Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Size of CLIL and Non-CLIL Students: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has a dual focus both on content and language teaching in which students learn through and about language and provides contextualized and meaningful situations. Although studies on the impact of CLIL on learners' vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension have mostly positive results, related research is highly limited in Turkish context. Thus, this study aims to examine to what extent CLIL students differ from non-CLIL students in terms of their reading comprehension and vocabulary size (i.e. receptive and productive). Data were collected from 124 fifth-grade students by means of the reading parts of the Cambridge Key English Test, the 2,000-word frequency-band of the Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, Schmitt, & Clapham, 2001), and the adapted version of the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (Paribakht & Wesche, 1997). Results of the study showed that the CLIL students significantly outperformed their non-CLIL counterparts in reading comprehension, receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge.

Effect of Content and Language Integrated Learning/ CLIL/ on EFL students’ reading motivation and comprehension in Ethiopia

“…The result depicted in both tables was consistent and harmonious with empirical research works conducted by different scholars who came up with the ndings that CLIL approach signi cantly fostered reading comprehension (e.g. see Bayram et al, 2019;Binsaran, 2021;Hamidavi et al, 2016;Yang, 2014).…”

Applied linguistics and language education research in Turkey: 2016–2022

“…Studies have also explored the ways in which language learners’ reading skills and lexical knowledge can be developed (e.g., Aktan-Erciyes, 2020; Altay, 2017; Bayram et al, 2019; Er Doğan & Mede, 2016; Nişancı, 2017; Öztürk & Şenaydın, 2019). For instance, Bayram et al (2019) found advantages of content and language integrated language learning (CLIL) over non-CLIL contexts in terms of improving learners’ reading comprehension as well as receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. Nişancı (2017) illustrated the role of extensive reading in promoting high school EFL learners’ implicit phonological knowledge and improving their word recognition fluency at large.…”

Effects of EMI-CLIL on secondary-level students’ English learning: A multilevel meta-analysis

“…EMI-CLIL research has employed different types of language tests to measure language learning outcomes. Some studies have adopted validated tests like the standardized Key English Test (Cambridge ESOL, 2008), employed by Merino and Lasagabaster (2018), and the Vocabulary Levels Test developed by Schmitt et al (2001), which has been widely employed in EMI-CLIL research targeting vocabulary developments (e.g., Bayram et al, 2019;Castellano-Risco et al, 2020). Other studies have employed self-designed tests, conveniently and purposefully developed by the researchers, sometimes in collaboration with the teachers in the target context.…”