Miriam Itzel Lopez Reynoso

CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has become the umbrella term describing both
learning another (content) subject such as physics or geography through the medium of a
foreign language and learning a foreign language by studying a content-based subject.

Why is CLIL important?

With the expansion of the European Union, diversity of language and the need for communication are seen as
central issues.

 Even with English as the main language, other languages are unlikely to disappear. Some countries
have strong views regarding the use of other languages within their borders.

 With increased contact between countries, there will be an increase in the need for communicative
skills in a second or third language.

 Languages will play a key role in curricula across Europe. Attention needs to be given to the training
of teachers and the development of frameworks and methods which will improve the quality of language
education

 The European Commission has been looking into the state of bilingualism and language education
since the 1990s, and has a clear vision of a multilingual Europe in which people can function in two or three
languages.

How does CLIL work?

The basis of CLIL is that content subjects are taught and learnt in a language which is not the mother tongue
of the learners.

 Knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content

 Language is integrated into the broad curriculum

 Learning is improved through increased motivation and the study of natural language seen in
context. When learners are interested in a topic they are motivated to acquire language to communicate

 CLIL is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning

 Language is seen in real-life situations in which students can acquire the language. This is natural
language development which builds on other forms of learning

 CLIL is long-term learning. Students become academically proficient in English after 5-7 years in a
good bilingual programme

 Fluency is more important than accuracy and errors are a natural part of language learning. Learners
develop fluency in English by using English to communicate for a variety of purposes
 Reading is the essential skill.

The advantages of CLIL

CLIL helps to:

 Introduce the wider cultural context

 Prepare for internationalisation

 Access International Certification and enhance the school profile

 Improve overall and specific language competence

 Prepare for future studies and / or working life

 Develop multilingual interests and attitudes

 Diversify methods & forms of classroom teaching and learning

 Increase learner motivation.

CLIL in the classroom

CLIL assumes that subject teachers are able to exploit opportunities for language learning. The best and most
common opportunities arise through reading texts. CLIL draws on the lexical approach, encouraging learners
to notice language while reading.

The treatment of this lexis has the following features:

 Noticing of the language by the learners

 Focus on lexis rather than grammar

 Focus on language related to the subject. Level and grading are unimportant

 Pre-, while- and post-reading tasks are as appropriate in the subject context as in the language
context.

Where is CLIL happening?

CLIL has precedents in immersion programmes (North America) and education through a minority or a
national language (Spain, Wales, France), and many variations on education through a 'foreign' language.
Euro-funded projects show that CLIL or similar systems are being applied in some countries, but are not part
of teacher-training programmes. There has been an increase in the number of schools offering 'alternative'
bilingual curricula, and some research into training and methodology. Several major European organisations
specialising in CLIL projects have emerged, including UNICOM, EuroCLIC and TIE-CLIL (see web references for
details).
 CLIL: A lesson framework
Underlying principles
The principles behind Content and Language Integrated Learning include global statements such as 'all
teachers are teachers of language' (The Bullock Report - A Language for Life, 1975) to the wide-ranging
advantages of cross-curricular bilingual teaching in statements from the Content and Language Integrated
Project (CLIP). The benefits of CLIL may be seen in terms of cultural awareness, internationalisation, language
competence, preparation for both study and working life, and increased motivation.

While CLIL may be the best-fit methodology for language teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe, the
literature suggests that there remains a dearth of CLIL-type materials, and a lack of teacher training
programmes to prepare both language and subject teachers for CLIL teaching. The theory may be solid, but
questions remain about how theory translates into classroom practice.

Classroom principles
Some of the basic principles of CLIL are that in the CLIL classroom:

 Language is used to learn as well as to communicate

 It is the subject matter which determines the language needed to learn.

A CLIL lesson is therefore not a language lesson neither is it a subject lesson transmitted in a foreign
language. According to the 4Cs curriculum (Coyle 1999), a successful CLIL lesson should combine elements of
the following:

 Content - Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to specific elements of a

defined curriculum

 Communication - Using language to learn whilst learning to use language

 Cognition - Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and concrete),
understanding and language

 Culture - Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which deepen awareness
of otherness and self.

In a CLIL lesson, all four language skills should be combined. The skills are seen thus:

 Listening is a normal input activity, vital for language learning

 Reading, using meaningful material, is the major source of input

 Speaking focuses on fluency. Accuracy is seen as subordinate

 Writing is a series of lexical activities through which grammar is recycled.

For teachers from an ELT background, CLIL lessons exhibit the following characteristics:
 Integrate language and skills, and receptive and productive skills

 Lessons are often based on reading or listening texts / passages

 The language focus in a lesson does not consider structural grading

 Language is functional and dictated by the context of the subject

 Language is approached lexically rather than grammatically

 Learner styles are taken into account in task types.

In many ways, then, a CLIL lesson is similar to an ELT integrated skills lesson, except that it includes
exploration of language, is delivered by a teacher versed in CLIL methodology and is based on material
directly related to a content-based subject. Both content and language are explored in a CLIL lesson. A CLIL
'approach' is not far removed from humanistic, communicative and lexical approaches in ELT, and aims to
guide language
processing and supports language production in the same way that an ELT course would by teaching
techniques for exploiting reading or listening texts and structures for supporting spoken or written language.

Lesson framework
A CLIL lesson looks at content and language in equal measure, and often follows a four-stage framework.

Processing the text

The best texts are those accompanied by illustrations so that learners can visualise what they are reading.
When working in a foreign language, learners need structural markers in texts to help them find their way
through the content. These markers may be linguistic (headings, sub-headings) and/or diagrammatic. Once a
'core knowledge' has been identified, the organisation of the text can be analysed.

Identification and organisation of knowledge

Texts are often represented diagrammatically. These structures are known as 'ideational frameworks' or
'diagrams of thinking', and are used to help learners categorise the ideas and information in a text. Diagram
types include tree diagrams for classification, groups, hierarchies, flow diagrams and timelines for sequenced
thinking such as instructions and historical information, tabular diagrams describing people and places, and
combinations of these. The structure of the text is used to facilitate learning and the creation of activities
which focus on both language development and core content knowledge.

Language identification
Learners are expected to be able to reproduce the core of the text in their own words. Since learners will
need to use both simple and more complex language, there is no grading of language involved, but it is a
good idea for the teacher to highlight useful language in the text and to categorise it according to function.
Learners may need the language of comparison and contrast, location or describing a process, but may also
need certain discourse markers, adverb phrases or prepositional phrases. Collocations, semi-fixed expressions
and set phrases may also be given attention as well as subject-specific and academic vocabulary.

Tasks for students

There is little difference in task-type between a CLIL lesson and a skills-based ELT lesson. A variety of tasks
should be provided, taking into account the learning purpose and learner styles and preferences. Receptive
skill activities are of the 'read/listen and do' genre. A menu of listening activities might be:
 Listen and label a diagram/picture/map/graph/chart

 Listen and fill in a table

 Listen and make notes on specific information (dates, figures, times)

 Listen and reorder information

 Listen and identify location/speakers/places

 Listen and label the stages of a process/instructions/sequences of a text

 Listen and fill in the gaps in a text

Tasks designed for production need to be subject-orientated, so that both content and language are recycled.
Since content is to be focused on, more language support than usual in an ELT lesson may be required.
Typical speaking activities include:

 Question loops - questions and answers, terms and definitions, halves of sentences

 Information gap activities with a question sheet to support

 Trivia search - 'things you know' and 'things you want to know'

 Word guessing games

 Class surveys using questionnaires

 20 Questions - provide language support frame for questions

 Students present information from a visual using a language support handout.

Conclusion
From a language point of view the CLIL 'approach' contains nothing new to the EL teacher. CLIL aims to guide
language processing and 'support language production in the same way as ELT by teaching strategies for
reading and listening and structures and lexis for spoken or written language. What is different is that the
language teacher is also the subject teacher, or that the subject teacher is also able to exploit opportunities
for
developing language skills. This is the essence of the CLIL teacher training issue.

References

Content and Language Integrated Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/content-language-integrated-learning.

CLIL: A lesson framework. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/clil-a-lesson-

framework.