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THROUGH A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
CLIL activities will differ according to subject and age of learner. It is very
important that in CLIL co-operative and heuristic activities are widely used,
as students need natural opportunities to use the language.
An example of a CLIL activity
in Secondary School
CONTENT: Chemistry
TOPIC: Acid-base titration
LANGUAGE: English
ACTIVITY TYPE: Experiment in the chemistry lab
STUDENTS: Upper secondary school, third year (16-17 years old)
TEACHERS: Chemistry and English teachers
AIMS: Students become familiar with a method of volumetric analysis; they
understand acid-base titration and molarity relations and use a procedure
to find out the pH of a solution
TIME: 3-4 hours.
STAGE 1 “Preparation”
The Chemistry and English teachers introduce all the specific words for the
equipment necessary to carry out the titration experiment. He/she:
points at specific equipment, saying the different names (funnel, pipettes,
titration clamp, etc.) and students repeat the names;
shows on a transparency the drawings and names of equipment and
students take notes;
gives out a handout with drawings of the equipment and students write
down the names;
shows on a transparency a list of verbs and expressions to be used during
the experiment (set up, add, place, shut off the stopcock, mix, etc.); then,
the teacher shows the meaning of different actions whilst students repeat
and take notes.