Content And Language Integrated Learning Teachers Research Articles

Study of the Application of the CLIL Method in Bilingual Macroeconomics Teaching

This article discusses the methods and considerations of applying the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teaching method to bilingual teaching in macroeconomics. The paper begins by introducing the concept of the CLIL teaching method and its unique features in the context of economics courses in higher education. Subsequently, the article delves into the methods of applying CLIL in bilingual macroeconomics teaching, including bilingual classroom lectures, bilingual textbook design, bilingual group discussions, macroeconomics case studies, bilingual classroom interaction, and bilingual writing. Lastly, the paper highlights key issues in teaching.

The ups and downs of CLIL lessons: a qualitative study on 21st century skills promotion in physical education

The promotion of 21st century key skills is crucial to build 21st century citizenship. The purpose of this research was to examine teachers’ and students’ views on the use of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach in Physical Education regarding the development of 21st century skills and the syllabus covered in lessons. In-depth open-ended interviews were carried out with 25 participants, who shared their understandings based on their experiences when using CLIL. The findings give an in-depth insight into what 21st century skills are more used and the extent to which they are developed. While creativity and collaboration were promoted thanks to CLIL, interest and engagement depended on each student, and self-reflection was barely fostered. In addition, the lessons developed both linguistic and Physical Education knowledge, including body language, a specific content of the subject that has often been neglected. Some practical implications are inferred, highlighting the need to promote high-quality CLIL teacher training in order to ensure that CLIL is adequately applied and students can develop all the 21st century skills.

STEAM pedagogy in foreign language education: An endeavour to broaden CLIL pedagogy through 6E’s framework

This study addressed the dilemma in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teaching. It argued that a STEAM pedagogy (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) can inform and broaden CLIL pedagogy through 6E’s framework (engage, explore, explain, engineer, enrich, and evaluate). The authors first theoretically highlighted how STEAM pedagogy addressed some of the issues concerning CLIL instruction and showed that 6E’s framework cohered with the 4C’s (culture, content, cognition, and communication) of pluriliteracies approach to CLIL. We then actuated this conceptualization through a case study exploring Indonesian EFL learners’ engagement in 16-meeting CLIL lessons by examining their multidimensional learning experiences, affectivity, and emotionality. Data were oriented to the contextual variables of effective learning from learners’ standpoint and collected through Academic Emotion Questionnaire (AEQ), language learning attitude battery, and reflection sheet distributed to 204 college learners in six CLIL classes with 6E’s framework. The findings demonstrated the potency of 6E’s framework to provide vital scaffolding for discipline-specific literacies through scientific inquiry in language learning. The framework stimulated intensive multidimensional learning, positive academic emotions, and positive attitudes toward CLIL lessons. Students’ reflections underscored how the framework paved engaging authentic language tasks and science projects as essential drives for intrinsic motivation to learn content and language despite limited linguistic repertoires.

Co-teaching among English pre-service teachers for integrated STEAM+CLIL education

In Spain, primary education teachers teaching subject matter in a foreign language through Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) require new pedagogical competencies. Teaching in a second language often poses problems, as many teachers have no specific training in CLIL and often wish to gain greater self-confidence when teaching some subjects, for example, Natural Sciences, in a foreign language. In that scenario, two general objectives are proposed in this study within the framework of pre-service CLIL teacher training: to examine the impact of a co-teaching programme on the development of the pedagogical competences of pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers engaged in STEAM+CLIL integrated education; and 2) to study the impact of the programme on the perceived self-confidence of pre-service teachers when teaching CLIL. The results of this research involving three experimental cohorts of pre-service teachers showed an improvement in their pedagogical competencies at designing integrated STEAM+CLIL didactic units, compared to the respective control groups; and an increase in their perceived self-confidence when teaching EFL through CLIL. These results point towards an alternative pathway for primary school teacher training in a foreign language, particularly English. FUNDING INFORMATION. This research was funded by the European Commission which financed the research project STEAM Education and Foreign Language Learning in Europe - SeLFIE (2020-1-ES01-KA201-081850).

The formation of the discursive competence of future CLIL teacher: components aspect

Relevance. The authors consider the essence of the discursive competence of the future CLIL (content and language integrated learning) teacher. Purpose. The main goal of the discursive competence is based on the idea of acquiring and mastering speech skills and the ability to use a foreign language correctly in situations of professional communication. Due to the discursive competence, the future CLIL teacher activates his pedagogical subjectivity and becomes a determinant of his professional and social development. Methodology. The authors note that the successful development of the discursive competence is due to the use of various methods aimed at developing knowledge and skills not only for editing and creating written texts, but also for participating in their oral multilateral discussions. Results. Distinctive features of the discursive competence of the future CLIL teacher are sociality, unity, value orientation, the ability to carry out a dialogue, integrativity, dynamism, problematicness, continuity, practicality, and consistency. Conclusions. The results of the study showed that most students speak English at an elementary level, which may, in turn, affect the inability to build discourses in a foreign language. In this regard, the development of communication skills in these students, the ability to speak in a foreign language is becoming as an important aspect.

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].

Teacher Practices and Student Language Proficiency: Insights from CLIL Classrooms in China

This research provides a comprehensive exploration of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in Chinese educational settings, with a specific focus on teacher practices and their impact on student language proficiency. The study investigates key aspects of CLIL implementation, teacher strategies, and student language outcomes. It offers insights into effective CLIL practices, professional development needs for educators, and policy considerations for policymakers. The findings contribute valuable knowledge to the discourse on bilingual and multilingual education, aiming to inform stakeholders for the successful integration of CLIL programs in diverse educational contexts.

The Application of STEAM Education in CLIL--A Case Study of Halloween Jack-O'-Lantern

In recent years, there has been a promotion and emphasis on CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education. The integration of interdisciplinary concepts and applications in English classrooms has brought new value and significance to English teaching. This study aims to investigate the students’ perceptions by STEAM-Integrated CLIL instruction into English Classroom, a Halloween Jack-O-Lantern as an example. The participations were eight freshman students from different department in a university in central of Taiwan. Through a survey, the research aims to analyze different aspects of STEAM and assess the effectiveness of English learning outcomes. The results indicated that the students were satisfied with the application of STEAM education in CLIL instruction in English classroom.

Effects of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Training Program on Thai Pre-Service Teachers’ Knowledge of CLIL Approach, CLIL Material Design, and CLIL Teaching

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) training program on Thai pre-service teachers’ knowledge of CLIL approach, CLIL material design and CLIL teaching and their opinions toward the training program. A mix-method with a quasi-experimental study was employed in this research. The sample consisted of 14 pre-service Social Studies teachers from a university in Bangkok, Thailand. Data collection tools of the research included an achievement test, a questionnaire and an interview. A non-parametric statistical hypothesis test was used to assess quantitative data. Results revealed that the pre-service teachers’ knowledge of CLIL approach, CLIL material design and CLIL teaching improved with a statistically significant difference. The results also revealed that the pre-service teachers had favorable opinions toward the training program when it comes to training program, learning experiences, CLIL material design, and CLIL teaching. It was concluded that the CLIL training program could have a favorable effect on pre-service teachers. As a result, it was recommended that more CLIL programs be developed and provided to pre-service teachers.

Professional Development of Pre-Service Language Teachers in Content and Language Integrated Learning: A Training Programme Integrating Video Technology

Over the years, the integration of technology in bilingual education has become increasingly significant. In the European context, particularly in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), supporting the professional development of future educators has emerged as a crucial aspect. Video-based technology plays a key role in the training of pre-service language teachers, where it serves as a valuable tool for teacher education. There is a growing demand to enhance language teachers’ professional development programs, especially within the realm of CLIL teacher education. This study presents a video-based technology training programme intended to enhance the professional development of pre-service language teachers in CLIL. After implementation of the video-based training programme, semi-structured interviews with pre-service language teachers were conducted to evaluate the impact of the programme. The results show a positive influence on the pre-service language teachers’ professional development. The utilization of video-based technology was found to significantly improve their comprehension of CLIL while fostering their awareness of their teaching practice. For the research community, these encouraging results should act as a driving force to continue exploring video technology within teacher education programs in CLIL to enhance educators’ professional development.

‘Definitions did not effectively help my students’: Pre-service teachers’ language modification strategies in Thai language-driven CLIL classrooms

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) requires a synthesis of language and content teaching. However, language teachers who are employed to teach CLIL may lack the preparation and knowledge to teach other curriculum subjects. It is therefore necessary to understand how language CLIL teachers make subject-specific language comprehensible to students when they themselves are unfamiliar with subject-specific terms and concepts. However, no research has yet been conducted to explore this in the Thai context. To address this gap, this article presents the findings of a qualitative study exploring pre-service teachers’ use of language modification as negotiation of meaning (NoM) strategies to make accessible subject-specific terms or concepts in the target language to students. Data are drawn from language-driven CLIL classroom video observations and stimulated recall interviews with six pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) at two Thai secondary schools. The findings show that the participants used various language modification strategies, including definitions, elaboration and simplification, recognizing both the affordances and limitations of these strategies. It is concluded that the capacity to flexibly employ a range of strategies, responsive to the content and students’ comprehension is needed for effective language-driven CLIL practice. We offer practical recommendations for language-driven CLIL practice and professional development to enhance teachers’ language awareness and understanding of how language strategies can be used to support NoM in a language-driven CLIL setting.

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.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING OF EASTERN EUROPEAN HUMANITARIAN COLLEGES STUDENTS USING CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING (CLIL) METHOD

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of using the method of content andlanguage integrated learning (CLIL) in the process of foreign language training of humanitarian collegesstudents in several Eastern European countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia). Based on theanalysis of scientific and methodological literature, the authors found out that during the last decade theCLIL method has been rapidly spreading in the European educational space in three main forms: so called«hard», «soft» and «partial immersion». In Eastern Europe, the «hard» form of CLIL is the mostwidespread, because, according to educators, it is better able to implement the idea of integrating learningin a certain discipline and a foreign language. At the same time, practical teachers are aware that only abalanced combination of foreign language and non-philological content can give the best educationaleffect. In pedagogical practice, the CLIL method is often used by teachers of special (non-philological)disciplines who possess high level of foreign language training. However, the latter often subconsciouslypursue only one goal of learning - language, evaluating the overall success of students mostly from theperspective of success in a foreign language. Therefore, it is more logical to train a subject teacher whowill have a high level of competence in the foreign language field than a foreign language philologist whohas additional subject specializations. The authors found out that as of today, in contrast to most EUcountries, there are not many accredited programs in humanitarian colleges in Eastern Europe that arefully focused on the training of CLIL teachers. Humanitarian colleges offer only select courses, which are often elective ones. Although practicing and prospective teachers (who are interested in developing theirprofessional competences in CLIL) have access to courses offered by national and international postgraduate teacher education institutions, but this is clearly not enough. Thus, the authors come to theconclusion that the strategy of adequate systematic training of CLIL teachers does not yet have a cleardefinition in humanitarian colleges of the studied countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia).Under such conditions, the authors recommend starting with an assessment of existing competencies andclarifying the needs of a teacher interested in systematic work using CLIL method. This assessment canbe based on the requirements described in the Recommendations of the European Commission on thetraining of such specialists, the Table of Competencies of the CLIL teachers, reflections of the teachersthemselves, feedback from students, educational institutions administrations, other interested parties.

Cognitive research in pedagogy: conceptual metaphor in CLIL-economics

The paper analyses a prominent topic of current research into implementing cognitive findings in pedagogy. The study pursues a threefold purpose. It aims to review research literature on the instructional application of cognitive research in general and Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) in particular. Conceptual metaphor investigation is a broad strand of cognitive research that has promised to discover new insights in methodological approaches applicable to different specialist subjects including economics known for ubiquitous use of metaphors. The second focus of this study is to review research papers on the use of cognitive findings including Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) which names cognition as one of its key components indispensable for content and language coordination. The paper aims to ascertain whether conceptual metaphor research plays any role in CLIL pedagogy and whether the pedagogical potential of language and theory-constitutive metaphors is used in CLIL-economics instruction. This study finds that conceptual metaphor as a property of both language and thought ensuring the convergence of learning economic language and content has not yet been translated to CLIL practice despite its great potential. Thirdly, the paper looks into the pedagogical implications of CMT findings in CLIL-economics. The paper argues that conceptual metaphor agrees with the tenets of integrated economic language and content learning. A cognitive interface between metaphor-based economic language and content which ensures their integration in CLIL methodology is postulated. Some steps in applying a metaphor-based approach in CLIL-economics are suggested.

Bilingual Science Lexicon of Pre-Serviced Primary School Teachers

Bilingual teaching has experienced rapid growth in the Spanish educational panorama and numerous university programmes have emerged with the aim of training future CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) teachers. However, there is little research assessing the level of linguistic competence in Spanish and foreign languages of future teachers, especially those who are studying for a bilingual degree. Although this work is part of a broader project that analyses bilingual lexical competence in subjects related to the Social Sciences and Experimental Sciences, we focus on the analysis of lexical availability of content related to the teaching of science. The sample consisted of 46 students of the Degree in Primary Education at the University of Extremadura. Using a lexical availability test, lexical production in Spanish and English is analysed and compared to determine whether the fact of studying in English affects the acquisition and consolidation of lexical knowledge in Spanish. The results show that there are no significant differences in lexical production between Spanish and English. In addition to the quantitative data, results from the qualitative analysis are presented, analysing the most available words and the organisation of the lexicon in both languages.

CLIL teacher assessment literacy: A scoping review

In Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programmes, students learn content subjects through their additional language. The global spread of CLIL has raised concerns about teachers' professional development needs, and their assessment literacy is an essential one. This scoping review synthesises 60 theoretical and empirical articles on CLIL teachers' assessment literacy. The findings illustrate some prominent themes related to CLIL teachers' assessment literacy, identify areas that have been under-researched, and validate and refine a theoretical framework of CLIL teachers’ assessment literacy. This framework presents important dimensions of conceptions, knowledge and practices of CLIL assessment, with mediation of contextual factors.

A Critical Analysis Comparing the Role of L1 in CLIL and Translanguaging

Mother tongue use in the classroom is an emerging practice combatting the old idea of achieving bilingualism through parallel monolingualism. As the discussion of the first language’s (L1) role within pedagogical contexts is still in its relative infancy, a critical analysis which compares how the pedagogical affordances of two recent L2 pedagogical approaches, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Translanguaging, influence language teachers’ pedagogical choices will contribute to the current understanding of how educators clarify the role of L1. Besides its recency, both pedagogies are also chosen as the scope of this discussion because their aims are not solely to gain knowledge of the target language (TL). Funnelling the discussion with two empirical studies which represents the typical application of these pedagogies, this essay found that L1 has three types of facilitating roles, namely class and task management, scaffolding the target language production, and conceptual clarification. A clear distinction between these two pedagogies is established: while CLIL teachers always prioritise TL and treats L1 as a compensatory measure, Translanguaging teachers are authorised to mobilise a wider range of communicative resources rooted in the learners’ mother tongue. This essay recommends further exploration on the role of L1 across other pedagogies to better empower educators in actively and judiciously employing the inevitability of students’ L1 in the classroom to their advantage.

Research in Progress: CLIL Teachers’ Identity Construction and Negotiation

This brief report presents preliminary findings of a qualitative investigation into five Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) academics’ professional attributes and identities in China. The findings revealed that the participants possessed diverse types of capital essential to CLIL, including human, social, psychological, cultural, identity, and agentic capital, though with mixed controls. The temporality of personal experiences and the social networks surrounding the participants were deemed influential in shaping and negotiating their professional identities. The study concluded with implications for institutional administrators and leaders, who should consider teachers’ development needs, especially their learning, social and psychological needs, to create an academically supportive, emotionally engaging and socially collaborative organisational climate.

HOW DO IN-SERVICE TEACHERS PERCEIVE CLIL IMPLEMENTATION AT SCHOOLS IN SPAIN? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Owing to the emergence of the new paradigm in the linguistic arena in which all the citizens are required to be competent in more than one language, an issue outlined in the White Paper in 1995 by the European Commission, schools had to undergo a radical transformation and implement new language policies in the curricula to comply with the new emerging requirements, and it is within this context that Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been brought up to the fore. Thus, the present systematic review has undertaken a search of empirical studies into the primary and secondary school teachers’ perceptions of CLIL implementation with the main aim of providing a thorough evaluation of bilingual education in Spain. For this purpose, a total of 46 publications that met the inclusion criteria have undergone an in-depth analysis and the results reveal that despite prevailing enthusiasm among CLIL teachers and the numerous benefits that the implementation of the bilingual programme offers to students, the programme presents several serious shortcomings such as insufficient and inadequate teacher training, increased workload, scarce collaboration, the paucity of well-designed materials or the lack of special attention to diversity. Overall, this systematic review highlights the urgent need to address these issues to ensure a success-driven implementation of the bilingual programme and guarantee high-quality education.

Examining the effects of teacher collaboration on student learning in a CLIL classroom

ABSTRACT Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) programs impose enormous demands on teachers, who are expected to integrate the two aspects pedagogically. Content and language teachers are thus encouraged to collaborate to help students master content knowledge and develop their additional language (L2) proficiency simultaneously. To reveal whether such teacher collaboration (TC) is beneficial, researchers have also attempted to examine its effectiveness on student learning. Situated in a Chinese tertiary classroom, this quasi-experimental study investigated how TC affected student learning by recruiting a content instructor, a language expert, and 50 students in two intact drama classes (n = 25 each). The impact of TC on student learning was captured by two character analyses written by the two groups of students before and after the intervention which lasted throughout the 13-week drama course. Results from inferential statistics and textual analysis showed that students in the experimental group improved their writing in both content and language aspects as compared to their peers in the control group. Such findings show that TC is conducive to student learning in CLIL and yield significant implications for CLIL pedagogy.