The Bridge CLIL volume 1 | Page 35

T E A C H I N G THROUGH A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLIL may be beneficial for all parties involved in implementation: schools, teachers, learners, and parents. Advantages for the school: • CLIL implementation within the school curriculum will raise the profile of foreign language learning throughout the school. It can also support the school’s development and make it more responsive to local needs. • Moreover, invaluable experiences have been gleaned in subjects with a vocational orientation such as nursing, health care, home economics, woodwork and metalwork. 2.4 Learners Type of learner suited to CLIL CLIL is not intended to be an elitist form of education. In principle, all learners can benefit from CLIL irrespective of their cognitive abilities. This approach to learning should be the free choice of learners and their parents. Each school needs to decide about selection criteria (if any), that is which language pre-requisites are desirable for enrolment, although most secondary schools have found it appropriate to require some prior knowledge of the L2 before their learners start CLIL. Advantages for the learners: • through the exposure to more interesting, authentic (i.e. real world) contents CLIL leads to greater involvement, helps learners increase their motivation • through the interactive and co-operative nature of work CLIL helps boost self-confidence, raise self-esteem, build learner independence and teach learners organisational skills 85