The document summarizes three English and science summer schools organized in Timisoara, Romania from 2014-2016. The summer schools aimed to teach both English and science concepts to 6th and 7th grade students through experiential learning activities like workshops, experiments, crafts and games. Key topics included the water cycle, volcanoes, light and the solar system. Students learned vocabulary and concepts in English and conducted hands-on science experiments. Technology like videos, presentations and apps were used to support learning and collaboration. Overall, the summer schools provided an example of using CLIL (content and language integrated learning) to teach English and science in a creative and motivating way for students.

1. CLIL – An Example of
Practice. Mixing English
and Science: does it work?
Monica Oprescu
Dana Crăciun
Teacher Training Departament,
West University of Timișoara,
România

2. English plus Science Summer
Schools
 July 2014/ 2015/2016 (one week each)
 organized with the help of voluntary students, as part of the
teacher training programme;
 the activity involved pupils at several secondary schools in
Timișoara– 6th/7th graders;
 organized in collaboration with the Romanian Society of
Physics, Timișoara Branch
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3. Why English plus Science
Summer School ?
For students
 experiential learning period – non-formal activity;
For pupils
 opportunity to learn English and Sciences in a pleasant and creative way;
 opportunity to socialize (pupils from different schools – different pedagogies);
For organizers
 activity which promotes CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning);
 a way to support the study of Sciences (Physics in particular) through creative
activities;
 opportunity to experiment with Social Media in education.
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4. Theoretical approach:CLIL
 Content and Language Integrated Learning
 umbrella term, used for: bilingual education,
language immersion, CBI -Content Based
Instruction, EAL - English as an additional
language, LAC - language across the
curriculum, intercultural language teaching and
learning in practice etc.
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/luigistrano/3472312255

5. CLIL
 “a dual focused approach” (Mehisto, Marsh, Frigols,
2008), “a fusion of subject didactics, leading to an
innovation which emerged as education for modern
times” (Coyle, Hood, Marsh 2010: ix), a modern outlook
on teaching and learning;
 The European perspective on language education makes
reference to CLIL in many language policy documents,
such as European Language Policy and CLIL
(www.ua.gov.tr)
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6. CLIL
 Coyle, Hood, Marsh consider CLIL a response to
globalisation, offering “more exposure to the language
overall”, “better linguistic and communicative
competence, more relevant methodologies and higher
levels of authenticity to increase learner motivation”
(2010:5).
 Meehisto, Marsh, Frigols (2008) advantages of CLIL:
multiple focus, authenticity, safe and enriching learning
environment, co-operation.
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7. Activities
 English workshops based on science topics;
 Science workshops based on experiments on the
topics;
 Craft activities meant to create volcanoes and
planets;
 Day-trip in Timisoara to reproduce the planetary
system at scale 1:870.000.000
 Demonstrations at Experimentarium;
 Musical workshop;
 Treasure hunt;
 Games.
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8. The Science Education
Perspective
 Science and games, crafts and experiments, role play or creative writing can be
braided to form the scientific thinking of children and to acquire specific
concepts.
 Experiential learning – David A. Kolb
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdontowhatyoubelieve/62281117
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9. Summer school 1
 following topics: water cycle, volcanoes, light, planets –
vocabulary activities, discussions, songs, explanations of
phenomena;
 games, language activities, experiments, crafts;
 the fifth day was reserved for a trip throughout the city,
during which pupils reproduced the planetary system at
scale 1:870.000.000 and visited Experimentarium,
where they were shown different optical experiments.
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10. Summer school 2
 focus on topics related to the solar system both in
English and Science;
 English activities have introduced elements related to
storytelling / myths about the birth of planets;
 projects related to the planets – writing about them and
drawing – teamwork;
 at the end of the programme students have created
films about the planets and presented them in English;
 trip to Experimentarium.
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11. Summer school 3
 games and icebreakers;
 communicative activities in smaller groups;
 projects on the world of tomorrow;
 different ways to communicate science (virtual panels,
web based comics, holograms);
 presentations at the end of the summer school;
 workshop on music; treasure hunt;
 different approach – coaching, working in smaller
groups, more freedom.
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12. Specificity of English
workshops
 icebreaking activities;
 as the teaching of English was concerned, the
objectives were related to the focus on language and
content, a lot of attention being given to linguistic
specialised terminology to use with the topics, the
interest in using creative and game-like activities.
 non-formal activity;
 cultural elements;
 modern, communicative methods;
 CLIL approach.
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13. Specificity of Science
workshops
 experiments, explanations, presentations;
(Summer school 1, 2, 3)
 focused on making small experiments that
students presented in oral/written form or
through imagine using web based application;
 illusions and reality, “Pepper's ghost” in practice,
holograms (Summer school 3);
 hands-on activities; Experimentarium TM modern,
communicative methods;
 teamwork;
 presentations made using virtual panels.
(Summer school 3)
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14. 14
Padlet app
Students presentations

15. Using Social Media and
technology to sustain the
summer school
We used Social Media and technology in our activities to
 Communicate (Youtube, electronic presentations, virtual
panels, comics apps, Movie Maker, Google Earth, various
dedicated websites) - students, teachers, pupils;
 Collaborate (independence of time and space) – students,
teachers, pupils, parents;
 Popularization – dissemination of information to reach the
target audience – interested pupils, parents, teachers (Physics
and English);
 Visibility – transparency – activities, resources,
crafted products – for parents, teachers, etc. 15

16. Internet based activities
Teaching involved the use of Youtube videos, songs, experiments –
proved very interesting and motivating for pupils;
Links (examples):
 http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/101-videos/solar-system-sci (solar
system)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-kzdR93bqw (solar system song)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmTh0ECGPCY (watercycle experiment)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzOoTPfcUBM (How to make a volcano -craft )
 http://osa.magnet.fsu.edu/futurescientists/ (more about light)
To build the scaled planetary system we used
 http://thinkzone.wlonk.com/SS/SolarSystemModel.php
The system has been visualized in Google Maps
Latitude: 45.73418618105436 / 45° 44' 3“
Longitude: 21.244887113571167 / 21° 14' 41"
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17. Internet based activities-
outputs
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Solar System Scale Model

18. Technology based activities
 Power Point Presentations used by students to
illustrate content, to show pictures, to organize
experiments (steps).
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Movie Maker Tool
Electronic
presentations
Comics Tool

19. Page: “English plus Science”
 https://www.facebook.com/pages/English-plus-Science/266534883550272
Social media – way of promoting collaboration, tool of communication, making the
activity visible!
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2015
2016
2014

20. Avantages of the CLIL
approach
 combination of English and Science;
 variety of activities;
 interesting topics;
 interdisciplinary approach;
 a different kind of training, not only in CLIL, but also in
a non-formal activity.
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21. Disadvantages
 difficulty of Science subjects;
 difficulty of doing Science workshops in English for
various reasons;
 very different domains for which there is no combined
training.
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22. References
1. Coyle, D., Hood, P., Marsh, D., (2010) CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge
University Press.
2. Dalton-Puffer and Smit. (eds.), (2007) Empirical Perspectives on CLIL Classroom Discourse. Frankfurt, Vienna:
Peter Lang.
3. Meehisto, P., Marsh, D., Frigols, M.J.,(2008) Uncovering CLIL. Macmillan Oxford.
4. Motteram, G. Ed., (2013) Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching, British Council,
London UK.
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