CLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning
CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning and it is based on the idea that content subjects like geography, physics, history, etc. can be taught and learnt in a language which is not the student’s mother tongue.
The emphasis in the CLIL learning process is not on the foreign language used to teach the subject but on the subject itself, which is often unrelated to language learning.
The result of this approach is that the learner gains knowledge about the 'non-language' subject while using and learning the foreign language.
Teachers working with CLIL are specialists in their own discipline rather than traditional language teachers. They are usually fluent speakers of the target language, bilingual or native speakers.
CLIL has been applied successfully for over 10 years to all sectors of education from primary through to adult and higher education.
Despite the predominance of English as the Lingua Franca in most of the private and public sectors, the need to accommodate the growing multilingual society brought about by the expansion of the European Union has made CLIL more relevant than ever.
Government bodies and educational institutions have come to recognize the importance of people's ability to work and interact in two or three languages. In fact, taking into account the ever more integrating world we live in, the European Commission has set as one of its objectives that all European citizens should have competence in two European languages on top of their mother tongue (MT+2). [Ref.: White Paper on Education & Training, European Commission 1995].
More and more schools are looking at methods and forms of classroom teaching and learning that allow students to become pluri-lingual and pluri-cultural professionals. Learning a language and a subject simultaneously, as CLIL advocates, is viewed as a good way to catch two birds with one stone!
How it Works
CLIL is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning, as it has been proven that when students are interested in a topic they are more motivated to learn the language they will need to be able to talk or read about it.
CLIL is long-term learning process based on natural language development. Students become academically proficient in English after 5-7 years in a good bilingual programme.
In CLIL fluency is more important than accuracy and errors are a natural part of language learning. Students develop fluency in the new language (English, for example) by using it to communicate for a variety of purposes.
Out of the 4 basic language skills reading is the essential skill in CLIL.
Useful Links
A subscription site from Macmillan Education with resources and support for CLIL teachers.
