This document provides an overview of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). CLIL is an approach to teaching subjects such as science or geography through the medium of a foreign language. The document discusses the benefits of CLIL in developing subject knowledge and language ability. It also outlines different types of CLIL implementation and principles for effective CLIL teaching, including the use of scaffolding techniques and a focus on interaction, output, and developing thinking skills.

1. CLIL for Primary School
eTwinning Learning Event
Istituto Comprensivo 3 Chieti
Marina Screpanti
Italian eTwinning Ambassador

2. CLIL
Content Language Integrated Learning
Content and Language Integrated
Learning is an umbrella term which
encompasses any activity in which a foreign
language is used as a tool in the learning of a
non language subject, where both language
and subject have a joint role (Marsh).
1995
First mention
of CLIL

3. European Commission :
"Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), in which pupils learn a
subject through the medium of a foreign language……"
"CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are taught
through a foreign languagewith dual-focused aims, namely the learning of
content, and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language".
"It [CLIL] provides exposure to the language without requiring extra time in
the curriculum".
"…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".

5. Why CLIL?
CLIL can:
develop subject knowledge
increase intercultural awareness
develop FL ability
improve cognitive skills
prepare students for a wider job market
It provides exposure to language without
extra-time in the school timetable

6. How many kinds of CLIL?
Different kinds of immersion: from partial to total where some, most or
all of subject content is taught through the target language
Subject courses where curricular subjects apart from language can be
taught through the target language (specific classes with CLIL approach)
CLIL language showers where there is a regular, short exposure to CLIL
usually in one subject area, delivered in the target language for 15 or 30
minutes several times per week
Language classes based on thematic units with emphasis on content
Double immersion programmes where two foreign languages plus the
mother tongue are used to teach the curriculum

7. CLIL PRINCIPLES
1Content matter is not only about acquiring
knowledge and skills, it is about the learner
creating their own knowledge and
understanding and developing skills
(personalised learning);
2Content is related to learning and
thinking (cognition).
3This language needs to be
transparent and accessible;
CHUNKS OF
LANGUAGE

8. 4. Interaction in the learning context is
fundamental to learning. This has implications
when the learning context operates through the
medium of a foreign language. The relationship
between cultures and languages is complex.
5. Intercultural awareness is fundamental to
CLIL. Its rightful place is at the core of CLIL.

9. What does CLIL expect to achieve?
The overall goals of CLIL can be wide-ranging but should
include:
■ Develop intercultural communication skills;
■ Prepare for internationalism;
■Provide opportunities to study content through different
perspectives;
■ Access subject-specific target language terminology;
■ Improve overall target language competence;
■ Develop oral communication skills;
■ Diversify methods and forms of classroom practice;
■Increase learner motivation.
These are often expressed as the ‘4Cs.

10. It gives opportunity to learn
the content through different
perspectives.
It leads to achieve a deeper
understanding of the subject
The key factor is the emphasis on
communication and interaction.
It focuses on oral
communicative skills and fluency
It promotes the development
of thinking skills
CLIL can help develop
intercultural communication
and learning about European
countries’ culture

11. 4C
Content: subject matter; progression in new knowledge,
skills and understanding.
Cognition: learning and thinking processes; engagement
in higher-order thinking and understanding, problem
solving, and accepting challenges and reflecting on
them.
Culture: developing intercultural understanding and
global citizenship; ‘self’ and ‘other’ awareness, identity,
citizenship, and progression towards multicultural
understanding.
Communication: language learning and using;
interaction, progression in language using and learning.

12. Cohexistence of L1 and L2
The use of two languages is not a factor for failure in
bilingual classes. Language strengths, not limitations, come
from the combination of both languages under adequate
pedagogic conditions.
Unsatisfactory results are due to inappropriate use of
teaching resources and methods.
The ‘dual iceberg’ hypothesis: knowledge tranfers across
languages, what has been learnt in one language does not
need to be learnt again, it just need to find the words that
best label this common knowledge.

13. Advantages in students working with
CLIL modules
Listening and understanding, speaking, reading;
Fluency and a large quantity of spoken language;
Vocabulary;
Morphology;
Technical language (specific of each school subject)
Creativity;
risk-taking;
collaborative skills;
development thinking skills (cognitional
development)

14. Motivation
Motivation may increase when ‘real issues’
become the centre of study.
Learners who are interested in a particular
topic are motivated to acquire language in
order to communicate. So the focus is not on
language but there is a huge language
improvement.
Meaningful
learning/activities

15. Meaningful activities
Involving learners in whatever there is to be
learned seems to be the crucial point in
teaching. Learning can occur if learners are
involved in meaningful interaction with others.
The task for CLIL teachers, then, is to enable
learners to become engaged in meaningful
interaction in a foreign language regarding
topics and problems posed by the curriculum of
the subject.

16. TIPS
1) Always start from the pupils’ perspective (BRAINSTORMING)
2) Create opportunities for the integrated use of content and language
3) The final product must integrate language and content; it can be a talk, a film,
a poster, an interview, a mind map, a dialogue, a quiz, an experiment etc.
These products need to be seen, watched, listened to, perceived by others, by
classmates, teachers, parents or other pupils;
4) Use textbooks and texts written in the second language. These only become
too challenging if pupils do not learn how to work efficiently with them.
Specialist terms play a key role in subject texts.
5) Create opportunities for communication about the subject in the second
language in every lesson. Pupils can for example be asked to discuss in pairs
which aspects of the lesson they felt were most important, providing
arguments to support their views. This does not take up much time, but brings
major benefits. The introduction of complicated specialist terms in a foreign
language is easier when illustrations are used.

17. Principles for successful and sustainable CLIL teaching
and learning (from Meyer 2010)
■ Rich input: classroom materials should be meaningful, challenging, and authentic, so that new
topics enhance motivation and link to prior knowledge. This may include Video clips, flash-
animations, web-quests, pod-casts or other interactive materials on foreign language
websites. Such materials can offer challenging tasks, creative thinking and create opportunities
for meaningful language output.
■ Scaffolding: it is a support students and enable them to accomplish a given task through
appropriate, supportive language production by providing phrases, subject-specific vocabulary
and collocations needed to complete assignments.
■ Rich interaction and pushed output: Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) should be an integral
part of CLIL teaching. TBLT focuses on bringing authentic communication into the classroom.
Authentic communication in tasks promotes negotiation of meaning necessary and enables a
greater depth and bandwidth of content learning.
■ Intercultural communication: students need to become aware of the hidden cultural codes and
the appropriate linguistic and non-linguistic means and strategies to address them.
■Thinking skills: the intersection of content, cognition and language, the ability to express
complex thought processes appropriately. Cognitive skills are crucial and systematic language
work is of paramount importance when teaching thinking. Students need to be shown how to
express their thoughts in an increasingly complex manner.
REALLY IMPORTANT !!!

18. Put in the right order: taxonomy game
http://en.educaplay.com/en/learningresources/2284
041/unscramble_taxonomy.htm

19. Bloom’s taxonomy
Blooms taxonomy (2).doc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ySwJpGIW-s&feature=youtu

21. http://farr-integratingit.net/Theory/CriticalThinking/revisedcog-creating.htm
types of thinking.pdf
Table of cognitive skills-1.pdf
Thinking skills_UVIC-1.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvWZtiSfuo8
LOTS= Low order thinking skills
HOTS= high order thinking skills

23. Table 1 adapted from Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001

26. WHAT HAPPENS IN NORMAL FL LESSONS?
Generally, in the normal FL lessons there is
insufficient exposition to the language. Very
often, in these lessons, the language the
children are exposed to is composed precisely
of the language items that are to be. Thus the
children are exposed to language objectives
rather than to naturally-occurring language

27. What is LEARNING?
Learning is an active process of making sense.
The starting point of playing CLIL is to see
learning as an active mental process of making
sense of the world. Learning aims for
understanding, for giving meaning to
experience. There are infinitely numerous ways
of experiencing the world and giving meaning to
it (e.g. from various perspectives or affective
states)

30. Scaffolding
Scaffolding is the process of supporting
students during their learning process and
gradually removing that support as your
students become more independent.

31. Scaffolding
Language and Learning
You can scaffold both the language as well as the
learning process of students.
Scaffolding a language can be done by providing
language frames or example sentences (CHUNKS
OF LANGUAGE)
Scaffolding learning can be done by providing the
step by step instructions for the task ahead. This
can also be an example exercise

32. Language of learning/language for learning/
Language through learning
Language of learning: It is the type of language that learners have to
acquire in order to be able to access the new knowledge that is going
to be introduced through the specific content of the subject. It is
language specific to the subject, so it can be related to the genre. For
instance, a CLIL lesson of History would include terms and vocabulary
related to houses, clothes, customs, etc., together with descriptions
and generalizations and the use of, for example, the past tense.
Language for learning: It is the language that learners will need to
use during the lessons, so that they can develop and do the tasks and
activities efficiently. It is related to the classroom language. This type
of language would include a vast number of examples.
Language through learning: It is the kind of language that cannot be
planned in advance and which will ‘emerge’ through the learning
process.

33. Resources and materials for CLIL lessons in the web
iTunes
You tube
Teacher tube: http://www.teachertube.com/
Teachers TV: http://www.teachers.tv/
Learning English (BBC):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
Learn English (British Council):
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/
English central: http://www.englishcentral.com/watch
Voxy: http://voxy.com/
Yappr: http://es.englishyappr.com/welcome/VideoList.action
Ted subtitles: http://www.ted.com/translate/languages/spa
Scoop.it: http://www.scoop.it/clil%20resources

34. Lesson planning has to take into account the
following aspects:
• choice of a subject content or a portion of it appropriate for the age
and included in the school curriculum;
• examination of children’s language proficiency and cognitive skills
required to deal with the content;
• consideration of children’s learning styles and multiple intelligences;
• definition of content objectives in terms of what children will learn or
do;
• definition of language objectives in terms of receptive and productive
skills, academic language, functional language;
• choice of strategies to activate children’s background experiences and
prior learning (see “tuning in” activities in the planning format);
• choice of appropriate activities aimed to facilitate language and
content learning, organise knowledge, develop higher-order thinking
skills (observe, recognize, locate, identify, collect, distinguish, categorize,
select, construct, etc.) and apply knowledge to new;
• choice of outcomes

36. Tools for planning a CLIL
module/lesson
http://learningdesigner.org/

37. Lesson plan samples
http://www.onestopenglish.com/clil/
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/teachi
ng-kids/resources/clil
http://multidict.net/clilstore/

38. Some references
• Coyle, D., Hood, P., Marsh, D., (2010), CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Coonan C.M., (2014), I principi base di CLIL, I Quaderni della Ricerca. Fare CLIL - Strumenti per
un insegnamento integrato di lingua e di disciplina nella scuola secondaria, Torino, Loescher
Editore.
• Marsh, D., Wolff, D., (2007), Diverse contexts – Converging goals, CLIL in Europe, Peter Lang,
Francoforte.
• Marsh, D., Mehisto, P., Wolff, D., Frigols, M. J.. (2010), European Framework for CLIL Teacher
Education: A framework for the professional development of CLIL teachers, European Centre
for Modern Languages, Graz.
• Marsh, D. (2013), The CLIL Trajectory: Educational Innovation for the 21st century
iGeneration, University of Cordoba.
• Mehisto, P., Marsh, D., Frigols, M.J., (2008), Uncovering CLIL, Macmillan.
• Serragiotto G., (2014), Dalle microlingue disciplinari al CLIL, Torino, UTET.
• Bentley, K., (2010), The TKT Course – CLIL Module, Cambridge University Press.
• Dale L., Tanner R., (2012), CLIL Activities. A resource for subject and language teachers,
Cambridge University Press.
• Last modified: Monday, 23 November 2015, 4:09 AM