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CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning): the bigger picture. A response to: A. Bruton. 2013. CLIL: Some of the reasons why … and why not. System 41 (2013): 587–597
Full text linkThis paper presents a response to “A. Bruton. 2013. CLIL: Some of the reasons why … and why not. System 41 (2013): 587–597” and engages with the claims made in this contribution. We challenge a series of assumptions made about CLIL in Bruton (2013), i.e. that it is discriminatory, that it replaces foreign language instruction and that it does (or should) constitute a uniform pedagogy. We endeavour to position local CLIL practices within a wider framework and highlight the potential of CLIL to offer complementary language learning opportunities. On a language policy level, this paper shows how CLIL can be best conceptualised as a series of local responses to the global status of English.<br/
ESP teacher education at the interface of theory and practice: introducing a model of mediated corpus-based genre analysis
No full textOne of the effects of the growing importance of global English in professional contexts has been the rise of ESP teaching at all levels. Despite the concurrently increasing demand for ESP teachers, pre-service teacher education programmes in Europe have so far largely neglected this important area. In order to address the professional needs of future ESP teachers, a novel and coherent framework for mediating the findings of corpus linguistics and genre analysis has been developed. The advantages of such a model of mediated corpus-based genre analysis lie in its flexibility of application to diverse ESP settings and target groups, so empowering both student teachers and their future pupils to develop autonomous language capabilities. Following this model, student teachers are familiarized with the potential of specialized corpora as a source of information regarding specific genres, such as contracts of sale, sustainability reports or company profiles, and as a tool in materials development.This model of mediated corpus-based genre analysis, which will be presented and discussed in this paper, has been implemented in an innovative teacher education project at the English Department of the University of Vienna.Feedback from both student teachers and future employers underlines the positive effects of such a linguistics-informed approach to teacher education
Negotiating political positions: subject-specific oral language use in CLIL classrooms
No full textWhile extant research on CLIL suggests positive impacts on lexical proficiency and on spoken language, the crucial question of the effect of CLIL on advanced learners, both in terms of language proficiency and content knowledge, has received less attention. Of particular interest here is the nexus between these in the area of spoken subject-specific language use, where the potential of CLIL as providing an additional language learning focus is particularly promising, yet under-researched. We argue here that the ability to negotiate a factual position appropriately is a key element of subject specific language use, relating to both content (through presenting and supporting claims based on an understanding of the underlying ideas) and to foreign language ability (by using formulations acceptable within the subject-specific use of the L2). As a theoretical framework for understanding these negotiations of generally opposing standpoints, we use argumentation theory. The study was conducted in upper-secondary CLIL classes on European economics and politics in Austria. The classroom data consists of 16 hours of video-recorded classroom data, comprising different classroom events, i.e. teacher-whole class interactions, group work, and role plays. From these data, episodes of argumentation were extracted and analysed. Two types of argumentation patterns emerge, with one focused more on the joint construction and learning of new subject-specific content and language knowledge, and the other one on the enactment of such knowledge in interactions. Findings show that students’ engagement in these argumentations gives clear evidence of their subject-specific language proficiency in both prepared and unprepared oral production. As the type of classroom event has an effect on the specific argumentation patterns, the need for exposing students to a diversity of educational practice is underlined
Fit für die globalisierte Welt? – Ein neues Ausbildungsmodul Fachsprache für EnglischlehrerInnen
No full textTechnology-geeks speak out: what students think about vocational CLIL
No full textIn order to better prepare future engineers for the international nature of their occupation in a globalized industry, colleges of engineering, arts and crafts in Austria have been employing CLIL in engineering subjects. The present study seeks to unveil some of the effects this has had on the student body. Our findings are derived from a questionnaire answered by 1660 former engineering students (alumni) and in-depth interviews with 20 current students (aged 15-19) from five different engineering colleges offering CLIL.The overall evaluation of CLIL by current participants is highly positive, with a somewhat toned-down but still positive evaluation coming from the alumni. In self-reports on speaking, reading, listening, writing skills the CLIL alumni rated their abilities significantly higher than colleagues who had not experienced CLIL during their school days. The most important aspect, however, is the significantly lower inhibition level when actually speaking the foreign language. Furthermore, the students pointed out that a tighter and more transparent structure and organisation of CLIL provision would be preferable, as would a higher degree of consistency in terms of how much use of the L1 is acceptable in class. Concerning their teachers the students regard as positive the changed role-relationship brought about by the fact that the teachers, too, are in a situation of being imperfect communicators in the foreign language. At the same time, students stress that a certain threshold proficiency level is necessary for a teacher to operate effectively in the language of instruction. In sum, the evidence obtained in this study shows that the stereotype of the techno-geek who is averse to everything to do with languages has outlived itself.<br/
The power of beliefs: lay theories and their influence on the implementation of CLIL programmes
No full textCLIL is one of the most dynamic pedagogic trends in language teaching in Europe and yet, the enthusiasm with which this innovation is implemented by stakeholders and “made a success” is not fully understood. In this paper we argue for an investigation of CLIL implementation as a form of extended language policy (Spolsky 2004), which relates language management, practice and beliefs, and so expands the notion of policy well beyond top-down legislation. In this contribution, the suggested centrality of beliefs to CLIL policy analysis will be shown by a detailed investigation into the lay theories of teachers and learners involved in CLIL instruction in Austrian upper secondary colleges of technology, which traditionally attract students considered as relatively unsuccessful foreign language learners. The data consist of 48 in-depth interviews with teachers and students in this setting, covering a range of teacher specialisations and of student abilities. The discursive and content analysis of these interviews shows clear clusters of beliefs relating to language learning, the effects and benefits of CLIL and to the construction of success regarding CLIL. Findings suggest that the strength of beliefs and the relative absence of language management result in a construction of CLIL and of CLIL success that is partly at odds with those of experts or policy makers, but which is linked directly to local CLIL practices. Issues arising of these mismatches are discussed<br/
The power of beliefs: lay theories and their influence on the implementation of CLIL programmes
No full textCLIL is one of the most dynamic pedagogic trends in language teaching in Europe and yet, the enthusiasm with which this innovation is implemented by stakeholders and “made a success” is not fully understood. In this paper we argue for an investigation of CLIL implementation as a form of extended language policy (Spolsky 2004), which relates language management, practice and beliefs, and so expands the notion of policy well beyond top-down legislation. In this contribution, the suggested centrality of beliefs to CLIL policy analysis will be shown by a detailed investigation into the lay theories of teachers and learners involved in CLIL instruction in Austrian upper secondary colleges of technology, which traditionally attract students considered as relatively unsuccessful foreign language learners. The data consist of 48 in-depth interviews with teachers and students in this setting, covering a range of teacher specialisations and of student abilities. The discursive and content analysis of these interviews shows clear clusters of beliefs relating to language learning, the effects and benefits of CLIL and to the construction of success regarding CLIL. Findings suggest that the strength of beliefs and the relative absence of language management result in a construction of CLIL and of CLIL success that is partly at odds with those of experts or policy makers, but which is linked directly to local CLIL practices. Issues arising of these mismatches are discussed.<br/
Developing student teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in English for specific purposes: the Vienna ESP approach
No full textUniversity teachers’ beliefs of language and content integration in English-medium education in multilingual university settings
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