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of the foreign language. In such a situation learners can also test the
hypotheses they are forming about the language they are learning.
Acquiring an L2 is a long and natural process. It requires the learner to go
through necessary stages of “imperfect” knowledge before mastering the
various aspects of the foreign language.
As any CLIL approach guarantees a considerable increase in amount of
exposure to the L2, in many European countries it may prove a unique
opportunity to both improve the standards of the languages which are
already taught in the curriculum and introduce additional foreign
languages.
Quality of exposure
However, CLIL does not only offer better learning conditions in terms of
more exposure to the foreign language. It also offers good quality linguistic
exposure. As can be seen from schools where CLIL is already in operation,
CLIL calls for an interactive teaching style. This means that students have
more opportunities to participate verbally by interacting with the teacher
and other fellow-students using the L2. In this way learners can try out
what they know of the foreign language. They are forced to expand their
linguistic resources in order to cope with the demands of content learning.
Moreover, using the foreign language to grasp non-language content
requires a depth of processing which leads to improved language
acquisition. Learning is at least partly a problem-solving activity and CLIL
requires learners to solve problems through the foreign language. When
using the L2 to understand and learn a non-language subject, a wide range
of cognitive processes are activated in the L2. This is what normally occurs
in the native language. It is also by learning, thinking and communicating
non-language content through language that first the young child and then
the older child later acquire fully-fledged native language competence.
Motivation for learning
Finally, CLIL relies on intrinsic motivation, that is, the learners are involved
in interesting and meaningful activities while using the language. Language
learning applies to what is going on in the classroom and satisfies
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