What is CLIL?

What is CLIL?

1. DEFINITION

   • Educational approach in which various language-supportive methodologies are used which lead to a dual-focused form of instruction where attention is given both to the language and the content. CLIL not only promotes linguistic competence, it also serves to stimulate cognitive flexibility.
   • Content
   • Communication
   • Cognitive
   • Culture

2. DEVELOPMENT

   • CLIL developed as an innovative form of education in response to the demands and expectations of the modern age.
   • Links with the past
     • Families in Rome educated their children in Greek to ensure that they would have access to not only the language, but also the social and professional opportunities it would provide for them in their future lives, including living in Greek-speaking educational communities.
   • Demands of the present
     • Adoption of the term
       • The term CLIL was adopted in 1994, within the European context to describe and further design good practice as achieved in different types of school environment where teaching and learning take place in an additional language.
     • Convergence
       • The impact of globalization was being increasingly felt in some parts of the world, especially in Europe during the period of rapid integration from 1990 to 2007. This impact highlighted the need for better language and communication educational outcomes.
     • CLIL in the knowledge Age
       • Globalization and the emergence of the new technologies have moved us into a new era, the Knowledge Age. Integration, convergence and participative learning are three key characteristics of Knowledge Age organizations which are influencing decisions on what, and how, we teach young people. Education, Research and Innovation integrate the "Knowledge Triangle".

3. DRIVING FORCES

   • The driving forces for language learning differ according to country and region, but they share the objective of wanting to achieve the best possible results in the shortest time. This need has often dovetailed with the need to adapt content-teaching methodologies so as to raise overall levels of proficiency, particularly since the introduction of global comparative measures ranking individual countries through the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of theOrganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
   • Reactive reasons
     • There are countries in the world where the language of instruction is foreign to the majority of the learners in schools and colleges. An official language may be adopted as the medium of instruction for some part of schooling, often at secondary level, which acts as a language of national unity. CLIL plays a role in providing a pragmatic response towards overcoming linguistic shortcomings, and in promoting equal access to education for all school-aged students, including those with additional support needs.
   • Proactive reasons
     • Proactively identifying solutions by which to enhance language learning, or some other aspect of educational, social or personal development, is the other major reason why attention is given to forms of CLIL. As an example, in Europe was a discussion during the 1950s that included focus on language policies, and the need for greater levels of multilingualism.

4. RELEVANCE

   • CLIL is not exclusive to the promotion of English as a world language but is embedded in the socio-economic, political and cultural traditions of different nations.
   • To the teaching profession
     • The content teacher will need to adapt subject-specific methods so as to accommodate the additional language focus. This does not mean adopting the role of a language teacher. What it does is to open doors on alternative ways of using methodologies which can be rewarding for both the teacher and learners.
   • To contemporary education
     • Educational practice always needs to adapt to the cultural demands of those involved – learners, teachers and communities. Integration has become a key concept in the modern age, alongside immediacy of purpose. Both of these reflect the experience of increasing numbers of young people, and are accommodated within the CLIL educational approach. 

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