accuracy (writing). However, this study revealed that the degree of improvement was small, and that vocabulary and critical thinking skills did not improve significantly. This study’s findings provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of CLIL itself on L2 development in higher education.

Enhancing industry-ready competence and skills through design thinking integration: evidence from a CLIL-based hospitality course

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue for the merits of design thinking as an approach to develop a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) course in hospitality education. This argument is primed to address the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of the tourism and hospitality industry prompts educators to emphasize on learners developing industry-readiness outcomes through integrating innovative methods.Design/methodology/approachA quasi-experimental approach was used to examine how design thinking enhances industry-ready competencies. A two-phase self-administered survey on design thinking and added instructional design were facilitated at the beginning of the semester and subsequently close to the end of the semester. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to give more meaning on the matter.FindingsFindings of this study reveal that problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills were enhanced as a result of integrating two teaching components related to design thinking.Originality/valueThis paper articulates the important and valuable role of design thinking to hospitality curriculum and provides tangible outcomes to explain how such a technique may be mapped onto a CLIL course.

Effects of co-teaching on clil teacher trainees’ collaborative competence

The effective implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) requires teamwork among teachers in order to coordinate teaching. This study aims to determine whether learning through co-teaching significantly affects teacher trainees’ collaborative competence in three dimensions: knowledge about the foundations of co-teaching, the quality of their learning experience, and the transferability of this teaching strategy in their academic performance and future teaching practice. An ad hoc questionnaire was created and administered to 50 Education degree students before and after taking a co-taught CLIL course. Results show that learning through co-teaching did not have an effect on students’ general collaborative competence (paired samples). However, statistically significant differences were found in their learning experience. Similar results were found when comparing the sample with a control group (N=35) (independent samples), resulting in statistically significant differences in favour of the experimental group. Finally, differences in all the three dimensions studied were found in favour of those participants who perceive a greater need for training in collaborative competence. In conclusion, taking the co-taught CLIL course has not influenced on dimensions one and three, but it has led to a more effective learning experience perceived by students. The authors suggest that modelling a collaborative teaching relationship should be accompanied by explicit analysis of the theoretical foundations of co-teaching and the analysis of the influence of variables such as academic ability or language proficiency in order to ensure that the benefits reach all students in the classroom.

Teaching the CLIL technology to rising IT teachers

ABSTRACT The study is devoted to the definition of educational effects of introducing the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) technology in master's programs. A pedagogical model of teaching the CLIL methodology is described; the development of the “CLIL for IT teachers” course is based on it. An experiment that involved 62 graduate students was carried out. The following mobile applications were used in the development of the CLIL course for IT Teachers: FluentU: Language Learning App, Basic Computer Fundamental, Learn computer in 30 days, Computer Basic Course, Online courses from HowTech, Computer Dictionary English, Learn Word, Excel & PowerPoint. The effective synergy of the model's elements made it possible to simulate a high-quality learning environment that promoted targeted learning, social educational cooperation, and creative expression of students, while spontaneously forming an English-speaking communication competence adaptive to different business scenarios. During the participation in the educational experiment, students not only developed a personal educational product – Fundamentals of Informatics – but also significantly improved their English professional communication competence. The described experience can be of interest to educators who are in search of effective pedagogical technologies and digital tools that improve the quality of their professional activities.

Use of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for Teaching Reading Skills in Saudi Universities

This research paper endeavors to evaluate, assess and assert the expediency and efficacy of employing content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in teaching Reading skills to EFL students. It is a qualitative paper which examines and underscores the usefulness of developing EFL reading comprehension skills by using the CLIL teaching. The outcome of this teaching and learning methodology is predicted and determined by presenting and evaluating considerable researches carried out in this field by eminent language researchers. These studies unequivocally demonstrate that the application of CLIL in classrooms with regard to the acquisition and retention of EFL reading and vocabulary skills among college students has proved to be very helpful and palpable. It must be understood that CLIL does not help in making the teaching content simple or revising what learners already know. CLIL courses actually blend language and content together so as to enhance the language as well as the thinking abilities of the learners. The significant amount of research interest in this subject and its growing demand as a foreign language teaching approach necessitate intensive research and analysis as to its efficacy in other parts of the world. In this context, this paper examines and validates its efficacy for the Saudi EFL learners, in view of its ostensible advantages related to language awareness and content knowledge. This paper aims to address the problems and concerns of Saudi learners and teachers of EFL, and lays down the plans to implement CLIL courses in Saudi universities for the benefit of the students in this part of the world. The research concludes by encapsulating and analyzing the researches undertaken in this field and explaining the lessons learnt by employing CLIL courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels in Saudi universities.

CLIL TEACHER’S INITIAL EDUCATION: A STUDY OF UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE STUDENT TEACHERS

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been implemented in Spain for almost two decades. Most studies in this area have shown that this approach provides students with plenty of benefits. However, current studies have also shown that more than half of in-service CLIL teachers are methodologically untrained to provide this kind of education since the only requirement to do it is teachers’ proficiency in the foreign language. This paper is aimed at analyzing the level of acquisition of CLIL principles by student teachers according to the academic program studied, their interest in teaching CLIL, their perceived level of training in CLIL, and their English level in a sample of 56 potential CLIL teachers from different Spanish universities. To measure the degree of integration of CLIL principles, the Cuestionario de integración de los principios metodológicos AICLE (CIPMA) was used (Custodio Espinar & García Ramos, 2019). Results show that there are differences between the groups who have studied a Master's Degree in Bilingual Education, and those who have studied a Degree in Infant or in Primary Education without specific training in CLIL in two of the four dimensions of the questionnaire, the foundations of CLIL (D1), and the specific resources and activities that this approach requires (D3), in favor of postgraduate students. Besides, significant differences were found between participants who are hesitant and those who are convinced of offering bilingual education and between students who think that they have been poorly trained and those who perceive themselves to be fairly trained, in favor of the latter in both cases. Finally, students with higher linguistic competence show a better integration of the CLIL principles. It is concluded that important challenges are to be faced by universities regarding the education of the future CLIL teacher such as providing CLIL courses in all the academic programs of the education degrees.