CLIL for dummies?

david — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:02:39 +0000

Big Alex Case has just published some great material for history, moving daringly into CLIL territory. What the Hell is CLIL, I hear you ask? Content and Language Integrated Learning, or CLIL as it’s better known, is basically where a regular classroom subject, such as history, is taught in the target language rather than the first language of the learners. In CLIL classes, tasks are designed to allow students to focus on and learn to use the new language as they learn the new subject content. For example, in a bilingual English/Malaysian school, at a certain age half of the subjects, often including maths and sciences, are taught solely in English. Such policies are becoming more commonplace, as I’ve detailed previously on ELT World News, although not without resistance, especially in the aforementioned case of Malaysia.

[ad#underpost]

In the classroom, CLIL materials can often be characterised as having lots of visual support for ‘meaning’, thus allowing low language level students to access high level content. The materials allow the students to focus on the language they need to learn about that particular subject in English. The choice of language focused on is determined by the demands of the subject. Check out Alex’s stuff here.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

English language teachers' new role?

david — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:23:02 +0000

Look, we simply don’t get paid enough to have to deal with this kind of crap, OK? We’re in this for the sheer fun of it, the ‘alternative’ lifestyle and the chance to experience exotic locales. The last bloody thing we need is someone trying to turn this into a bona fide profession. However, that’s exactly what is in danger of happening if bloody CLIL takes off, according to those Craptus TEFL loving buggers at the Guardian…

‘As education authorities around the world set ambitious targets to raise English skills, this is the time for English language teachers to share their expertise and views on how to combine content and language in the same lessons, say leading Clil experts David Marsh and Peeter Mehisto. They call for more cooperation across the curriculum and highlight the issues that will be raised at our special debate Clil: Complementing or Compromising English Language Teaching?’

So, all you long termers, are you scared at the prospect of actually having to have expertise in a particular field other than that of merely speaking the language of the country you were born in? I’ve been teaching content based learning for the past five years and let me tell you, you have to put in the background reading or you get eaten alive in the classroom. That’s right, linguistic superiority just doesn’t cut it in CLIL. It’s a brave new world folks, are you ready for it?

[ad#underpost]

ELT World » CLIL

CLIL for dummies?

English language teachers' new role?