CLIL by https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5 Made with charm en-us 2018-01-22 18:03:43 UTC 2025-05-31 20:29:27 UTC hello@padlet.com CLIL motivates elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223516328 CLIL views language as a 'vehicle', not simply as an entity in itself. English becomes a subject that pupils learn in order to do something else. CLIL motivates more than other conventional approaches because:

  • It provides reasons for learning and improving the foreign language level, because the understanding of the subject content is compulsory. 
  • It focuses on and assesses the subject content, so the learner is not being assessed on his/her mastery of the Past Simple (for example) but rather his/her ability to use it in the appropriate places.
  • It gives students a feeling of real achievement.  They are coping with, and talking and writing about, complex material in the foreign language.
  • They are not being asked to discuss 'vox-pop' content as in standard language learning textbooks (Pop Stars, Global Warming, My Favourite Auntie) - where the content is used as a slave to illustrate a certain language structure - but because the content is important in itself.   In CLIL there is a chance that they are being asked their opinions because the expression of opinions (for example) is a key competence in the syllabus content. 
]]> 2018-01-22 19:24:02 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223516328 elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223517862 2018-01-22 19:26:32 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223517862 CLIL causes change - and you don't need to be a genius to benefit from it. elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223517997 David Graddol wrote that CLIL is "…an approach to bilingual education in which both curriculum content (such as science or geography) and English are taught together.  It differs from simple English-medium education in that the learner is not necessarily expected to have the English proficiency required to cope with the subject before beginning study". 

A powerful element of CLIL is its role in the improvement of language skills, and that pupils do not necessarily need a particularly high level of foreign language attainment to do their 'CLIL-ing'.  Now this sounds quite radical. 

  • Because the teachers would have to adjust their methodology to ensure that the students were understanding the content. 
  • Teachers would not be able to simply 'transmit' the content, assuming that their audience understood.  They would have to think of other means (group work, tasks, etc) which would result in an increase of the skill-based focus of the learning. 
  • The educational materials (textbooks) would also have to reflect this approach.
  • The pupils would be learning language that was more clearly focused on, and related to, the subject matter that they needed to learn.
  • CLIL is not confined to higher-achieving students.  It is not an approach for the elite.  It fits in perfectly with a mixed-ability philosophy.
The five or six phenomena described in the above bullet-points are all desirable, in educational terms.  Ensuring that students understand the content, reducing teacher-talk, increasing the focus on skills, influencing publishers to do likewise and getting students to learn language items that are always contextualised, always functionally necessary in the classroom - sound good at any level of curricular discourse. 
]]> 2018-01-22 19:26:44 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223517997 CLIL buys us time elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223519482
We were told in the European Council Resolution in 1995 that,

"…..all EU citizens, by the time they leave compulsory schooling, should be able to speak two languages other than the mother tongue".

Curricula attempting to achieve this aim have been getting more and more desperate in their attempts to find timetabling space.  What is the possible answer to this problem?  Instead of studying Geography in the majority language, do it in a foreign language: the pupils learn the same subject concepts and skills, but increase contact time with the foreign language.

]]> 2018-01-22 19:29:07 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223519482 Clil has a dual focus elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223520943 "CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are taught through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content, and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language".
(Marsh, D. 2002. Content and Language Integrated Learning: The European Dimension - Actions, Trends and Foresight Potential).

Through CLIL-type practice, one learns [subject] content whilst at the same time learning a foreign language.  The 'dual-focused' objective would seem to be implying that CLIL kills two birds with one stone. 

]]> 2018-01-22 19:31:31 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223520943 What is CLIL ? elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223521504 CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning and refers to teaching subjects to students through a foreign language. 
The term CLIL was coined by David Marsh, University of Jyväskylä, Finland (1994): "CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are taught through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language."

However, CLIL teaching has been practised for many years, from the Babylonian era to the early sixties when bi-lingual education was introduced in many schools around the world. 

From Ancient Rome to the Internet

CLIL itself has been around for a long time, and was put into practice by ancient Roman upper-middle classes, who preferred to have their children educated in Greek
]]> 2018-01-22 19:32:29 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223521504 How does CLIL work? elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223526003 The basis of CLIL is that content subjects are taught and learnt in a language which is not the mother tongue of the learners.

  • Knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content
  • Language is integrated into the broad curriculum
  • Learning is improved through increased motivation and the study of natural language seen in context. When learners are interested in a topic they are motivated to acquire language to communicate
  • CLIL is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning
  • Language is seen in real-life situations in which students can acquire the language. This is natural language development which builds on other forms of learning
  • CLIL is long-term learning. Students become academically proficient in English after 5-7 years in a good bilingual programme
  • Fluency is more important than accuracy and errors are a natural part of language learning. Learners develop fluency in English by using English to communicate for a variety of purposes
  • Reading is the essential skill.
]]> 2018-01-22 19:40:21 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223526003 The advantages of CLIL elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223526592 CLIL helps to:

  • Introduce the wider cultural context
  • Prepare for internationalisation
  • Access International Certification and enhance the school profile
  • Improve overall and specific language competence
  • Prepare for future studies and or working life
  • Develop multilingual interests and attitudes
  • Diversify methods & forms of classroom teaching and learning
  • Increase learner motivation.
]]> 2018-01-22 19:41:18 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223526592 The future of CLIL elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223530818 Implementing CLIL requires a rethink of the traditional concepts of the language classroom and the language teacher. The immediate obstacles seem to be:

  • Opposition to language teaching by subject teachers may come from language teachers themselves. Subject teachers may be unwilling to take on the responsibility.
  • Most current CLIL programmes are experimental. There are few sound research-based empirical studies, while CLIL-type bilingual programmes are mainly seen as marketable products in the private sector.
  • CLIL is based on language acquisition, but in monolingual situations, a good deal of conscious learning is involved, demanding skills from the subject teacher.
  • The lack of CLIL teacher-training programmes suggests that the majority of teachers working on bilingual programmes may be ill-equipped to do the job adequately.
  • There is little evidence to suggest that understanding of content is not reduced by lack of language competence. Current opinion seems to be that language ability can only be increased by content-based learning after a certain stage.
  • Some aspects of CLIL are unnatural; such as the appreciation of the literature and culture of the learner's own country through a second language.
]]> 2018-01-22 19:47:29 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223530818 CLIL in the classroom elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223531822 CLIL assumes that subject teachers are able to exploit opportunities for language learning. The best and most common opportunities arise through reading texts. CLIL draws on the lexical approach, encouraging learners to notice language while reading. Here is a paragraph from a text on fashion:

The miniskirt is a skirt whose hemline is high above the knees (generally 200-300 mm above knee-level). Its existence is generally credited to the fashion designer Mary Quant, who was inspired by the Mini Cooper automobile, although André Courrèges is also often cited as its inventor, and there is disagreement as to who invented it first.

The language to be looked at in a passage like this falls into three categories - subject specific, academic and other lexis including fixed expressions and collocations:

Subject specific | Academic | Other language
miniskirt
hemline
knee-level
fashion designer | credited
designer
cited
invented | above the knee(s)
credited to
inspired by
cited as
disagreement as to

The treatment of this lexis has the following features:

  • Noticing of the language by the learners
  • Focus on lexis rather than grammar
  • Focus on language related to the subject. Level and grading are unimportant
  • Pre-, while- and post-reading tasks are as appropriate in the subject context as in the language context.
]]> 2018-01-22 19:49:08 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223531822 elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223755078 2018-01-23 13:29:13 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223755078 elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223761350 2018-01-23 13:42:59 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223761350 elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223762721 2018-01-23 13:46:02 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223762721 elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223949982 2018-01-23 18:51:37 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223949982 The role of videos in the teaching and learning of content in a foreign language elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223967646
Videos can play a crucial role in a CLIL lesson and can be exploited in the different phases of the lesson (brainstorming, introduction, practice, testing, etc.) to engage students and motivate them in a learner-centered perspective
Videos can be employed to teach other subjects through a foreign language also to low-level learners. It is important to analyze the learners’ needs, level of competence and background knowledge, in order to help them to develop listening and understanding strategies.
Subtitling videos has turned out to be weak and distracting in a CLIL lesson, as students’ attention will be mainly focused on the written texts and not on content.
Assigning students the role of co-producers enables them to innovate, share and form communities of interest and networks.
Producing and sharing their own videos, students become the real protagonists of their learning pathway, feeling more engaged and challenged, especially if a co-creation process among peers is involved. ]]> 2018-01-23 19:18:45 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223967646 How to use graphic organizers elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223989047
Graphic organizers are tools used to visualize and organize information. They provide many benefits to students who use them including:

  • Helping students structure writing project
  • Encouraging students to make decisions
  • Making it easy for students to classify ideas and communicate
  • Allowing students to examine relationships
  • Guiding students in demonstrating their thinking process
  • Helping students increase reading comprehension
  • Making it easy to brainstorm
  • Encouraging students to organize essential concepts and ideas
  • Making it clear how to break apart a story into the main elements (intro, rising action, climax, etc.)

Used across the curriculum, teachers use graphic organizers to teach many things, including but not limited to:

  • Cause and effect
  • Note taking
  • Comparing and contrasting concepts
  • Organizing problems and solutions
  • Relating information to main themes and ideas
  • Organizational skills
  • Vocabulary knowledge
  • Sequencing
]]> 2018-01-23 19:57:28 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/223989047 Extensive Reading Approach elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229196227 It is widely believed that people become good readers through reading, and that learning how to read should mean a focus of attention on the meaning rather than the language of the text.
Another model for teaching is an 'extensive reading approach' and it involves students reading long texts or large quantities for general understanding, with the intention of enjoying the texts.
Students are allowed to choose the books they read depending on their interests; there isn't always a follow-up discussion or work in class. Students are encouraged to read for pleasure and should become better readers. ]]> 2018-02-07 16:50:57 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229196227 Using Authentic Books elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229207547
’Authentic’ reading materials (those written for native speakers of English) are usually not the best materials with which to teach foreign language learners to read. These are written for English-speaking children or teens who already know thousands of words and most of the grammar of English before they start to read.
English language students don’t have this knowledge and usually find authentic books very difficult.
Until the students can read these native-level materials without too much trouble, students should use Graded readers that
 • allow students to meet lots of comprehensible language 
• allow students to ‘step-up’ their reading ability gradually level by level 
• provide motivating interesting reading materials 
• are a bridge to the eventual reading of native-level reading materials ]]> 2018-02-07 17:10:27 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229207547 Drop Everything and Read elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229210751 Students select their books from the library (guided by their teacher to ensure they are reading at the right level and at an appropriate speed) and either read it in a silent reading time in class, or take it home to read. 
Some courses have students read the same book either together in class or as homework, often chapter by chapter over several lessons. In this type of Extensive Reading, the teacher prepares the students for the reading with pre-reading activities such as predicting the content or teaching a few key words. The reading is often followed by comprehension questions, discussion and some language work.
The reading is ‘extensive’ only when the students are reading quickly, with high levels of comprehension and without needing a dictionary. If the reading is too slow it probably means the students need to use their dictionaries often, so this type of reading isn’t considered ‘extensive’: they should be reading at an appropriate difficulty level and at a good speed (150-200 words per minute or a little lower for beginning students) with a major aim of practicing the skill of reading itself. 

]]> 2018-02-07 17:15:26 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229210751 An Extensive Reading Programme should elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229326750  • involve everyone – students, teachers, maybe even parents 
• be part of the teaching timetable and be seen as an essential part of the curriculum 
• involve students in its set up and management 
• have funding for new reading materials 
• have a variety of interesting materials at appropriate levels 
• have systems for cataloging, labeling, checking out, recording and returning reading materials 
• have clear language learning objectives 
• have ways to assess the reading 

The program should grow each year: 
• How much do students need to read, and how often? 
• Should class time be allocated to this? If so, how much and when? 
• How many books do we need to cover different levels of abilities and interests? 
• Should we integrate Extensive Reading into an existing class, or have a special Extensive Reading class? 
• Where should we keep the books? How should we manage the library? 
• When, and how often, do students change their books? 
• How do we assess the students? 
• How do we find money for this? 
• Who is responsible for running this program? ]]> 2018-02-07 20:44:58 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229326750 How much time elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229328994 Teachers can maximize the amount of reading time by asking students to read both out of class and in class. Some teachers set aside a whole class, or part of a class as a silent reading time so they can monitor the students’ reading.
Teachers should set a certain time every day/or week when the library is open for students to change their books. It is a good idea to start extensive reading in class making sure that learners do it and learn how to do it properly and eventually it can be done as homework.
A wide selection of interesting books is needed to satisfy the needs of different students. Every year, the Extensive Reading Foundation gives its Language Learner Literature Awards to the best graded readers published in that year (www.erfoundation.org) 

The library should include:
• fiction and non-fiction age-appropriate graded readers
• a wide range of topics and genres, including romance, detective, drama, thrillers etc. 
• a wide range of books at different levels of difficulty, that suit the level of your school’s population 
• books that will interest students 5-15 years from now • some class sets of popular readers, for class reading ]]> 2018-02-07 20:50:26 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229328994 E.R elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229335858 https://www.phraseum.com
https://nikpeachey.blogspot.it/2014/03/creating-social-phrasebooks-with.html?m=1
https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/09/5-great-tools-to-improve-students.html?m=1

Free sample materials

http://www.onestopenglish.com/clil/what-is-clil/free-sample-material/

CLIL
http://www.onestopenglish.com/clil/what-is-clil/ 
]]> 2018-02-07 21:09:36 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229335858 elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229801743 2018-02-08 20:07:21 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/229801743 elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/230299481
  • Reading material
    Reading for pleasure requires a large selection of books available for students to choose from at their level. Teachers can use graded readers (books written specifically for EFL/ESL students or which have been adapted from authentic texts).
  • Student choice
    Students choose what they want to read based on their interests. If a student finds a book too difficult or boring, they can change it.
  • Reading for pleasure and information
    The students are reading principally for the content of the texts. Teachers can ask students about the books informally, and encourage occasional mini-presentations of the books or book reviews, but these shouldn't be obligations to the students.
  • Extensive reading out of class
    Having a classroom library and encouraging students to borrow books to take home can help.
  • Silent reading in class
    Some teachers set aside a regular fifteen-minute period of silent reading in class. 
  • Language level
    The vocabulary and grammar of the books should not pose a difficulty. The objective is to encourage reading fluency, so students should not be stopping frequently because they do not understand a passage. The books should not be too easy as this may demotivate students.
  • Use of dictionaries
    Dictionaries should be avoided. Instead of interrupting their flow, students should be encouraged to jot down the words they come across in a vocabulary notebook, and they can look them up after they have finished reading.
  • Record keeping
    The teacher should take an interest and keep record of what students are reading. She should encourage and assist the students with their reading and with individual counselling . However, extensive reading should be a student-centred and a student-managed activity. 
    • ]]>     2018-02-10 19:24:50 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/230299481     Elisabetta's  Learning Diary elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/231289304
    Hi everyone! I'm half Irish, half Italian. I teach Religion in a Primary School in Italy: I have 9 classes with children ranging from 6 to 11 years old. Many of them come from schoolsdifferent countries (India, China, Japan, Romania, Albania, Brasil, Philippines).
    In Italy  Religion is taught in public  for its historical and cultural value and never in a devotional or doctrinal manner: the subjetc itself helps to instill understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity in a pluralistic society.

    ]]>     2018-02-13 20:47:15 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/231289304     elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/231293783 If the students know about 98% of the words on a page, they can read it quickly and with high levels of comprehension. Below 90% (one unknown word in 10) the reading becomes frustrating and slow requiring a lot of dictionary use and comprehension suffers badly. The reading is at an ‘instructional’ level when the students know between 90% and 98% of the words on a page. At this difficulty level, they will know enough of the surrounding language that they will have adequate comprehension but will still need to look up many words if they wish to understand the text better.   
    Teachers should match the difficulty of the text with the aim of the reading. Students should read at Instructional level if they wish to learn new things, or in the reading ‘sweet spot’ when the aim is to build reading speed and fluency. Whether a given text is ‘instructional’ or in the ‘sweet spot’ depends on the ability of the students themselves. Not all students in a class will read at the same level and so a given text might be very frustrating to a low ability student, but easy for a high ability student. ]]>     2018-02-13 20:58:29 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/231293783     elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/231294409 2018-02-13 21:00:15 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/231294409 5 Tips for a CLIL teacher elysweet https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/232584516 2018-02-17 14:33:31 UTC https://padlet.com/elysweet/hr96lgvd3pc5/wish/232584516