Content And Language Integrated Learning Learners Research Articles

Evaluating Contextualized Content and Language Integrated Learning Materials at Tertiary Level

Evaluacion de materiales de aprendizaje integrado de contenidos y lenguas extranjeras contextualizados a nivel de educacion superiorAvaliacao de materiais de aprendizagem integrada de conteudos e linguas estrangeiras contextualizados a nivel de ensino superiorThe Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach has been broadly adopted and extensively researched at different educational levels across European contexts. It is also becoming popular in Asian settings due to its dual focus on developing both language skills and content knowledge. It aims to empower learners with high mobility and employability in the globalized job market. However, successful implementation of CLIL in these countries has been difficult for various reasons, including lack of suitable CLIL-based curricular materials. This study reports how an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teacher, who is also a CLIL practitioner, worked collaboratively with an English learner who has professional, industrial internship experience, to produce contextualized CLIL learning materials for tertiary education. It also examines to what extent the self-designed CLIL materials satisfy standards of good quality. In total, 47 English-major first-year students joined the study in a national polytechnic university in Taiwan. The results reveal that CLIL learners have a fairly high expectation of quality materials, and our design received 5%–25% lower agreement than the criteria. Moreover, learners’ gender, language proficiency and previous secondary school major were factors that affected how they perceive the criteria of quality and our own CLIL materials. This demonstrates complexities of designing CLIL-based curricular materials addressing learners’ individual differences (especially in terms of needs and expectations) in a polytechnic university with pedagogic implications.To reference this article (APA) / Para citar este articulo (APA) / Para citar este artigo (APA)Yang, W. (2018). Evaluating Contextualized Content and Language Integrated Learning Materials at Tertiary Level. LACLIL, 11(2), 236-274. DOI: 10.5294/laclil.2018.11.2.4Received: 11/09/2018Apporved: 30/11/2018

Target language proficiency and reported use of compensatory strategies by young CLIL learners

Studies investigating compensatory strategies (CSs) by means of questionnaires in English‐as‐a‐Foreign‐Language (EFL) contexts with young learners are lacking, particularly in Content‐and‐Language‐Integrated‐Learning (CLIL) environments. Three different proficiency groups of young English learners in a CLIL programme were administered a survey to explore the existence of intergroup differences regarding the amount and types of CSs used. Learners exhibited a moderately high use of CSs overall, and no differences emerged regarding the total number of CSs as a function of target language (TL) proficiency. In terms of types of CSs used, they reported using some CSs (paraphrasing) which are typical of more advanced learners. However, more proficient learners were found to draw on some non L2‐based strategies (avoidance, foreignising, miming) to a lesser extent than less proficient learners.

“On thin ice” <br> – Discomfort using Sie among Danish students and teachers of German, and implications for Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

The article discusses discomfort with using the polite/formal form of address Sie among students and teachers in German CLIL courses at university level in Denmark. Based on focus group interviews with students and teachers, we show that Danish students and teachers find it awkward to adopt the German Sie when German is the language of instruction in Denmark, typically resulting in pragmatic transfer of the Danish informal norm instead. Adopting a critical pedagogy perspective, we discuss how Sie seems to violate Danish cultural values of egalitarianism, causing cultural cognitive dissonance (CCD) in CLIL learning environments. We show that Danes cope with CCD by rejecting Sie or employing (sometimes quite complex) strategies to avoid direct address altogether. However, our investigation also reveals that CCD is partly locational/situational, and that Danes are less reluctant to use Sie in Germany or towards a native German teacher, suggesting a need to raise awareness about this issue in CLIL-courses and foreign language courses where language and intercultural training is taking place ‘at home’ and possibly with a teacher who is not a native speaker of the language. Finally, we offer some suggestions for attenuating this discomfort by rethinking the way that German polite forms of address are taught, and we make the critical point that a major premise of CLIL teaching - the idea of learning a foreign language ‘on one’s own territory – may give rise to cultural resistance, to which teachers should be alert.

Promoting bilingualism at the primary and secondary level: the role of intelligence, motivation and anxiety

ABSTRACT Following recommendations by the European Commission, bilingualism has been promoted in various ways in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Language classes and the concept of immersion were gradually introduced in primary schools, while, at the secondary level, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programmes were established. The present study analyses how these programmes interact with intelligence, motivation and anxiety. Data were collected from 419 learners in Grade 11 by means of two psychometric tests. Interaction between primary-level language lessons and intelligence proved to be minor, while motivation was found to be higher and inhibiting exam anxiety lower the earlier pupils had started learning English. Regarding programmes at the secondary level, highly significant differences were observed with respect to, in particular, verbal aspects of intelligence, with CLIL participants outperforming their non-CLIL peers. Likewise, motivation proved to be greater among CLIL learners, who were also found to suffer from a higher level of fear of success. Our results show that programmes promoting bilingualism not only influence L2 proficiency, but are related to cognitive and affective variables in ways that should be made explicit by curricula and taken into account by research on the linguistic outcomes of selective programmes such as CLIL.

Students’ motivation for content and language integrated learning and the role of programme intensity

ABSTRACT The study of motivation in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) contexts has hitherto one-sidedly been concerned with motivation to learn the foreign language, without regard for CLIL’s eponymous focus on the inextricable connection between language and content. To fill this gap, this article focusses on CLIL learners’ motivation not only towards the foreign language, but towards both content and language learning as an integrated construct, termed ‘CLIL motivation’. To this end, 157 secondary education students enrolled in two bilingual tracks of differing intensity (High- versus Low-intensity) were compared in terms of their CLIL motivation. The results show that participation in either the High- or Low-intensity track has a significant effect on both enjoyment of CLIL and the perception of its usefulness for future purposes. These differences are further discussed in terms of students’ foreign language proficiency and academic achievement.

The impact of a short-term CLIL intervention project on Norwegian different ability ninth graders’ oral development

ABSTRACT Widely implemented in Europe over the last three decades, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been researched in some European contexts more extensively than in others, with the Norwegian context being among the least represented. This paper attempts to contribute to filling in the gap by examining the impact of a short-term CLIL intervention on Norwegian ninth graders’ oral skills, namely listening comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar, as well as to contribute to the debates on the selectivity of European CLIL programmes and thus the effect of the latter on generally high European CLIL learners’ linguistic achievements. The study investigated the oral development of three groups of five students (high-achievers, mid-achievers, and low-achievers) during the first to the fifth week of the intervention. The main findings revealed that the intervention had exerted (1) a significant impact on the high-achievers’ overall oral development and, specifically, fluency, vocabulary, and pronunciation, (2) a marginally significant impact on the mid-achievers’ overall oral development and, particularly, fluency and vocabulary, and (3) no significant impact on the low-achievers’ oral skills. The least developed oral skill was grammar. The results hence suggested that, in the given short-term perspective of the intervention, CLIL was mostly beneficial to the high- and mid-achievers.

A longitudinal study of primary school EFL learning motivation in CLIL and non-CLIL settings

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is often introduced in school settings in an attempt to increase exposure to the foreign language (FL) and promote motivation and positive language attitudes. The present study examines how language learning motivation develops over the course of two academic years in two types of instruction setting (CLIL and non-CLIL) with equal but low exposure to the FL and in two types of CLIL subject (science and arts and crafts). Data were collected from four primary schools in fifth and sixth grades by means of a motivation questionnaire. Differences between groups are observable in relation to the second language (L2) learning experience dimension of motivation in favour of the CLIL learners, who increased their motivation over time. Type of CLIL subject was found to be relevant also only in relation to the L2 learning experience dimension of motivation. Even in low exposure contexts, FL motivation is promoted and maintained over time by adding CLIL to the language experience of young learners.

Motivation for or from bilingual education? A comparative study of learner views in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been said to increase not only foreign language proficiency but also learner motivation (Coyle, D., P. Hood, and D. Marsh. 2010. CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). In contexts where CLIL is elective, however, the question can be raised as to whether its motivational effects can be distinguished from the pre-existing motivation that may have influenced the learner’s choice of educational route. The current study examined motivational differences between learners in Dutch-English bilingual and mainstream education. The aim was to establish whether the learner groups were differently motivated and whether their motivation appeared to be diachronically related to their chosen educational format. 581 learners in the first three years of general secondary education completed a questionnaire exploring their views on (language) learning. Results were analysed in terms of differences between bilingual and mainstream learners and across year-groups. Learners in bilingual education displayed more motivation in nearly all of the areas examined. There was little evidence, however, of this being a result of exposure to bilingual education, reinforcing the idea that motivation may be inherent to this group of CLIL learners.

The impact of age and exposure on EFL achievement in two learning contexts: formal instruction and formal instruction + content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the role of biological age and L2 exposure on the achievement of two groups of Catalan-Spanish intermediate learners of English in secondary school (Group A, Formal Instruction (FI), N = 50; Group B, FI + CLIL, N = 50) regarding receptive and productive L2 skills as well as grammatical knowledge. Learners were matched for hours of exposure (1.330–1.400) in a first comparison, and secondly, for age (13–14 years old). When matched for number of hours of exposure, results confirmed the older learners’ advantage in FL contexts, as non-CLIL students (2 years older) significantly outperformed CLIL learners in listening comprehension and in two measures of writing: accuracy and coordination index. When matched for age, the group with extra L2 exposure (FI + CLIL) was significantly better than the non-CLIL group in reading comprehension and in several dimensions of writing: lexical richness, linguistic and communicative competence. These findings illustrate the language learning potential of a partial CLIL programme in an EFL context. A threshold of 300 CLIL hours may need to be surpassed for CLIL learners to reap the benefits of additional exposure across L2 skills.

On self-reported use of communication strategies by CLIL learners in primary education

The use of communication strategies (CSs) in oral and written second language (L2) production has been widely investigated (e.g. Muñoz, 2007). As for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) settings, learners seem to resort to the first language (L1) less often than in traditional foreign language instruction (e.g. Celaya & Ruiz de Zarobe, 2010). However, few studies have examined what L2 learners say about their use of CSs by means of questionnaires – e.g. Ehrman & Oxford (1990), with adult English as a foreign language (EFL) learners – and little is known about the reported use of CSs by young learners (Purdie & Oliver, 1999), and much less by young CLIL learners. This study examines learners’ self-reported opinions about the use of CSs (guessing, miming, morphological creativity, dictionary, predicting, paraphrasing, borrowing, calque, foreignizing, avoidance and appeal for assistance). An adapted survey (Kellerman, Bongaerts, & Poulisse, 1987; Oxford, 1989; O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Yule & Tarone, 1990) was administered to CLIL learners of English in grades 5 and 6 of primary education. Quantitative differences in terms of the type of strategies used were explored. Analyses showed striking similarities between grades 5 and 6 as well as significant differences in the use of the different CSs, paraphrasing and appeal for assistance being the most frequent strategies, whereas morphological creativity and miming obtained the lowest frequency. Findings are discussed in the light of learners’ age and the nature of CLIL instruction.

L1 use among young EFL mainstream and CLIL learners in task-supported interaction

A growing body of research suggests that a balanced use of the first language (L1) in the foreign language classroom yields beneficial effects for second language (L2) learning. Still, the extent to which young learners in foreign language contexts actually make use of their L1 while completing tasks is in need of further research, especially in an approach that has become prevalent in Europe: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The current longitudinal study analyzes the oral interactions of 32 young Spanish learners (ages 8–10) when performing a communicative task twice in two consecutive academic years. We have analyzed the learners’ L1 use and the functions it serves, the differences between two foreign language instructional settings (mainstream foreign language lessons and CLIL) and the changes over a year. Our findings confirmed the facilitative role of the L1 which mainly served to assist learners as they coped with unknown vocabulary. CLIL learners used their L1 significantly less than mainstream learners, and, interestingly, the L1 was more frequently used the second time the learners carried out the task. The findings shed light on the facilitative role of the L1 for task completion by young learners in foreign language settings.

Oral production outcomes in CLIL: an attempt to manage amount of exposure

AbstractThis study aims at testing the benefits of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) on oral skills in English by comparing a group of secondary school CLIL learners to two Non-CLIL groups matched for amount of instruction – a two-year-ahead group and a peer group. This sampling design is an attempt to tease the effects of exposure, age and CLIL variables apart, something which has not been addressed in most previous CLIL research. The analyses (holistic evaluation, amount and density of production, and use of compensatory strategies) of participants’ story tellings indicate that CLIL learners’ oral abilities are superior to those of Non-CLIL groups, especially to those of their exposure-matched peer counterparts. Overall, CLIL learners produce denser and richer oral narrations characterized by better content, vocabulary, grammar and fluency, and a marginal use of the first language. These results could be read as indicative of the beneficial effect of CLIL instruction itself on oral production when intervening variables such as amount of exposure and age are managed. In addition, particular attention is given to the lack of positive effect of CLIL on pronunciation.

The impact of CLIL on the acquisition of L2 competences and skills in primary education

<p>The aim of this paper is to provide new evidence on the effectiveness of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the acquisition of English language competences (reading, writing, listening and spoken production and interaction) compared to traditional learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) in primary school settings. To do so, results of CLIL and non-CLIL learners enrolled in the 4 th year of primary education (9-10-year-olds) were examined and contrasted. Findings showed that the only communicative competence in which differences in favour of CLIL students were significant was spoken production and interaction. However, significant differences have also been detected in the following indicators: “preparing an outline before writing” (writing), “understanding space-time relations” (reading), and “global comprehension” and “identification of details” (listening). The confined effectiveness of CLIL may be due to the limited time of extra exposure to English, the young age of participants and the absence of any selection process for CLIL learners.</p>

Urban vs. rural CLIL: an analysis of input-related variables, motivation and language attainment

ABSTRACTThe present article carries out an in-depth analysis of the differences in motivation, input-related variables and linguistic attainment of the students at two content and language integrated learning (CLIL) schools operating within the same institutional and educational context, the Spanish region of Extremadura, and differing only in terms of the social milieu: rural vs. urban. The results show that the CLIL learners in the urban school (n = 27) had started earlier, had had greater formal support outside school (i.e. private English lessons) and had attained a higher level of English (grammar, passive and active vocabulary) than their rural colleagues (n = 21), while their motivation and extramural exposure (i.e. informal contact with English) were not found to be dissimilar. Of the variables considered, social milieu (urban vs. rural), used here as a proxy of socio-economic status, explained most of the variance in language attainment results.

L1 Use, Lexical Richness, Accuracy and Syntactic Complexity in the Oral Production of CLIL and NON-CLIL Learners of English

As more focus on communication is promoted in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classrooms and general proficiency is usually enhanced in these settings, this study aims to explore (i) whether a lower rate of L1 use, as regards interactional strategies and transfer lapses, is found in CLIL learners when compared to NON-CLIL learners; (ii) whether differences exist between both groups in lexical richness (type/token ratio and D), accuracy (word order and correct production of the definite and indefinite article) and syntactic complexity (production of simple and complex sentences and variety of tenses used); and (iii) whether L1 use correlates with lexical richness, accuracy and syntactic complexity. The analysis of an oral production task of two groups of fourteen year-old Basque/Spanish bilingual students learning L3 English indicates that the CLIL group made lower use of L1. The CLIL group also obtained better scores in lexical richness and general proficiency as well as in the correct production of definite and indefinite articles and in the use of complex clauses. No correlation was observed between L1 use and accuracy or syntactic complexity, suggesting that a decrease in L1 use is not always related to better performance in specific aspects of language or the use of more complex language.

The effects of the CLIL approach in young foreign language learners’ lexical profiles

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.

Negotiation of Meaning Strategies in Child EFL Mainstream and CLIL Settings

Research on child English as a second language (ESL) learners has shown the benefits of task‐based interaction for the use of different negotiation of meaning (NoM) strategies, which have been claimed to lead to second language learning. However, research on child interaction in foreign language settings is scarce, specifically research on a new prevalent methodology in Europe, content and language integrated learning (CLIL). The present study focuses on mainstream and CLIL English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' oral interaction while they completed a guessing game and a picture placement task. The researchers analysed the oral production of seventy‐two 9‐ to 12‐year‐old children (in age‐ and proficiency‐matched dyads) to examine the conversational strategies that were employed in both tasks. Findings indicated that younger learners negotiated for meaning more, and mainstream learners resorted to more conversational strategies than CLIL learners. Furthermore, task‐based differences in the NoM strategies seemed to depend on age and instructional setting. The results seem to indicate that age, instructional setting, and the tasks in which these EFL learners were engaged had an impact on the NoM strategies they employed in task‐based interaction.

They learn the CLIL way, but do they like it? Affectivity and cognition in upper-primary CLIL classes

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is a teaching method in which learners develop linguistic competence and problem-solving abilities by learning content subjects in another language. However, learners’ cognitive gains may depend on their affectivity. Negative affect hampers complex cognitive processing essential for problem-solving, while experiences of failed intellectual effort may lead to impaired information processing called intellectual helplessness (IH) (Sędek and McIntosh 1998). Negative affectivity among children in CLIL programmes may be caused by ill-managed classes and linguistically inadequate materials (Otwinowska 2013). Here, we explore links between affectivity and cognition in upper-primary Polish children (N = 140) who learn mathematics and science in English. To that end, we use qualitative and quantitative measures to verify whether negative emotions inhibit cognitive processes. Children completed an anonymous attitude survey and the IH Scale (Sędek 1995) to investigate their affective state and symptoms of cognitive demobilization (inhibition in active problem-solving). We also obtained children's term grades in mathematics, science and English to investigate possible relationships between children's accomplishments in those subjects and their affective responses to the CLIL modules. The study reveals symptoms of IH and negative affectivity experienced by young CLIL learners. The significant predictors of IH in the CLIL classes are negative affectivity and grades in science and mathematics. Nonetheless, grades in English do not significantly predict IH in CLIL. We explain this paradox in terms of different types of language needed in general English and CLIL classes: basic interpersonal communication skills vs. cognitive academic language proficiency (Cummins 1979).

Development of EFL writing over three years in secondary education: CLIL and non-CLIL settings

Research on writing development in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) settings is still inconclusive. This study intends to make a contribution in this respect by presenting longitudinal findings on the development of written complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) in secondary education CLIL and non-CLIL learners. Participants in the study (N = 50) are a group of CLIL students (N = 30) learning science or social science through the medium of English and a group of comparable non-CLIL learners (N = 20) of English. Analytical CAF measures are used to investigate their performance in a written composition at four data collection times over three years. Within-group results show significant differences in the scores obtained in most of the CAF measures for CLIL learners at the different data collection times, compared to significant differences only in lexical complexity and accuracy for non-CLIL participants. Results of between-group comparisons controlling the hours of exposure are mixed: non-CLIL students progress significantly more in lexical complexity than their CLIL peers, although the latter tend to obtain higher scores overall. In sum, evidence suggesting the greater effectiveness of the CLIL approach is found.

Do children negotiate for meaning in task-based interaction? Evidence from CLIL and EFL settings

Abstract Interaction research has demonstrated the facilitative role of negotiation of meaning in the process of L2 learning. Pioneering work by Oliver (2002) considered child interaction in an English as a second language (ESL) setting. However, little is known about child interaction in foreign language classrooms and much less about a new learning context that is becoming prevalent in Europe: Content-and-language-integrated-learning (CLIL). Although general discourse features have been investigated in this setting, it is still necessary to examine whether its special characteristics (more exposure to the target language and interactive methodology) have an effect on learners' production. This paper focuses on English as a foreign language (EFL) and CLIL children's oral interaction while completing a picture-placement task. Eighty (80) 8–11 year old children were paired to form 40 age- and proficiency-matched dyads (20 EFL, 20 CLIL) and their oral production was analyzed to identify the different strategies they use to complete the task. Findings point to quantitative differences between the two contexts and age groups. CLIL learners negotiate more and resort to the L1 less frequently than EFL learners. On the other hand, older children in both contexts negotiate less and use the L1 more frequently than younger children.