Teachers working with CLIL are specialists in their own discipline rather than traditional language teachers. In spite of they are usually fluent speakers, lecturers and students could be assisted by the language department.
In recent years, many European countries have undergone a rapid implementation of the CLIL methodology. The paper International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v10 n5 p647-662 2007, published by Dafouz, E.; Nunez, B.; Sancho, C., affirms that the application of the CLIL approach in Spain is still isolated. But a singular case is the Computer Engineering learning system of USJ. The objective is that the learner is gaining new knowledge about the computing subjects while encountering, using and learning the foreign language. The methodologies and approaches used are often linked to the subject area with the content leading the activities. The endeavor of teacher and student to accomplish the CLIL approach has yielded successful effects in the last years. Some of them are:
• Student develops intercultural communication skills and is better prepared for develops multilingual interests and attitudes.
• The improvement of language competence and oral communication skills provides opportunities to study content through different perspectives.
• If learners have more contact with the target language, they only require specialized target language teaching for support.
• CLIL permits to diversify methods and forms of classroom practice, provokes discussion, increases learners' motivation, and boosts confidence in both the language and the subject being taught.
• By fusing the worlds of language and subject teaching, CLIL is helping everyone to focus on the importance of language as the key not just to academic success but as the key to common professional practice.
• When you are not teaching native speaker, you tend to focus more on how you are going to get the concepts across, and which is the best way to convey the idea. Therefore, the final result is a more perceptive and consolidated knowledge.
From European Space for Higher Education (ESHE), we are constantly being told that the future of education resides in a new emphasis on skills and competences. The European Commission has published a list of 'key competences' for what it calls 'lifelong learning', and curriculum planners are now expected to incorporate these ideas across subject areas. This is good news for CLIL, because it is already functioning along these lines. There is no separation, in CLIL, of the worlds of concepts, procedures and language. Phil Ball says in an interesting article 'Skill rhymes with CLIL'. It is a lucky coincidence!.
David Chinarro
USJ lecturer.
Reference: CLIL Compendium by David Marsh.