Abstract:While the growing trend of internationalisation and globalisation has been addressed by policymakers and the interest in adopting the CLIL approach has increased, calls have been made for uncovering how teachers can develop ways of designing and implementing corresponding materials and engage students in such an approach. This is a collaborative study that explores in details, based on the Interactional Ethnographic approach, the processes of how the researcher and the teacher worked together in an egalitarian… Show more
“…While several studies have explored students' beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes regarding CLIL, usually reporting a positive relationship between CLIL and learner attitudes (Coyle, 2013;Pavón Vázquez, 2018;Somers & Llinares, 2018) as well as general student satisfaction (Hüttner et al, 2013;Oxbrow, 2018), there seem to be hardly any studies that actively involved learners when creating researchbased CLIL materials (as in e.g., Banegas, 2013;Gupta, 2020). Yet, previous research suggests that learners indeed can effectively contribute to improving the quality of their education while also elucidating our understanding of their learning processes (Cook-Sather, 2006;Coyle, 2013;Flutter & Rudduck, 2004).…”
Although many studies have investigated students’ perspectives towards Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), few studies have actively involved learners when creating research-based materials. The scarcity of such studies also stems from the limited number of research projects that operationalize scientific insights for classroom implementation in the first place. This paper is connected to such a study, set within a design-based research (DBR) framework. Apart from investigating theoretical underpinnings of content and language integration, this ongoing PhD study also involves the development of research-based transdisciplinary content-and-language-integrative teaching materials over several cycles. Amongst other forms of data collection, focus group interviews with students before and after each intervention formed a central element of the design process. This work-in-progress article is concerned with the students’ role in shaping content-and-language-integrative materials, shedding light on their concerns and needs at various stages in the design process. Initial results suggest that the learners’ voices were crucial in the development of these materials. Moreover, in line with the overall thrust of DBR, it appears that a one-time intervention does not suffice even when considering the students’ beliefs and needs. Instead, several cycles of development are needed to create an approach that works for the learners.
“…While several studies have explored students' beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes regarding CLIL, usually reporting a positive relationship between CLIL and learner attitudes (Coyle, 2013;Pavón Vázquez, 2018;Somers & Llinares, 2018) as well as general student satisfaction (Hüttner et al, 2013;Oxbrow, 2018), there seem to be hardly any studies that actively involved learners when creating researchbased CLIL materials (as in e.g., Banegas, 2013;Gupta, 2020). Yet, previous research suggests that learners indeed can effectively contribute to improving the quality of their education while also elucidating our understanding of their learning processes (Cook-Sather, 2006;Coyle, 2013;Flutter & Rudduck, 2004).…”
Although many studies have investigated students’ perspectives towards Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), few studies have actively involved learners when creating research-based materials. The scarcity of such studies also stems from the limited number of research projects that operationalize scientific insights for classroom implementation in the first place. This paper is connected to such a study, set within a design-based research (DBR) framework. Apart from investigating theoretical underpinnings of content and language integration, this ongoing PhD study also involves the development of research-based transdisciplinary content-and-language-integrative teaching materials over several cycles. Amongst other forms of data collection, focus group interviews with students before and after each intervention formed a central element of the design process. This work-in-progress article is concerned with the students’ role in shaping content-and-language-integrative materials, shedding light on their concerns and needs at various stages in the design process. Initial results suggest that the learners’ voices were crucial in the development of these materials. Moreover, in line with the overall thrust of DBR, it appears that a one-time intervention does not suffice even when considering the students’ beliefs and needs. Instead, several cycles of development are needed to create an approach that works for the learners.
CLIL focuses on the integration of content learning and additional language learning. However, it is increasingly recognized that the re/presentation and communication of discipline-specific content involve not only language, but also other semiotic modes (such as visuals and gestures). This is accelerated by the advancement of digital technologies and multiplicity of communication channels in recent years. This article points out the urgent need to revisit and reconceptualize the roles of “language” in CLIL. It argues that, to prepare students for the multimodal communication landscape in today’s societies and to truly value their linguistic and semiotic diversity in learning, the “language” dimension in CLIL needs to be reconceptualized as a multimodal dimension, and CLIL classroom practices need to adopt an updated pedagogy of multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996) rather than focusing on “mere language” practice. The article reviews the recent development of theories and studies of multimodality and trans-semiotics and discusses their implications for what to teach and how to teach in today’s CLIL classrooms. It proposes the notions of translanguaging and trans-semiotizing to emphasize a dynamic and dialogic process of meaning (co)making process drawing on multiple linguistic and semiotic resources to enable students to both gain access to and critically engage in meaning/knowledge co-making/co-design. Ultimately, it aims at reconceiving CLIL to contribute to a more equitable school and classroom culture.
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