Assignment - CLIL

SUBJECT ASSIGNMENT:
CONTENT & LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING

Assignment:

Consider the various caveats expressed about CLIL in section 5.6 entitled 'Some
problems'. Take these points and any others that you wish to consider from the whole
subject, and use them to form either a defence or a repudiation of the notion that 'CLIL
is the approach for the future'. This must take the form of an appraisal of CLIL, in which
you must consider the arguments and the materials that you have seen in this subject,
and then balance these with perspectives gathered from your own teaching experience.

Most importantly of all, you must organise these points into a coherent essay. Please
avoid taking the points one by one, as if you were simply appraising a list. Try to look at
the issue from both a local and an international perspective, and also try to consider
CLIL from both a practical and a philosophical viewpoint. Will it enable us to teach
languages better? Perhaps. Will it enable you (in your context) to teach languages
better? Perhaps not. But the latter is not a total repudiation of CLIL. Try to give the
defendant a fair trial!

Important: you have to write your personal details and the subject name on the cover
(see the next page). The assignment that does not fulfil these conditions will not be
corrected. You have to include the assignment index below the cover.

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 Assignment - CLIL

SUBJECT ASSIGNMENT:

CONTENT & LANGUAGE INTEGRATED

LEARNING

Name and surname(s): Jos Faiver Sanjun Gmez, Marisol Rodrguez lvarez,
Mnica del Carmen Rodrguez Lpez
Login: COFPMTFL1304571; ARFPMTFL1147236; CHFPMTFL1333923.
Group: fp_tefl_2013-02
Date: 06-04-2014

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 Assignment - CLIL

CLIL: A two-for-one deal?

To begin with, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) refers to any dual-focused
educational context in with an additional language, thus not usually the first language of the
learners involved is used as medium in the teaching and learning of non-language content.

Our task is to form either a defence or a repudiation of the notion that CLIL is the approach for
the future.
We have made a research and we shared our experience so as to arrive to our conclusion, our
own perspective. We have taken into account advantages and disadvantages.
First of all, we considered the different attempts to a definition, how a curriculum is divided,
contents, the very basic considerations, age and cognitive states. We also analysed the types of
CLIL practice, for example that it tends to be measured in quantity because the movement is
relatively new. Then, the teacher should involve adequate target-language competence, subject-
knowledge and materials in the target language, institutional and parental approval of CLIL
practice, inter-departmental co-operation and institutional bilingual/multilingual policy across the
curriculum.

We have also taken into account the given situation in many countries and some problems, the
various caveats that have been expressed regarding CLIL, the Trojan Horse argument, Export,
English teachers, the theory of backsliding, Culture, Core studies, Linguistic range, Training,
Transfer, Functions, Materials and Assessment.
We have considered a local and international perspective and from a practical and philosophical
viewpoint.

A second language like English is becoming increasingly important in our global,

technological society. According to current research there are several aspects which help
educational practices and offer advantages which improve English language learning. Language
of science is changing rapidly, and students require the development of an interpersonal mind
which prepare them for higher education (Marsh, 2014), thus based on this, we definitively
agree on the statement that: CLIL is the approach for the future, since it would comprise two
areas (content and language) and would provoke considerable and favourable shifts and, in the
long term, bilingual education.

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 Assignment - CLIL

The acronym CLIL, stands for Content Language Integrated Learning and it is a
pedagogical approach that consists of achieving two aims: learning the subject matter and
learning the target language as a means to learn content. It is also known as Content-based
Learning or Cross Curricular Content. It is an approach where both curriculum and content are
taught together. So language is a vehicle to learn new things.
Firstly, from a cultural viewpoint, CLIL is based on the concept of plurilingualism, which
was promoted by The Council of Europe in its Common European Framework of References for
Languages (CEFR). Plurilingualism emphasizes that a person's languages and cultures are not
kept in disjointed brains sections, but that languages in one's mind interact to provide the
development of communicative skills as a whole. Ball (2009), says that one of CLILs aims is to
"...turn the children into bilinguals by enabling them to acquire proficiency comparable to native
speakers". This is an important point, since a study carried out by Milclases (2011-2013) shows
that in countries such as Colombia and Chile and generally in Latin American Spanish speaking
contexts, most of the educational policies have a tendency to create competitive bilingual
citizens, due to the market demands but also the poor performance in L2, in our case English.
Marsh, (1994) states: CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are
taught through a foreign language with dual-focussed aims, namely the learning of content, and
the simultaneous learning of a foreign language' CLIL is used to teach geography, science,
arts and/or technology, and history, through the teaching of a non-native language.
Additionally, students understand another culture-that of the L2, since it offers
opportunities for connecting elements of the curriculum in an explicit way-making connections,
because materials become attractive with its integration of language and non-language content,
thus it boosts motivation by providing a legitimate and authentic context for language use. In
CLIL, the language becomes the means rather than the end in itself and this leads to a
significant reduction in the amount of anxiety expressed by learners (Lasagabaster, 2009).
CLIL provides excellent opportunities for challenging all learners-thinking skills. Students
use language in different contexts, and as such, they develop their language proficiency
effectively and naturally (Coleman, 2006). Learners learn like native speakers and reinforce
their previous knowledge. CLIL promotes a holistic approach to teaching and learning kind of
"Top-down approach" which allows that the use of existing knowledge facilitates the way of
learning, it also introduces learners to new concepts through studying the curriculum in a non-
native language and in this way it makes the curricular subject the main focus of classroom
materials. Learners have a multi-perspective that allows students looking at the subject from a
different and a broader perspective (Wolff, 2004).

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 Assignment - CLIL

From a philosophical point of view, CLILs flexibility is supported by a theoretical

framework commonly referred to as the 4C which is a holistic model, where content,
communication, cognition and culture are integrated. Effective CLIL occurs through 5
dimensions: progression in knowledge, skills and understanding of content, engagement in
higher order cognitive processing, interaction in the communicative context, development of
appropriate communication skills, and acquisition of a deepening intercultural awareness (Coyle
et al 2010).
However, one of the problems which have risen up with CLIL, is that this approach has
not function effectively with the argument that concepts are not picked up in the same way as
they are in L1, what is called the theory of backsliding (Funiber 2013). However, Lamsfus
Schenk (2002) argues than when another language is involved students develop more accurate
academic concepts. Additionally, Marsh (2014) claims that when using CLIL, there is an effect
back on L1 teaching which improves not only communicative skills but also helps to improve
methodology because the class needs to be well prepared and developed step by step. It
empowers educators for high quality teamwork and collaborative work, creativity, time and
exploring different opportunities. This strengthens the idea that successful CLIL if successful
teamwork, and it could be added that there, in an engaging requirement of every member of the
educational community, especially in public schools, and more directly in our contexts as it is
Latin American reality where socioeconomically speaking we have huge disadvantages with
European contexts.
CLIL revisits successful teaching and learning and provides new challenges. Students
are exposed to L2 in different fields/disciplines, and as a consequence, they get a wide variety
of vocabulary throughout L2 used as a vehicle. David Marsh (2014), talking about
neuroplasticity, which allows flexibility of mind looking for things through different ways to solve
problems, mentions the learning mind, that is a kind of oxygen for learning through other
language different to L1. Thus, L2 becomes like a support to L1 where concepts take a place
and improves learning and of course teaching.
According to Funiber 2013 pg. 54 quoting D. Graddol, the student does not need to have
English proficiency required to cope with the subject before beginning study. Lessons are based
around topics, students notice language slowly but naturally, thus there is a solid transfer of
conceptual-linguistically related knowledge which is one of the problems that maybe stands as
one of the reasons against CLIL. Furthermore, there is fluency meaning and communication
practice, the focus is less on linguistic intelligence, it has no negative effect on L1 proficiency,
nor on the pupils subject knowledge. Like so the function of the language is pragmatic as

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 Assignment - CLIL

Swam puts it 0+? (Output plus? (Where the question mark means that it is impossible quantify
output), and different from Krashen who sets it as i + 1 (input plus 1). So CLIL is an attempt to
express oneself, success in communication rather than accuracy but what makes it closer to
ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) which makes emphasis on communicative strategy and skill),
and this is what is nowadays required for international communication. (Funiber pg. 82-83)
As for the teachers role, we are facing fast and complicated technological development
and we are arriving to a full digital generation in which the impact ICT, new technologies are
evident in our teaching practices. Languages are in a continuous evolution and as a
consequence teaching practices too. There should not be any fear about the thought of English
teachers death, because as it is pointed by Marsh (2014) ...the role of teachers in CLIL is to
re-position their teaching philosophy according to the new demands.. and could become the
conductors of the orchestra with the new language framework CLIL can be then, an excellent
opportunity to promote and specially to lead English teachers towards excellence and success
in their labour.
The present processes of globalisation have become CLIL a well-timed elucidation for
governments related to developing the linguistic proficiency of their people as a prerequisite for
economic achievement. There is already some discontent with conventional Modern Foreign
Language (MFL) teaching approaches and a view that they were not bearing much fruit. In
effect, research has proved that there is no linear relationship between increased instructional
time in traditional MFL settings and success (Eurydice 2005, Lasagabaster 2008). CLIL offers a
budgetary efficient way of promoting multilingualism without cramming existing curricula. With
its emphasis on the convergence of curriculum areas and transferable skills, CLIL also appears
to serve well the demands of the Knowledge Economy for increased innovation capacity and
creativity. Finally, its potential for intercultural understanding addresses issues of social
cohesion. The EU officially endorsed CLIL in its cross - curricular form in 2005 (European
Commission (2005)) and in the UK, it was not until the advent of the new National Curriculum
(QCA 2008) that CLIL approaches were formally presented as a tool of choice to deliver new
opportunities in MFL (ALL 2010).

As to some problems, we have taken into account the various caveats that have been
expressed regarding CLIL, they may or not be valid. Further research and practice is required
before doubts can be either confirmed or denied.
Regarding the Trojan Horse argument, CLIL can be used for politico-linguistic purposes,
but disguised as a pedagogic philosophy. English is used as the Trojan Horse, introduced in the

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 Assignment - CLIL

curriculum under the guise of CLIL, whilst in reality being used to squeeze out an unwanted
language. However, the crude reality we are currently facing is that English is not any more an
option but a need to access most of the developing issues.
On the other hand, Hugh Baetens quoted by Funiber, states that no one version of CLIL
is exportable, CLIL is too diverse, diffuse and context-bound to individual politico-linguistic
systems. Such affirmation allow us to agree with the need of time, a step by step process in
order to implement CLIL in a context as ours.
When we consider activities, we take into account activities to enhance peer
communication, to help develop reading strategies, to guide students production and those that
engage higher cognitive skills. Many CLIL activities are similar to those in ELT course books and
subject textbooks. For example, categorisation, gap fill, labelling, matching, multiple choice,
true/false, ordering words/sentences, reading and listening. There are also activities such as
classification sentence/text/table completion, information transfer, feature identification, pyramid
discussion, posters presentations and loop or domino games that are common in CLIL.

We need to provide activities for communicating subject content orally, for developing
strategies, for supporting written or oral production. Activities need to be linked and sequenced
so that are progressively challenging. Learners are more likely to be motivated if the activities
are meaningful and relevant and if they know the purpose of the activity. We consider some
examples: If the subject is Geography, interpreting maps. If it is History, developing arguments;
ICT, data transfer, enter the data to update the spreadsheet; Mathematics, describing shapes;
Music, interpreting sound; PE, ranking; Science, fair testing and classification.

Assessment in CLIL is a complex area for a number of reasons. First, there is the dual
focus language and subject which inevitably means there are two assessment processes
involved. Key issues here are the extent to which language and subject assessment are
integrated, that is, they are assessed at the same time and through the same tasks and
activities. The purpose of assessment is a learning purpose which focuses on understanding
and supporting learning, or an accountability purpose which demonstrates the success of the
CLIL policy and implementation. There is a complex set of practical issues, from tests, activities,
standards, criteria, materials and the teachers skills in bringing all these together in the
classroom and in the wider school community. The key issue here is the basis on which a
teacher, in relation to either the language or the subject, makes a judgement about
achievements in learning (language and subject), or about a need for further work in a given

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 Assignment - CLIL

area but as Funiber states... we cannot measure this outside the objective criterion (Funiber
2013 pg. 71).
There are two major types of language assessment. First, there is language assessment
as measurement, where the goal is to determine either the level of a student, or the extent to
which specific language content has been learned. There is assessment for learning, a focus of
research and development in recent years, which sees assessment practices as integrated into
teaching, and oriented, not towards a statement of level, but towards enhanced learning.
Assessment is thus viewed as an integral part of the process of teaching and the development
of learning opportunities. According to Ross (2005), Formative Assessment focuses on the role
of the student and on interaction as characteristics of this form of assessment.

The particular challenge for teachers in CLIL contexts is engaging with assessment in
two fields, the subject and the language because CLIL is relatively a new approach, many
people want evidence of effectiveness, evidence that CLIL is a good way to for children to learn
both subject and foreign language. It could be said that CLIL assessment requires first a
process of conscience about what is or are the objectives and more than knowledge, it must be
assumed assessing CLIL is a matter of research especially in our contexts where education
policies are suffering big changes and only countries like Chile for example, is becoming a
model in the region but things are not clear in this matter. Our contexts could see Soft CLIL as
the most appropriated, due to the lack of human and economic resources. CLIL is becoming the
approach for the future because new teachers perspectives appear in here: we believe that
things are not simple as to divide whether we evaluate language or content but both are
integrated, learnt and assessed at the same time.

To conclude, we have considered that CLIL need not be seen as an approach that will replace
standard language teaching. It is a growing awareness if this type of practice which can both
enrich and inform standard language approaches. And the fact that good CLIL may simply come
to be regarded as a good practice.

According to Wolff (2004), learners are more successful and more motivated than those in
traditional content subject classrooms. Lamsffus-Schenk (2002) has stated that learners
develop more accurate academic concepts when another language is involved.
By using topics that learners are familiar with and, if possible, that they have recently studied in
their mother tongue, they will be able to learn more as they will already know a lot of the content

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 Assignment - CLIL

and context. This familiarity enables them to pay attention to details that they would otherwise
miss.
CLIL also promotes a holistic approach to teaching and learning. This top-down approach,
using existing knowledge, contextual clues and overall meaning is almost certainly faster and
probably a more useful way of learning, than a bottom-up approach.
It can be said that there is a long way towards the acceptance and of course, the
implementation of CLIL in Latin American contexts, McDougald, J. S. (2013) in his research
about teachers perceptions about CLIL, concludes that there is high amount (50%) of teachers
who do not know about CLIL what makes it difficult to make general conclusions about the exact
way of implementing this methodology in our context. However, as it has been said above, CLIL
is a good way to reach cultural, political and economic achievements. The fast development of
globalization and the need to cope with new challenges are generating the opportunity to create
our own CLIL bitacora, because, no one version of CLIL is exportable Funiber quoting H.
Baetens (2001), but it needs to be created according to each individuals own necessity without
forgetting that there are some CLIL global notions to have in mind. Nowadays, FTAs (Free
Trade Agreements) are a crude reality in the world being Latin American countries very
involucrate and pushed to use English as the trading language to compete and grow
economically and culturally. CLIL is then a challenging issue not only for teachers but for
government educational policies. Small steps are given regarding teachers training as it is the
increasing demand of English level at the universities, Colombian Programa Nacional de
Bilingismo 2004-2019 which is looking for the implementation of the new standards of
communicative competence and specially the pre-grade requirement which is planning to form
bilingual professional people. (See Colombia Bilinge 2004-2019, En qu va Colombia
Bilinge?) These can be considered as the first steps to promote the implementation of CLIL as
a national programme. In the local context, it is needed a hard work regarding the creation of
conscience, because CLIL can be implemented in a coordinated team work and step by step
with demonstrable outcomes, this demands the compromise of the whole community but where
language teachers must be the leaders of this initiative, pointing out that CLIL is beneficial not
only for language teaching but for an integral holistic growing of a nation.

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 Assignment - CLIL

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ball, P. (Funiber 2013) Content and Language Integrated Learning

Bentley, K (2010) The TKT Course. CLIL Module, Cambridge University Press

Coyle, D., Hood, P., and Marsh, D. (2010), CLIL, Cambridge, CUP

Coleman, L (2006) CLIL Behind The Dykes The Dutch Bilingual Model in IATEFL.YLSIG
Journal.

Lasagabaster, D. (2009), Language Attitudes in CLIL and Traditional EFL classes,

International CLIL Research Journal, 1:2,4-16

European Commission (2005), Education and Culture at a Glance, 22, Brussels

Eurydice (2006). CLIL at School in Europe. Brussels, European Commission

Funiber, (2013). Reading 5.6 (1). Spoken everywhere but at what cost? The Guardian
weekly 2014

Lamsfu-Schenk. 2002. Geschichte und Sprache Ist der bilinguale

Geschichtsunterricht der Knigsweg zum Geschichtsbewusstsein?. In
Breidbach, S., G. Bach & D. Wolff (eds.). Bilingualer Sachfachunterricht:
Didaktik, Lehrer-/Lernerforschung und Bildungspolitik zwischen Theorie und
Empirie. Frankfurt: Lang, 191-206.

Lasagabaster, D. (2008), Foreign Language Competence in CLIL Courses, The Open

Applied Linguistics Journal, 1, 31-42

Lasagabaster, D. (2009), Language Attitudes in CLIL and Traditional EFL Classes,

International CLIL Research Journal, 1:2, 4-16

Marsh, D. (1994) Bilingual Education & Content and Language Integrated Learning.
International Association for Cross-cultural Communication, Language Teaching
in the Member States of the European Union (Lingua).University of Sorbonne.
Paris.

McDougald, J. (2013), A look at Content & Language in Colombia: Teachers attitudes,

perceptions & experiences in CLIL. Universidad del Valle, Regional ELT
Conference: October 26, 2013, Updating & Exploring CLT Possibilities for the
21st Century

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QCA (2008), New Secondary Curriculum: Non statutory guidance in MFL

Ross, S. (2005) The Impact of Assessment Method on Foreign Language Proficiency

Growth. Applied Linguistics 26 (3)

WEBOGRAPHY

ALL,Supporting the new secondary curriculum for MFL, accessed on 22/03/2014

ww.all-nsc.org.uk
Ball, P. (2009). One Stop English (Macmillan). accessed on 20/03/2014 Link to
webpage: http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/teaching-
approaches/what-is-clil/1

56604.article
Colombia Bilinge 2004-2019. accessed on 24/03/2014, Link to webpage:
http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1621/article-97495.html
CLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning
http://www.slideshare.net/angelammoyano/clil-content-and-language-integrated-learning

CLIL- ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. MACMILLAN (MEXICO)

http://www.macmillan.com.mx/teacher_training/clil/ecuador/descargas/copei/day2/Day2-
CLIL_ads_and_disads-handout.pdf

CLIL The question of assessment. Richard Kiely

http://www.developingteachers.com/articles_tchtraining/clilpf_richard.htm
David Marsh - CCN -- CLIL Cascade Network In collegamento videoconferenza
dall'Universit di Jyvaskyla, Finlandia "Why CLIL is Education for the 21st century -
David Marsh - YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Y0vTzcAQg

Dieter Wolff, Integrating language and content in the language classroom: Are
transfer of knowledge and of language ensured? , ASp, 41-42 | 2003, 35-46.
http://asp.revues.org/1154

En qu va Colombia Bilinge? accessed on 24/03/2014. Link to the webpage:

http://blog.esl-idiomas.com/es/esl/qu-es-el-programa-colombia-bilinge/

Estudio milclases: Latinoamrica es la regin con menor dominio del Idioma Ingls.
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dominio-del-Idioma-Ingles
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Guardian News and Media Limited 2011

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http://www.theguardian.com/guardianweekly/story/0,12674,1464367,00.html

Wolff Dieter, Integrating language and content in the language classroom: Are transfer
of knowledge and of language ensured? , retrieved from
http://asp.revues.org/1154 on March 10th 2014

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