people and places, and combinations of these. The structure of the text is used to
facilitate learning and the creation of activities which focus on both language
development and core content knowledge.
Language identification
Learners are expected to be able to reproduce the core of the text in their own
words. Since learners will need to use both simple and more complex language,
there is no grading of language involved, but it is a good idea for the teacher to
highlight useful language in the text and to categorise it according to function.
Learners may need the language of comparison and contrast, location or describing
a process, but may also need certain discourse markers, adverb phrases or
prepositional phrases. Collocations, semi-fixed expressions and set phrases may
also be given attention as well as subject-specific and academic vocabulary.
Tasks for students
There is little difference in task-type between a CLIL lesson and a skills-based ELT
lesson. A variety of tasks should be provided, taking into account the learning
purpose and learner styles and preferences. Receptive skill activities are of the
'read/listen and do' genre. A menu of listening activities might be:
• Listen and label a diagram/picture/map/graph/chart
• Listen and fill in a table
• Listen and make notes on specific information (dates, figures, times)
• Listen and reorder information
• Listen and identify location/speakers/places
• Listen and label the stages of a process/instructions/sequences of a text
• Listen and fill in the gaps in a text
Tasks designed for production need to be subject-orientated, so that both content
and language are recycled. Since content is to be focused on, more language
support than usual in an ELT lesson may be required.
Typical speaking activities include:
• Question loops - questions and answers, terms and definitions, halves of sentences
• Information gap activities with a question sheet to support
• Trivia search - 'things you know' and 'things you want to know'
• Word guessing games
• Class surveys using questionnaires