Influencing Factors on In-Service Teachers’ Competence in Planning CLIL

Abstract

In spite of the multiple competencies necessary to design and deliver proper Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) lessons, the teachers’ linguistic proficiency is the primary competence considered in the accreditation of CLIL teachers in Spain. However, teachers’ competence in planning CLIL lessons is key to bilingual education. This article explores this competence and reports on the several factors that influence the level of integration of CLIL methodological principles in the lesson planning style of in-service teachers at primary and secondary education. The factors studied are the stage of education, curricular subjects, teacher education, status at school, years teaching CLIL and type of school in a sample of 383 in-service CLIL teachers. Results show statistically significant differences in all the factors studied except in the stage of education (primary-secondary) and the type of school (state-semiprivate). These results reveal a high heterogeneity in the sample, which allows the description of the CLIL teacher profiles according to the factors that influence their competence in planning and delivering CLIL lessons. It is concluded that education and training in CLIL competencies, such as planning CLIL lessons, is also necessary in order to achieve a more homogeneous competence profile of the teachers. Therefore, a review of the academic programs and of the accreditation model so as to guarantee that they include prescriptive education and training in CLIL is recommended, since the quality and sustainability of bilingual programs also depends on teachers’ competence in CLIL and not only on the students’ academic results.

Examining Teacher Competencies in Content and Language Integrated Learning: Professional Profiles and Ways Forward

“…These frameworks or interpretations have been utilised as a valuable tool in studies to examine CLIL teachers' competencies and yield insight into professional development (Banegas & del Pozo Beamud, 2020;Cortina-Pérez & Pino Rodríguez, 2021;Custodio-Espinar, 2019;Vázquez et al, 2020). Although the contexts of these studies are different, they have all highlighted the necessity of paying more attention to CLIL teachers' competencies and providing more training opportunities for them, aimed at promoting professional development.…”

“…Although there were other factors that might also influence the participants' competencies, namely the dependent variable (DV) of the study, the listed ones were assumed to be sufficient based on previous studies (e.g. Campillo-Ferrer et al, 2020;Custodio-Espinar, 2019;Skinnari & Bovellan, 2016) that had used similar variables to investigate CLIL teachers' competencies. It should be noted: First, because of the diverse languages the participants taught and the scattered percentages they occupied, they were simply categorised into English and languages other than English (LOTE); Second, the content subjects taught were also categorised into general discipline streams per the educational context in China; Third, despite the various types of HEPs that the participants were affiliated to, they were generally categorised into non-985/211 HEPs and 985 and/or 211 universities 1 ; Fourth, in accordance with the participants' years of teaching CLIL and Liu and He's (2014) identification of Chinese teachers' career stages, they were labelled as novice teachers with 0-5 years of teaching and proficient teachers with 6-14 years of teaching.…”

The Effect of a Professional Development SPOC ‎in Content and Language Integrated Learning ‎‎(CLIL) on Developing EFL In-Service Teachers’ ‎Teaching Competence and Self- Efficacy

“…The cognitive and linguistic demand that CLIL implies, not only for students but also for teachers, requires the mastery of basic methodological principles that must be present in all types of CLIL lesson plans. These principles should be known by all CLIL teachers and serve them as a reference for the design and delivery of their lesson plans (Custodio-Espinar, 2019). While key concepts such as authenticity, functional grammar, cognitive skills, scaffolding language learning, materials development, and motivation are recurrent key pillars in CLIL architecture (Ball et al, 2015;Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010;Llinares & Morton, 2017), CLIL literature has been unequivocal about the need to provide teachers with careful and context-responsive support in the shape of continuing professional development courses to manage such key concepts (Pérez-Cañado, 2018).…”

A Case Study of Three Finnish Pre-Service Teachers’ Emotions and Understanding of CLIL During an Online Practicum

“…Content and Integrated Language Learning (CLIL) refers to the teaching methodology whereby a foreign, second, or additional language is used as a means of instruction of -or part of -subject material, aiming at promoting simultaneous content and language learning (Çekrezi/ Biçaku, 2011;Custodio-Espinar, 2019). However, there are multiple CLIL formats whose diversity needs to be systematically and coherently recognized in a refined definition, not only to distinguish CLIL in Europe from other international bilingual methodologies (e.g., content-based second language instruction, immersion), but also to clarify discussions on pedagogical practices, research, and policy statements (Cenoz et al, 2014).…”

“…Moreover, research on interaction patterns in CLIL lessons for the integration and co-construction of language and content, such as in Austria, Finland, and Hong Kong, problematizes pre-service and in-service CLIL teachers' psychological and pedagogical preparation (Lo, 2020). While CLIL teacher education has become increasingly prominent in the CLIL research agenda and, indeed, key teacher competences in the area have been considerably developed over the years (Pérez-Cañado, 2018), pre-service teachers (PST) continue to receive insufficient preparation (Custodio-Espinar, 2019;Pérez-Cañado, 2018).…”