Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is where all or part of another subject in the curriculum is taught through the medium of the new language. In order for this to be effective, both language and content need to be carefully planned. The focus is often very much on developing children’s comprehension of the new language.

This method of embedding language into other subjects requires a certain level of language competence on the part of the teacher, as well as a good understanding of the primary pedagogy of the other subject to be taught. CLIL therefore often works well when class teachers work collaboratively with a specialist language teacher, as in the featured clip, planning units of work carefully and ensuring that both teachers have a sound understanding of the content and language to be covered.

When done well, CLIL can be extremely motivating for learners, enabling them to engage with the new language and to revisit and explore new areas of knowledge in the other subject. It also makes best possible use of time available in the curriculum.

Questions

- Do you feel in a position to use the CLIL method? If so, in which subject area can you see this working well?

- What are the challenges posed by the CLIL method?

- What support could you draw on to help you plan and deliver a CLIL unit of work (e.g. specialist staff, local authority adviser, published resources, online resources)?

Activity

Choose a subject area and topic (e.g. maths, geometric shapes) and plan a simple lesson in the new language.

• What language will you need to deliver the lesson in its entirety (both subject related and for classroom management)? 
• What is the core language that you would expect the children to be able to produce by the end of the lesson (e.g. names of 6-8 shapes, ‘side’, ‘corner’, ‘The shape has…sides/corners’)?
• What kind of questioning will you use to ensure that children have understood?