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THROUGH A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
• through the greater number of contact hours with the foreign or second
language CLIL helps learners upgrade their language skills and thus
leads to enhanced language proficiency
• through the more favourable learning conditions (the use of learning
strategies and study skills common to both content and language) CLIL
fosters learning to learn
• through the integration of content and language and the learners’ invol-
vement in academically and cognitively demanding activities CLIL
encourages creative thinking processes.
In a CLIL classroom most of the concepts developed by modern learning
theory (such as constructivism and co-operative learning) can be integrated
much more naturally and in a more authentic way.
There are definite goals that educational research has shown can be
achieved with CLIL. Through teaching content and a foreign language
within an integrated framework, CLIL aims to provide access to personal
and intercultural communication as the learners may experience language
for a variety of needs, and they may be exposed to different cultural
perspectives on the content they are taught. CLIL helps to develop
communicative aspects of proficiency in a foreign language and provides a
new outlook on language teaching and learning.
2.5 Teachers
Type of teacher suited to CLIL
The countries where qualified teachers have two teaching subjects (foreign
language and content) are at an advantage. However, CLIL can be
successfully implemented even in countries with different teaching
qualification requirements.
There are, in fact, several types of teachers who can be effectively involved
in CLIL: