CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning, and it’s a fabulous language immersion method that aims at teaching subjects such as science, history, geography and art to students through a foreign language.<\/p>\n
David Marsh, Do Coyle and Philip Hood<\/a> codified the principles of CLIL, namely dual-focused education, using language across the curriculum and making content king. Unlike traditional language teaching strategies, CLIL promotes education through construction rather than instruction\u2014it’s aiming for fluency, not accuracy.<\/p>\n Read up to learn more about how to bring this revolutionary method of teaching to your language classroom.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The term \u201cCLIL\u201d is generally credited to Professor\u00a0David Marsh<\/a> from the University of Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4, in Finland.<\/p>\n CLIL stands for C<\/strong>ontent and L<\/strong>anguage I<\/strong>ntegrated L<\/strong>earning. Quite simply, it is the teaching of subjects<\/strong> to students through the use of a target language\u2014that is, a language different from their mother tongue.<\/p>\n For example, if you have an ESL class full of students from China, you’ll teach them subjects but won\u2019t use any\u00a0<\/em>Chinese to do so. You\u2019ll be using English and only English instead.<\/p>\n Furthermore, you won’t be explaining vocabulary, grammar and other linguistic notes, but rather you’ll be helping them assimilate all this into their knowledge of the English language by natural, repeated exposure as you straight up teach a subject class.<\/p>\n By immersing them in the language<\/a>, your wards will not only learn about things like math, science and literature, they\u2019ll also pick up English.<\/p>\n The subject can be about anything really: history, physics, drama, even basketball or dance.<\/p>\n For a class of English-speaking American students, you may have CLIL classes like:<\/p>\n CLIL is a fantastic method to empower students of all ages and levels of fluency. By teaching CLIL lessons, you’re giving students the tools to grow, acquire and activate cross-disciplinary skills by using a language different from\u00a0their own.<\/p>\n It’s also a great method to promote positive attitudes towards language learning from an early stage. Students won’t be corrected on every single error they make. Instead, they’ll be encouraged to keep talking and learning in the language, which lets them feel good about their ability to communicate from the get-go.<\/p>\n CLIL supports critical thinking and collaboration skills. Students won’t be spoon-fed their language lessons, but rather they’ll need to pay attention, observe and learn the language by learning about other subjects\u00a0in\u00a0<\/em>that language. They can look to their peers to support them in this process.<\/p>\n The CLIL curriculum balances bilingual education and language learning<\/a>. Rather than being the focus of teaching, language becomes a tool for communication. Repeated exposure and stimulation helps students to assimilate the language while learning content that will greatly expand their horizons and promote curiosity.<\/p>\n First, you should start by considering how to work CLIL into your syllabus.<\/p>\n Incorporate cross-disciplinary themes.<\/strong><\/p>\n A great CLIL syllabus should replicate any traditional subject lesson syllabus. Rather than thinking of yourself as a language teacher, imagine that you’re a subject teacher. The main difference is that your students will learn this subject in another language. Here are some examples of subjects you could teach:<\/p>\n Literature in French<\/p>\n Mathematics in Chinese<\/p>\n Philosophy in German<\/p>\n Art in English<\/p>\n Physical Education in Spanish<\/p>\n To this effect, it’s important to research the subject matter ahead of time. Don’t hesitate to work together with the school’s subject teachers for feedback and insight on what the students already know.<\/p>\n Make sure that you highlight key concepts and proper terminology. This will facilitate assimilation and reinforce recently acquired knowledge, hence benefiting their language and subject studies.<\/p>\n Work by themes.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you feel that this may become overwhelming and unsustainable in the long term, fear not! You can use CLIL as a single lesson for one\u00a0language class\u2014you don’t have to teach CLIL all the time, but it can instead be part of your varied teaching arsenal. You may rotate between subjects so you only teach the subjects that you’re most comfortable with.<\/p>\n This helps to create targeted lessons that are packed with information. The idea is to cover a lot of ground and help students to accumulate as many vocabulary words related to\u00a0the subject matter as possible. Here are some great theme ideas for teaching art in a foreign language:<\/p>\n “<\/em>Whistler’s Mother”: History and analysis of a major work of art<\/p>\n The art of the Renaissance: Masters and key artwork<\/p>\n Sketching comics: Key principles and theories<\/p>\n Symbolism in still-life paintings: Hidden meanings and importance in art<\/p>\n Contemporary art and dissidence: Li Wei in communist China<\/p>\n As you see, a good CLIL lesson covers a specific topic, concept, movement or theory at length to promote effective learning. Complement it with follow-up assignments, discussions, readings and coursework so students can digest content and conduct their own research.<\/p>\n Like the traditional monolingual classroom, CLIL promotes collaborative work and the acquisition of multidisciplinary, task-based skills.<\/p>\n This gives students a clear purpose and the motivation to learn and complete the task to the best of their ability. It also rewards their ability to use their own personal knowledge to succeed in the classroom.<\/p>\n Some great CLIL activities include:<\/p>\n The end goal is to de-compartmentalize knowledge between subject and language classes, so students\u00a0can apply new information to their entire school curriculum, and even outside the classroom!<\/p>\n Feedback and motivation is at the heart of any language class. After all, errors are opportunities to teach and learn!<\/p>\n However, minimal feedback\u00a0<\/strong>and maximum\u00a0<\/strong>positivity<\/strong>\u00a0are essential parts of CLIL.<\/p>\n The goal is to boost your students’ ability to communicate while also allowing them\u00a0to focus on learning subject lessons. Along the way, you’ll build their positive vibes\u00a0for the target language and culture. So, the best strategy is to aim for communication rather than accuracy when your students speak.<\/p>\n Concretely, you don’t want to interrupt students during activities, even when\u00a0their language may not be completely accurate. This will break the flow of the activity and may even cause students to lose their confidence.<\/p>\n Rather, take notes and try to recap each activity by giving students language- and content-related feedback. So that this benefits all the students, try to give feedback before the entire class rather than to students individually.<\/p>\n Use the same principles for writing activities. Let students express themselves and write freely, but try to identify frequent, specific misunderstandings and mistakes, and then use your next class to address them. Write down words and expressions on the blackboard, and use colors to circle specific letters or accents to watch out for.<\/p>\n Ask for feedback from students, monitor results and adjust accordingly. Implementation varies from classroom to classroom, so it’s up to you to take the pulse of the class and reshape your CLIL syllabus and activities.<\/p>\n Listing endless grammar rules is rarely effective. Students often keep making the same mistakes over and over and often freeze rather than using the words and communicating.<\/p>\n To correct this, make sure that students learn grammar in context<\/strong> based on the topics they study and through constant exposure to the language. Revise and recycle grammar periodically to let students observe the language.<\/p>\n When introducing grammar, include charts, documents and pictures that demonstrate a use of the rule prominently.<\/p>\nWhat is CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Why Implement the CLIL Method of Teaching?<\/h2>\n
How to Implement the CLIL Method in Your Classroom<\/h2>\n
1. Rethink Your Syllabus<\/h3>\n
2. Focus on Tasks in the Classroom<\/h3>\n
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3. Choose the Right Moments to Give Feedback<\/h3>\n
4. Teach Grammar in Context<\/h3>\n