CLIL Principles          

What is C LIL? It  is an approach or a method which integrates content and non native language. The teacher has to clear up the differences among different ways of delivering lessons:

1. ELT lesson
2. Native lesson
3. Subject lesson
4. Bilingualism

The CLIL definition has been coined in 1994, but CLIL dates back to the Akkadian  people (that created through conquest the first known empire about 3500 B.C.)  when they had to learn Sumerian in several  subjects (due to the fact that they were no more nomadic  but cultivated  agriculture). Research reports that , generally speaking,  in CLIL boys are better than girls, in EFL girls are usually better.

Who is the CLIL teacher?  The CLIL teacher  can be the   

• Subject teacher  (who needs to be at least a B2 level in L2) or the
• Language teacher . CLIL can be taught in co-teaching or  by the individual teacher.

A CLIL teacher should be (MORE) flexible and tolerant (than an EFL TT) considering the use of CODE SWITCHING from L2 to L1, while  explaining and repeating. This strategy should be taken into account not only when we refer to  translations, but mainly  to check  understanding. He/she should be able to identify a  text language for EFL,  for Native speakers  or for  CLIL. A Native text is usually quite dense while a CLIL text is more fluid and has more space for note taking. A CLIL TT needs a subject specialism and is proficient in L2.

Why CLIL?  Because of the increasing need to improve skills in communicating science, art, technology,  etc. in an international global society (where the ‘Globish’ language  is English).

Which CLIL ?

CLIL models: SOFT CLIL , HARD CLIL AND MID CLIL

Soft CLIL: the topic is a part of the language ELT course curriculum (Language  led course)

Hard CLIL: the way some schools teach half of the curriculum immersed  in a target language(Content led).

Mid CLIL: some schools teach some CLIL modules , where a subject is taught for a limited (for ex . 20 ) amount of hours(Partial immersion).

Core integrated components of   CLIL (also called CLIL pillars)  are  the ‘4C’s’: Content, Communication, Cognition, Culture(Citizenship or Community). What separates CLIL from CBLL (Content Based Language Learning) or Bilingual Education are the 4C’s.

A good practice is CLIL   driven by focusing  on Cognition (thinking skills: analysing, ..summarizing, hypothesising). CLIL aims at increasing  STT (Students talking time) , and reducing TTT (Teachers talking time).

A researcher in bilingual education, Jim Cummins (Canada),   differentiates  between :

-BICS ( Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills)  achievable in two or three years , language is contextualized and supported by TT and resources.

-CALP (Cognitive academic Language Proficiency) achievable  in five years.   CALP is more demanding  due to the abstract and formal language it uses.

Relevant LANGUAGE features  to remember  in CLIL

Learners need to know  a certain amount of the CONTENT- OBLIGATORY LANGUAGE, to be able to understand and to communicate (high and medium frequency words). Obligatory language should be presented through visual organizers in the early stages.

Content-compatible language: LL can/ are allowed to  use simple basic language(simplified language, non formal).

Even if tests do not assess Subject-specific language, Subject-specific language is used in CLIL.

Most TT do not teach grammar during content teaching (CLIL), grammar is not taught (separately) , but content and language are integrated.  it is useful, anyway,  to focus on Chunks, in which vocabulary and grammar are interdependent. Language teaching in CLIL is not graded like in EFL.

Since the syllabus in CLIL is derived from subject, it may happen that in CLIL the conditional is taught at low levels  e.g.  with the aim of  being able to  hypothesise.  

LL must be driven to know  more and more language through Collocations  (ways words are combined, especially those that commonly co-occur) or lexical units with syntactic, semantic  relations or other associations. Refer  also  to Corpus linguistics :  the study of language as expressed in samples (corpora) or "real world" text. http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/concord_e.html*

Communication skills in CLIL should not be abstract but should enable to develop LL  practical chunks of language  through FUNCTIONS. Suggested activities are therefore Brainstorming, Open questions, Peer discussions, Role plays , Debates, Reports back. Before these  tasks it is important to assign clear roles, timing, purposes, etc.

A common  framework model for a CLIL lesson is  PAR

P    Preparation (revise last lesson, teach content obligatory language) , Presentation(new content), Feedback (correct, group works)

A    Reasoning activities(discussions, decision making games, graphic organizers) , Feedback (self assessment, peer  assessment, TT comment)

R    Reviews (summary , clarification, mind maps, quizzes, ) , Feedback (checking , correcting)

CLIL activities are similar to ELT ‘s : categorization, cloze, gap fill, labeling, matching, multiple choice, true false, etc.

Also  common in CLIL are:

Pyramid discussion ( a discussion starting from an individual, then to pair, to group and class…)

Loop or Domino games: matching cards of written words with cards of definitions, each LL has one card.

Hot seat: a SS sits on a hot seat and he has to answer to other  LL questions.

Identification keys: LL  have to tick definitions in a grid or in other visual organizers

Language classification:

HOTS  High Order Thinking Skills ( ex. Asking  open questions)

LOTS   Low Order Thinking Skills ( ex. Asking  closed  questions, revisiting)

Scaffolding:    TT support is not only linguistic, but it consists also in reducing tasks,  demonstrating with visual aids or realia, providing feedback. Scaffolding is  used both for receptive and productive skills.

Additional learning strategies:

-Paraphrasing (restatement of a text or passages, using other words)

-Drafting:   writing  a rough outline or sketch

Consolidating and differentiating learning:       for ex.  Less able SS can be given easier tasks,  Dual language texts  (L1 and L2)  or reduced activities. More able SS can access on line resources ( for extension activities).

ASSESSMENT

SOFT CLIL focuses on Language, while

HARD CLIL focuses on Content.

Some TT assess Content, Language, Cognitive skills and Practice skills integrated.

Summative assessment: help TT know what SS have achieved at a specific time. It is a formal assessment

Formative assessment: ongoing , informal, assessment, it provides feedback, and includes peer assessment, self assessment. It’s useful fort the TT to change, modify, adapt styles and procedure

Some TT carry out also Portfolio  assessment.

The combination of the three assessments has proved highly efficient. The results can be given in the form of Marks, Levels, Grades.

TT Training  strategies

Microteaching: this task will give you the chance to apply what you have learnt about planning and teaching.  In the training session you   pretend to be the teacher in a real class. Teachers mates   play the role of students, two or three teachers mates are    critical observers of your lesson and   take notes. The tutor will provide extra criticism and suggestions  for your performance.

In Italy  from 2010 CLIL is obligatory in  the 5th   level of secondary school (LL are 18 y o), we can expect it will be developed also at lower levels soon.

In Germany, considering that most TT teach  two completely different subjects, e.g. English and Sciences CLIL has a much better perspective  for a rapid diffusion.

*‘Concordancers allow teacher and learners to go straight to the primary source of language itself rather than secondary sources like dictionaries and grammars which contain someone else’s interpretation’[1]. This is probably the best way of providing, with authentic examples of language, frequency and patterns of use. This corpus-informed approach to language learning and teaching has proved to be a good means for extending the understanding of how certain words work and serves well for improving appropriacy, positioning of words, developing provisional rules and making comparative lexical analogies or contrasting roles. Concordancing programs can be used for teaching purposes, for example in the case of confusion between ‘practice’ and ‘practise’ in British English.

Excerpt from:

CALL VERSUS SLA (Computer Assisted Language Learning versus Second Language Acquisition)  : on  http://www.colabianchi.altervista.org/

 Verona September 2010

Claudio Colabianchi

[1] Thurston, J. (2001). The use of concordancing for vocabulary teaching and language awareness. In  CALL in the 21 st  Century CD-ROM.  IATEFL.