Content And Language Integrated Learning Teachers Research Articles

Building in language support in a Hong Kong CLIL chemistry classroom

AbstractScience writing has played a crucial part in science assessments. This paper reports a study in an area that has received little research attention – how science lessons in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) can increase the science knowledge development of English as a foreign language (EFL) students in Hong Kong. The data come from a school-based interventional study in chemistry classrooms, with written data from questionnaires, assessments and teachers’ logs and verbal data from interviews and classroom observations. The effectiveness of the CLIL teaching and learning activities in various chemistry classrooms were compared and evaluated, with a discussion of some implications. The paper concludes that CLIL teaching and learning activities yielded positive learning outcomes among chemistry learners with low English ability.

Equity in Bilingual Education: Socioeconomic Status and Content and Language Integrated Learning in Monolingual Southern Europe

Abstract Previous research has raised concerns that equity may be compromised in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) education, creating schisms in otherwise fairly egalitarian education systems. In Andalusia (southern Spain), where bilingual education has expanded, this article aims to analyze the difference between CLIL bilingual education and traditional monolingual education in terms of student equity indicators. A sample of over 3,800 students representing the four socioeconomic status (SES) levels (SES 1–4), selected by stratified random sampling, was analyzed with correlational statistics to determine their performance levels at CLIL and non-CLIL schools, according to their competence in Spanish L1, English L2, and history. Results point to certain egalitarian effects of CLIL education: while a staircase pattern is constantly present in the performance of non-CLIL students (with those from higher social classes obtaining better results), all CLIL students seem to obtain equally high results regardless of their SES.

Content and Language Integrated Learning: A Duoethnographic Study about CLIL Pre-Service Teacher Education in Argentina and Spain

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is a dual-focussed approach that promotes the learning of curricular content in tandem with an additional language, usually English. Since its inception in the 1990s in Europe, CLIL provision has increased considerably not only in Europe but also in other contexts, such as Latin America, given its purported benefits in terms of motivation, cognitive skills development, and language awareness. However, little is known about how future teachers, i.e. pre-service teachers, are trained to teach through CLIL. This article aims to address this gap by describing how we – two CLIL teacher educators based in Argentina and Spain – offer CLIL courses. Through duoethnography, we show how we plan and implement CLIL input and what lessons we have learnt drawing on reflective practice in interaction. Analysis of our interaction illustrates how CLIL is conceived and operationalized and what CLIL competences are prioritized in our practices. Pedagogical implications are included.

Understanding subject teachers’ language-related pedagogical practices in content and language integrated learning classrooms

Research on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programmes has yielded mixed results regarding their impact on students’ language learning, drawing attention to the role of CLIL teachers. This study draws on teacher language awareness research to explore secondary subject content teachers’ language-related pedagogical practices when teaching subject content in the medium of English in Hong Kong, with a focus on their form-focussed processing and facilitation of language learning strategies. In the study, data collected through classroom observation and interviews were analysed. The analysis revealed that the participants covered limited language forms and language learning strategies in teaching. Their (lack of) language-related pedagogical practices were further interpreted with reference to their awareness of the roles of language in teaching, their understanding of the demands of the language used for learning, and their knowledge of EFL/ESL pedagogy. These findings confirm the significance of developing subject teachers’ language awareness through CLIL teacher education programmes in successfully implementing CLIL programmes.

ON DEVELOPING MATERIALS FOR CLIL

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is not an unknown term. In Slovakia, many schools communicate they apply CLIL methodology; however, there are numerous studies that are sceptical about CLIL application. The most significant problem defined by CLIL teachers is the lack of appropriate materials that follow dual aims. Based on this feedback the development of CLIL materials became a part of pre-service teachers’ methodology courses. The present study aimed to explore the attitudes of the pre-service teachers towards the possible application of the content and language integrated learning in their teaching. Questionnaires and pre-service teachers’ portfolios provided data from 63 participants. The study also presents the results of discussions on the problems faced by students, the attitudes of student teachers towards material evaluation and development, planning CLIL lessons and the analysis of the questionnaire focussing on students’ attitudes towards CLIL application. Data suggest that even though pre-service teachers are positive about CLIL application and are interested in doing CLIL lessons they do not feel confident especially in evaluating the outcomes of CLIL lessons and creating materials for CLIL lessons. Finally, the author summarises the pedagogical implications to pre-service teachers study programmes as well as recommendations for teaching practice.

CLIL teachers\u2019 views on cognitive development in primary education

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has been implemented in Spain for more than two decades, and the number of schools that have joined CLIL initiatives has progressively grown in an attempt to increase students’ proficiency in English; all of these developments are indicative of the importance of foreign language learning (FLL) in this country. The aim of this paper is to analyse the promotion of cognitive skills by teachers in the subjects of science and social science in primary education in the Spanish Region of Murcia. A mixed methodology combining techniques for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data was implemented. The results show a tendency to lapse into low-order thinking skills, which can hinder the development of demanding cognitive skills and creative learning processes in CLIL lessons. Some factors might affect these teaching practices, such as the type of teaching staff position or the experience that teachers have gained over time. The article concludes with some suggestions for further research.

Influencing Factors on In-Service Teachers’ Competence in Planning CLIL

In spite of the multiple competencies necessary to design and deliver proper Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) lessons, the teachers’ linguistic proficiency is the primary competence considered in the accreditation of CLIL teachers in Spain. However, teachers’ competence in planning CLIL lessons is key to bilingual education. This article explores this competence and reports on the several factors that influence the level of integration of CLIL methodological principles in the lesson planning style of in-service teachers at primary and secondary education. The factors studied are the stage of education, curricular subjects, teacher education, status at school, years teaching CLIL and type of school in a sample of 383 in-service CLIL teachers. Results show statistically significant differences in all the factors studied except in the stage of education (primary-secondary) and the type of school (state-semiprivate). These results reveal a high heterogeneity in the sample, which allows the description of the CLIL teacher profiles according to the factors that influence their competence in planning and delivering CLIL lessons. It is concluded that education and training in CLIL competencies, such as planning CLIL lessons, is also necessary in order to achieve a more homogeneous competence profile of the teachers. Therefore, a review of the academic programs and of the accreditation model so as to guarantee that they include prescriptive education and training in CLIL is recommended, since the quality and sustainability of bilingual programs also depends on teachers’ competence in CLIL and not only on the students’ academic results.

Enhancing the implementation of bilingual education at university through practice: Analysis of CLIL trial lessons by an ESP teacher

University teacher training specialised in bilingual education is spreading around Spanish universities. Particularly in Andalusia, where our research originates, universities are searching for systematised methods to train their future bilingual teachers in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). This paper presents the case of the University of Cadiz, where this study was carried out. This university followed a new training formula led by an ESP (English for Specific Purposes) teacher who performed the role of CLIL teacher trainer. Based on AUTHOR’s (2017) description of the aforesaid CLIL teacher training scheme known as “CLILUT courses” (that is to say, CLIL Training or University Teachers), this study focuses on an in-depth analysis of CLIL trial lesson plans elaborated within such a peer-teacher environment. The present study is then aimed at examining the data obtained through in-class direct observation of 68 CLIL trial lessons which were created from 2010 to 2014 at the University of Cádiz and analysed with the help of rubrics created upon Nunan’s theory (1989). Results show that ESP teachers can offer substantial help for new CLIL university teachers who might face specific foreign language-related problems when starting to take part in bilingual programmes.

Can engaging L2 teachers as material designers contribute to their professional development? findings from Colombia

There is a lack of research around the professional development of English (L2) teachers in Colombia. As in other Latin American countries, higher education institutions have started offering general English as a foreign language (EFL) courses as well as content courses taught in English. In both types of course, EFL teachers are expected to integrate content and English language learning with the aim of providing learners with meaningful and authentic learning opportunities. However, such teachers often face the challenge of not having appropriate materials to deliver such courses. The aim of this case study, which employed mixed methods, is to describe the extent to which university EFL teachers from a Colombian university developed professionally as they engaged in developing materials for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) courses. The study consisted of two parts: (1) a CLIL workshop attended by 16 participants, followed by (2) interviews with four of those participants. Drawing on data from a survey, group discussions, and individual interviews, the findings show that engaging the university EFL teachers as materials developers boosted their professional knowledge (linguistic, content, and pedagogical knowledge), motivation, identity, and agency as CLIL teachers and material designers.

The ecology of CLIL teachers in Austria – an ecological perspective on CLIL teachers’ wellbeing

ABSTRACT In this article, we will report on an exploratory, qualitative study investigating the professional subjective wellbeing (SWB) of secondary school Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teachers in Austria from an ecological perspective. The aim is to better understand how the SWB of these teachers is shaped by different levels of their ecology. The implementation and teaching of CLIL is a multifaceted, dynamic process that cannot be viewed in isolation from a multitude of interrelated factors which directly shape teacher SWB. For this reason, we analyze CLIL teachers’ wellbeing, based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory ([2009]. Ecology of Human Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.). The model was developed based on the analysis of data generated through a series of semi-structured interviews with 16 Austrian teachers, who report on their experiences and perspectives of teaching CLIL. The findings cast light on how CLIL teacher SWB is shaped by a variety of interlacing factors, such as national and institutional policy, societal feedback, student-teacher relationships, and personal conviction. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for CLIL teachers, both personally and professionally, as well as education policy-makers.

Content and Language Integrated Learning: In-Service Teachers’ Knowledge and Perceptions Before and After a Professional Development Program

This mixed-methods study investigated perceptions and knowledge about content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and bilingual education. Data were collected using surveys, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from 26 content-based teachers in Valledupar, Colombia, before and after their participation in an online training program. Findings revealed that teamwork and administrative support are crucial factors for a successful CLIL implementation. However, results also showed that teachers knew very little about the CLIL approach, although they claimed to have been using it at their schools for 3-4 years before the study, suggesting that any previous in-service teacher training had not resulted in an adequate understanding of CLIL or bilingual education for the context.The teachers’ perceptions of CLIL and bilingualism were more positive after the training, and they reported understanding similarities and differences between both concepts. Hence, there is a need for more specialized training (material design, planning, communication, and assessment) to better prepare in-service teachers for bi-/multilingual learning environments, which in turn would provide teachers with much-needed tools for more effective delivery of CLIL-oriented solutions.

Are Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers Ready for CLIL in Catalonia? A Needs Analysis from Stakeholders’ Perspective

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an educational approach that has been fostered as a way to increase students’ foreign language competence. However, its implementation has not always come along with the sufficient teacher training. This study aims to examine CLIL teachers’ competences and identify what training needs preservice language teachers have towards these competences. The participants of this study are pre-service primary and secondary foreign language teachers (n=44), CLIL teacher trainers, inspectors and CLIL coordinators (n=18). Peacock’s (2009) questionnaire is used to analyse pre-service teachers’ training needs towards language, self-reflection, methodological and classroom management competences. A semi-structured interview is used to elicit stake-holders’ perceptions towards CLIL teachers’ competences and training needs. The quantitative data shows that stakeholders believe that language, methodological and classroom management competences are equally necessary for a CLIL teacher. Apart from the initial domains analysed, participants consider that content knowledge and teamwork, interschool collaboration and material development competences are also relevant. In addition, training needs relative to these competences are found. However, considerable deep training needs for methodology and foreign language competence are identified. The findings have implications for CLIL teacher education.

¿Están los docentes habilitados/acreditados igualmente formados para enseñar AICLE? La paradoja del docente AICLE

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a challenging and demanding teaching approach; despite this, in Spain, linguistic competence is the only criterion considered by most bilingual programmes to enable teachers to teach CLIL. This article reports on a quantitative study into the impact that the different accreditation processes carried out by the administration, the inservice training received by CLIL teachers and their English proficiency, have on inservice CLIL teachers’ competences for CLIL. An ad hoc instrument was created to measure the level of integration of the CLIL methodological principles in the accredited teachers of 47 primary and secondary bilingual schools. Results show that 70% of a sample of 383 practising teachers accessed their bilingual programme without CLIL methodological training and 50% of them had not received any type of CLIL training after the accreditation. Furthermore, significant differences in the level of integration of the CLIL methodological principles have been found between the teachers accredited with methodological training and those without it, in favour of the former. It is concluded that the accreditation process should include a combined linguistic and methodological rating likely to solve this CLIL teacher paradox.

The comprehending teacher: scaffolding in content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

ABSTRACT Teaching through a second language (L2) poses many challenges, as second language learners (SLLs) have fewer linguistic resources in the language of instruction. Scaffolding students’ learning is a possible way of overcoming these challenges, but there are few studies on this in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) contexts. The present study suggests a framework for how to empirically identify and classify scaffolding. Using the framework, the study investigates how three Norwegian CLIL teachers support learning for second language learners (SLL) through scaffolding. Twelve lessons (science, geography and social science) were filmed in one 11th-grade CLIL class. A coding manual (PLATO) was used to identify the scaffolding strategies the teachers used. The findings indicate that CLIL teachers scaffold their students to comprehend material. However, they provide few strategies to help students solve tasks, such as modelling and strategy use. CLIL teachers scaffold differently in the natural and social sciences; the natural science teaching has more visual aids, whereas the social science teachers allows for more student talk. The results imply that natural and social science teacher complement each other. However, CLIL teachers need to create more specific learning activities to provide their students with more support.

Understanding and addressing the challenges of teaching an online CLIL course: a teacher education study

ABSTRACT This exploratory action research study aims to understand the challenges that a group of pre-service teachers faced while participating in an undergraduate course unit introducing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teaching in an online context (Cycle 1), and the way in which they implemented plans of action (Cycle 2) to address issues uncovered in Cycle 1. The study found that the pre-service teachers experienced problems applying appropriate English teaching approaches to promote their pupils’ communicative competence. Four measures were applied in Cycle 2, such as restructuring the training-teaching module, reinforcing the concept of English as a lingua franca to promote students’ communicative skills, selecting authentic materials to enhance students’ motivation, and obtaining administrative support to resolve technological problems. The results from English proficiency tests showed that the pupils improved their reading and listening skills in Cycle 2. Although the actions taken in Cycle 2 were focused on improving pupils’ English abilities, these actions also had the effect of enhancing the pre-service teachers’ CLIL pedagogical concepts, such as the translanguaging approach. The study provides a detailed description of CLIL teaching with online storybooks and adds to the body of much-needed studies of CLIL in practice, especially in the Asian context.

Students, Teachers and Management Teams in Bilingual Programmes: Shared Perceptions and Areas for Improvement

This paper explores the shared beliefs and perceptions of students and teachers in CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) programmes. Unlike in most studies, this research considers the perspectives of all categories of teachers involved when implementing CLIL, including the members of the management teams, along with CLIL programme coordinators, CLIL teachers and English teachers. A total of 114 participants from two state secondary schools located in two provinces of Castilla-La Mancha took part in the study. The instruments used for data collection were Likert type questionnaires containing between 21 and 59 questions that were supplemented with open-ended questions and interviews. Results showed various sources of tension among stakeholders, shared lay theories about bilingualism such as idealization of the native language assistant, and revealed some shortcomings in the implementation of the bilingual programmes for issues such as coordination and shortage of resources.

Preparing for the Challenges of a Bilingual Teacher in Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language

Taiwan's bilingual education policy started in 2018, and its implementation is expected to commence in 2022. This paper reviews Taiwan's bilingual policy and some measures to address the need for such reform. Discussions on the Ministry of Education's plans in using the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach, the Teach English in English (TEIE), and the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) are tackled in the presentation. Recommendations on how to narrow gaps, provide support teachers, and improve the implementation of the bilingual policy are covered in this paper. Moreover, a model called, Bilingual and CLIL teacher created by the author explains the challenges and preparations of a non-native English speaker who teaches English as a foreign language or as a second language. It is a comprehensive model that can be used by other researchers in addressing the challenges and preparations needed before the implementation of any educational reforms.

DEVELOPING TERTIARY LEVEL CLIL LEARNERS’ INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS WITH A SELF-PRODUCED COURSEBOOK INTEGRATING CONTENT AND LANGUAGE

Integrating content and language at tertiary level has recently become very popular in Asian contexts. Extensive studies have also been done, evidencing that CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) can be beneficial for improving learners’ linguistic outcomes and content achievements. However, cultural awareness, as one core dimension of the 4Cs (communication, content, cognition, and culture) conceptual framework is less addressed in the literature. Often it is assumed that CLIL education can also naturally increase learners’ cross-cultural competence, but hard evidence on the increment of this competence is still lacking in the CLIL literature. Thus, to bridge this gap, the present study used a mixed research method to investigate to what extent a self-produced CLIL culture coursebook can help university students enhance their inter-cultural knowledge in a national Taiwan polytechnic university. One survey was conducted to evaluate the tailor-made CLIL materials and another was administered to measure the cultural competence after the CLIL intervention. The coursebook writers as well as the CLIL learners were also interviewed in the study. The findings showed that the contextualised design met its set educational aims and targets, and the users made significant improvement in their cultural competence. Also, the interviewees showed a high degree of satisfaction with the coursebook and the approach, although the book authors held divided opinions on some issues. Implications and suggestions are provided.

Students’ Beliefs on Classroom Didactics of Second Language Teaching in the 21st Century

Abstract This paper is about the views and beliefs of students, participating in technology-enhanced CLIL (content and language integrated learning) teaching in the senior section of a Hungarian primary school, about the English language, language learning, English classes, and the activities of their teachers. The study is based on mixed methods and a verbal fluency test as well as structured interviews. This paper presents the findings of the structured interview in the case of N = 7 students. The processing of the structured interviews was done using qualitative content analysis, combining deductive and inductive logic. During deductive content analysis, a code list was set up, followed by an inductive exploration of text segments. The reliability of coding was ensured by intercoding. According to the results, students taking part in technology-enhanced CLIL teaching saw language learning as a speech-based process. As for teaching activities, it was found that there were differences between problem-centred and activity-based technology-enhanced teaching and traditional methods based on a classical methodology. 1

Beginning L2 complexity development in CLIL and non-CLIL secondary education

The present study analyses the impact of a bilingual Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programme vis-à-vis a regular monolingual programme on the development of different aspects of L2 learners’ linguistic (syntactic, morphological and lexical) complexity. Five pupils enrolled in a Dutch–English CLIL programme in a secondary school in the Netherlands are compared with five peers following the mainstream programme with English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching. The longitudinal development of these ten pupils’ linguistic complexity in L2-English is investigated by means of six complexity measures calculated for each of eleven writing tasks collected over a period spanning their first nineteen months of secondary education. Linear mixed models are used to estimate the effects of time and programme type on the pupils’ L2 complexity. The results indicate that both groups of learners significantly increase the complexity of their L2 writing over the course of the study. Surprisingly, only limited effects of programme type (CLIL vs non-CLIL) are found, despite considerable differences in the quantity and quality of instructional exposure to the target language, suggesting that for these pupils increased and more varied instructional exposure to the L2 in the CLIL programme did not lead to significantly different L2 productions in terms of linguistic complexity. Several possible explanations for these findings are considered and the implications for CLIL research are discussed.