• Speaking focuses on fluency . Accuracy is seen as subordinate
• Writing is a series of lexical activities through which grammar is recycled .
For teachers from an ELT background , CLIL lessons exhibit the following characteristics :
• Integrate language and skills , and receptive and productive skills
• Lessons are often based on reading or listening texts / passages
• The language focus in a lesson does not consider structural grading
• Language is functional and dictated by the context of the subject
• Language is approached lexically rather than grammatically
• Learner styles are taken into account in task types .
In many ways , then , a CLIL lesson is similar to an ELT integrated skills lesson , except that it includes exploration of language , is delivered by a teacher versed in CLIL methodology and is based on material directly related to a content-based subject . Both content and language are explored in a CLIL lesson . A CLIL ' approach ' is not far removed from humanistic , communicative and lexical approaches in ELT , and aims to guide language processing and supports language production in the same way that an ELT course would by teaching techniques for exploiting reading or listening texts and structures for supporting spoken or written language .
Lesson framework A CLIL lesson looks at content and language in equal measure , and often follows a four-stage framework .
Processing the text The best texts are those accompanied by illustrations so that learners can visualise what they are reading . When working in a foreign language , learners need structural markers in texts to help them find their way through the content . These markers may be linguistic ( headings , sub-headings ) and / or diagrammatic . Once a ' core knowledge ' has been identified , the organisation of the text can be analysed .
Identification and organisation of knowledge Texts are often represented diagrammatically . These structures are known as ' ideational frameworks ' or ' diagrams of thinking ', and are used to help learners categorise the ideas and information in a text . Diagram types include tree diagrams for classification , groups , hierarchies , flow diagrams and timelines for sequenced thinking such as instructions and historical information , tabular diagrams describing