Pinerolo Teachers Workshop
Aspects of and Approaches to CLIL
January 2009
Dr Diana Hicks
What is CLIL? Content and Language INTEGRATED learning
Different perceptions, practices and pedagogies
1 Teaching /learning a complete curriculum in English using English (National Curriculum) materials
= Subject through English
2 Teaching /learning a complete subject in English using mostly English ( National Curriculum ) materials
= Subject through English
3 Teaching/learning one or two modules/topics per year in English using both Mother Tongue (often translated) materials and English materials
= Subject through English
4 Teaching/learning English through subject material from many sources – mostly internet.
= English through subject
*5 Teaching /learning subject material and English using English and Mother tongue
= English ( and Mother tongue) through subject
6 Teaching complete subjects in English to selected pupils using mostly English materials
=Subject through English
In all approaches, the aim is two- fold: at the same time as learning English the children are learning subject content.
1 Where do we start with CLIL?
Do we start with the Language syllabus orthe Subject
syllabus ( eg Science, History etc) or both?
Work alone, with a partner or in a small group and share your ideas.
2 Look at the English Language Syllabus below and the Science topics. What can you ‘match up’?
Add other topics from your own curricula
Standard Language Syllabus Topics for Primary English – age 8 / Science curriculum Key stage 2 (7-11)(UK only but many topics will be shared across most European systems)
1 Clothes
2 Body
3 Family
4 Transport
5 Animals
6 The classroom
7 Sport and leisure
8 Food and drink
9 At home
10 The weather / 1 Teeth
2 Food
3 Plants
4 Materials
5 Rocks and soil
6 Magnets
7 Light and shadows
8 Skeletons
9 Habitats
10 Temperature
11 Solids and liquids
12 Keeping healthy
13 Lifecycles
14 The water cycle
15 Gases
16 Earth, Sun and Moon
17 The senses
18 Food chains
19 Renewable and non renewable resources
Topics from my English curriculum / Topics from my Science curriculum
Principles for CLIL planning
1 Understanding and discovery is actively created by children. It is not learning passively accepted by children.
2 Understanding and discovery happens between children rather than between teacher and child.
3 An effective lesson encourages the child to use as many senses as possible and connects mind and body. It recognises the importance of the emotions of learning and understanding.
4 Learning, understanding, ingenuity and creativity are expressed in a wide variety of forms. These draw on as many learning styles as possible in a lesson.
5 Children and teachers are ambitious for what they can achieve together
Primary CLIL should be
A Engaging- children are fascinated, intrigued, enthused by what they make and do
B Productive: the outcome of our work is of value to us and gives us pride
C Sociable:children explore, discover and create together
D Human : the curriculum explores matters of universal human importance relevant to all children in the class
…everything we ask a child to do in school should be something that’s intrinsically worth doing, something we ourselves would be proud to do well.
Philip Pullman: The Guardian 5 June 2003
What problems do you think teachers have in implementing CLIL?
Teachers have much more freedom than they often realise to design and timetable and to decide what and how they teach (Excellence and Enjoyment: DES (UK) 2003
1 Walk and talk
Walk around the room sharing ideas in pairs or groups. At the sound of the bell write one idea on the nearest piece of paper.
2 What are the solutions?
a. Work in pairs or groups. Write down some of the problems and underneath write down as many solutions as possible.
If you can think of no solutions, leave the problem on the sheet.
b. Pass your sheets to the next table.
Use your felt tips to underline and annotate the solutions:
Blue: solutions connected with organisation
Orange: solutions connected with facts and information required
Red: solutions connected with feelings
Green: solutions connected with creative ideas
Yellow: solutions connected with benefits
Black: any remaining problems
Differences between Traditional language learning and CLIL
Diana Hicks
Features of traditional language learning / Features of CLIL1 Mother tongue use in classroom discouraged by teacher and students / 1 Bi/trilingual classrooms – teacher and children
2 learning driven by structural syllabus- grammar / 2 learning driven by functional and lexical need
3 maintained link between English and English ‘culture’ / 3 link between English and international culture
4 encouraged ‘correct/standard’ pronunciation = RP / 4 comprehensible pronunciation and intonation – ‘world Englishes’
5 emphasis on language accuracy / 5 emphasis on language fluency
6 predominance of ‘respond’ and ‘imitate’ activities / 6 balance between ‘imitate’, ‘respond’ and ‘initiate’ activities
7 teacher centred / 7 learner centred
8 deference to the native speaker / 8 shared communication across other language users
9 dialogue based / 9 wide range of genres
10 linear lessons / 10 spiral lessons and Units of work
11 non-content based / 11 content based
12 non-collegial / 12 requires collegiality
13 non-cognitive / 13 all kinds of cognition encouraged and required
14 uncreative / 14 all kinds of creativity
15 un-reflective / 15 reflection essential
16 many closed tasks / 16 more open tasks
17 three stage lesson – Presentation, Practice, Production / 17 lessons start from the pupils
18 learning given to learners / 18 learning created by learners
19 focus on individual work / 19 focus on pair and group work
20 sees mixed ability and non native speakers as ‘problems’ / 20 sees all classes as opportunities for inclusivity
CLIL methodology- How do we make it work?
What do we need to change?
Diana Hicks
We need to make changes to
1 Teacher language awareness
a. We are working in 2 languages – MT and English. It may not be the English words which the children don’t understand.
b. How can you provide support for children who don’t have the host country language?
C What are your own standards and concepts of accuracy and fluency?
2 Child language awareness
a. Make sure children know which language they can work in and what you expect them to produce
3 Tasks
a. Most tasks should be shared
b. Most tasks should be open – ie allowing children to bring their own ideas to add to the outcome and/or process
4 Working relationships with colleagues
a. Classroom teacher – working with other teachers across the year and teachers in years before and afterwards
b Visiting Language teacher – working collegially with classroom teachers
5 Relationships with parents
a. Transparency for parents in purposes and processes of classroom activities
6 Our view of how learning takes place
a. Successful learning is understanding concepts and how to talk/write about them- ie ‘how’ not ‘what’
b. Understanding happens most often when children are given time and opportunities to think
7 Our view of what successful language production is
a. Traditionally ‘good’ language was accurate language in writing and speaking.
b. In Primary CLIL good language is fluent language with a gradual awareness of appropriacy of use (BICS and CALP)
Lesson 1: Traditional Language Teaching
Presenting new Vocabulary
(from a popularly used ELT website: teacher with 30 years experience/ trainer)
To present concrete vocabulary: Fruit
1 Bring in a bag of different fruit
2 Pick up a piece of fruit and say the word a number of times encouraging students to repeat
3 Go through all the words in this way
4 Return regularly to check. Pick up an apple and say ‘a banana?’
5 Then say ‘Point to the banana/apple’
Teacher action / Child reaction ( 8 years old)1 Bring in a bag of different fruit / This is interesting but I can’t really see.
Thinks ‘ I hope we can eat some later/I hope we don’t have to eat them – I don’t like fruit very much’
2 Pick up a piece of fruit and say the word a number of times encouraging students to repeat / Thinks’ What did she say? Oh, apple. Apple. Apple’. This is a bit boring. Can I throw the apple? Eat the apple? Draw the apple? Dunk the apple in some water?’
3 Go through all the words in this way / Thinks ‘Oh banana, banana. Perhaps she won’t notice if I don’t say the next one.’
4 Return regularly to check. Pick up an apple and say ‘a banana?’ / (slides down into seat, starts fidgeting and prodding friend) Thinks ‘Is it breaktime yet? Are we going to eat the fruit?’
5 Then say ‘Point to the banana/apple’ / Thinks: Point- oh with my finger..
Can we make a fruit salad? A smoothie? Can I draw a picture?
(bell rings) Oh good breaktime…
What have the children ‘learned’ in this lesson?
What have the children understood in this lesson?
What have the children produced in this lesson?
Lesson 2:Inclusive Language Teaching – not CLIL- Fruit
Diana Hicks
1 Bring in some fruit – apples, oranges, bananas, pears, pineapples, melons
2 Give one to each child.
3 Sing the fruit song.
All sing, banana children stand up in verse 1, apple children in verse 2 etc.
Bananas, bananasThey’re very nice
They’re my favourite!
Bananas! / Apples, apples
They’re very nice
They’re my favourite!
Apples!
Melons, melons
They’re very nice
They’re my favourite!
Melons! / Oranges, oranges
They’re very nice
They’re my favourite!
Oranges!
Pineapples, pineapples
They’re very nice
They’re my favourite!
Pineapples / Pears, pears
They’re very nice
They’re my favourite!
Pears!
4 Children draw their favourite fruit.
Ask and answer ‘What’s your favourite fruit, Peter?’
5 Shopping: Give children some plastic money. Put fruit and children’s pictures on a market stall. Some children are stallholders, other children customers.
Practise’ Can I have an apple/banana please?’
6 Find your group game. Children take picture of favourite fruit and move around to find others. Count the children in each group.
7 Make a bar chart
8 Make a fruit salad in groups. Eat the fruit salad. Sing the song again while cutting.
What have the children ‘learned’ in this lesson?
What have the children understood in this lesson?
What have the children produced in this lesson?
Lesson 3: CLIL- Fruit and Geography
Diana Hicks
Aims:
Language – fruit – apple, banana, melon, pear, pineapple, orange. Names of countries. ‘We come from’
Content – For children to understand that some fruit comes from other countries
1 Bring in some fruit – apples, oranges, bananas, pears, pineapples, melons and pictures of fruit
2 Children work in pairs or groups. Children have fruit and pictures and put them into groups.
3 Children draw additional pictures of fruit to expand each of their groups.
4 Go round and ask about their groups- provide vocabulary as requested as ‘special’ words
5a Children tell each other what their groups are in ‘Market Place’ and teach each other their special words
C: What fruit is in your groups?
C: What are your special words?
5b Children decide which ‘grouping’ they thought was most interesting
6 Craft dictation; Give each pair
a. a map of the home country (Italy eg)
b. the country outlines
c. scissors
d. blu tak
e an egg box
f a world map for reference
Children need their fruit pictures.
Children put a cross on the map to show where they live.
‘We come from Pinerolo/Asti/Turin’
Say the sentences and children take it in turns to put their pictures on the correct map.
Craft Dictation
1 The apples come from Tuscany in Italy
2 The oranges come from Spain
3 The melons come from Sicily in Italy
4 The pineapples come from Morocco
5 The bananas come from Africa
6 The pears come from England
7 The grapes comes from Sicily in Italy
8 The kiwi fruit come from New Zealand
9 The mangoes come from India
Children then stick their overseas maps on separate felt tips and then stick them in the egg box and make it into a ship.
7 Sing the fruit song.
All sing, banana children stand up in verse 1, apple children in verse 2 etc.
8 Homework: Children find out (parents/market) how much each fruit costs per kilo
C: Pineapples cost…. Per kilo
What have the children ‘learned’ in this lesson?
What have the children understood in this lesson?
What have the children produced in this lesson?
Enquiry learning for CLIL
Diana Hicks
Stage / Strategies / Skills used1 Tuning in
/ Start from the children!Brainstorming
Asking questions
Discussion
Making drawings/diagrams / Questioning
Organising
Sharing ideas
Listening
Talking
Planning
Predicting
Estimating
Querying
Time management
2 Finding out / Visitors
Outside visits
Videos
Research on web/CD roms
Reading
Experiments / Observing
Summarising
Asking questions
Selecting information researching
Reading
Note taking
Finding resources
Collaborating
Comparing and contrasting
Making connections
Using It
Making decisions and choices
Time management
3 Sorting out
/ Classifying/grouping/sortingCharts/graphs/
sequencing – narrative/process / Organising
Classifying
Seeing links/patterns
Collaborating
Presenting ideas
Talking
Listening
Reading
Interpreting
Writing
Drawing
Reporting
Testing
Inventing
Designing
Using IT
Making decisions and choices
Time management
4 Reflecting / Self evaluation and assessment
Peer evaluation and assessment
Learning journals
Portfolio choices
Public display/publicity
Teacher evaluation and assessment of learning / Responding
Speaking and writing clearly
Performing
Clarifying
Shopping list: Different kinds of Cognition from Bloom’s Taxonomy
From:
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Bloom, B. S : 1984 Pearson
1 When planning your lessons or units of work, ask yourself ‘How often am I asking my students to do these kinds of cognitive tasks?’
1 Assessing2 Calculating
3 Changing
4 Classifying
5 Collecting
6 Combining
7 Comparing
8 Completing
9 Composing
10 Concluding
11 Contrasting
12 Creating
13 Deciding
14 Defining
15 Describing
16 Designing
17 Differentiating
18 Discovering
19 Discussing
20 Estimating
21 Examining
22 Experimenting
23 Explaining
24 Formulating
25 Generalising
26 Grading
27 Identifying / 28 Illustrating
29 Integrating
30 Interpreting
31 Inventing
32 Judging
33 Labelling
34 Linking
35Listing
36 Measuring
37 Modifying
38 Planning
39 Predicting
40 Preparing
41 Quoting
42 Ranking
43 Re-arranging
44 Recommending
45 Relating
46 Rewriting
47 Selecting
48 Showing
49 Solving
50 Substituting
51 Summarising
52 Telling
53 Testing
54 What if?
Balance Planning Model for CLIL – Lesson planning and/or Units of Work
Diana Hicks
Skills / Learning styles / Cognitive skills / Autonomy/Decision making / Evaluation
Content / Language
Vocabulary
Grammar
Community Displays/
Impact on life outside / Visits / Colleagues / Parents/Visitors / Assessment
Balance Planning Model for CLIL Fruit lesson
SkillsMap work / Learning styles
Logical
Musical
Visual
Interpersonal
Manipulative / Cognitive skills
Collecting
Combining
Contrasting
Differentiating
Discussing
Selecting
Showing
Telling / Autonomy/
Decision making
Ex 2 / Evaluation
Ex 5b
Content
Map work
National and international geography
Awareness of other countries
Awareness of fruit imports / Language
Vocabulary
Apples, oranges, bananas, melons, pineapples, pears, kiwi fruit and children’s words
Names of countries
Grammar
Come from
Present simple plural
Community Displays/
Impact on life outside
Visit to market / Visits / Colleagues
Maps
Art – make a fruit face / Parents/Visitors
Visit from supermarket worker/market stall holder to talk about fruit imports / Assessment
Starting a CLIL lesson : Start from the child!
Most lessons at any age in any subject are P-P-P.
1 Presentation 2 Practice 3 Production
How can we move away from Presentation?
Examples of activities which start from children
1 Food / What would happen if we didn’t need to eat?2 Any subject / Put these pictures/words/objects into groups
3 Any subject / Make odd one outs of the pictures/words
4 Science: Temperature / Draw/write some hot things and cold things
5 Science: Materials / Find five things in the room made of different things
6 English; Narrative chronology / Choose six pictures which show your life.
7 Science: Water / Draw all the things in your house which use water
8 Science/PSE: Teeth / Draw your teeth
9 Science: The senses / Draw a sense map of your journey from home to school
10 Science: Food Chains / Draw a food chain
11 Science: Keeping healthy / Walk, talk, draw or write
12 Science Solids and Liquids / Pass round two coloured papers- play music, children draw or write
13 Geography: The rainforests / Draw or write things which you can find in the rainforests
14 Science: Earth, Sun and Moon / What would you miss if it were always daytime? Draw pictures
15 Science: recycling / Write/draw/ find as many things in the class which you can/can’t recycle
16 Science: Plants / Consequences- draw a plant
Work alone, in a pair or group. Chose some topics and think of ‘starting from the child’ activities.
Dangers of using ‘raw’ English language materials in CLIL
Language
1 The vocabulary load will be too heavy for the children
2 We (teachers) will have little management of the structures and vocabulary required and practised
3 Vocabulary needs will be subsumed under content demands
4 It will be difficult to establish which language to assess
5 Children will lack a language framework
6 We (teachers) may find it difficult to know whether children have problems with content concepts because of L2 or L1 difficulties
7 The emphasis will be on individual vocabulary items (for the topic) rather than re-usable chunks
Pedagogy
1 Will generally take little account of children’s language needs ( either L1 or L2)
2 Will rely on much ‘teacher talk’
3 Will often depend on presentation and plenary for success
4 May not include much pair/groupwork
5 May not cover many learner styles
6 Tasks require sophisticated language eg present and past passive ( ‘Things which are/were attracted by magnets)
7 May require reading and writing skills beyond the proficiency of the L2 child
Look at the lesson plan
Work alone or with a partner. Choose one or two sections of the lesson.