TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the past few years, the

CLIL with
growing interest in CLIL has been
partly due to the positive feedback
from teachers who have implemented
the approach in class and also thanks to
research which has reflected the
beneficial outcomes of teaching content
areas through a foreign language.
Nevertheless, as David Graddol points

children
out in the Guardian Weekly online CLIL
debate, ‘When [CLIL] works, it works
extraordinarily well, but it is actually quite
difficult to do well.’

Projects and CLIL

Doing project work is an excellent way
for teachers and children to bring

C
Nina Lauder ontent and Language together content and language. Projects
Integrated Learning (CLIL) is generally result in a finished product
recommends project not a new concept, but it is that can be displayed in class, included
one that is becoming in portfolios or shown to parents, and
work as a way of increasingly popular across Europe and they often include collaborative tasks.
in many other parts of the world. Projects tend to consolidate
integrating content and Generally speaking, CLIL has a dual information from different parts of the
focus: it aims to introduce children to
language learning. content areas such as science, music or
curriculum in a natural way and provide
variety for both children and teachers.
art, using a foreign language (in this case They also integrate the four skills while,
English) to teach all or part of the at the same time, promoting learner
subject curriculum. Basically, English autonomy and cooperation.
shifts from being used exclusively for As a result, projects and CLIL have
language-based purposes to becoming a a number of things in common. They
vehicle to learn non-language content. both:
! integrate language and skills;
! involve the use of functional
language, which is dictated by the
topic being investigated or studied;
! shift away from the ‘language-driven’
approach by presenting and working
with English in a natural, realistic
context;
! give children the opportunity to use
English beyond the realms of the
language class;
! provide a variety of stimuli for
distinct learning styles, learners and
levels.

Projects and children

A number of factors are involved when
it comes to choosing the type of
project to be carried out in young
learner classes. Teachers need to
consider class size, resources, the

22 • Issue 57 July 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • [Link] •

 TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
children’s cognitive capacities and their There are a number of resource books,
language levels when picking a project, photocopiable publications and
and they should make sure that the websites with excellent ideas and
topic chosen is age-appropriate and suggestions for carrying out projects in
interesting for the children. class, some of which are included in the
references at the end of this article.
When it comes to setting up
projects, there are many options:
!!!
Time
Projects can be short-term or long- CLIL focuses on learning content in a
term. They may be completed in one foreign language, rather than on
class period, over the course of a learning the language itself, and projects
number of classes or over the whole lend themselves extremely well to
term or school year. implementing this approach.
Of course, teachers need to tailor
Dynamics the integration of language and content
Projects can involve individual, pair- or and the use of projects to their own
groupwork. They can be collaborative, educational needs and circumstances.
inter-class, involve the whole school or Ideally, language teachers and non-
even move beyond the single school on language teachers, can (and should)
a national or international level work together to decide on subject
out the number of students in the class areas, themes and topics which can be
Focus
who waste water or who recycle things dealt with in English and set goals and
Projects may be thematic or curricular.
at home. objectives according to their particular
They may, for example, be focused on
literacy or ICT. Hands-on projects situation.
These could involve such things as Good luck and happy CLIL
teaching! ETp
Projects and making musical instruments from
recycled material or producing a
possibilities landscape collage.
Owing to the flexible and easy-to-adapt
Experiments or science fair
nature of projects, they lend themselves
projects
to a variety of settings, subject areas
Children can be asked to make posters,
and situations.
flyers or brochures. For example, they
Some ideas for types of projects Burwood, S, Dunford, H and Phillips, D
could produce a ‘Healthy heart poster’ Projects with Young Learners OUP 1999
might include the following:
with tips on how to stay healthy or Deller, S and Price, C Teaching Other Subjects
Research projects brochures with information on local through English (CLIL) OUP 2007
These could involve writing reports on festivals or monuments. Fried-Booth, D L Project Work OUP 2002
different types of animals and plants or Graddol, D English Next British Council
School talent shows, class
on historical figures. They could also 2006
plays and concerts
involve completing webquests. Lauder, N ‘JET: projects across the
Children can work together with curriculum’ Mary Glasgow Magazines
Investigation projects guidance from their teacher to organise ([Link]) 2006
Children could be asked to go out into a show, play or concert for their Marsh, D and Langé, G (Eds) Using
the neighbourhood or look around their classmates, the rest of the school or for Languages to Learn and Learning to Use
homes or school to collect data on a their parents. For example, they can Languages University of Jyväskylä 2000
given topic. For example, they might be work on an ‘end of the year show’
Nina Lauder has been
asked how many technological devices where they sing songs in English or teaching at all levels since
they can find, or could be required to perform traditional stories. 1990 and for the past
eight years has been
sketch the layout of their school or involved in educational
Class newspapers or consulting and teacher
their neighbourhood on a map.
newsletters training. She has given
Surveys With this type of project, different workshops all over Spain
and has recently given
Students can be given (or helped to children or groups of children can be talks in Croatia,Turkey,
Serbia, Slovenia, Russia
devise) questionnaires which they use made responsible for different sections and Poland. She is also a
to find out information that can later of a newspaper or asked to perform materials writer and has
published several articles.
be displayed on a graph or chart. For different tasks in order to produce a
ninatrabajo@[Link]
example, they could be asked to find newsletter.

• [Link] • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 57 July 2008 • 23

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Suggestions on Introducing CLIL in Primary Schools

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 ECAI 2016 - International Conference – 8th Edition
Electronics, Computers and Artificial Intelligence
30 June -02 July, 2016, Ploiesti, ROMÂNIA

Suggestions on Introducing CLIL in Primary

Schools

Adriana Lazăr
Faculty of Education Sciences
Unversity of Pitesti
Pitesti, Romania
[Link]@[Link]

Abstract – CLIL stands for Content and Language opportunity to understand what CILL is, how it works, how
Integrated Learning. It refers to teaching subjects such much effort needs to be invested in it and how this new
as Science, History or Geography to students through a approach can bring benefits to the pupils, teachers and
foreign language. This can be done by the foreign school, in general. You can talk about the CLIL philosophy
language teacher using cross curricular content or by and the CLIL programme during regular staff meetings or
the subject teacher using a foreign language as the organize CLIL lesson observations in your class. Explain
language of instruction, or by both teachers, teaching in why you are introducing CLIL to foreign language teachers
tandem. Both methods result in the simultaneous and to primary school teachers/content teachers so you can
learning of content and of a foreign language. The get support from them during the implementation of the
present paper is intended to help teachers new to CLIL CLIL programme and make them want to join the
to start implementing CLIL activities effectively and programme. You can also display students’ works on notice
become comfortable within this new approach, as well as boards, in the school paper or on the school website and
help students better adapt to the CLIL approach. The encourage your CLIL class to take part in school events and
paper was prepared as part of Guidelines on how to use present their CLIL activities.
CLIL in primary schools developed under the C4C-
CLIL for Children European funded Erasmus+ project,
no. 2015-1-IT02-KA201-015017. III. COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS ABOUT CLIL
Keywords – CLIL, learning styles, language, foreign Some parents might have concerns regarding their
language children’s school progress and overall learning in the
subject content. You should respond to their needs and
concerns by keeping them informed before and during the
I. INTRODUCTION implementation of the CLIL programme. Print out leaflets
with information about CLIL in general and the CLIL
The acronym CLIL stands for Content and Language programme you intend to implement. Then, invite them to
Integrated Learning. CLIL is a dual-focus educational assist to a demo CLIL lesson and then give them a parents’
approach in which an additional language is used for consent form as well as a questionnaire where most of their
teaching of both content and language (1): subjects such as concerns should be covered, allow time for discussion and
science, mathematics and geography are taught to students always keep an open communication channel with them.
through a foreign language, simultaneously promoting the You can also involve parents by inviting them to help in
learning of that foreign language. It can be achieved by the CLIL classes (e.g. school excursions, technology projects,
foreign language teacher (using cross curricular contents), etc.) or to reflect and review children’s portfolios or even
by the subject teacher (using English as the language of help children with homework projects. Parents support at
instruction) or by both working in tandem. The crucial home is beneficial for students and can help improve their
feature of CLIL is that it targets simultaneous learning of attitudes towards CLIL lessons and efforts they invest in
content and a foreign language. Over the past two decades, them.
an increasing body of research has demonstrated that CLIL
can enhance multilingualism and provide opportunities for
developing learners’ knowledge and skills. However, IV. EXPLAINING STUDENTS WHY LEARN IN A
effective use of CLIL requires a specific methodology and FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND MAKE CONNECTIONS
adequate teacher training. In the present paper we will look
at a set of suggestions on how effectively introduce CLIL Before starting a CLIL programme with your students you
courses in primary schools. need to motivate them and make them understand why
learning Geography, for example, in a foreign language, is
important. This is something new to them and they need to
II. PRESENTING THE CLIL APPROACH TO YOUR be introduced to the new programme gradually: have them
SCHOOL STAFF prepare research projects (What languages are spoken in the
neighboring countries? What foreign countries would you
If you want your school staff to understand why introducing like to visit and why?) which can lead to discussions about
CLIL is such a good idea you need to give them the the role of foreign languages and the value they have in
 WED-2 Adriana Lazăr

their lives. Thus, you can justify the need for acquiring beginning, during or at the end of each CLIL lesson: begin
better foreign language skills and the importance of CLIL. the lesson with a song, with questions to predict the topic,
with welcoming the class mascot or describing the weather,
play a quiz at the end of the lesson to check learning
V. SUPPORTING STUDENTS DURING CLIL LESSONS outcomes, invite students to retell a story.
– MAKE THEM FEEL SECURE AND COMFORTABLE
It is important to support students and make them feel
XI. USING A SET OF STANDARD CLASSROOM
secure throughout the implementation of the CLIL
LANGUAGE
programme. In order to achieve this, you need to provide a
safe and nurturing environment, one which can cater for When giving instructions about usual classroom routines,
different learning styles and students’ needs. you can use gestures and mimics to make yourself
understood in English, for example, from the very
beginning. Another way to avoid using the mother tongue
VI. INTRODUCING THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE when giving instructions is to write them on small post-its
GRADUALLY TO STUDENTS and stick them on the blackboard so that children can see
First of all, you need to create a supportive and stress-free them easily. A set of standard classroom language that has
atmosphere when you start teaching a new subject in a been repeated over and over again will be very useful
foreign language. You can start by gradually introducing the during a CLIL course. Here are some examples:
foreign language and allow students to use their mother  when starting the lesson : Good morning!, Hello
tongue whenever they feel unsecure. They will gradually everyone!, Who is absent today? Let’s start!
build their confidence in using the second language when  during the lesson: Get out your books., Open your
they are ready to do that. You can provide them with key books at page…, Turn to page…., Look at exercise … on
terms and structures on the CLIL topic and don’t forget to page …., Look at line/picture…., Let’s say it together., All
recycle regularly, especially at the beginning. Make time for together!, This row/group…., Say it again, please!, The
transition stages, at the beginning, when students can play whole sentence, please., Your turn., Louder please., In
games, and then introduce Total Physical Response English, please., What’s…/.in English?, In English, please.
activities, drawing, listening, miming, etc. – these activities Come here, Go back to your place., Stand up., Sit down.,
can help students feel comfortable and produce language Hands up/down, Hurry up., Close the door, please., Open
naturally. the window, please., Come in., Get out, Just a minute.
 when you praise the children: Good, Fine, That’s
(much) better, Very good, That’s very nice, It’s all right –
VII. ADAPTING MATERIALS TO CATER FOR don’t worry, Try again.
CHILDREN’S AGE AND LEVEL  during reading, writing and speaking activities:
Can you read this?, Who can read this sentence?, Go on,
Students can differ both with regards to their foreign
Say it after me, Read John’s part, Mary, Write/Copy that in
language and content learning levels. They also have
your notebooks, Who wants to write that on the board?,
different learning styles and interests. That is why materials
How do you spell this?.
should be adapted and used flexibly: for example, to solve a
 when playing games: Who’s your partner?, Has
task about observing the weather during a Science class,
everyone got a partner?, Sit back-to-back, Don’t show your
they can either write in the target language or draw their
partner, Change partners/places with …., Are you ready?,
answers.
Whose turn is it?, Take it in turns, You’re next, Start now,
Guess, It’s time to stop. Have you finished?, Who has
VIII. USING SPECIFIC CLASS MANAGEMENT TOOLS finished?
 when you try to keep order: Quiet, please!, Stop
It is important that you always use the foreign language for talking/playing, Don’t do that please., Stop that, Don’t be
classroom management purposes in order to maximize the silly, Give that to me, please.
exposure and establish a bilingual culture during the CLIL  when ending the lesson: That’s all for now/today,
lessons. This can also lead to real communication: for Let’s stop now, OK. You can go now, Put your books away,
example, when a student comes late or forgets something See you on Monday, Have a nice weekend!
he/she will explain things in English, in a natural way. After using these phrases frequently, you will discover that
children’s comprehension of English will develop rapidly.
At the same time, they will become more confident in their
IX. STRUCTURING THE LESSON ACCORDING TO THE
own ability to understand. You will soon reach your target
4 C’S of a classroom in which both teacher and children use
When you are planning a CLIL lesson, there are four main English nearly all the time.
components you should bear in mind: Content,
Communication, Community/Culture and Cognition. Based
on the 4Cs framework introduced by Coyle et al. [1] and XII. TEACHING CHILDREN COMMUNICATION
Mehisto et al. [2] - who refer to 4 basic principles, all these STRATEGIES IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE
components occur in a specific context which includes and If you want to avoid communication breakdowns during the
determines them all. CLIL lessons, teach students key language and
communication strategies they can fall back on when they
are having problems. Encourage your students to remember
X. ESTABLISHING CLASSROOM ROUTINES AT THE
and use in class structures such as: Me, What page?, What
BEGINNING, DURING AND ENDING OF THE CLIL
did you say?, I don’t know, We don’t understand this/that,
LESSON We’ve finished, We haven’t finished, Shall I help him/her?,
This will help students feel safe as they know exactly what Excuse me, I don’t understand, How do we say ... in
to expect during a CLIL lesson. Routines can be used at the English?, How do we spell...? They can also be taught how
 Suggestions on Introducing CLIL in Primary Schools WED-3

to use word coinage and miming, as well as paraphrasing or XV. USING EFFECTIVE CLIL TEACHING
describing what they want to say. TECHNIQUES
When you teach a content subject through the medium of a
XIII. USING ADEQUATE SOCIAL FORMS DURING foreign language, you need to combine specific methods
LESSONS – COMMUNICATIVE TEACHING METHODS and techniques of two subjects: the foreign language
techniques (under the communicative language teaching
Pair work and group work foster interaction which helps approach) and the subject content techniques that can be
students build on their existing knowledge as they compare applied to CLIL (action-oriented learning, independent
it with and discuss new content and new language. They are learning, discovery learning, cooperative learning). Neither
the focus of the CLIL approach. When you ask a HOTS is it enough to simply teach the content subject in the
question, or outline a problem to solve, or set a ccreative foreign language nor is it sufficient to merely provide
task, for example, some students will search for ways to language instruction parallel to content instruction. We will
avoid speaking in front of the whole class, especially in look at ways which can assist CLIL teachers in responding
English. If you can see that this is going to be a problem, effectively to the increased demand of their task, particulary
you can use ‘think, pair, share’ to help. First of all, the at techniques for verbal/content/learning process
students are given some silent thinking time, so that they scaffolding.
can rehearse the answer in their own [Link], each Verbal scaffolding
student is asked to tell their ideas to a partner, so that they According to Echevarria et al. [4], [5], CLIL teachers need
can both find out if their ideas make sense, and if the to adapt their language according to their student language
language they use is understandable. By this stage, the proficiency (input-oriented scaffolding techniques) and find
students will have had an opportunity to try out what they methods by which to enable their students to participate in
want to say, and will be much more confident of sharing the lesson actively and meaningfully (output-oriented
their ideas with the whole class. scaffolding techniques).
While students are interacting in pairs, they will be getting Examples of input-oriented scaffolding techniques:
to know one another better and building new relationships.  use language appropriate to students’ proficiency
This is likely to be especially useful for project work, in level in the foreign language – don’t simplify the language
which interaction between members of a group is essential too much, instead slow down the rate of speech, increase
for cooperation. Interacting in groups, students can relax, pauses between sentences, repeat and paraphrase frequently;
work creatively, and take more risks with their language  animate language use: accompany your speech
[Link] can work to their strengths and can take control with miming, gestures and facial expressions, thus offering
of their own learning. By the time the project is successfully supportive contextual information and link abstract
completed, students will have had numerous opportunities concepts with concrete ones;
to speak together and to construct together the learning of  build redundancy into the CLIL lessons: use
content and of new language. repetition, paraphrasing and synonyms already known by
your students for better comprehension;
XIV. USING A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES AND  model correct language use: paraphrase, rephrase,
restate or expand a student’s response correctly, also using a
STRATEGIES TO ACCOMMODATE DIFFERENT LEARNING
correct pronunciation to model correct foreign language
STYLES use;
Lerners’ styles and pace of learning may be different from  scaffold through careful mother tongue use: CLIL
one student to another and that is why teachers need to be teachers should use the foreign language during the whole
careful in this respect when designing a CLIL lesson, just as lesson, but sometimes it is necessary to use the mother
they do with their regular lessons. Let’s take for example tongue too, especially at the initial stages of CLIL
the four modalities description (which originates from the implementation, for example, when teacher and students
work of Dr's Bandler, R. and Grinder, J. in the Field of reflect on the outcomes of experiments or try to generalise
Neuro-Linguistic Programming) [3] and imagine that you learning results (e.g. translate a key word).
have different types of students in your class: those who Examples of output-oriented scaffolding techniques:
prefer a visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), kinesthetic  provide key vocabulary and phrases: instead of
(moving) or tactile (touching) way of learning. Here are providing the students with lists of words, use word strips
some activities and strategies you can use for each type of and pictures to activate and collect students’ pre-knowledge
learners: on the topic and display them on the blackboard/walls
 Visual - Use many visuals in the classroom. For during the whole CLIL lesson;
example, wall displays, posters, realia, flash cards, graphic  use supportive error correction: correct students in
organizers, etc. a supportive manner, mainly by using indirect error
 Auditory - Use audio CDs and videos, correction techniques such as repeating an utterance while
storytelling, songs, jazz chants, memorization and drills, correcting the error or by asking clarification questions so
allow learners to work in pairs and small groups regularly. as to enable the student to self-correct;
 Kinaesthetic - Use physical activities,  allow for sufficient wait time for student
competitions, board games, role plays etc., intersperse responses: some students need more time for processing
activities which require students to sit quietly with activities ideas in the new language and to formulate the paraphrasing
that allow them to move around and be active. of their thoughts, so, be patient.
 Tactile - Use board and card games,  code-switch: especially at the early stages of
demonstrations, projects, and role plays, etc., Use while- CLIL, allow students to use their mother tongue and the
listening and reading activities. For example, ask students to foreign language alternatively or a mixture of both
fill in a table while listening to a talk, or to label a diagram languages in order to get their message across or to carry
while reading. out a conversation; the teacher can model back/translate
into the foreign language the required language that was
lacking;
 WED-4 Adriana Lazăr

 offer verbal-scaffolding to students: bridge and Examples of techniques for explaining tasks:
prompt between what the students can say and what they  use clear instructions for assignments and
want to say, encourage them to use their own resources; activities: you can do this better if you establish routines
 offer alternative ways of expressing during the CLIL lesson and use the same place to display
understanding/misunderstanding: students may be allowed materials needed for explaining and predicting the tasks;
to mime responses, demonstrate their understanding by  provide model of a process, task, assignment:
using symbolic representations found in the charts or demonstrate the task yourself before having your students
pictures, for example. do it, give them a concrete model accompanied by verbal
Content scaffolding instructions;
This type of techniques (according to Echevarria et al.)  check the understanding of task instructions: you
should be constantly applied to assist and support students’ can do this by asking a student to re-explain the instructions
understanding of and engagement with the content by better to the rest of the class or by asking a pair or group to carry
explaining content concepts and tasks. out a model task for the rest of the class.
Examples of techniques for supporting and understanding of Learning process scaffolding
content: These techniques promote learner autonomy and can assist
 select and adapt content knowledge to students’ CLIL teachers in supporting students’ working and learning
developmental and cognitive level: use exploration and processes by equipping them with learning strategies
discovery or problem-solving techniques when you work pending on students’ learning styles and preferences.
with content already taught; try to work with content that is Examples:
predominantly new so students are more interested; adjust  use scanning and skimming reading techniques:
the content linguistically, select when necessary and if it is encourage students to focus on the information they are
permitted by the curriculum; looking for, without being distracted by unknown words, in
 refer to previous knowledge and order to fill in a chart on a specific topic;
experiences/learning, link to students’ interests and lives:  teach students content specific working strategies,
link the known with the unknown and thus provide a such as carrying out a survey and presenting the results of
scheme of reference for new material [6] to increase the survey in a chart;
students’ comprehension;  use advance or graphic organizers such as
 define, display and review content and language timelines, flow charts, semantic maps, etc. to provide the
objectives with students: use the KWL chart [7], for students with structures in which they can write down/or
example, and ask students to complete it, at the beginning stick post-its with the information they distil from a picture;
(K - what I know; W – what I want to know), and at the end  use mnemonics such as short poems or a special
of the lesson (L – what I learned). word to help students remember key concepts through
Examples of techniques for explaining concepts: associations (My – for Mercury, Very – for Venus, Monkey
 use visualisation techniques: graphs, hand-on- – for Mars, etc.); students may be encouraged to make up
manipulatives, body language, gestures or computer their own mnemonics which can be fun and entertaining.
simulation programmes can help students better understand
the concepts in a CLIL lesson; REFERENCES
 use an active discovery technique: instead of [1] Coyle, D., Holmes, B., King, L. Towards an Integrated
giving lengthy explanations in the foreign language about Curriculum – CLIL National Statement and Guidelines.
the new concepts, try involving your students in hand-on- London: The Languages Co., 2009.
manipulative activities which can include listening, [2] Mehisto, P., Marsh, D., Frigols, M.J.. Uncovering CLIL.
speaking, reading, writing, watching, cutting, gluing, London: MacMillan, 2008.
experimenting, selecting, drawing, etc.; [3] Bandler, R., and Grinder, J. "Frogs Into Princes". Moab, UT:
 allow students to discuss or work on content Real People Press, 1979.
concepts in mother tongue at the beginning stages of CLIL [4] Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E. and Short, D. Making Content
implementation when they carry out a task, for example, Comprehensible for English Learners. The SIOP Model.
and they are required to interact or negotiate with their Boston u.a.: Pearson, 2006.
peers; [5] Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E. and Short, D. Making Content
Comprehensible for Elementary English Learners. The SIOP
 review the key vocabulary and key content
Model. Boston u.a.: Pearson, 2010.
concepts during the CLIL lesson: you can either display
[6] Snow, M.A. “Instructional methodology in immersion foreign
them, use brief quizzes in the form of games or use songs language education”. In Padilla, A.M., Fairchild, H.H. and
and chants which involve the concept to provide quick and Valadez, CM. (Eds.). Foreign language education: Issues and
engaging ways of reminding the students’ of the key strategies. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. , 1990, p. 161.
concepts and words; [7] Ogle, D.M. K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active
 regularly check understanding and give feedback: reading of expository text. Reading Teacher, 39, 1986, 564–
observe the students’ responses systematically and use spot- 570.
check activities during the CLIL lesson.

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