Learning Together To Be A Better CLIL Te

Faculty of Education
Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, SR
LEARNING TOGETHER
TO BE
A BETTER CLIL TEACHER
DANA HANESOVÁ (ed.)
Banská Bystrica 2015
Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

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Proceedings from an international conference – Published full text conference presentations

The research and curriculum presented in this conference proceedings were supported by the
Mobility - Enhancing Research, Science and Education project at Matej Bel University, ITMS code:
26110230082, under the Operational Programme Education co-financed by the European Social Fund.
Scientific and organizational board of the conference:

Prof. PhDr. B. Kasáčová, PhD. (PF UMB Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)
Doc. Judit Kovács, PhD. (ELTE Budapest, Hungary)
Doc. PaedDr. S. Pokrivčáková, PhD. (UKF Nitra, Slovakia)
Doc. PaedDr. D. Hanesová, PhD. (PF UMB Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)
PhDr. D. Gondová, PhD. (FHV ŽU Žilina, Slovakia)
Mgr. A. Poliaková, PhD. (PF UMB Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)
Mgr. B. Benešová (UJP ZCU Plzeň, the Czech Republic)
Executive editor: Doc. PaedDr. Dana Hanesová, PhD.
Academic editor: Prof. PhDr. Bronislava Kasáčová, PhD.
Reviewed by: Doc. PhDr. Eva Homolová, PhD., Slovakia

Lewis Meola, B. A., Great Britain
Published by: © Pedagogická fakulta, Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici
1st edition, 2015
ISBN 978-80-557-0887-4

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CONTENTS
Hanesová Dana ….………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 4
Development of CLIL Teacher Education at UMB (Introduction of European Project)
PLENARY PRESENTATIONS
Kovács Judit …….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 12
Living In and For CLIL
Pokrivčáková Silvia............................................................................................................................................. p. 23
Research Implications for the Training of CLIL Teachers in Slovakia
Benkő Éva Trentinné ...…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………… p. 29
Teacher Training for CLIL in Hungary: An empirical research
Benešová Barbora ...…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..… p. 39
CLIL Projects in the Czech Republic
WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS
Benešová Barbora .............................................................................................................................................. p. 49
Jak funguje CLIL (How CLIL works)
Béni Zsuzsanna …….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………… p. 54
‘Abbreviations’ in the Reality of the Bilingual Classroom
Bosnyák Tamara ….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…… p. 67
Engaging Very Young Learners in Classroom Activities Using Smart Board
Gondová Danica: ……………………….…………..……………………………………………………….…………………………………………… p. 69
Scaffolding Learners’ Interaction with Texts
Noé Zsuzsanna …………………………….……….……………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 76
Learning Together to be a Better CLIL Teacher
Pávová Anna ……………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 84
CLIL as a Part of Continuous Education provided by Teacher In-Service Training Centre
Síró Enikő …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. p. 88
BEAR IN MIND - Topic-based Skills Improvement in the Primary Classroom
Cimermanová Ivana............................................................................................................................................ p. 92
Using Authoring E-books in CLIL Lessons
Straková Zuzana, Sepešiová Michaela............................................................................................................... p. 99
CLIL in Reading Programmes
Szepesi Judit ..................................................................................................................................................... p. 108
Training Practice for Primary Teachers of English
Conclusion and Information about Appendices ............................................................................................. p. 112

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Development of CLIL Teacher Education at UMB

(Introduction of European Project)
Doc. PaedDr. Dana Hanesová, PhD.

Faculty of Education, University of Matej Bel (UMB) in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
dana.hanesova@umb.sk
Abstract: Since January, 2013, the author of this paper has been actively involved in the implementation
of the European project called “Mobility-enhancing science, research and education at UMB" (ITMS code:
26110230082), Activity 1.3. She has participated in the project in two positions – as a coordinator and as
one of the Slovak experts. In her report she presents introductory information about the project, its
objectives and activities, and about the final conference, as well as giving a brief introduction to the
contributions presented in this Conference Proceedings.
During 2013 and 2014, to address the shortage of professional teachers trained in CLIL, Dr J. Kovács, an
expert from ELTE, Budapest, provided Slovak students, teacher trainers, and methodologists, with several
opportunities to observe practical CLIL lessons (project of European Social Fund No. 26110230082).
Feedback from the participants showed the value of seeing CLIL demonstrated in real life.
Key words: Proceedings, EU project, conference, CLIL, education, teacher
These Conference Proceedings are the final outcome of the conference organized by the team of experts
involved in the Activity 1.4 "Education – Research – Evaluation" of the project title "Mobility-Enhancing
Science, Research and Education at the Matej Bel University" (ITMS code: 26110230082, co-financed by
the European Social Fund). This international conference took place at the Faculty of Education UMB in
Banská Bystrica on 16 October, 2014. Its aim was to inform on the progress of the project and its
outcomes.
Information about the project
The aim of activity 1.4 was to create an exchange related to best practice and to encourage the
implementation of research results, focusing on high quality preparation of future teachers to teach
English at the primary level of education (1st grade of primary school in Slovakia), especially on the CLIL
methodology, via cross-border cooperation of the Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University with an
internationally recognized expert from Hungary - hab. Dr. Judit Kovács, PhD. from ELTE University in
Budapest, Hungary, who is a pioneer in and the ‘mother’ of the English primary teachers programme
(specialized on CLIL) at ELTE Hungary.

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The aim of this co-operation with an international expert was to propose workable solution to some
current problems that have accompanied the curriculum reform in Slovakia. These reforms were
required by the 2008 School Act, which included new pedagogical documents for state educational
programmes at levels ISCED 0, ISCED 1, ISCED 2 and ISCED 3, including teaching English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) (http://keyconet.eun.org – Slovakia). The reform specified that English be the first
obligatory foreign language for all learners from the 3rd class of primary school (with an opportunity to
begin in the 1st class). Once this measure came into force, the deficit of well-prepared primary school
teachers in foreign languages became obvious. Textbooks and other EFL documents written by Slovak
methodologists (e.g. Farkašová, Menzlová & Biskupičová, 2001; Gadušová, 2004; Harťanská, 2004;
Cimermanová, 2010; Pokrivčáková, 2010; Straková 2010) underlined the importance of innovative
approaches to teaching languages to young learners. The Slovak National Institute for Education quickly
designed extensive courses of EFL teaching for primary teachers.
One component of primary teacher training was the requirement to acquire competence to teach CLIL
on primary level (recommendation for primary schools by ministry of education,
https://www.minedu.sk/data/att/6148.pdf). Though methodologists from some teacher training
faculties have developed research and written several methodological books on CLIL (Lojová, 2010,
Pokrivčáková, 2010), there is still an evident lack of qualified CLIL teachers (c.f. Hurajová, 2013;
Sepešiová, 2011, Menzlová, 2013, Pokrivčáková, 2013). With this need in mind, a team of Slovak teacher
trainers from the Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University (PF UMB) in Banská Bystrica decided to
prepare this project to assist TE students in EFL to develop more effective teaching skills and to offer
Slovak pre-service and in-service teachers high-quality CLIL education.
The Hungarian expert, doc. Judit Kovács, PhD. accomplished several teaching exchanges at PF UMB in
order to facilitate development of courses related to primary EFL, including CLIL, methodology, and
relevant research at PF UMB. She invested her expertise into consultations, planning, teaching future
teachers and evaluation of students’ development as well as into dissemination of the project ideas
during conferences and seminars and publishing of project results. She became a tutor to the Slovak
team, offering her knowledge about how to teach foreign languages, and especially CLIL to young
learners. Besides teaching, the project supported mentoring by the Hungarian expert to Slovak TE
students and teachers (either about theoretical principles or questions related to real learning process).
Specifically, J. Kovács offered three teaching blocks in Slovakia. The first one took place between April
22 and 26, 2013. Dr. Kovács was welcomed by the team of Slovak experts, namely by the academic dean
of PF UMB B. Kasáčová and her PF UMB colleague D. Hanesová and her PhD student I. Králiková. J. Kovács
began a tradition of teaching Methodology of teaching English (namely CLIL) for young learners at PF
UMB by teaching the first course in 2013, using the curriculum that she had prepared. The course
participants consisted of M.A. students studying primary education who were highly motivated to learn
how to add methodology in teaching English to their study programme in primary education.

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The second extensive teaching block took place in November 2013. It focused on the second part of the
Methodology of teaching English to young learners. Through this challenging four-day long series of
lectures and workshops, seminars, practical exercises and lessons, a particular model designed for
students, practicing teachers, teacher trainers, and even for primary school managers/heads was
targeted. Its aim was to strengthen the links between Higher Education and the real needs of the primary
schools who are the potential employers of these Faculty of Education graduates. One part of the course
took place in a primary school in Banská Bystrica, specifically among its young learners. J. Kovács taught
several sample lessons over three afternoon meetings. They were observed and reflected on not only by
the whole group of TE students (in the master programme) but also by in-service teachers of English
from eight primary schools in Banská Bystrica and even by EFL methodologists from faculties of
education. J. Kovács focused on several issues regarding the teaching of different language skills, such as
pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, but she focused especially on the quality of lesson plans and
lesson assessment.
The third module was accomplished in March and April 2014. It was attended by a new group of students
who were also given a unique opportunity to become students of a brand new course related to teaching
CLIL to young learners. Both subjects consisted of 26 lessons, and the course was successfully completed
by 23 students. Thanks again to a primary school in Banská Bystrica, this group of students was given
a great opportunity not only to acquire basic knowledge of EFL/CLIL methodology for young learners,
but also to gain some real life experience with teaching this age group.
In her seminars, J. Kovács emphasized acquisition of English language prior to conscious learning of
young learners. She used the method of experiential learning so that the TE students had several
opportunities to try and experience different methods of developing their own language skills and
vocabulary. She presented to the students several valuable theoretical and methodological resources
and teaching methods, including video recordings of good CLIL practice in Hungarian bilingual schools.
Another part of the project was the visit of Slovak experts to Hungary – visiting several kindergartens
and primary schools in Budapest schools. They were informed about the history and current practice of
CLIL teaching in those schools, and to observe personally and speak to young Hungarian students. It was
a tremendous experience to have a fluent conversation with 11 year-old children about various cultural,
historical or biological issues of interest to them. They visited Pitypang Bilingual Kindergarten, Magda
Szabó Foundation Bilingual Primary School and the State Frigyes Karinthy primary school.

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Information about the conference
”Great meeting of enthusiastic CLIL teachers and students - unique atmosphere of the conference!” –
these comments catch the spirit of the feedback of 98% attendants of the final conference related to
activity 1.4. It was attended by over 100 teachers, representing all school grades, and included various
teachers and representatives from other pedagogical-andragogical study programs from Slovakia, the
Czech Republic, Hungary and England. Its participants were united in their desire to know how CLIL works
in different countries, what kind of research in the field of CLIL in each country has already been
completed, but above all, what a successful CLIL lesson should look like!
The conference was held on October 16, 2014 at

Faculty of Education in Banská Bystrica. Its title
"Learning Together to Be a Better CLIL Teacher"
described the umbrella topic of all its presentation.
The plenary session was opened by the invitation of
the Slovak expert team (doc. PaedDr D. Hanesová,
PhD. and prof. PhDr. B. Kasáčová, PhD.) The first
plenary speech by doc. Judit Kovacs, PhD. was
dedicated to clarifying CLIL principles and its historical
development. What followed was a wonderful live demonstration of a CLIL lesson – right before the eyes
of conference participants. It was carried out by an experienced teacher of biology and geography from
the private primary school CLIL Magda Szabo in Budapest. The 12-year old students accepted the
opportunity to come to Banská Bystrica enthusiastically. This biology CLIL lesson received the highest
positive rating in the feedback from the conference (see the picture on the cover of this book).
Following the CLIL lesson, were three presentations on CLIL research in three countries: Slovakia (by
prof. PhDr S. Pokrivčáková, PhD.), Czech Republic (Mgr. B. Benešová) and Hungary (É. Trentinné Benkő,
PhD). Their plenary presentations form the
first part of this publication.
The afternoon programme consisted of three
sections of workshops. Each of them gave
space to five consecutive workshops. The
workshop leaders were excellent, enthusiastic
teachers from Slovakia, Hungary and Czech
Republic. They shared some of their best CLIL
teaching practices, for example, the use of TPR
(Total Physical Response) in CLIL; engaging
young learners in classroom activities using

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a Smart Board; topic-based skills

development; reading competence in CLIL;
adapting Maths word problems for
elementary curricula; training practice in CLIL
for primary teachers of English; etc. Most of
the presentations were motivating,
interactive, including multiple activities,
video, special software, etc. Though it is
difficult to represent the flow of these
workshops ‘on paper’, the presenters wrote
the whole/or parts of their workshops which
form the second part of this publication.
There are also video recordings of some
parts of the workshops available for the
attendants of the conference at the Faculty
of Education, UMB, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
The climax of the final plenary

meeting was a special ceremony in
which the primary teaching
students, graduates of the project
courses on CLIL methodology,
were awarded certificates by the
project team. Their personal
attitude to these courses was
exemplary, full of unfeigned joy
and praise.
The native English-speaking

participants contributed to the
conference with promotion of appropriate literature for children and youth in English, and also by
contributing to the discussions.
The overall evaluation of conference feedback showed that most participants were excited and very
positive about this opportunity to observe CLIL in practice. In their responses to open questions in the
feedback questionnaire, the participants were especially appreciative of the biology CLIL lesson by
I. Mihály and his students as well as of practical workshops. Of course there were areas which would
need improvement (such as access to a bigger plenary hall, more breaks, and more time for the workshop
presenters).

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References
CIMERMANOVÁ, I. (2010). Využívanie počítačov ako motivačný faktor pre žiakov mladšieho školského
veku. In Učiteľ cudzieho jazyka v kontexte primárneho vzdelávania. Prešov : Prešovská univerzita,
2010, s. 72-98. ISBN 978-80-555-02232-8.
FARKAŠOVÁ, E., MENZLOVÁ, B., BISKUPIČOVÁ, K. (2001). Jazyky hrou. Bratislava : Orbis Pictus
Istropolitana, 2001. 49 s. ISBN 8071583545.
GADUŠOVÁ, Z. (2004). Teória a prax osvojovania cudzích jazykov: Príjemca: dieťa. Nitra : UKF, 2004. 160
s. ISBN 9788080507367.
HARŤANSKÁ, J. (2004). Vyučovanie anglického jazyka na 1. stupni základnej školy. Nitra : UKF, 2004. 130
s. ISBN 9788080507572.
HURAJOVÁ, Ľ. (2013). Professional Teacher Competences in CLIL. Doctoral thesis. Nitra: Univerzita
Konštantína Filozofa, 2013.
LOJOVÁ, G. (2010). Vytváranie pevných základov pre cudzojazyčné zručnosti. In Učiteľ cudzieho jazyka v
kontexte primárneho vzdelávania. Prešov : Prešovská univerzita, 2010, s. 6-21, ISBN 978-80-555-
0232-8.
MENZLOVÁ, B. (2012). Obsahovo a jazykovo integrované vyučovanie (CLIL) na 1. stupni základnej školy.
(CLIL at the Primary School Level). In S. Pokrivčáková et al. (Eds.), Obsahovo a jazykovo
integrované vyučovanie (CLIL) v ISCED 1. Bratislava: ŠPÚ, 2012, s. 13-60.
POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. (2010). Obsahovo integrované učenie sa cudzieho jazyka (CLIL) na 1. stupni ZŠ. In
Straková, Z., Cimermanová, I. (eds.) Učiteľ cudzieho jazyka v kontexte primárneho vzdelávania.
Prešov : Prešovská univerzita, 2010, s. 99-121. ISBN 978-80-555-0232-8,.
POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. (2013). CLIL Research in Slovakia. Hradec Králové : Gaudeamus, 2013.
SEPEŠIOVÁ, M. (2011). Potenciál a implementácia obsahového a jazykového integrovaného vyučovania
(CLIL). In Kľúčové kompetencie pre celoživotné vzdelávanie II. Prešov : Vydavateľstvo Prešovskej
univerzity v Prešove, 2011, s. 309-314. ISSN 1338-3388.
STRAKOVÁ, Z., CIMERMANOVÁ, I. (2010). Učiteľ cudzieho jazyka v kontexte primárneho vzdelávania.
Prešov : PU, 2010, s. 99 – 121. ISBN 978-80-555-0232-8.

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Plenary
Presentations

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Living in and for CLIL
Judit Kovács
ELTE, Budapest, Hungary
dr.judit.kovacs@t-online.hu
Abstract: This study is the written form of a powerpoint presentation which was delivered in the plenary
session at the conference ”Learning Together to be a Better CLIL Teacher”, held at University Matej Bel,
Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, 16 October 2014. The title of the oral presentation was: ” Help me! I’m addicted
to CLIL! Is is curable?”
Key words: CLIL, teacher, teaching English
1 Personal way to CLIL
How did it start?

Having been a teacher of English for almost two decades, I was suddenly struck by the thought of doing
the same thing. Will I always have to teach the present perfect throughout my future years of teaching?
I definitely felt I need to give more content to it. The solution came as quickly as the problem arose: ’I am
a teacher of history as well!. Why not combine the two?’ At that time I was teaching students aged 14-
18 in a secondary grammar school both history and English. The class was specialized in English, which
meant they had 5 ’English as a foreign language’ lessons per week. Because the material discussed in
history was the American Civil War, I decided to teach it in English. When I started planning the lesson,
I instinctively relied on the content rather than on the linguistic side. I felt that the lesson should reflect
the characteristics of a history lesson. The only difference I made was that the lesson was conducted in
English. I taught the lesson, and the students were doing really well. They did not seem to be bothered
at all. And me? I had not idea that I was doing CLIL. Very few people have done this in Hungary, except
for those who were working on introducing CLIL. My lesson attracted a big audience and was
videorecorded. It was in April, 1987. CLIL had not existed in Hungary at that time.
Encounters of great importance

Leeds 1987, Vienna 1992, Budapest 1995, Leeds (again) 1997, Budapest-Pécs 1997-1999

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Oxley Hall, University of Leeds, U.K.
The summer of the same year (1987) brought a memorable

experience. I was in Leeds, U.K. attending a teacher training
course when my British tutors told me that in some secondary
schools CLIL would be introduced in Hungary that autumn.
I realized that the whole idea had been kept in complete
secrecy in Hungary. Though I was thrilled, there still was not
much hope to get any closer to the issue.
Another encounter of great importance came in 1992, when I met with people from Vienna Bilingual
School. Vienna was considered to be the first ’bilingual heaven’ in Europe at that time. It was exactly
what I had been wanting to see, and I felt like my dreams had come true. Stuart Simpson was employed
as the first native speaking teacher in Vienna in the mid 1980’s, and he implemented the Vienna bilingual
school system (VBS). The initial concept was first developed in 1991 with the first VBS primary CLIL school
opening in 1992. With absolutely no knowledge of German before he met his wife, Stuart claims to have
"learnt German the hard way", at night school in Edinburgh. "It made me see the importance of learning
languages at a young age”, he said.
Városligeti Primary CLIL School, Budapest
1995 is the date of my first visit to a primary CLIL classroom. The scene is the first
Hungarian-English primary CLIL school, in Budapest.1 Here I attended a Science
lesson, where I heard the 9 -10 year old learners speaking about ’odd-toed
ungulates’, ’vertebrates’ and ’rumination’. I was puzzled, and asked myself, ’Do
I speak English at all?’ And what was most surprising is that the learners were at
ease with using the present perfect! At this moment I realized that it must be
working, because it is working.
1
The name of the institution is: Városligeti Kéttannyelvű Általános Iskola, in the 14th district of Budapest, close to the City
Park (Városliget). This school was the first in Hungary to offer only CLIL classes.

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Main building. University of Leeds, U.K.
A further encounter came in 1997 when I started my MEd (Master of

Education) studies in TESOL2 to Young Learners at the University of Leeds, in
the U. K. I met the topic of bilingualism as a separate module in the
curriculum. Right then I started to read into the literature, and immediately
got enchanted. I made a decision to get into the topic deeper. Some years
later when I started my doctoral studies, I chose this topic for my PhD
dissertation. The turn of the 20th-21st centuries seemed to be an ideal
period for this in Hungary. The rapidly growing interest towards early CLIL
worldwide coincided with a period of openness to educational innovations
in Hungary. This resulted in numerous CLIL programmes (both state-financed and private or foundation)
for young learners.
The front cover of my book on primary CLIL in Hungary (the printed version
of my PhD dissertation):
Entering the international CLIL family
In the beginning of the 21st century I had the pleasure to join the circle of
CLIL experts. Between 2003-2006 I worked in the CLILCOM Leonardo Project
in Italy, France and Finland, led by David Marsh. I also took part in the work
of CLIL Matrix, led also by Mr. Marsh. This participation resulted in a joint publication on European CLIL
in which I wrote the chapter on Hungary. In 2005 I was invited by the British Council, Hungary, to edit
a special issue on CLIL. As an ERASMUS exchange tutor, I taught CLIL two times, in Belfast and in Carlisle,
U.K.
2
Teaching English as an Other or Foreign Language

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A publication on European CLIL. A special issue on CLIL
2 Looking for the secret of CLIL
What is CLIL?
So, what is CLIL then?3
According to Maljers, Marsh and Wolff, a wealth of

associated points should be considered:
• It is normal rather than exceptional
• Foreign skills are life skills
• Learn as you use, use as you learn
• Children not educated bilingually are disadvantaged
• CLIL is a catalyst for change, changes the status quo
• CLIL teaching is simopply good teaching
• CLIL learners are better language learners
• Learning by construction not by instruction
3
See definitions in: Kovács, J.,Trentinné Benkő, É. 2014

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How learners learn in CLIL? By learning texts or solving tasks?

Traditional FL instruction Task-based instruction
Focus on product on process
Basic elements of instructions linguistic exercises purposeful activities and tasks
Basic elements of instructions linguistic exercises purposeful activities and tasks
Stress on linguistic form on meaning and communication
Syllabus tailored to the structure of the language tailored to the students’ needs
Teacher’s role top-down teaching encouraging constructivism
Learners’ role individual work on own learning learning in purposeful activities
Main character Fragmented a sense of completeness
Materials coursebook exercises authentic materials
Assessment through tests through enjoyable games
a. Some task-types in CLIL
Do the great crossword puzzle. Music in Britain. Civilisation.

2
6 7
10
11

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Across Down
1 Handel’s most famous oratotio (7) 1 The Duchy of..........., the state where
Handel was born (9)
3 Westminster............., Handel’s burial place 2 George of ........... , who in 1714 became
in London (5) the King of Great Britain and Ireland (7)
4 Handel became a musicmaster to 6 Handel’s home town in Germany where he
prince..........of Hanover, who later became was born in 1685 (5)
King George I. (6)
5 A musical instrument. Handel was a skilful 7 25...........Street, Handel’s home in
performer and composer of it (5). London, now Handel House Museum (5)
Beware: this word comes backwards!
8 Handel is one of the greatest composer of
the .........era (7)
9 Handel’s father wanted his son to
study.....(3)
10 ......organ, a musical instrument Handel
was a great master of
11 Queen ...........gave Handel a yearly income
of Ł200 from 1712
A domino game. Space (Science)
START through a vacuum. gas and dust.
With no Space is
In space no one can hear you air to scatter sunlight also filled with

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scream. space appears black. radiation.
This is because Space is not completely This is dangerous

there is no air in space. empty. to astronauts.
The gaps between the stars

Sound waves cannot travel and planets are filled with THE END
b. Learners’ products
Some posters, made by 11-12 year old learners in a CLIL School in Hungary. The subject is:
Civilisation of the English speaking countries. The Medieval London and London today.

19

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c. Who is CLIL good for?
Some reservations and arguments:
• Only for the elite, or for all?

• Mathematics and Science are difficult enough for average children, even if they are delivered in
the L1
• CLIL, an intellectually demanding programme, should be considered to be slightly selective and
appropriate only for those with brilliant mental abilities
BUT:
• Since L2 delivery to young learners is based on skills development, it does not require a high
degree of mental exertion
• Similarly to other skills subjects, early CLIL is highly suitable for most children since its appraoch
is activity-and experience-based which is in the line with the way young learners get knowledge
on the world around them, including languages
So, CLIL is good for/not so good for those who
are ready to take the risk are too shy

are open and interested are too passive
are autonomous like being spoon-fed
prefer fluency to accuracy prefer accuracy to fluency
expect the unexpected do not like the unexpected
d. Teaching in CLIL is: different!
Aspects of teaching Traditional FL teaching CLIL teaching

Approach to language knowledge-transmission- competence-based
learning based
Place in the L2 curriculum language-oriented - part of cross-curricular - part of
linguistics general development
Focus on intellectual development holistic development
only
How material is delivered ready-made and pre-preared through problem discovery
and problem-solving
Teacher’s role knowledge transmission providing context for
productive language use

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Learners’ role receiving materials that come the learner is an agent of his
from the teacher. Receptive own learning
Work forms mainly frontal and individual co-operative
Teaching materials and tools mainly coursebooks, paper mainly authentic materials,
and pen audio-visuals, tools, projects
Teachers’ efforts does not require special requires devoted and highly
efforts qualified professionals
Final goal getting by getting better
e. CLIL learners are successful learners
They are
• good listeners
• fluent and confident L2 speakers
• their pronunciation outperforms that of the average FL learners
• their vocabulary is rich in every topic raised
• are able to logically infer unknown words
• they utilize well the hints and clues received during interaction
• their readiness to speaking is usually much higher than that of non-CLIL learners
• do not shy away from the difficulties, try to express themselves by using good paraphrasing
techniques when they lack a word or a structure
and because
• their attitude towards language errors is different from non-CLIL learners: they treat them as
normal ’side-effects’. Their wish to communicate is too powerful to cause inhibitions in them
• L2 is used for genuine communication: the atmosphere of lessons is relaxed
• the low level of stress allows them to initiate questions, and, even, comment on the teacher
• the main activity forms in CLIL lessons, such as group and project work greatly contribute to
a low level of anxiety, and thus, develop a positive attitude in learners
f. How do practical CLIL teachers feel what it is like being a CLIL teacher
• ”I feel happier than before. My general disposition is better”
• ”I do feel the difference. I prepare more, enjoy the high linguistic level of the programme which
is very motivating. This is a field of education that requires a high level of determination and
consistency. I would recommend CLIL only for those who are committed and are ready to work
in their free time.”

22
• ”Being involved in CLIL is advantegous not only for learners but for teachers as well. Teachers’
knowledge is expanding together with that of the learners. Teachers are more ’forced’ to keep
up to date and avoid to teach from routine”
• ”I can adapt to challenges more easily”
• ”I consciously put more emphasis on my professional development”
(Source: own survey of statements of CLIL teachers)
Summary
The twenty years of my co-existence with CLIL taught me to believe the thruth of the statement:
’Bilingualism makes smart’. Being a CLIL learner means being constantly challenged to use one’s
cognitive skills. Without doing this, a learner cannot cope with the gap between the rich vocabulary the
subject content requires, and the relatively low level of his/her command of the target language. The
most basic cognitive skills such as matching, guessing, ordering, classifying, etc. are always at hand in
tasks to help bridge this gap. These, and similar tasks guide the learners through their journey to
successful meaning-making. This approach might teach them how to look at their own mother tongue
as one of the existing codes to express their thoughts, and thus, to shape a view in which words and their
meanings can be used in a flexible way.
References
KOVÁCS, J., TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2014). The World at Their Feet Children’s Early Competence in Two
Languages through Education. Budapest: Eötvös Józsf Köbyvkiadó, 2014.
Maljers, A. Marsh, D., Wolff, D. - personal communication
About the author: Habil. Judit Kovács PhD is associate professor at Faculty of Primary Education, ELTE,
Budapest. She earned her MA in History, Russian and English (ELTE, Budapest), her MEd in TESOL to Young
Learners (University of Leeds, U.K.), her PhD in Applied Linguistics (University of Pécs, Hungary), and her
habilitation in Early Language Education (ELTE Budapest). Her research areas cover early language
education, early bilingual education, and teacher training for the above fields. She is an established
speaker in Hungary and beyond. Her publications include articles, curricula, teaching materials, digital
materials (DVDs), and 10 books (written and edited). She has recently been involved in an EU project in
Slovakia as international expert.

23
Research Implications for the Training of CLIL Teachers in Slovakia
Silvia Pokrivčáková
Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia
spokrivcakova@ukf.sk
Abstract: Recent years have seen a large number of CLIL teachers and researchers worldwide publishing
articles focused on their performance, specific professional characteristics and competences, opinions,
beliefs, attitudes, experience, and concerns, as well as on the need for professional development and
training. The teacher-oriented CLIL research has been the most expanding field of CLIL research in
Slovakia as well (Gondová, 2012; Hurajová, 2013; Králiková, 2013; Menzlová, 2012; Pokrivčáková, 2013a;
Pokrivčáková, 2013b; Sepešiová, 2013 and others). Drawing on the outcomes of this research, the paper
proposes several areas of CLIL the teacher training courses should focus on, in order to enable the
teachers to become better “CLIL teachers” (as the title of the conference states). The areas include: a)
improvement of CLIL teachers´ skills to define educational objectives clearly and integration of both
content and language objectives; b) development of competences to manage CLIL classes through the
incorporation of more learner-oriented activities; c) introduction of new and effective ways how to
combine two working languages in CLIL classes; and d) more training in selecting/designing/assessing
CLIL materials.
Key words: CLIL, teachers, Slovakia
Fifteen years of CLIL in Slovakia
In Slovakia, the CLIL, as an innovative teaching method integrating both teaching content subjects and
developing communicative competences in foreign languages, emerged shortly after 2000. While in its
initial stages many schools had experimented with various types and variants of the method, nowadays
the additive type of CLIL has become dominant. Other types (especially the erasive CLIL) are either too
demanding to be applied under the conditions of mainstream education or they contradict the objectives
of the Slovak national curriculum (e.g. one of the main educational objectives is to develop systematically
the learners´ mother language which cannot be “erased” by any other language).
The CLIL is in Slovakia applied at both mainstream and bilingual schools. At bilingual schools, CLIL lessons
are usually timetabled as content subject lessons (e.g. mathematics, biology, geography, arts etc.) and
are taught exclusively in a foreign language by teachers qualified to teach content subjects (only
exceptionally to teach a target language). A foreign language is taught also as an independent curricular
subject (in addition to other subjects) in the extent of 3 lessons a week. Such organisation of education
is rather challenging, not only for teachers and learners, but for school managements as well. At

24
mainstream schools, a foreign language is used only in some lessons, for the teaching of some topics or
subjects (it usually depends solely on a teacher´s choice) and CLIL teaching time in a foreign language
never exceeds 50% of the total teaching time. In this way, CLIL has become an accessible compromise
between traditional monolingual education (when content subjects are taught exclusively in a mother
language and foreign languages are taught exclusively as individual academic subjects) and bilingual
education (when at least three content subjects are taught exclusively in a foreign language). The
application of the CLIL method implies integration of two working languages without suppression of any
of them. Schools in Slovakia are generally recommended to use a mother language of learners as
a medium of education in at least 50% of teaching time. This enables learners to develop their academic
literacy in both the mother and foreign languages. The CLIL thus brings one of the most appreciated
benefits of vastly popular bilingual instruction to as many learners as possible.
However, nearly 15 years of CLIL in Slovakia could not completely overcome certain weaknesses and
risks: the lack of both valid assessment procedures and standardized evaluation instruments (c.f.
Pokrivčáková, 2013c), no formal net of “CLIL schools” and teacher training institutions, including
universities, which would enhance sharing CLIL experiences and examples of good teaching practice (c.f.
Kováčiková, 2013; Hurajová, 2013; Sepešiová, 2013, Menzlová, 2013 etc.), as well as the lack of qualified
teachers prepared to apply CLIL (c.f. Hurajová, 2013; Sepešiová, 2013, Menzlová, 2013 etc.).
CLIL teachers training in Slovakia
One can say that any teacher training should draw on the results of professional research in the field.
There is no doubt that the number of research papers dealing with CLIL has been growing (Clegg, n.d.;
Coyle, 2006; Crandall, 1998; Dale, Vanderes, & Tanner, 2010; Dalton-Puffer, 2002; Dickey, 2004;
Hansen-Pauly et al., 2009; Lasagabaster & Ruiz de Zarobe, 2010; Lechner, 2009; Pistorio, 2009;
Novotná et al., 2001; Pavesi et al., 2001; Wenger, 2012 and others). One of the most important outcomes
of this growing body of research studies was the publication of the European Framework for CLIL Teacher
Education (Frigols Martín, Marsh, Mehisto, & Wolff, 2011) which was intended as a universal tool for
designing CLIL teacher-training courses.
In Slovakia, CLIL teacher-based research has been continually dealt with by several authors (Gondová,
2012; Hanesová, 2014; Hurajová, 2013; Králiková, 2013, Menzlová, 2012, Pokrivčáková, 2012a, 2013c;
Sepešiová, 2013 and others). The research papers published by the mentioned authors have proved that
the Slovak CLIL teachers who participated in the research generally considered CLIL both professionally
challenging and personally satisfying. Their attitudes oscillated from neutral to very positive (none
expressed a univocally negative attitude), and nearly all of them expressed their intention to continue
to use CLIL in the future, since they could see learners positive responses on various levels (higher
motivation, better communicative skills in a foreign language, activity, higher self-confidence, etc.).

25
The research which included analyses of CLIL teachers´ needs (Hurajová, 2013; Králiková, 2013,
Menzlová, 2012, Pokrivčáková, 2013c; Sepešiová, 2013) identified the following areas which were
marked by the teachers as most problematic:
• work overload and time-consuming preparation;

• increased demands on teachers performance in a foreign language;
• lack of finely-tuned CLIL materials;
• accomplishment of the balance between two working languages,
• and, finally, management of CLIL lessons for mixed ability classes with weak learners or learners
with special educational needs.
The area which appeared in all the research studies was the need of further teacher training in CLIL, with
teachers generally complaining about both the lack of training opportunities and the lack of teacher
training materials.
As for CLIL teacher training courses, by the end of 2014 only four accredited teacher-training courses for
CLIL teachers were registered by the Ministry of Education (c.f.
http://www.minedu.sk/data/files/185_zoznam_poskyt_akred_progr_kv20121020.pdf). CLIL is also the
topic included in several courses of general continual teacher education provided by some universities
(e. g. Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra and Žilina University).
The objective assessment of the quality of these courses is yet to be carried out, however, bearing in
mind the opinions and attitudes of CLIL teachers collected and analysed in the previously mentioned
Slovak research studies (Gondová, 2012; Hanesová, 2014; Hurajová, 2013; Králiková, 2013, Menzlová,
2012, Pokrivčáková, 2012a, 2013c; Sepešiová, 2013 and others), one can, preliminary, state that they
should focus, among other things, on the following problems:
• definition of CLIL-balanced educational objectives (which would integrate both content and
language objectives);
• management of CLIL classes with more learner-oriented activities;
• effective combination of two working languages in CLIL classes;
• more training in selecting/designing/assessing CLIL materials.
In addition to the absence of finely-tuned teaching sources for CLIL classes, the insufficient number of
teacher training textbooks, teacher´s handbooks and manuals is the most frequently mentioned problem
identified by CLIL teachers in CLIL practice at Slovak schools.
So far CLIL teachers can consult either the introductory teacher´s manual CLIL, plurilingvizmus
a bilingválne vzdelávanie by Pokrivčáková et al. (2008), or one of Gondová´s teacher training textbooks:
CLIL – integrované vyučovanie obsahu a jazyka (2013) and Aktívne učenie sa žiakov v CLILe (2013).

26
In 2015, at least two more teacher-training handbooks for Slovak CLIL teachers are to be published. One
of them is going to be the e-textbook CLIL and Foreign Language Education written by the international
team of authors and published at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. The other textbook
CLIL: Metodická príručka pre učiteľov written by S. Pokrivčáková is going to be published by the Ministry
of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.
Conclusion
The facts and data mentioned in the paper demonstrate that training CLIL teachers in Slovakia has been
developing dynamically, which is represented mostly quantitatively by growing number of CLIL teacher
training courses, as well as by increasing number of published CLIL-teachers´ manuals and handbooks.
However, even in teacher training area the quantity must be always supported by quality. The objective
assessment of quality of the both accredited and not-accredited CLIL-teacher-training courses has not
been conducted yet; neither the effective evaluation tools nor procedures which still need to be
designed. It is one of the crucial responsibilities for the future CLIL educational research.
Acknowledgement
The paper is the partial result of the project KEGA 036UKF-4/2013.
References
CLEGG, J. (n. d.), Providing language support in CLIL. Available at: http://www.factbg.hit.bg/issue6/f6-
clegg.pdf.
COYLE, D. (2006). Content and language integrated learning: Motivating learners and teachers. Scottish
Languages Review, 2006, 13, pp. 1-18.
CRANDALL, J. (1998). Collaborate and Cooperate: Teacher Education for Integrating Language and
Content Instruction. The Internet Archive à l'URL suivante. Available at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080206083002/http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol36/n
o1/p2.htm
DALE, L., VANDERES, W., & TANNER, R. (2010). CLIL skills. Leiden: University of Leiden, 2010.
DALTON-PUFFER, C. (2002). Content and language integrated learning in Austrian classrooms: Applied
linguistics takes a look. Views, 2010, 11(1&2), pp. 4-26. Available at:
http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/views/02_1&2/CDP.PDF
DICKEY, R. J. (2004). Content (adj) or Content (n) With Your English Classes? Education International,
1(3). Available at: http://www.content-english.org/data/dickey-ei.pdf
FRIGOLS MARTÍN, M. J. F., MARSH, D., MEHISTO, P. & WOLFF, D. (2011). European Framework for CLIL
Teacher Education. Graz: ECML, 2011.

27
GONDOVÁ, D. (2012a). CLIL očami žiakov. In: CLIL - nová výzva. Ústí nad Labem: Univerzita J. E. Purkyně,
p. 7-36, 2012.
GONDOVÁ, D. (2012b). Identifying the Needs of CLIL Teachers at Lower and Upper-Secondary Schools.
Journal of Interdisciplinary Philology, 2012, 3 (3), pp. 5-22.
HANESOVÁ, D. (2014). Development of Critical and Creative Thinking Skills in CLIL. Journal of Language
and Cultural Education, 2014, 2(2), pp. 33-51.
HANSEN-PAULY, M. A., BENTNER, G., LLINARES, A., MORTON, T., DAFOUZ, E., FAVILLI, F.,
NOVOTNA, J. e t a l . (2009). Teacher education for CLIL across contexts. Available at:
http://clil.uni.lu/CLIL/Project_files/CLIL_Project_Final_Report.pdf
HURAJOVÁ, Ľ. (2013). Professional Teacher Competences in CLIL. Doctoral thesis. Nitra: Univerzita
Konštantína Filozofa, 2013.
KRÁLIKOVÁ, I. (2013). Anglický jazyk na primárnom stupni ZŠ (so zameraním na metodiku CLIL). Doctoral
thesis. Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela, 2013.
LASAGABASTER, D. & RUIZ DE ZAROBE (Eds.) (2010). CLIL in Spain: Implementation, resultsand teacher
training. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars, 2010.
LECHNER, C. (2009) CLIL: European Developments Leading to a Skill-Based Model for Teacher Education.
In Language in Different Contexts, 3(1). Vilnius : Vilnius Pedagogical University,2009, p.209 – 219.
MENZLOVÁ, B. (2012). Obsahovo a jazykovo integrované vyučovanie (CLIL) na 1. stupni základnej školy.
In S. Pokrivčáková et al. (Eds.), Obsahovo a jazykovo integrované vyučovanie (CLIL) v ISCED 1.
Bratislava: ŠPÚ, 2012, pp. 13-60.
NEWBERRY, P. (2004). CLIL in the Netherlands. Presentation before the International conference "The
CLIL -Teacher", March 25-26, 2004, Amsterdam (The Netherlands).
Available at: http://www.tl2l.nl/download/newberry.doc
NOVOTNÁ, J., HADJ-MOUSSOVÁ, Z., HOFMANNOVÁ, M. (2001). Teacher training for CLIL -
Competences of a CLIL teacher. In M. Hejny & J. Novotná, Proceedings SEMT 01, pp. 122-126.
Praha: PF UK, 2001. http://www.content-english.org/data/Novotna.doc
PAVESI, M., BERTOCHI, D., HOFMANNOVÁ, M., KAZIANKA, M., & LANGÉ, G. (2001). "Teaching Through
a Foreign Language. A guide for teachers and schools to using Foreign Language in Content
Teaching", [32p.] In D. Langé (Ed.), Insegnare in una Lingua Straniera. Unterrichten durch eine
Fremdsprache. Teaching through a Foreign Language. Enseñar en una Lengua Extranjera.
Enseigner dans une Langue Vivante. Italien : Milan, M.I.U.R., Direzione Generale della Lombardia
on behalf of TIE- CLIL. Available at: http://www.ub.es/filoan/CLIL/teachers.pdf
PÉREZ-CAÑADO, M. L. 2012. CLIL research in Europe: past, present, and future. International Journal of
Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2012, 3, pp. 315-341.
PISTORIO, M. I. (2009).Teacher training and competences for effective CLIL teaching in Argentina.Latin
American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, 2009, 2(2), pp. 37–43.
POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. (2013a). Qualitative Survey of Slovak Teachers´ Personal Views on Content Language
Integrated Learning (CLIL). International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2013, 1 (1), pp.
83-93.

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POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. (2013b). Research focus on CLIL teachers in Slovakia. Education and languages in
Europe: Austria: Forschung und Wissenschaft – Erziehungswissenschaft, 17, 2013, pp. 403-408.
SEPEŠIOVÁ, M. (2013). Profesijné kompetencie učiteľa aplikujúceho metodiku CLIL v primárnej edukácii.
Doctoral Thesis. Prešov: Prešovská univerzita, 2013.
WEGNER, A. 2012. Seeing the Bigger Picture: What Students and Teachers Think About CLIL.
International CLIL Research Journal, 2012, Vol 1, No. 4. http://www.icrj.eu/14/article3.html
About the author: Prof. PaedDr. Silvia Pokrivčáková, PhD. works at the Department of Language
Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies, Faculty of Education of Constantine the Philosopher University in
Nitra, Slovakia. She is a teacher trainer and researcher in language pedagogy, interested in a wide variety
of subjects related to teaching and learning foreign languages, but especially CLIL and young learners
and learners with special educational needs in inclusive education. She is an author and editor of
numerous monographs, textbooks, studies and research papers.

29
Teacher Training for CLIL in Hungary: An emprical research
Éva Trentinné Benkő, PhD

ELTE TÓK, Budapest, Hungary
tbenko.eva@gmail.com
Abstract: The research focuses on CLIL teachers and trainees: their beliefs, competences, learning
outcomes, needs and challenges. It also investigates the impact of CLIL teacher-training courses and the
correlation between teacher education and researching teachers using qualitative research methods and
techniques.
Keywords: early bilingual education, CLIL teachers, teacher education, qualitative research, teacher
competences
Introduction
This article is a part of a research study4 on early educational bilingualism and CLIL teacher education in
Hungary. The research primarily focuses on CLIL teachers and trainees (1): their beliefs, competences,
needs and challenges. Teachers are key figures of the bilingual teaching-learning process. Their
responsibility is huge and indisputable since they are challenged by multi-faceted tasks that require
a great variety of competences. Their professional skills, personal qualities, language proficiency,
theoretical and practical knowledge, views and attitudes immensely influence the success of CLIL.
Therefore, the exploration of teachers’ and trainees’ beliefs, needs and competences becomes
a necessity in order to achieve the highest efficiency. Consequently, the other research focus is the
investigation of CLIL teacher-training courses (2) giving a high priority to the pre-service training
specialisation run at ELTE TÓK. My main aim is to gain insights into the programme in order to ensure its
quality and achieve constant improvement to maximise trainees’ learning outcomes. The aims also
include enhancing professional cooperation between the stakeholders and providing qualified CLIL
teachers for the local bilingual primary and pre-schools. The third research area is the correlation
between teacher training and researching teachers (3) in connection with exploring beliefs, competences
and learning outcomes by implementing a range of qualitative research methods and techniques.
The theoretical framework of the research is based on the literature focusing on competences, beliefs,
qualitative research tools and techniques, competence-based teacher education, learning outcomes, the
concepts of CLIL and CLIL teacher training (see literature reviews in Trentinné Benkő 2013ab, Trentinné
4
Trentinné Benkő, É (2013a): PhD Dissertation. See also Trentinné Benkő, É. (2009ab, 2013bc, 2014ab) and Kovács–
Trentinné Benkő (2014)

30
Benkő 2014b, and Kovács – Trentinné Benkő 2014). The present study aims at exploring the topic of
bilingual education with a focus on CLIL teacher training and development. Some interesting research
findings concerning teachers’ and trainees’ beliefs will also be presented.
Background of the research:
Early bilingual education in Hungary and CLIL teachers
Dual-language or bilingual schools and the introduction of foreign language learning at an early age have
received special attention in Hungary in the past two decades. The number of bilingual or CLIL (Content
and Language Integrated Learning) programmes – especially those offered in primary and pre-schools –
has been increasing dynamically. Although the societal and parental demand for effective language
teaching and thus for bilingual education is strong in Hungary, there are still controversial views and
serious debates concerning the advantages and disadvantages of CLIL programmes, especially in the
early years. In many forums there is a significant disagreement regarding the topic. Some professionals
tend to support CLIL whole-heartedly, while others sceptically question its benefits or fiercely argue the
dangers of it.
While the European Union has launched several projects and official documents supporting early foreign
language learning, content-based education and multicultural, plurilingual societies5, recently Hungary’s
educational policy concerning bilingual schooling has changed. Early CLIL educational programmes have
stopped being a favourable innovation, however several good practices can be found locally, and
Hungary is one of the very few European countries where early CLIL programmes blossom and
specialised pre-service teacher training exists. On the basis of the extensive literature on the subject
(reviewed in Kovács 2006, 2009; Kovács–Trentinné Benkő 2010, 2014; Trentinné Benkő 2014b) this study
assumes that quality bilingual education is invaluable to all its participants. However, among the several
affecting factors, the teacher’s role should be emphasised in order to achieve successful CLIL.
Bilingualism and content-based education have been researched in Hungary in several fields such as
history of language teaching, language policy, psychology, language pedagogy, sociolinguistics,
psycholinguistics in line with relevant European educational research projects6 (among others: Vámos
1996, 1998, 2008a, 2009; Kovács–Molnárné 2003; Morvai–Poór 2006; Kovács 2006, 2009; Márkus 2008;
M. Batári 2008; Vámos–Kovács 2008; Tárnok 2009; Kovács–Márkus 2009; Tolnai 2009; Kovács–Trentinné
2010), not enough attention has been paid to the teachers, their challenges and competences, the beliefs
they have and the training they need.
5
see http://ec.europa.eu/languages/index_en.htm
6
e.g.: Fruhauf–Christ–Coyle 1996; Marsh–Maljers–Hartiala 2001; Marsh 2002; Eurydice 2006; Maljers–Marsh–Wolff 2007;
Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012

31
Early bilingual development places specific requirements on teachers. The bilingual teacher’s
responsibilities are much more multifaceted and complex than those of working in traditional
’monolingual’ contexts or in foreign language teaching. For working successfully in early bilingual
educational programmes specific CLIL teacher training is needed. Until recently in Hungary there has not
been relevant training for teachers working in bilingual educational contexts. However, with the
increasing number of CLIL programmes there was a growing need for specialised and qualified teachers
who are able to teach different school subjects through the medium of a foreign language. In bilingual
pre-school settings the requirements are even higher and the task is more complex and ambitious:
children’s holistic development.
The ideal CLIL teacher should possess a wide range of professional and personal skills and qualities in
order to provide young learners with advantageous teaching-learning conditions. The knowledge, skills
and attitudes form a specific system of competences that can be described in a complex way. These CLIL
teacherly competences include numerous elements in the areas of the subject matter, the target
language; the CLIL practitioner should know the theory and practice of language teaching, subject
teaching and CLIL methodology, didactics and cognitive sciences among many others.
The description of the research7
The timeline of the research is divided into two main sections according to the participants queried. Two
target groups are identified: CLIL practitioners and future teachers. In 2007–2008 practising teachers
were the subjects of research, whilst from 2009 student teachers have taken over the major role. In the
first phase in total more than 100 practising CLIL teachers’ beliefs, problems, competences and needs
were investigated. In the second phase (2009–2015, on-going), trainees studying at ELTE TÓK have
become the target audience. In the past few years more than 350 trainees applying for the early CLIL
specialisation have been questioned, and more than 200 students (attending the author’s CLIL
methodology seminars) have been researched using several techniques.
In addition to the more widely used research methods and tools such as interviews, questionnaires, focus
group discussions, needs analyses, document analyses, checklists, portfolios and self-reflections, several
less frequently used projective techniques have also been applied in the research. (a) Two types of
metaphor investigation: employing sentence completion with similes and exploiting a self-designed
metaphor grid; (b) creative writing including making up stories, recipes and shopping lists; and (c) visual
representations i.e. works using techniques such as drawing, painting, sticking, origami, collage,
montage; photos, mind maps, graphs, flowcharts, 3D puppets and mobiles, interactive board games and
7
the research is still an ongoing process

32
video clips. These qualitative research tools and techniques proved to be very useful from both training
and research perspectives.
In the current publication only a small part of the research is presented: a few research questions, aims,
hypotheses, tools and research findings are selected and introduced. Some examples of practising
teachers’ and student teachers’ beliefs and learning outcomes are revealed only for the purposes of
illustration. This brief research summary intends to explore in some depth the diversity of skills,
knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and attributes that are required from teachers to be able to cope with the
challenges of CLIL teaching. The following complex question is addressed among several others:
What are the CLIL teachers’ beliefs concerning

• bilingualism,
• bilingual education,
• the CLIL teacher’s role,
• the necessary CLIL teacher competences,
• the CLIL teacher’s tasks and responsibilities,
• the CLIL teacher’s needs,
• and their challenges and problems in this specific context?
The following two hypotheses are selected to focus on in the current publication:
1) Early bilingual or CLIL development places specific requirements on teachers in the fields of language
teaching, methodology, didactics, psychology, the knowledge of the subject-matter and its terminology,
foreign language competences, intercultural issues, ICT skills, cooperation and communication, among
many other competence areas.
2) The bilingual teacher’s tasks and responsibilities are much more multifaceted and complex than those
of working in traditional monolingual school contexts or in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) situations.
Some examples of the research findings
Metaphor investigation
The CLIL teacher should possess specialised knowledge, skills and qualities (both personal and
professional) to be able to cope with the challenges rising from the CLIL context. According to Vámos
(2001, 2003ab) teachers’ personal theories i.e. beliefs that are hidden even from their own conscious
perception can be revealed by their metaphors. Among the several metaphor investigation techniques8
the metaphor grid9 has been found the most useful and easiest way to gain numerous metaphors and
8
e.g. sentence completion in the form of a simile
9
this metaphor grid was designed and piloted by Trentinné Benkő in Hungarian pedagogy-oriented research in 2007

33
metaphorical expressions. The target domain is ‘the ideal CLIL teacher’. 10 Some metaphors and
explanations provided by the respondents are presented in Table No. 1 to show their views on the
essential competences of the ideal CLIL practitioner.
Table 1. Respondents’ metaphors for the ideal CLIL teacher using the metaphor grid technique
(examples)
The ideal CLIL teacher ...
CATEGORY METAPHOR EXPLANATIONS
PLANT sunflower it can see the sunny side of life
oak tree the retirement age is always getting higher and the
oak tree lives for a long time
cactus it can stand anything with its great endurance capacity
ivy it covers children’s minds by spreading knowledge and
it is not easy to get rid of
ANIMAL owl it is wise and moderate
lion it fights for CLIL
camel it is tough, you can put a lot of burden on its back
chameleon it adapts to the conditions
lizard if its tail breaks off, it grows back again
greyhound it never gives up, it is wiry
cat it can surprise you any time
NATURAL PHENOMENON rainbow it is colourful, it makes you feel happy
storm it leaves a mark behind
cloud it has many shapes
sun it shines on everyone exactly the same way
FOOD nothing there is no time for eating at school
pancake all children love it
meat broth approved recipe, all ingredients are available in
Hungary, it should be cooked slowly
cake with it looks light and airy
whipped cream
salad it is mixed i.e. multicultural, all ingredients get on well
with each other
DRINK cocktail all its ingredients make it taste so good
hot tea in winter it warms you up, in summer it chills you
energy drink never getting tired
VEHICLE rocket it takes students towards a new world
10
in earlier research phases there were two more target domains: the CLIL learner and the CLIL lesson/session

34
passenger train it carries everyone

Mercedes it is the best
jeep it overcomes obstacles
cross-country car it adapts to the circumstances
USEFUL / EVERYDAY credit card the visuals and all other supplementary materials are
OBJECT very expensive to buy
table it stands on more than 2 legs, you can put a lot of
things on it
mobile phone always available
door mat its bearing, endurance capacity is big
STORY CHARACTER the Wizard of Oz wizard, he can make magic
jester he says wise things hidden behind the jokes
Little Tin Soldier he is persistent
good fairy she can make everyone’s wish come true
BUILDING/ café it provides opportunities for sharing ideas and
STRUCTURE/CONSTRUC thoughts
TION roller coaster it goes up and then goes down
bridge it links children and knowledge, it links mother tongue
with the FL
dam, it stands firm and resists flood
embankment
FAMOUS PERSON prime minister of huge responsibility but somebody always dares to
any country take it
Leonardo polymath
Creative writing tasks: stories and recipes
The CLIL teachers and trainees were also asked to write a tale about the CLIL teacher’s trials, tribulations
and victories. There were no specific instructions given to the subjects of the research except for the
title. Most of the stories collected are real tales presenting a hero or heroine, enemies and helpers,
typical story characters, magic elements, special numerical and linguistic features, introducing a starting
problem, several obstacles and sources of support, adventures and trials, and finally finishing with
a happy ending. A story written by a practising teacher in English is presented to show an exciting mixture
of the two overlapping mental spheres: education and fairy tales.
Once upon a time, there was a wicked queen who made school compulsory. Children became very
sad. The good fairies felt pity for them and created fairy-like creatures (teachers). Unfortunately not
all creatures met the expectations because some of them were spoiled by the elves, they became not

35
good-fairy-like teachers. Then some giants made orders by force that schools had to answer. The
giants asked their friends, the seven-headed dragons, to destroy the bad schools. Good fairies felt
sorry for the children and helped again. They created wonder-creatures with a last final effort: the
CLIL teachers who are capable of doing anything, more than the best fairytale-characters. They can
change their form, when needed they are mothers, wives, teachers, but they also can be judges,
police officers, cleaners, decorators, storytellers, engineers, organisers, doctors, all in one. They can
do it not only in their mother tongue but also in a foreign language. Curses, spells and wicked
intrigues cannot harm them; they can trick and conquer all their fairytale enemies because they
possess all the good fairies’ qualities. The wicked queen got really angry and decided to mend and
correct herself one day and promised to give a lot of money to schools from her treasure chest… And
she still renews her vow every year on New Year’s Eve that she will do it next year. Will she keep it,
who knows?
CLIL teachers’ challenges require a special educational background and a wide range of professional and
personal competences. These skills, qualities, attitudes, motivations, knowledge bases etc. have been
further investigated when CLIL teachers and trainees were invited to create recipes, shopping lists or
magic potions that best represent their ideal CLIL teacher’s image. A few examples of these creative
writing pieces are shown only for illustrative purposes.
Recipe 1
Take a newly graduated teacher.

Add a mentor.
Add a pinch of playfulness and a spoonful of creativity.
Rinse it with various pedagogical methods.
Knead it for 2-3 years with courage.
Before baking sprinkle it with communication skills.
Bake it on high temperature whilst protecting it against failure.
Decorate it with empathy.
Do not let it cool!
Recipe 2
Take 10 kilograms of language skills.

Take 10 kilograms of subject knowledge.
Let it rest for a while.
Cut 10 pieces of playfulness into small portions.
And boil them on motivation.
Dice and add language and subject skills.

36
Season it with creativity according to taste.

Slice some methodology.
Mix it with 5 kilograms of pedagogy and psychology knowledge.
Boil it on an open fire in a huge cauldron for 1 and a half hours
whilst singing songs in the target language.
On the conference several visual representations – drawings, paintings, puppets, mind maps, graphs and
board games (collected during the research) – were also presented. Some samples of pieces of work can
be seen in the Appendix and more pictures can be found in Trentinné Benkő (2013ab) and Kovács –
Trentinné Benkő (2014).
Summary and Conclusion
Metaphors, fairy tales, recipes, visual representations, and all the other data collected during the
research provide a base for creating the CLIL teacher’s professional profile. It involves a wide range of
specific knowledge, skills and desirable attitudes; all necessary for teaching successfully in a CLIL context.
The CLIL teacher competences include foreign language proficiency and subject knowledge; pedagogical,
psychological, intercultural, social, cognitive and communicative elements. In the current knowledge
era, teachers working with the new generation of young learners also need new methodologies, ICT
competences, the abilities of self-reflection and life-long learning, a huge amount of emotional
intelligence besides classroom management, assessment, quality assurance, materials and curriculum
development techniques. The necessary competences cover more areas than in an average monolingual
teaching context. CLIL is not the same as foreign language teaching, it requires a lot more creativity,
openness, innovation, tolerance, integration, intercultural awareness, persistence, cooperation,
planning and preparation: more energy, time and effort from the teacher.
References
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286-289.
KOVÁCS, J., TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2010). Hitek és tévhitek. Idegennyelvi fejlesztés az óvodában. In:
Óvónők Kincsestára. E 3.7. 1-24 Budapest : Raabe Kiadó, 2010.
KOVÁCS, J., TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2014). The World at Their Feet: Children’s early Competence in Two
Languages through Education. Budapest : Eötvös József Könyvkiadó, 2014.
M BATÁRI, I. (2008). Párhuzamok az első és második nyelv elsajátításában – a korai nyelvi fejlesztés
szemszögéből. In: Vámos Á., Kovács, J. (Eds.) A két tanítási nyelvű oktatás elmélete és gyakorlata
2008-ban. Budapest : Eötvös József Könyvkiadó, 2008, pp. 61-73.
MALJERS, A., MARSH, D., WOLFF, D. (Eds.) (2007). Windows on CLIL. Content and Language Integrated
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Centre for Modern Languages, 2007.
MÁRKUS, É. (2008). Kétnyelvű oktatás vagy nyelvoktatás? Egy empirikus vizsgálat tapasztalatai. In:
Vámos, Á. – Kovács, J. (Eds.) A két tanítási nyelvű oktatás elmélete és gyakorlata 2008-ban. Jubileumi
tanulmánykötet. Budapest : Eötvös József Könyvkiadó, 2008, pp. 213-233.
MARSH D., MALJERS, A., HARTIALA, A. (2001). Profiling European CLIL Classrooms: Languages Open
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MORVAI, E., POÓR, Z. (2006). Korai nyelvoktatás a magyar oktatási intézményekben. Budapest : Oktatási
Minisztérium, 2006.
TÁRNOK, P. (2009). Kompetencia alapú nyelvelsajátítás óvodákban. In: Kovács J., Márkus É. (Eds.):
Kéttannyelvűség – pedagógusképzés, kutatás, oktatás. Budapest : ELTE, 2009, pp. 101-104.
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Kiadó, 2009, pp. 97-100.
TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2009a). CLIL Teachers Wanted. International Students’ Conference on Education.
Advantages and disadvantages. ISCE Conference Publication. Budapest : Hungarian Pedagogical
Society Youth Group, 2009, pp. 78-79.
TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2009b). Az „ideális” kéttannyelvű tanár – ahogy a pedagógusok látják. In: Kovács,
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TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2013a). A korai kétnyelvűség támogatására szolgáló pedagóguskompetenciák és
pedagógusképzés. Doktori értekezés (Unpublished PhD Dissertation) Budapest : ELTE PPK, 2013.
TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2013b). Kétnyelvi pedagógusképzésben részt vevő hallgatók nézeteinek
megjelenése kreatív vizuális alkotásaikban. Gyermeknevelés online tudományos folyóirat, I.
évfolyam, 1. sz. ELTE TÓK, 2013, pp. 73-105.

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TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2013c). A kétnyelvi képzésre jelentkező óvodapedagógus hallgatók nézetei és

motivációi az ELTE TÓK-on. In: Árva, V., Márkus, É. (Eds.): Education and/und Forschung II. Budapest
: ELTE Eötvös Kiadó, 2013, pp. 251-276.
TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2014a). Meseelemzés a korai idegennyelvi fejlesztéssel kapcsolatos
pedagógushallgatói nézetek, kompetenciák, tanulási eredmények feltárására. In: Márkus, É.,
Trentinné Benkő, É. (Eds.) A korai idegennyelvi fejlesztés elmélete és gyakorlata: konferencia
előadások és háttértanulmányok. Budapest : Eötvös Kiadó, 2014.
TRENTINNÉ BENKŐ, É. (2014b). A kétnyelvű fejlesztés és a pedagógusképzés. Neveléstudomány online
tudományos folyóirat, ELTE PPK, 2014/3, pp. 89-108.
VÁMOS, Á., KOVÁCS, J. (Eds.) (2008). A két tanítási nyelvű oktatás elmélete és gyakorlata 2008-ban.
Jubileumi tanulmánykötet. Budapest : Eötvös József Könyvkiadó, 2008.
VÁMOS, Á. (1996). A kéttannyelvű oktatásról. Köznevelés, 1996, pp. 24-25.
VÁMOS, Á. (1998). Magyarország Tannyelvi Atlasza. Budapest : Keraban, 1998.
VÁMOS, Á. (2001). Metafora felhasználása a pedagógiai fogalmak tartalmának vizsgálatában. Magyar
Pedagógia, 2001, 1, pp. 85-114.
VÁMOS, Á. (2003). Metafora a pedagógiában. Gondolat Kiadói Kör. Budapest : ELTE BTK
Neveléstudományi Intézet, 2003.
VÁMOS, Á. (2003b). Metafora a pedagógiai kutatásban. In: Iskolakultúra, 2003, 4, pp. 109-112.
VÁMOS, Á. (2008). A kétnyelvű oktatás tannyelv-politikai problématörténete és jelenkora. Budapest :
Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó, 2008.
VÁMOS, Á. (2009). A két tanítási nyelvű iskolák tankönyv- és taneszközellátottsága és ennek hatása a
tannyelvpedagógiára. In Magyar Pedagógia, 2009, 109.1, p. 5-27.
About the author: Éva Trentinné Benkő, PhD is a lecturer at the Faculty of Primary and Pre-School
Education, ELTE, Budapest. Her taught courses include EFL methodology, the theory and practice of
bilingual education, English children’s literature, teaching practice and children’s games. Her research
areas cover CLIL, teaching English to young learners and teacher education. She received a Master of
Education degree in TESOL to Young Learners at the University of Leeds, U. K. She holds a doctoral degree
from the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology, ELTE, Budapest.

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CLIL Projects in the Czech Republic
Barbora Benešová
UJP ZCU Plzeň, the Czech Republic
BaraBenes@seznam.cz
Abstract: Content and language integrated learning is flexible in order to take account of a wide range
of contexts. However, for CLIL to be effective, certain principles should be recognized. CLIL input is advised
to be carefully planned, contextualized and rigorously monitored (Coyle, Hood and Marsh, 2010). The
main aim of CLIL education in the Czech Republic is to respond to the rich language and cultural diversity
of Europe as well as to fit demands of national curriculum with respect to needs of individual pupils. This
talk will provide you with information on CLIL in the Czech context both in a broad perspective and
particular CLIL school examples.
Key words: CLIL, Czech Republic, project, research
Introduction
CLIL in the Czech Republic continues to develop with respect to the European context as well as Czech
national schooling. The key role of CLIL development in the Czech Republic is characterized by two main
sources of initiatives. The first one comes from the interest of individual teachers and headmasters in
the CLIL method, i.e. bottom-up movement. As Llinares, Morton and Whittaker (2012) point out,
European CLIL is mostly a bottom-up process, with many local small-scale initiatives within individual
countries. The second area of CLIL development comes from the national educational representatives,
mainly initiatives of the Ministry of Education, i.e. top-down movement. Banegas (2012) states that in
the case of top-down policies, we need to consider and accept the curriculum recommendations
emerging from research concerning CLIL programmes. We cannot say which of the driving forces is better
or more effective. It all depends on the actual implementation in CLIL classes. Nevertheless, the second
initiation affects more schools and is realized on the basis of various projects officially supported by the
European Union.
Journey CLIL has made in the Czech Republic due to projects
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MSMT in Czech) and its online platforms offer the most
updated information and regulations concerning CLIL in the Czech Republic. One of the valuable sources
is an organ of the ministry, the National Institute for Education (NUV) providing general information and
support for teachers, particularly curricular regulations, plans, and news in education including CLIL.
Another helpful organization also connected to the Ministry of Education is the National Institute for

40
Further Education (NIDV) offering, among other things, seminars and workshops for CLIL teachers, both
those starting with CLIL and those with some experience already who need feedback, consultations and
tips for further development within their teaching practice.
CLIL itself would not be very progressive if it stood only on teachers’ interest in trying something new.
According to Eurydice (European Information Network), CLIL education started to gradually develop in
a more systematic way in the 90s of the 20th century with the help of the Ministry institutions mentioned
above. The development was further strengthened by the European Union document titled Action Plan
on Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity 2004-2006. The national plan for education in the Czech
Republic in accordance with the Action Plan, describes CLIL as an effective tool for improving pupils’
knowledge of both language and content subjects. Also, the importance of fully qualified teachers of
content subjects with a good command of foreign language is highlighted in the Action Plan. This is
supported by the section stressing the necessity of good education for CLIL teachers, including
information on CLIL methodology. In other words, every teacher should have an opportunity to get
educated in CLIL either through pre-service training at universities or in-service training organized by the
institutions of the Ministry of Education. Currently, both types of training are being implemented. The
following two sections deal with concrete examples of pre-service training organized as parts of various
projects at both the international and national levels.
International projects in partnership with the Czech Republic
The gradual progress of CLIL within European innovations in education has been supported by various
international projects. For example, individual schools have searched for partner schools from abroad to
provide them with inspiration, cooperation and development of European standards of education, CLIL
being one of them. Schools can apply for the Erasmus+ programme Comenius School Partnership or join
the eTwinning activity as a platform for communication. These initiatives are organized under the
auspices of the National Agency for European Educational Programmes (NAEP), part of the Centre for
International Services (in Czech: Dům zahraniční spolupráce - DZS). In addition to the projects based on
initiatives coming from individual primary or secondary schools, there have been projects organized by
Czech universities in cooperation with universities abroad. Among the first international projects where
the Czech Republic was involved through the participation of universities are the following three
projects.
In 1998 – 2001 there was a project called TIE-CLIL – Translanguage in Europe, Content and Language
Integrated Learning. The Czech Republic was represented by Charles University, Faculty of Education,
Department of English Language and Literature. The project was carried out under the Socrates
programme – Lingua Action A, and the main coordinator was Italy (Sovrintendenza Scolastica, Regionale
per la Lombardia); other countries involved were the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Austria, Spain and
Great Britain. The main aim was to promote plurilingualism and tailor a CLIL training programme as part

41
of Lifelong Learning. The outcome was five modules concerning general information on CLIL education,
methodology of CLIL in connection with English language (and also French, German, Italian and Spanish),
practical tips for CLIL classes and specifications of language demands for both teachers and pupils
involved in CLIL. To be more specific: Module 1: Main features of CLIL, Module 2: Second language
acquisition for CLIL, Module 3: Practical aspects of teaching in CLIL, Module 4: Language awareness in
bilingual teaching and Module 5: CLIL for the learner. These modules led to the publications Guidelines
for Teachers (2001) and TIE-CLIL Professional Development Course (2002) and a paper written by David
Marsh: Using languages to learn and learning to use languages, which introduces CLIL practices to
parents of CLIL pupils.
Another international CLIL project with university involvement was Getting Started with Primary11 CLIL,
implemented in 2006–2009. The Czech Republic was represented by the University of West Bohemia,
Faculty of Education, Department of English. The project was linked to the European activity Comenius
2.1. Apart from the Czech Republic, the other countries involved were Germany, Poland and Spain. As
the outcome, the publication Getting Started with Primary CLIL was released. Its intention was to serve
as a guidebook for CLIL lecturers educating future primary teachers in CLIL practices.
Under the same programme – Comenius 2.1 – another international project was implemented at Charles
University, Faculty of Education, Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Education in 2006–
2009. The cooperating countries were Italy, Austria, Denmark and France. This project was targeted, in
particular, at activities based on CLIL in Mathematics. The title of the project, MA²ThE-TE-AMO – MAking
MAThEmatics TEAchers MObile, gives one of the project objectives, i.e. promoting mobility of teachers
of Mathematics. In the first phase, Maths teachers together with student teachers and teacher trainers
prepared Maths materials to be used while teaching at lower-secondary 12 schools of the partner
countries. Mother language (L1), foreign language (L2) and Maths terminology were taken into
consideration when designing the teaching units. Everything was done through the cooperation of the
universities involved, which also promoted intercultural communicative competence among the
participants. Materials were piloted, refined and stored on a DVD and website available for the
educational community.
Projects within the Czech Republic
One of the big projects implemented by the National Institute for Further Education (NIDV) was a project
named Content and Language Integrated Learning at lower secondary school and corresponding years
of grammar school. This project was implemented in 2010–2011. But already in 2008 a questionnaire
survey was done. An electronic questionnaire was sent to all secondary schools. The main aim was to
11
Primary school = pupils aged 6 - 10.
12
Lower secondary school = pupils aged 11 - 15.

42
map the situation of CLIL in the Czech Republic in terms of how much headmasters were aware of CLIL
and subsequently how much experience with CLIL they had at their schools. Unfortunately, the response
rate was low, around 20%, so a new distribution of questionnaires was needed. This time the
questionnaires were aimed also at teachers.
The term CLIL was not used in the questionnaires deliberately, due to the fact that not all the
headmasters and teachers were expected to be familiar with it yet. Instead of CLIL, the formula was “use
of foreign language in teaching of content subjects and/or use of content subject matter in teaching of
foreign language”. Thus it was possible to collect data on both the implementation of foreign language
into a content subject and the implementation of content subject matter into foreign language classes.
Quantitative research was done on a CAWI13 platform using the web forms of questionnaires.
The final sample consisted of 484 headmasters and 741 teachers of Czech primary (pupils aged 6–10)
and lower-secondary schools (pupils aged 11–15). The total sample included headmasters and teachers
from all regions of the Czech Republic (14 regions). As part of the project intentions, there were different
CLIL training workshops and seminars organized all around the country, in the regional cities. This
educational initiative took place during the period of 2010–2011 and comprised 40 modules concerning
CLIL, particularly planning towards CLIL education, methods and forms of teaching, evaluation and
assessment, designing CLIL materials and consultations of CLIL teaching. One of the findings of
questionnaire analyses was the fact that the more aware of CLIL teachers and headmasters are, the
bigger motivation to implement CLIL into the curriculum they have. This is supported by the percentage
of teachers’ try-outs of CLIL having increased from 6% (in 2008) to 30% (in 2011). Nonetheless, it is
essential to mention that this 30% does not mean systematic and organized CLIL teaching. It conveys
information about any CLIL-based activity of the teachers, also small-scale projects (a few lessons only),
exceptional foreign language inputs, etc. Despite all this we could see the increase of overall interest in
integrating foreign language into a content subject.
The investigation results showed the biggest representation of some forms of CLIL at primary schools
(pupils aged 6 – 10) and grammar schools (the grades corresponding to lower-secondary schools = pupils
aged 11 – 15). The main CLIL language was English, followed by German and French. The most frequent
content subjects happened to be Mathematics, Arts, History and Music. In the case of soft-CLIL14, the
content integrated into foreign language classes (English classes in this case) came mainly from the
subjects of Geography, History and Music.
13
CAWI = Computer Assisted Web Interviewing.
14
Soft-CLIL – language-led: see reference Kay Bentley.

43
As the main outcome of the whole project, the National Institute for Further Education released a DVD
with tips on how to use English, German and French as CLIL languages in teaching content subjects. This
electronic manual is also available online.
Another project which has helped the promotion of CLIL in the Czech Republic was implemented in the
Vysočina region (central-eastern part of the country). The project headquarters was the regional capital
of the Vysočina region, in cooperation with Masaryk University in Brno, Faculty of Education,
Department of English Language and Literature. The project was entitled Teaching English across the
curriculum in primary and secondary education, including grammar schools and secondary vocational
schools of the Vysočina region. The implementation of the project happened in the time frame of 2009
– 2012 and the main aim was to enhance teachers’ competences in using CLIL. As the outcome, a booklet,
CLIL in Czech school practice, was issued electronically and in a limited number also in print. In
accordance with the research at the particular schools, the authors highlight the importance of adequate
teacher training in CLIL. Specialists in education at the university cooperated with nine schools (30
teachers), especially in the first phase of CLIL implementation, providing guidance and expertise. Over
the time, CLIL teachers were monitored; their classes were analysed and evaluated. One of the key
aspects of successful implementation mentioned is cooperation among a teacher and pupils, among
teachers themselves, among teachers and a headmaster and also among teachers and parents.
Participants of the project from all the schools involved regularly met either in person or virtually. In
addition to the development of teachers’ competence, mainly involving teaching methods, and the
publication of the booklet, the new CLIL study programme at Masaryk University was born. It was
accredited as part of English for Further Education (DVPP).
In the same time period (2009–2012), another CLIL project was implemented at Masaryk University,
again at Faculty of Education, Department of English Language and Literature. This time the focus was
targeted at materials for CLIL teachers and the project title was Design of CLIL methodological materials
and approaches for implementation of English into content subjects at lower-secondary schools and
corresponding classes of grammar schools. The initial idea came from the intention to support foreign
language communication in natural situations and thus prepare students for future international
cooperation and mobility. The Department of English Language and Literature cooperated with seven
schools. In the first phase, participants of the project made databases of English terminology and
content-based vocabulary and phrases necessary for CLIL classes. This phase lasted 10 months and all
together 33 thousand vocabulary items were gathered by teachers at schools. In fact, the teachers put
down all the vocabulary and phrases they would need to know English equivalents for. Subsequently,
these items were sorted out; some words and phrases were excluded for being too complicated or not
very useful. Afterwards the whole database was put online, translated by university lecturers and
accompanied with pronunciations by English native speakers.

44
In the second phase of the project, the teachers created and tested CLIL lesson plans they made on the
basis of the vocabulary database. This pilot part was implemented with 4394 students of the seven
schools involved. During that period the teachers could communicate with each other and with the
university CLIL trainers, exchange ideas and give feedback to each other face to face or online.
In the third phase, the materials, with recommendations and tips from teachers, were collected and
systematically compiled into 25 methodological booklets: 12 for content subjects taught in lower-
secondary classes, 12 for grammar school and one for school for children with special needs. Each set of
materials included a DVD with a dictionary of specific terminology including English native speakers’
pronunciation and descriptions of experiences with the first implementation of CLIL through the eyes of
pilot CLIL teachers. This final phase of the project was supplemented with a series of seven
methodological seminars organized by the Department of English Language and Literature at Masaryk
University and a final conference, CLIL into schools, with a collection of articles dealing with the
implementation of CLIL written by CLIL researchers all over the Czech Republic. A somewhat marginal,
but interesting finding was that the headmasters and teachers of the schools involved noticed an
improvement in overall communication among staff members, a higher degree of cooperation and
better rapport. Concerning the very start of CLIL, teachers mentioned that the support of headmasters
is one of the key elements of successful implementation.
Another important contributor to CLIL has been the National Institute for Education (NUV). One of the
main activities of this institute is to prepare resources for teachers regarding innovative methods and
approaches. The tendencies of this institute towards support of CLIL actually started in 2006, when
electronic material Foreign languages across the primary curriculum appeared online. It was a way of
introducing CLIL in primary education through 45- or 90-minute activities or short-time projects for
teachers to try as first attempts at CLIL. In addition to the classroom activities, it offers tips for afternoon
club activities bringing foreign language into play and suggests evaluation by different picture stamps
instead of marks. Being one of the first CLIL materials, it describes CLIL as a brand-new method which
needs demonstration of activities and a detailed description of what CLIL is about to make it clear and
attractive for teachers. The authors of the activities were aware of the fact that the rapid development
of CLIL throughout Europe was faster than teachers’ capacity to follow the call for this boom in
education.
The next initiative of the National Institute for Education was a project in 2010 – 2012 named Curriculum
S – Support for implementing new curricular programmes in content teaching as part of mainstream
education. This involved a wide range of initiatives and innovative approaches based on European trends
and the educational needs of a modern society. One of the materials created as part of the initiatives of
the project was again an electronic reference manual entitled Foreign languages across the curriculum
of secondary school and corresponding classes of grammar school. We can see from the title that it builds
on the structure of the previous material, only the target pupils are older. It has the same mission as the

45
manual for primary education: to enhance knowledge about CLIL and provide starting CLIL teachers with
a source of materials and ideas to use in their classes. Additionally, comments and recommendations
from teachers already trying some forms of CLIL at their schools were incorporated into the material.
Another outcome of the project lies in CLIL training organized by CLIL educational consultants in two
modules alongside humanities and technical subjects.
The electronic material mentioned was edited in the final phase of the project and in 2012 published in
a limited number of copies with the title CLIL in education: how to integrate foreign languages into
teaching. The booklet is also available online. It is organized as material introducing CLIL methodology,
the structure and planning of CLIL classes. The authors point out the importance of foreign language
integration into education, above all to help increase the competitiveness of graduates leading to better
chances to find jobs both in the Czech Republic and abroad.
The development of CLIL in the Czech Republic was further strengthened by another project in 2013 –
2014: Languages to teachers. This initiative took place in Cheb and its surroundings (Karlsbad region,
close to German border, western part of the CR). The coordinators were the Winfield Language School
and the Cheb 4th Primary and Secondary School. The actualization of the project was divided into two
parts: courses in English and German to increase teachers’ level of foreign language and a
methodological part based on introducing CLIL principles. This part included material on planning CLIL
classes, on the experience of CLIL learning from a student’s perspective, and on preparing CLIL activities
which are ready to use in one’s own classes and which then can be followed by consultations and
discussions regarding possible improvements. This project was in some ways similar to the one
implemented in the Zlín region in cooperation with Masaryk University in Brno. A big advantage is the
fact that, besides general training organized by the institutions linked to the Ministry of Education, there
have been smaller regional projects where teachers could get trained in connection with practice at their
schools.
A similar regional project was realized in the Pilsen region (western part of the C.R.) at the Regional
Centre of Education and Language School Providing State Language Exams (KCVJS) in 2013 – 2014 with
the name Modernization of learning and curriculum through the CLIL method. In this project, teachers
of the region were trained in CLIL methods along with courses in general English or German language to
increase their language skills and knowledge. The language courses were organized partly as contact
classes and partly as e-learning. The intention to increase both teachers’ awareness of CLIL and their
foreign language ability helped ensure the successful implementation of CLIL at schools, which was the
first aim of the project. The second aim was interconnected with the first one; it supported work on
specific lesson plans for primary and secondary CLIL classes done by the teachers involved. These plans
were collected, unified in appearance and put online to serve any teachers as help and inspiration.
Surprisingly, in spite of all the project initiatives, there are still teachers not familiar with CLIL at all. Some
of them have not had the chance to participate in any project, but nowadays it can be stated that if

46
a teacher is interested in getting trained in CLIL, there is always a chance to do so. Regional educational
centres, as institutions connected to the Ministry of Education, are the best places to come and ask about
the possibilities.
The most recent project which intends to spread the word about CLIL into all schools (also the small
village schools sometimes a bit segregated from news about innovations) is a big national-level project
called Foreign Languages for Life being implemented currently (2014 – 2015) by the National Institute
for Further Education (NIDV). It is based around four activities, two of them CLIL-related: Activity 03:
Support of foreign language use in content subjects and Activity 04: Increase of language competences
of pupils and teachers in the context of CLIL. The other activities promote native speakers’ participation
at schools and support internationalization of schools.
Besides all the CLIL experts linked to the particular projects, there are also CLIL consultants based at the
regional educational centres and universities who help starting teachers increase their knowledge about
CLIL, give them support and possibly also contacts to more experienced CLIL teachers all around the
country.
To conclude, many CLIL projects have been implemented in the Czech Republic, which shows that this
method attracts the attention of both educational institutions and individual teachers, as well as the
European Union, which supports CLIL financially. The materials designed as part of the projects provide
teachers with resources and ideas ready to be used in their own classes. Teachers can also participate in
training which is offered as part of projects or initiatives of educational institutions. In any case,
opportunities to be trained in CLIL, as well as supported while using CLIL, are numerous for interested
teachers, so now it is undeniable that Czech CLIL has been developing well enough to meet the European
standards.
References
BANEGAS, D. (2012). The challenges of CLIL implementation in EFL contexts. BETA-IATEFL Conference
Proceedings, 2012.
BENTLEY, K. (2011). Aims of CLIL and rationale for CLIL. In The TKT Course - CLIL Module (pp. 5-7).
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Cizí jazyky napříč předměty 1. stupně ZŠ. (2007). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from
http://cizijazyk.vuppraha.cz/
HANUŠOVÁ, S., VOJTKOVÁ, N. (2011). CLIL v české školní praxi. Brno : Studio Arx, s.r.o, 2011, pp. 6-7; 83-
84).

47
KUBŮ, M., MATOUŠKOVÁ, P., MUŽÍK, P. (2011). CLIL - Výzkum implementace metody CLIL v České
republice 2011 (pp. 4-8). Praha : NIDV, 2011.
LLINARES, A., MORTON, T., WHITTAKER, R. (2012). The Role of Language in CLIL. New York : Cambridge
University Press, 2012.
Making Mathematics Teachers Mobile - Project Introduction. (2009). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from
http://mathe-te-amo.dm.unipi.it/news/show38.htm
Národní plán výuky cizích jazyků. (2008). Retrieved January 1, 2015, from
http://aplikace.msmt.cz/PDF/JT010NPvyukyCJnaNet.pdf
ŠMÍDOVÁ, T., TEJKALOVÁ, L., VOJTKOVÁ, N. (2012). CLIL ve výuce: Jak zapojit cizí jazyky do vyučování.
Praha : Národní ústav pro vzdělávání, 2012.
ŠMÍDOVÁ, T. (2012). Spolupráce České republiky v mezinárodních CLIL projektech. Retrieved January 19,
2015, from http://clil.nuv.cz/uvod-do-clil/4-projekty-clil-v-cr.html
VÁŇOVÁ, T. et al. (2012). CLIL do škol - Conference proceedings. (pp. 1-4; 87-89). Brno : Masaryk
University, 2012.
About the author: Mgr. Barbora Benešová works as a lecturer at the University of West Bohemia in
Pilsen, the Czech Republic, particularly as a head of the English department at the Institute of Applied
Language Studies and a CLIL lecturer at the Faculty of Education. She is involved into various CLIL projects
in the Czech Republic organized by the National Institute of Further Education (NIDV) and National
Institute of Education (NUV), institutions linked to the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. She
has gained experience of teaching both general and applied English language from nursery school to
university both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Besides lecturing and organizing CLIL trainings, Barbora
Benešová works as a CLIL consultant for primary and secondary schools. CLIL in the connection with
vocabulary development and learning strategies is her research area within the PhD. studies at the
University of Leuven, Belgium. She regularly takes part at international conferences and gives
presentations primarily focused on CLIL.

48
Workshop presentations

49
CLIL v podobě jazykové sprchy

(specifically for Czech and Slovak attendants of the conference)
Mgr. Barbora Benešová
University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, Czech Republic
BaraBenes@seznam.cz
Abstract: This workshop is prepared to experience the first encounter with CLIL in a foreign language. To
produce a really authentic experience, the workshop will show practicing CLIL Math lesson in combination
of Dutch and Czech language, also some activities suitable for CLIL in History and Physical Education via
English and Czech language. All these activities are applicable to any other subjects. The attendants will
receive the description of all activities.
Key words: CLIL, jazyková sprcha, History, Math, language shower, Czech, Dutch
Jazyková sprcha je krátká aktivita v cizím jazyce zařazovaná do nejazykových předmětů. Takovéto
aktivity mohou mít různou délku, náplň a zaměření. Mehisto, Marsh, Frigols (2008) uvádí, že jsou vhodné
především pro žáky od 4 do 10 let a jejich intenzita by měla být v součtu mezi 30 a 60 minutami denně.
Podobně Bentley (2010) zmiňuje jazykové sprchy v souvislosti s žáky prvního stupně základní školy
a zdůrazňuje jejich význam, pokud jsou zaváděny pravidelně. Doporučuje délku jazykových sprch 15 až
30 minut několikrát týdně.
Dle zkušeností Hanušové, Vojtkové (2011) jsou jazykové sprchy vhodné jak pro děti prvního stupně, tak
i pro starší žáky a studenty. Jazykové sprchy mohou být používány učiteli nejazykových předmětů
s úrovní jazyka již mezi B1 a B2 podle Společného evropského referenčního rámce pro jazyky. Vzhledem
k této jazykové úrovni a častému spojení jazykových sprch s jazykem běžné komunikace, nemusí mít
začínající učitel CLIL obavy z náročnosti používání cizího jazyka.
Učitel si sám volí procento cizího jazyka a téma, s kterým cizí jazyk propojí. Jazykové sprchy nemusí
obsahovat terminologii nejazykového předmětu. Takovéto aktivity jsou pak například běžné rutinní
činnosti (pokyny), zadávání úkolů a organizační instrukce ve třídě. Dále to mohou být písničky nebo
plakáty a nápisy ve třídě v cizím jazyce.
Vyšší stupeň náročnosti pak představují jazykové sprchy týkající se učiva odborného předmětu. Stále jde
ale o krátké aktivity, kterými učitel například uvede nové téma, procvičuje probíranou látku nebo shrne
učivo na konci hodiny se zapojením cizího jazyka.

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Jazyková sprcha je přirozený způsob zapojení cizího jazyka do výuky jakéhokoliv předmětu. Svojí
nenásilnou podobou představuje ideální začátek implementace CLILu. Cílem jazykové sprchy je připravit
žáky na cizí jazyk v nejazykovém předmětu a ukázat tak možnosti jeho smysluplného použití.
Příklad jazykové sprchy – anglický jazyk v matematice, 1. třída ZŠ
Popis průběhu jazykové sprchy:
1. Představení tématu hodiny
Učitel představí téma hodiny v anglickém jazyce: Ukáže žákům kartičky s čísly 1-10 a řekne: Look what I
have! Today, we are going to count to ten. Žáci mohou být (zvláště pokud je to poprvé) překvapeni
angličtinou, proto je nutné pomáhat porozumění gesty a obrázky. Učitel může použít i překlad, ale
nemělo by to být příliš často, protože pak žáci přivyknou tomu, že danou informaci uslyší vždy ještě
i v mateřském jazyce, čímž ztrácí motivaci přemýšlet nad obsahem anglických slov. Efektivnější je,
v případě použití mateřského jazyka, říci stejnou informaci jinak, např. pomoci žákovi popisem
neznámého anglického slova v češtině, nikoliv vše automaticky překládat.
2. Výslovnost čísel
Žáci sedí v kruhu, učitel ukazuje jednotlivé kartičky s čísly 1-10 a vyslovuje je. Žáci slova opakují. Před
každým novým číslem se zopakují všechna předchozí.
One. / One. Two. / One. Two. Three. / One. Two. Three. Four. / …
Dochází k fixaci výslovnosti ve spojení s jednotlivými čísly. Zároveň lze předpokládat, že se již žáci s názvy
čísel setkali v hodinách angličtiny a tudíž pro ně nejsou úplně nová.
Po vyslovení všech čísel, pokračuje učitel se zvedáním kartiček, ale tentokrát již náhodně a názvy čísel
sám neříká. Pouze případně žáky opraví. Také může zapojit další anglické fráze, kterými poskytne
zpětnou vazbu.
Well done. / Good. / Try again.
Jako obměnu a nadstavbu kartiček může učitel ukazovat čísla na prstech a ptát se ve větách.
Učitel: What is this number? Žáci: It is six.
Učitel: Is this number seven? Žáci: Yes, it is. / No, it isn’t.
3. Fixace výslovnosti a názvů čísel ve spojení s pohybem – aktivita Molekuly
Následuje opakování čísel v rámci hry Molekuly. Žáci stojí v prostoru. Učitel ukazuje na prstech nebo
kartičkách čísla, žáci zvolají číslo a tvoří skupinky podle ukazovaných čísel. Když tedy ukáže učitel např.

51
číslo čtyři, stoupnou si žáci k sobě po čtveřicích. Zbývající žáci se postaví k sobě v takovém počtu, kolik
jich zůstalo. Učitel pak vybídne jednotlivé skupiny (i skupinu zbývajících žáků), aby se spočítali. Žáci na
sebe ve skupině ukazují a postupně říkají čísla, podle toho, kolik jich je.
Žáci: One. Two. Three. Four.
Nebo se učitel ptá: How many are you? Žáci: We are four.
Učitel: Are you five? Žáci: No, we aren’t. We are four.
Učitel komunikuje (chválí, opravuje) v anglickém jazyce.
4. Fixace čísel s vizuální podporou – Aktivita Umazávání čísel
Po skončení hry Molekuly se žáci posadí a učitel napíše v náhodném pořadí na tabuli čísla do kruhu. Pak
na čísla ukazuje a žáci je hromadně nebo jednotlivě vyslovují. Postupně učitel některá čísla smaže, na
místo čísla nakreslí kruh, na který ale může také ukázat a žáci by si měli číslo vybavit. Trénuje se tím tedy
i paměť. V závěru aktivity jsou již všechna čísla smazána a úkolem je správně je doplnit. Žáci si kruh čísel
zkusí zapsat do sešitu a pak na tabuli.
Nadstavbou může být náhrada číslic slovy. Aktivita je tedy stejná pouze s názvy čísel. Místo 2, 1, 9, …
two, one, nine, …
Opět je vhodné povýšit použití cizího jazyka na úroveň vět.
Učitel: What is this number? / What is here? Žáci: It is two.
5. Procvičování čísel ve dvojicích
Žáci pracují ve dvojicích. Jeden žák říká čísla a druhý je zapisuje. Střídají se. Navíc si žáci poskytují zpětnou
vazbu, tak jak to předtím dělal učitel.
Good. / Very good. / Well done. / No. Try again.
Učitel prochází mezi žáky, monitoruje jejich činnost a případně poskytne pomoc.
Nadstavbou může být kladení otázek a formulace odpovědí samotnými žáky.
What is this number? - It is five. - Well done.
6. Počítání ve dvojicích
Následující činnost je založena na jednoduchých příkladech, které si žáci ve dvojici diktují. Jeden žák
napíše příklad (tak, aby vyšel výsledek do deseti), druhý žák příklad přečte v angličtině, zapíše a řekne
anglicky výsledek. Žáci si opět poskytují zpětnou vazbu.
2 + 3 = 5 (Two plus three is five)
7 – 1 = 6 (Seven minus one is six.)

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Zde vycházíme z toho, že do deseti již žáci umí počítat, je to tedy jen procvičování s použitím cizího jazyka.
(Můžeme samozřejmě zapojit angličtinu do výuky počítání v případě, že žáci sčítají a odečítají do deseti
poprvé, ale v takovém případě bychom postupovali metodicky jinak.)
7. Číselný had
Závěrečná aktivita jazykové sprchy Číselný had je řada čísel, kterou žákům diktujeme v angličtině jako
dlouhý příklad.
One plus six minus two minus one plus five …
Žáci si zapisují čísla a znaménka do sešitu.
1+6–2–1+5…
Jeden žák píše na tabuli. Poté si žáci ve dvojicích příklad přečtou a vypočtou výsledek.
Takováto jazyková sprcha zabere přibližně 30 minut. Samozřejmě záleží na tom, jak dlouhé budou
jednotlivé části. Zde vycházíme z momentální situace dle schopností žáků. Některé nadstavbové části
můžeme vynechat nebo naopak ještě doplnit (např. přiřazování anglických slov a čísel, kartičky na
procvičování do skupinek, příklady ve třídě – How many windows are there in our classroom? / Are there
two doors here? apod.)
Z hlediska metodiky CLILu bychom měli dbát na dva cíle výuky, cíl obsahový a jazykový. Zde byl obsahový
cíl vyjmenovat čísla 1-10 a sčítat a odečítat do deseti a jazykový cíl vyjmenovat a používat číslovky 1-10,
odpovídat na otázky „What is this number? / Is this…?“ a poskytnout zpětnou vazbu pomocí frází „Good.
/ Very good. / Well done. / No. Try again.“ Další charakteristikou výuky CLIL je poskytnutí opory (tzv.
scaffolding – lešení) v podobě kartiček s čísly, gest, příp. obrázků, plakátu s čísly a anglickými slovy, apod.
Neméně důležitý je pedagogický konstruktivismus, kterého bylo využito při postupném navyšování
obtížnosti aktivit, postupování od jednoduššího ke složitějšímu, od známého k neznámému. Zohledněny
byly i různé učební styly žáků – vizuální, auditivní a kinestetický.
Závěrem je nutné zdůraznit, že aktivním zapojením žáků a variabilitou výukových strategií poskytuje
výuka CLIL žákům přirozené prostředí pro používání cizího jazyka. Navíc možnost užití mateřského jazyka,
v případě potřeby, dává žákům pocit bezpečí, čímž se odbourává strach z používání cizího jazyka a učiteli
je tak umožněno míru zapojení cizího jazyka postupně zvyšovat.
Zdroje
BENTLEY, K. (2011). Aims of CLIL and rationale for CLIL. In The TKT Course - CLIL Module. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2011.
HANUŠOVÁ, S., VOJTKOVÁ, N.. CLIL v české školní Praxi. Brno: Studio Arx, S.r. O., 2011.

53
MEHISTO, P., MARSH, D., & FRIGOLS, M. (2008). Uncovering CLIL. Oxford: Macmillan, 2008.
About the workshop leader: Mgr. Barbora Benešová works as a lecturer at the University of West
Bohemia in Pilsen, the Czech Republic, particularly as a head of the English department at the Institute
of Applied Language Studies and a CLIL lecturer at the Faculty of Education. She is involved into various
CLIL projects in the Czech Republic organized by the National Institute of Further Education (NIDV) and
National Institute of Education (NUV), institutions linked to the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sports. She has gained experience of teaching both general and applied English language from nursery
school to university both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Besides lecturing and organizing CLIL
trainings, Barbora Benešová works as a CLIL consultant for primary and secondary schools. CLIL in the
connection with vocabulary development and learning strategies is her research area within the PhD.
studies at the University of Leuven, Belgium. She regularly takes part at international conferences and
gives presentations primarily focused on CLIL.

54
‘Abbreviations’ in the Reality of the Bilingual Classroom

(4Cs + 3As) x TPR = CLIL?
Zsuzsanna Béni
Lemhényi Dezső Primary CLIL School, Budapest, Hungary
zsuzsi.beni@gmail.com
Abstract: There are several key concepts that are to be considered when planning a CLIL lesson to create
an efficient environment for the bilingual teaching-learning process. In this session some well-known
methodological terms will be illustrated through classroom activities and ideas brought from real life
situations. How content should be organized, what kind of language is to be used (communication) in
order to develop cognitive skills and raise cultural awareness while learning of content and a foreign
language simultaneously.
Key words: bilingual classroom, CLIL, methodology
There are several key concepts that are to be considered when planning a CLIL lesson to create an
efficient environment for the bilingual teaching-learning process. In this session some well-known
methodological terms shall be illustrated through classroom activities and ideas brought from real life
situations. How content should be organized, what kind of language is to be used (communication) in
order to develop cognitive skills and raise cultural awareness while learning of content and a foreign
language simultaneously?
Theoretical outcomes
The essence of CLIL
People inclined to think that children at a very young age learn languages the best. Eric Lenneberg
proposed the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) (1967), which suggested that language learning is helped
by brain plasticity only until puberty. This strong position has been contested but there seems to be
some agreement that there is a sensitive period for acquiring a second language. However language
learning skills are not definitely related to age but the way of learning instead. Young children do not
learn but acquire their mother tongue. They pick up small bits of information about language from time
to time at home, at the playground, among different groups of people and they build up a system of
language by themselves which becomes more precise due to experiences throughout life.

55
“CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are taught through a foreign language with
dual-focussed aims, namely the learning of content, and the simultaneous learning of a foreign
language.” (Marsh 1994).
“CLIL is a generic term and refers to any educational situation in which an additional language, and
therefore not the most widely used language of the environment, is used for the teaching and learning
of subjects other than the language itself.” (Marsh and Langé 2000).
“The use of languages learnt in the learning of other subjects.” (Lang 2002)
CLIL programmes are based on this theory. Proper circumstances which are quite similar to a baby’s
when exploring its environment make language studies more efficient in school. Naturalness is the key
word according to David Marsh. CLIL offers opportunities to children to use an other language naturally
by focusing on the content of their studies besides learning a second language. That is why CLIL is
referred to as a dual-focussed education: in the classroom there are two main aims. One of them is
related to the subject itself (topic, theme) and the other one is linked to the language.
In CLIL there are situations in which the child’s attention is on some form of learning activity which is not
the language itself. Children have lessons for learning the language of course but they are given
opportunities to test and extend their knowledge in practice while learning subjects as history, biology,
geography, arts, music or physical education.
Marsh says: “The ability to use a language is much more than knowing its words and grammar and
speaking in perfectly formed sentences” (2007, p. 7). He points out that even if there are mistakes in
grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation communication can be successful. Teachers should capitalize
positive attitude of young learners towards the foreign language. In a bilingual classroom the main aim
is to encourage learners to become more confident in using the language in different varieties.
Teaching English to Young Learners
Children between the age of three to five or six when they have not yet started compulsory schooling or
have not yet started to read are considered to be very young according to Reilly and Ward (1997).
Children between the age of five or six to eleven or twelve are young learners (Phillips 1993). In CLIL
context we should combine the two definitions and treat our learners as very young ones because they
have to manage to use a second language when they do not use their mother tongue appropriately
either.
As a general rule we can say that “the younger the children are, the more holistic learners they will be”.
Young learners use their five senses to explore the language and do not understand abstract concepts
yet. This theory is the basis of Total Phisical Response (TPR). It can be used in many ways: getting children

56
following instructions in an activity or game (eg. Simon says) in miming a song, rhyme, or in acting out
a role-play and mostly in listen and do activities.
CLIL in classrooms
In a CLIL classroom language is used to learn and to communicate as well so that the linguistic purpose
is always determined by the subject matter. In a CLIL lesson all four language skills should be developed:
listening and reading mostly as input activities, speaking focused rather on fluency than on accuracy (see
Marsh above) and writing to fix the language and subject matter input.
According to the 4Cs curriculum (Coyle 1999), there are four main principles that should be combined in
a successful CLIL lesson (Darn 2006):
1. Content: Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to specific elements of
a defined curriculum.
2. Communication: Using language to learn whilst learning to use language.
3. Cognition: Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and concrete),
understanding and language.
4. Culture: Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which deepen
awareness of otherness and self.
Organization of the classroom is an other issue of importance. When teaching English to young learners
it is very important to grant the opportunity to the learners to work in pairs and in groups as many times
as it is possible. These work forms develop learners’ communicative and co-operative skills in every
educational situation even in Hungarian, but in EFL lessons pair and group work has better effects on the
development of speaking and cognitive skills related to English than frontal work.
List of classrooms activities
Grouping pupils
Find your Castle: Teacher gives certain chess figures that are
different in colour to each Pupil. Ps have to find the
same colour Castle and sit at that desk.
Which is your Flower? Teacher gives a puzzle piece (part of

photo of a flowering plant) to each Pupil. Ps have to find
the flowering plant in their picture, sit at that desk and
put the picture puzzle together as a team.

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Revision of vocabulary
• Figure’s Choice: There are picture cards on the board facing down arranged in any chart. There
are chess figures, too. Pupils have to make steps with the figures, reveal the pictures and say the
word/expression/sentence from the actual vocabulary that describes the picture.
• Flyswatter game: There are picture cards on the board. Pupils stand in
two lines (groups). The first players have a flyswatter at their hands.
Teacher calls out a word/expression/sentence from the actual
vocabulary and Ps have to snap at the right picture. Whoever snaps first
scores a point for their team.
• Complete your chart (pair work): Pupils work in pairs. Each P has an incomplete chart with
missing pieces of information that they need to ask from their partner.
• True or false: Teacher calls out statements from the actual topic. Pupils have to decide if the
statement is true or false and respond according to the rules.
True= stand up. / False= squat down.
True= clap hands. / False= knock on desk.
True= true flag./ False= false flag.
• Flower story:
Teacher recites a poem and mimes its story with movements. Pupils have to copy the
miming and retell the poem.
Pupils have picture cards. Teacher recites a story. Ps have to put the pictures in order
and retell the story.

58

59

60

61
Name Function Picture

What is it? What is it for? What does it look like?
It carries pollen to other flowers.

insect
It helps reproduction.
seed It contains an embryo, a newplant.
It is the female flower part.

pistil
It produces egg.

62
It is the male flower part.

stamens
It produces pollen.
The plant grows it for reproduction.
flower It attracts insects with the
colours and the smell.
It helps breathing. It takes in carbondioxide

leaf
and releases oxygen.
It holds the plant. It also carries water,

stem
air and nutrients to other plant parts.
It takes water and minerals salts

roots
from the soil.

63
Pupil A
It carries pollen to other flowers.

1.
It helps reproduction.
2. seed
3. pistil
It is the male flower part.

4.
It produces pollen.
5. flower
It helps breathing. It takes in carbondioxide

6. and releases oxygen.

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It holds the plant. It also carries water,

7.
air and nutrients to other plant parts.
8. roots
Pupil B
1. insect
It contains an embryo, a new plant.

2.
It is the female flower part.

3.
It produces egg.
4. stamens

65
The plant grows it for reproduction.
It attracts insects with the

5.
colours and the smell.
6. leaf
7. stem
It takes water and minerals salts

8.
from the soil.
References
ALLWRIGHT, D., BAILEY, K. M. (1991). Focus on the Language Classroom Cambridge, Cambridge
DÁLNOKI-FÉSŰS, A. (1993). Nyelvtanítás – Nyelvtanulás Módszertani kézikönyv Budapest, Relaxa, 1993.
DARN, S. (2006).CLIL: A lesson framework 2006. Turkey, Izmir University of Economics, 2006.
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/clil_lesson.shtml
GENESEE, F. (1987). Learning Through Two Languages Cambridge, 1987.
HUBBARD, P., JONES, H., THORNTON, B., WHEELER, R. (1991). A Training Course for Teaching English as
a Foreign Language Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1991.
MALAMAH-THOMAS, A. (1991). Classroom Interaction / Language Teaching Oxford, Oxford University
Press, 1991.

66
MARSH, D. (2007). Using languages to learn and learning to use languages 2007.
http://www.ecml.at/mtp2/CLILmatrix/html/CLIL_E_mat.htm
MOLNÁR, A. (2001). Idegennyelv-tanítás – másképpen (?) Budapest, Eötvös József Könyvkiadó, 2001.
MOON, J., NIKOLOV, M. (ed.) (2000). Research into Teaching English to Young Learners Pécs, University
Press Pécs, 2000.
NUNAN, D. (1991). Language Teaching Methodology. Prentice Hall, ELT, 1991.
PHILLIPS, S. (1993). Young Learners / Resource Books for Teachers. Oxford : Oxford University Press,
1993.
PINTER, A. (2006). Teaching Young Language Learners Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006.
REILLY, V., WARD, V. (1997). M. Very Young Learners / Resource Books for Teachers Oxford, Oxford
VALE, D., FEUNTEUN, A. (1995). Teaching Children English. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press,
1995.
WOLFF, D. (2004). Integrating Languge and Content in the Language Classroom Paris, GERAS, 2004.
About the workshop leader: Zsuzsanna Béni graduated in 2009 at ELTE University, Budapest. She spent
four months working for a charity in the United Kingdom to gain first-hand experience in dealing with
young children. She has been working in bilingual programmes teaching young learners aged between
five to ten. Her favourite subject to teach is Science but she also taught P.E., Art, Craft and Music lessons
in English so far. Currently she is doing her MA course to become a teacher of English to students up to
18 years of age. She has recently been teaching first and second grades in Lemhényi Dezső Primary CLIL
School, Budapest.

67
Engaging Very Young Learners in Classroom Activities Using Smart Board
Tamara Bosnyák
The Boys and Girls Activity Centers of Hungary
bgac@bgac.hu
Abstract: We are happy to introduce different types of activities applied in our methodology and to present
a short video how interactive board can effectively be used with very young learners.
Since the beginnig we receive great support from Boys and Girls Club of America, an American organization
whose development program anually serves nearly 4 million young people worldwide. It is a great honor
to us that we could become one of its independent organizations in Hungary. We proudly announce that
as an aknowledgement of the excellence of our program we have won a prestigiuos award this year, the
European Language Award 2014.
Key words: young leraners, pre-school, English, club
Founded in 2011 the Boys and Girls Activity Centers of Hungary started its first pre-school groups in the
center of Budapest, capital of Hungary.
Since then we have had a total of 7 pre-school groups and 3 primary school classes, and thanks to our
unique program and high-quality performance we continue to grow.
In our BGAC Program our Teachers are dedicated to make every day a learning day, filled with new and
wonderful experiences. Our aim is to find what interests and inspires our very young learners in order to
enable their language acquisition in a comfortable place where learning is full of fun.
We encourage our very young learners to acquire the English language through every day activities. At the
same time it is important to highlight that our program is carefully planned, thoughtfully taught and
includes a great variety of engaging activities, a selection of sensational ideas and many more innovations.
At the International CLIL Conference in Banská Bystrica our aim was to present how to engage very young
learners in a way that the process of gaining new knowledge is 100 % about acquiring and not learning
a language. We achieve language acquisition since we provide an English environment for the children in
which both duties and fun is introduced in English besides Hungarian.
At our workshop the participants could see that there are certain key elements such as visual aids, music,
drama and actions that we never fail to use when presenting or revising a theme. During circle times we

68
try to select activities that are fun for a whole class and we also make a number of free play games that
are in connection with the topic covered.
Our program has an outstanding feature. It is perfectly built in the Hungarian Educational Program and it
has been effectively applied on a daily basis throughout the years.
Since the beginning we receive great support from Boys and Girls Club of America, an American
organization whose development program annually serves nearly 4 million young people throughout the
USA. It is a great honor to us that we could become one of its independent organizations in Hungary.
We proudly announce that as an acknowledgement of the excellence of our program we have won
a prestigious award last year, the European Language Award 2014.
About workshop leader and her institution: Tamara Bosnyák M. A. represents The Boys and Girls Activity
Centers of Hungary: Founded in 2011 the Boys and Girls Activity Centers of Hungary started its first pre-
school groups in the centre of Budapest. Since then we have had a total of 7 pre-school groups and 3
primary school classes, and thanks to our unique program and high-quility performace we continue to
grow. In our BGAC Program our teachers are dedicated to make every day a learning day, filled with new
and wonderful experiences. Our aim is to find what interests and inspires our very young learners in order
to enable their language acquisition in a comfortable place where learning is full of fun. We encourage our
very young learners to acquire the English language through every day activities. At the same time it is
important to highlight that our program is carefully planned, thougtfully taught and includes a great
variety of engaging activities, a selection of sensational ideas and many more innovations.

69
Scaffolding Learners’ Interaction with Texts
PaedDr. Danica Gondová, PhD.

The Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Žilina University
danica.gondova@fhv.uniza.sk
Abstract: The aim of the workshop leader PaedDr. Danica Gondová, PhD. is to present some practical
learner-oriented activities which help learners to master the subject matter and at the same time develop
their communicative competence.
Key words: text, interaction, CLIL, visual aids, scaffolding
The main source of information in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) are texts which
learners either read or listen to in CLIL lessons. The context-reduced academic language in these texts is
demanding for learners who need to be scaffolded to be able to deal with them successfully. In our paper
we discuss some difficulties learners encounter when dealing with academic texts written or spoken in
a foreign language, and focus on various kinds of scaffolding which help CLIL learners interact with texts
successfully.
In order to learn a foreign language successfully, students need to be exposed to it as often as possible
and need to have a sufficient amount of opportunities to encounter language in both its spoken of
written form. On the other hand, they also need to have many opportunities to use language in
meaningful contexts, and communicate meanings that are relevant to them. These conditions can be
met if students are exposed to language not only in traditional English lessons, but also in CLIL lessons in
which they study content through the medium of English, and they also use the target language in
speaking or writing activities to solve problems or do a variety of content-related tasks.
In CLIL lessons, the target language becomes the means through which learners gain new information
about the content (e.g. chemistry, biology or history), and thus materials designed for listening or
reading have a very strong informative function. This is one of the reasons, why CLIL learners do not
perceive the foreign language just as one of their school subjects, but they begin to realize that it is
a means of communication. In CLIL context, learners focus on understanding the content thanks to which
they often acquire language and learn it more effectively. In this way, the content supports the
development of communicative competence in the foreign language.
The language which students encounter in CLIL lessons is determined by the needs of the subject, which
means these lessons are content-led. In order to be able to understand the content, gain information
from various kinds of texts, talk about it and solve problems connected with it, learners need to cope
with grammatical structures and lexical units which are above their level, and in traditional language-led

70
English lessons these are studied at higher levels (Gondová, 2014, p. 1014-1019). In order to study
academic subjects successfully, learners need to master academic language which is often more abstract
than general English.
The language used in the texts CLIL learners study and the tasks they do are often context-reduced,
which means they “rely on few external supports for meaning (e.g.: pictures, realia, manipulatives, or
a meaningful context). In context-reduced tasks, meaning must be accessed primarily through language.
At the other end of the continuum, context-embedded tasks use many supports for meaning to help
make language, and thus the task, understandable. Listening to a lecture on an abstract topic is a context-
reduced task; determining the weight of an object using a scale and metric weights is a context-
embedded task” (Met, 1994, p. 164).
Since in CLIL “the learner is not necessarily expected to have the English proficiency required to cope
with the subject before beginning study” (Graddol, 2006, p. 86), it is necessary to realize that students
might have difficulties in succeeding doing tasks which are context-reduced and cognitively demanding,
and moreover, they have to deal with them in a foreign language. Therefore, it is important to choose
instructional approaches that help them deal with these difficulties and provide them with scaffolding
thanks to which they are able to accomplish the tasks.
According to K. Bentley (2010, p. 69), scaffolding “is the steps teachers take to support learners so that
they can understand new content and develop new skills … [it] is temporary support to help learners do
things now as well as in the future.” Scaffolding is connected with L. Vygotsky’s (1978) notion of the Zone
of Proximal Development which is understood as a cognitive gap between what a child can achieve on
its own and what it can achieve if supported by a more experienced individual.
When primary or lower-secondary school learners work with various kinds of authentic texts, they need
to be scaffolded to be able to understand the meanings and gain information from them. The choice of
these texts depends on the age of learners, as well as on their language level, which is A1 or A2. However,
because in CLIL classes the exposure to the foreign language is great, some learners may have achieved
a higher level by the end of Year 9.
Working with texts in CLIL lessons is very important because thanks to this work learners gain reading
literacy. In addition to that appropriately chosen texts provide learners with models of academic
language used in the areas they study thanks to which learners can notice what language is used if they
need to write down the procedure of an experiment, a laboratory report, a case study, etc.
Scaffolding Learners through Simplifying Texts

71
Learners at A1 or A2 levels are not able yet to deal with academic texts if they are not adjusted to their
level, and if learners are not scaffolded by the teacher or their peers. On the other hand, when learners
are scaffolded in language use, they can understand texts and express meanings which they would not
be able to alone (Järvinen, 2009, p. 96).
In order to adjust authentic academic texts to the language level of A1 or A2 learners, it is necessary to
simplify the language used in these texts and thus provide students with language they can deal with.
This kind of scaffolding can be done in many different ways:
• shorten sentences and avoid using complex sentences which learners have not mastered yet; the
most common linkers used at A1, A2 levels are and, but, because, so, when, that;
• break the text into short parts or paragraphs; these are more accessible to A1, A2 learners than
long texts;
• keep more complex structures, only if students need to use them to do some problem-solving
tasks after they have read the text; e.g. if students are expected to hypothesise, keep if-clause(s)
in the text: If you stop watering the plant, it will stop blooming.
• provide scaffolding for using language structures in after-reading tasks:
- ask questions learners can use in their answers: in biology when talking about living and non-
living things: Does it reproduce? Does it need air?
- provide students with sentence stems they will be using: If (you) stop …, (it) will … . (Wh) do
(you) have …..
• pre-teaching academic vocabulary which appears in the text also helps understanding; e.g.:
evaluate, order, label, locate, match, divide; very often this is the vocabulary teachers use to
assign tasks to students; therefore, it is very important that students understand it;
• replace high-level general vocabulary with low-level vocabulary; this might be a big challenge for
CLIL teachers and usually they need to ask a language teacher for help;
• avoid idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs because these are two difficult for A1 or A2 levels;
• highlight key words, or ask learners to highlight them; this will help them orientate themselves
in the text and understand what is the most important in it.
• use bullets which make it possible to use elliptical sentences which are easier to understand than
full sentences;
• when modifying a text for CLIL learners, it is also possible to write notes or headings on the
margin. These also make it possible for students to orientate themselves in the text more easily.
Scaffolding Learners’ through Visual Aids
Even if the texts have been simplified, learners do need help and need to be scaffolded to deal with
these texts. Another way of scaffolding them is the use of visual aids. As it has already been mentioned

72
above, academic texts are often context-reduced, so it is necessary to give students some non-linguistic
information which they can use to compensate for their lack of vocabulary or grammar. It is necessary
to use various kinds of illustrations (pictures, photographs, digital images), realia, short films or videos
(sometimes even without sound), hands-on experience, etc. These make a text more accessible to
students because in addition to reading a text, their senses have also been stimulated. According to M.
C. Gueriini (2009, p. 75), these teaching aids “provide visual support for understanding content area
phenomena, and developing critical thinking skills such as identifying or naming”, and if they are labelled,
they also “support target language use at the word and sentence level ... and help learners study key
concepts in the content area and terminology needed for the particular content” (Gueriini, 2009, p. 75).
Scaffolding Learners’ through Activating Their Prior Knowledge
Learners understand the new subject matter much better if they can link it with their previous knowledge
and understanding. Therefore, one way of scaffolding learners is to activate their previous knowledge of
the subject matter, or their pre-concepts. This will also help them understand a text focused on the new
subject matter much better. When beginning a new topic, we may ask students to fill in a KWL-chart:
Know Want to learn Learned
First, in co-operation with each other, students write down all that they know about the subject matter
in the first column. It is important that they do this in pairs or in small groups because they discuss the
topic with each-other and clarify their pre-concepts, sometimes also misconceptions. Afterwards, they
write questions about the topic which they would like to have answered. This activity helps learners
think about what they need to learn and thus it helps them decide about their learning objectives. After
the module has been covered, learners fill in the last column in which they write which of their questions
have been answered during the work on the module, and which of them still need to be studied.
Another activity that can be used to activate students’ prior knowledge is a True/False activity. Before
they begin to deal with the new subject matter, the teacher asks students to decide which of the given
statements are true or false; e.g. before they study a text about bats, they do the following task:
Decide if the statements are true or false:

Before After
reading reading
Bats are flying mammals.
Bats lay eggs in spring.
Bats can live for about ten years.

73
After they have discussed the statements with each other and decided if they are true or false according
to their knowledge, they read the text given to find out if they are right.
A similar True/False activity can also be used in the other stages of a lesson; e.g. it can be used as
feedback on an activity to check if students understand the new subject matter; or it can be used for
revision. It is not necessary to write the statements down. Sometimes, the statements can be read out
by the teacher – or even learners themselves – and students raise their thumbs up or put them down,
or use cards, to indicate if the statement is true or false. In this way they develop their listening
comprehension skills, and if they are asked to make decisions in pairs, they can scaffold each other and
learn how to co-operate.
Scaffolding Learners’ through the Use of Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are another powerful tool which can be used to scaffold learners. According to the
Teaching Knowledge Test Glossary for CLIL (UCLES, 2009, p. 11) graphic organisers are “aids which are
used to help learners remember new information by making thinking visual. They involve writing down
or drawing ideas and making connections.” They also help students construct meanings and make them
think, and can support all subject areas. Venn diagrams, sorting graphic organizers, sequencing graphic
organizers, cause and effect graphic organizers, mind-maps, and various outlines are among the best
know. Many of them are available on the Internet.
Learning how to use graphic organizers is very useful for various reasons. They help learners enhance
their reading comprehension skills and increase the range of their vocabulary or their knowledge of
terminology. Students learn to understand the concepts behind what they read, often gain sorting skills
and learn how to use facts and concepts in a meaningful way. Graphic organizers also help students to
understand how ideas are organized in texts and later organize their own ideas, which of course supports
the development of their writing skills. Graphic organizers also encourage the use of critical thinking
skills and meta-cognitive reflection as well as visual discrimination and organisation (Forte – Schurr, in
Guerrini, 2009, p. 79). Students learn how to compare with Venn diagrams; classify with tables; express
sequence of events, or talk about cause and effect with flow charts (Gueriini, 2009, p. 79-80).
Thanks to graphic organizers the information provided in texts is more accessible because it is conveyed
in manageable chunks. The language used in graphic organizers is very simple, usually word-based or
sentence-based. Therefore, understanding it is less demanding for learners.
Learners need to learn how to work with graphic organizers step by step. First, learners should be
presented to a graphic organizer before they are asked to read a text or watch a video covering the new
subject matter. This graphic organizer (e.g. a Venn diagram comparing mosses and lichens; an outline of
the circulatory system) is filled out in advance by the teacher, and learners may be asked to interpret

74
the information included in it in their own words. Because the language is simple, they usually do not
have problems to understand main concepts or ideas expressed in it; it also helps them predict what
they are going to study, pre-view the text they are going to read or the explanation they are going to
listen to.
In such a graphic organizer students also encounter the key vocabulary and the terminology which they
will have to study. The meaning of the new words is explained to them, which also prepares them for
the new subject matter, helps them understand new concepts better, and arouses their expectations.
Afterwards, while reading a text, listening to the teacher or watching a video, they can follow the main
ideas summarized in the graphic organizer. Having a graphic organizer in front of them helps them focus
on the most important aspects of the explanation. This procedure promotes schema building because it
helps students see the connections between their existing knowledge and the new information which
they weave into the existing mental structures (Tharp, Gallimore, 1988, p. 108).
When learners get used to applying graphic organizers in this way, they may be given organizers which
will be filled in only partly. Their task is to write down the missing information while working with a text.
Finally, they may be given a blank graphic organizer, table, outline, or chart and they need to fill it in
while reading or listening to a text. In this way they not only learn to understand the main ideas in the
text, but they also learn how to take notes.
Graphic organizers are also very good assessment tools. If they are filled in, they can be used to assess
students’ ability to speak about the subject matter in the target language. Because the information is
given to students, it is possible to focus on their ability to use academic language to discuss the new
content. When graphic organizers are blank or partly blank, the teacher can assess if students have
internalized the key concepts in the foreign language. The advantage is that students do not need to
produce complex language, they only write words or chunks of words (Coyle – Hood – Marsh, 2010, pp.
112-131).
Conclusion
In this paper, we discussed how it is possible to scaffold learners when they work with materials
produced in the foreign language which use to study the new content in various subjects. We focused
on the description of those scaffolding tools which help learners understand the new subject matter.
First, we mentioned scaffolding learners through simplifying texts which is applied when teachers modify
spoken or written texts which students use as sources of new information. We also dealt with the use of
visual aids thanks to which texts become context-embedded. Another scaffolding tool is the activation
of students’ prior knowledge which helps them make connections from their experience to the text and

75
establish a foundation upon which they can build and extend their knowledge. Graphic organizers are
another powerful scaffolding tool because they promote understanding of the subject matter, help
students with understanding and the use of the target language and also develop their thinking skills. All
these scaffolding tools contribute substantially to the achievement of CLIL objectives.
Bibliography
BENTLEY, K. (2010). The TKT Course. CLILModule. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN
978-0-521-15733-9
COYLE, D., HOOD, P., MARSH, D. (2010). CLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-521-13021-9
GONDOVÁ, D. (2014). Scaffolding Learners in CLIL Lessons. In INTED 2014 [elektronický zdroj] : 8th
international technology, education and development conference : March 10th-12th, 2014 -
Valencia, Spain : proceedings. - ISSN 2340-1079. - [S.l.]: IATED Academy, 2014. - ISBN 978-84-616-
8412-0. - CD-ROM, pp. 1013-1020.
GRADDOL, D. (2006). English Next, British Council Publications, 2006. [2014-11-15] Available at:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-research-english-next.pdf
GUERRINI, M. C. (2007). Materials as Scaffolds to Learning In MARSH, D. at all. CLIL Practice: Perspectives
from the Field. University of Jyväskylä (Finland) ISBN 978-951-39-3561-0 [2014-11-26] Available
at: http://www.icpj.eu/?id=cover
JÄRVINEN, H. M. (ed.) (2009). Handbook. Language in Content Instruction. Turku : University of Turku,
2009. ISBN 978-951-29-4073-8.
MET, M. (1994). “Teaching Content Through a Seond Language.” In Genesee, F. (ed.) Educating Second
Language Children: The Whole Child, the Whole Curriculum, the Whole Community. New York,
Cambridge : CUP, 1994, pp. 159-182.
Teaching Knowledge Test: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Glossary. Cambridge: UCLES,
2009. [2014-11-14] Available at: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/22194-tkt-clil-
glossary.pdf
THARP, R.G. and GALLIMORE, R.G. 1988. Rousing Minds to Life. Teaching, Learning, and Schooling in
Social Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. [2014-11-18] Available at:
http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/88020224.pdf
VYGOTSKY, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 1978.
About the workshop leader: PhDr. Danica Gondová, PhD. has been involved in English language teaching
for over twenty years as a teacher and teacher trainer, and she has also participated in the development
of ELT materials. Since 2003, she has been teaching EFL methodology at the Faculty of Humanities at
Žilina University. Her research interests are focused on EFL methodology and CLIL. She has been
a member of several successful research project focused on these research areas, and is the author of
several course-books for university students.

76
Learning Together to be a Better CLIL Teacher
Zsuzsanna Noé
Lauder Javne Jewish Community School, Budapest, Hungary
noesusan@gmail.com
Abstract: The workshop leader has a wish to offer you just a taste of what she has been doing with the
children in order to make them love and learn the English language. During her workshop she will be
trying to create the atmosphere of a group/classroom environment through different kinds of activities,
to be able to explain and let you experience how second language acquisition can happen at an early
age. This session will be absolutely interactive! Your active participation is crucial in order to get the most
out of it!
Key words: CLIL, teacher, activities, classroom
Introduction

77
Being a CLIL practitioner for several years, I know how important it is to have useful tools in our hands
to engage our students in learning. This is exactly why I thought to prepare with a set of games that can
be used with different age groups, develop several skills and yet they are fun to do! Much has been
written on what CLIL is and why to do it, but there is very little practical guidance on how to plan and
teach CLIL lessons. If you are a subject teacher who has been asked to teach in English, or a language
teacher who has been asked to help teach content, or you are a trainee who knows a lot about the
academic side of CLIL, but a being a bit stuck with the practical side of it, then my workshop could be
a help for them. Remember, that these games are just samples that you can adjust to your needs! My
workshop’s title was ‘Back in Time’.
I believe that, as the famous song also says, ‘to understand the future, we have to go back in time’. What
do I mean by this? You have to be able to think like a student. What would you like if you were
a student again? If you follow this path, believe me, you can’t go wrong on planning a good lesson.
Why? What memories can you recall from your student years? How did you learn things better? I learnt
more through good feelings, fun experience, laugh and repetition than boredom or fear! These activities
bring a nice , relaxed atmosphere to the classroom where making mistakes is a must to be able to
learn! And I know that not just the young like to play!

78
My first game was called ‘Elephant’. You can

use that at any age, and it improves
concentration skills, it is a bit of an exercise and
it is a great warm up! This is how you play it:
players in a circle, one player in the middle.
The player in the middle holds his right hand
pointing in front of him, and spins around.
When done spinning, says, as fast as he can
`Elephant`. The player he’s pointing to, and his
two neighbors, need to build an elephant
immediately. An elephant consists of a trunk,
made by the middle player, by holding his nose
with one hand, and extending the other arm
through the arm that holds the hand that
holds the nose. The neighboring players each form a big ear, using both arms.
Don`t forget to attach the ears to the elephant`s head. Any player that cannot get his/her part done
quick enough, swaps places with the player in the circle.
My second game’s name was the ‘Toilet Paper

Icebreaker’. The objective of this activity is that
participants will engage in it and to foster creativity
and fun, especially when a little "get to know you"
nudge is needed. At last but not least students
have to form full English sentences! Game’s
instructions: pass around the toilet paper roll and
ask each person to tear off maximum 4 sheets,
then pass it to another member of the group and
ask them to do the same. Once the roll has been
around to everyone, explain the next part. For
each piece of paper torn off, they must reveal one
fact per piece about themselves. The facts can be simple such as their middle name, where they
were born, countries visited, etc.
It is a great icebreaker as it encourages sharing, gets people laughing and breaks down barriers!

79
This game I call ‘Silly Story’.

Basically you grab a fairy tale
or a well-known tale and make
it into a fractured story. You
rewrite it in a way it should
sound silly. Students have to
stand up every time they hear
something silly in the story.
This activity develops their
listening skills, concentration
skills also it can be a bit of a
physical exercise. Their
language level should be a bit
more advanced for this game.
My next activity was called ‘ Let’s make

a circle!’ This game is perfect for
practicing names of body parts. You can
play that from the minute they can read
and you are learning about body parts.
Write names of body parts (appropriate
ones only!) on small pieces of papers.
Then ask your students to pick two
pieces of paper. They will have to stand
in a circle and try to connect it by
attaching the body parts they have
picked to their neighbors. This is great
fun!

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This activity, called ‘Hot

Chair’ is good for getting
your students going. It is
also excellent for revising
vocabulary and making full
sentences. Procedure: first,
sit the students facing the
board. Then take an empty
chair and put it at the front
of the class, facing them.
This chair is the 'hot seat’
Then get one member from
your class to come up and
sit in that chair, so he/she is
facing his classmates and
has his back to the board.
As the teacher, have a list of
characters, places or any
kind of words that you want to use in this game.Take the first word from that list and write it clearly
on the board, or make a card and stick it on.
The aim of the game is for the students in the class to describe that word, using synonyms,
antonyms, definitions etc. to their classmate who is in the hot seat - that person can't see the
word!The student in the hot seat listens to his classmates and tries to guess the word.The student
who says the word doesn’t burn on the hot seat! If your class is too big, you can also split your class
into two groups! Then the first student says the word wins a point, the other burns.
After all these fun games, I finished my workshop with one last activity. You, the teacher, sit on that
chair facing the class. Students have to start keep asking questions from you. You also have to answer.
If the question flow stops you start walking towards the door. The game is that they have to keep you
in the classroom by asking questions! Students love it!
The activities above were the ones I had time to play with the workshop audience, but I believe we all
had a a good and fruitful time! I had three more activities to show but we never got round to them, but
I thought I’d put it in here, so others can use it too. So here they are!

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‘(don’t) Follow My Instruction’ is

a game to show new ways of thinking.
Get everyone to walk around and follow
instructions. Wa l k . . . . s t o p , j u m p . . . . c l
a p . s i t . . . . . s t a n d . . . . c l a p . . sit
...stop...walk etc. After a while explain
that you are going to couple the
instructions walk with stop, jump with
clap, sit with stand. When you say
oneaction in the pair they must do the
opposite action. i.e. when you say walk
they must stop. When you say jump
they must clap. When you say clap they
must jump when you say sit they stand
and when you say stand they sit. You
can play so that those who get it wrong
have to sit out.
This game I call ‘Letter Throw’, you c a n

p l ay w i t h s t u de nt s w i th different age
and language levels. On half sheets of
paper, write a capital letter (or a
vocabulary word, or a review
question). only the other half, write
the small letter. Ball up the papers and
toss one them to the other corner of the
classroom. Then run up to that corner
and each student opens up one ball of
paper and they must find the person
who has the other half of their paper!
They must stand together and present
“their” information together.

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My last game’s name was ‘Word

Tennis’. This is an easy game as
it doesn’t need any preparations
from the teachers. This is a good-
to-have game to throw in at
anytime. It can be used to
review vocabulary, categories of
words. Here is the instruction:
divide the class into two teams
(A and B). Call out a category (e.g.,
animals). Team A “serves” by
saying a word in that category
(e.g., shark). Team B “returns the
serve” by saying a different word
from that category (e.g.,
elephant). The teams take turns
saying words from the category.
The game continues until one team can’t think of any more words, or a word is said twice. The other
team gets a point. Call out a different category (e.g., colours, jobs, sports, adjectives, etc.) and play the
game again. The team with the most points wins.
There are millions of games on different websites. It only takes your creativity to adjust them to your
needs depending on what you’re learning about, how many students you have, what the age group is,
how big your classroom is, what level of language your students have, etc. Take your time, be creative,
be brave, make mistakes and a few years later you will have a great set of tools you can use to make
the magic happen: students will learn the language through fun!

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About the workshop leader: Zsuzsanna Noé, M. A. has been working in bilingual education for 8 years
focusing on teaching children under 10 years. She is truly committed to early foreign language
development and an enthusiastic practitioner of it. Her learners are the proof. Quality is the key to
success, she claims. She wrote her MA thesis about an efficacy assessment that is going to be published
by ELTE and she wishes to continue this work in a PhD programme.

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CLIL as a Part of Continuous Education

provided by Teacher In-Service Training Centre
Anna Pávová
In-Service Teacher Training Centre, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Anna.Pavova@mpc-edu.sk
Abstract: This article describes continual education for teachers which focuses on using CLIL on English
lessons. The aim group for this type of continual education are English teachers who signed up for
innovation continual education in Teacher-In Service Training Centre. There were 15 participants who
presented at the end of the course how they use CLIL on English lesson. Two interesting presentations of
lessons are described in this article.
Key words: CLIL, continual education, participants, educational programme
I work in Teacher In-Service Training Center as a teacher trainer for English teachers. Our institution
provides continual education for pedagogical employees and professional employees in schools and
school facilities. Teachers can sign up for several types of accredited educational programmes. There are
two main types of educational programmes for English teachers: innovation and actualization courses.
The aim of actualization courses is maintenance of professional competencies necessary for
performance of standard teachers’ activities, or standard professional employees ’ activities, or as a part
of preparation for attestation examinations. Actualization courses last for 20 – 60 academic hours
through a period of approximately 10 months. The aim of innovation courses is improvement of
professional competencies necessary for performance of standard teachers’ activities, or standard
professional employees’ activities, or as a part of preparation for attestation examinations. Innovation
courses last from 60 – 110 academic hours through a period of approximately 12 months. Teachers get
credits for completion of each course. The number of credits depends on the number of taken hours
related to a certain educational programme and on the method of assessment.
Courses for English teachers, which I prepare, are seminars where participants take an active role. They
prepare tasks for students, lesson plans, projects; then assess suggested tasks, projects, presentations,
lesson plans; they suggest criteria for assessment and evaluation; discuss about them; they try suggested
tasks or activities in the role of students; then they suggest changes or corrections if needed, etc.
Teachers often work in pairs or small groups, present their ideas or suggestions, give and get feedback
and discuss a lot. My job as a lecturer is to monitor their activity, help them if necessary, elicit ideas and
give them feedback on their work at the end. When I need to present some theory I usually use short
powerpoint presentations, which include important information, and they are always followed by

85
acitivities for participants. I consider active participation of teachers as a key to success. I also like using
worksheets which I prepare according to the topic of the course and I sometimes use them instead of
PPT presentations. If it is possible I like using video of lessons. They are very useful, especially with CLIL.
Then we analyse the lesson seen and discuss.
The Teacher In-Service Training Centre has several accredited educational programmes which focus on
CLIL. In the academic year 2013/2014 we started the course called „Active learning of students through
CLIL“. It is an innovation course which lasts 90 academic hours. Participants have to be present on the
course for 58 academic hours and they can use 32 academic hours to work on given tasks connected
with the topic of the course. During the course teachers prepared CLIL activities, used them on their
English lessons and gave feedback on how it worked. They also gave feedback on their students´ work
and how successful students were when doing CLIL. Teachers shared their experience with other
theachers and learned from each other, too. I find it very important to try new methods they learn during
the course and then share with the rest of the group. It is a good way to gain the skills for teaching with
CLIL. All teachers in the course were English teachers. The second subject they taught was usually Slovak
or another foreign language which is not useful for CLIL. There were only a few teachers who taught
a subject suitable for CLIL, such as biology and religion. The group consisted of teachers at elementary
and secondary schools, grammar schools and bilingual grammar schools.
The requirements for finishing the course successfully and get the certificate were 80% presence on the
course, to perform given tasks, to prepare portfolio with CLIL tasks for students including assessment
and present one CLIL lesson on the final presentation with the committee. The teachers performed
following tasks:
• prepare tasks which develop language competencies in CLIL using ICT, use the tasks on their
lessons and present them
• prepare tasks which develop vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation of specific terminology in
CLIL, use them on their lessons and present them
• prepare cooperative CLIL tasks with instructions and management of class, use them on their
lessons, get feedback from students and present them
• plan a unit on certain topic taking into consideration dual aims, prepare assessment criteria for
written tasks and oral presentations of students in CLIL, suggest tasks which enable self-
assessment of students in CLIL
For the final presentation with the committee, teachers were required to prepare a portfolio with lesson
plans for CLIL and present one lesson plan. There were various topics and subjects presented at the final
presentation including ICT, biology, music, history and religion. One of the most interesting lessons for
me was a lesson in the third class on elementary school where the teacher taught the topic „teeth and
types of teeth“. Students found out the topic of the lesson doing the crossword on interactive

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whiteboard – the solution of the crossword was the word TEETH. Then the teacher asked the students
to take mirrors and asked them to count their teeth (they counted in English). Then they discussed with
the teacher how many teeth adult people have. The teacher used a model of teeth (the one you can see
at the dentist) and pointed at different types of teeth so that the students could see them and also
practise pronunciation several times. Students discussed with the teacher what we use teeth for. The
teacher also used a video where the types of teeth were presented and students were pointing at teeth
on the model at the same time. Another way of practising was a worksheet which made the students
practise the verb „have got“ and the types of teeth. Students wrote sentences using information how
many teeth of different types they have got. The last task for studnets was to use play dough and make
a model of their teeth and then describe it. Students could practise new vocabulary with the verb „have
got“ at the same time. The teacher used a variety of activities for students to learn and practise new
vocabulary. I really appreciate the lesson because it was motivating, inspiring and the students actively
participated on the lesson.
Another interesting and inspiring lesson was taught in the sixth class on elementary school. The aim of
the lesson was to compare the amount of sugar in different sweet drinks. At the beginning of the lesson
the students were given a worksheet with several food items and their task was to match the products
on the left with the amount of sugar on the right by drawing a line from the food item to its
corresponding number of teaspoons of sugar. Students were surprised by the amount of sugar in food
items. This warm-up activity was followed by a cooperative task. The students worked in three groups
of four and each student had a role. There was a coordinator, a person working with information,
a person who was checking the time and a supervisor. The students found the amount of sugar on the
labels of bottles and then used scales to weigh the amount of sugar and put it into a plastic bags. They
made posters with bottles and under the bottles there were plastic bags with the amount of sugar that
these sweet drinks contained. They briefly described what they found out and also prepared a quiz for
other students using information connected with the amount of sugar in sweet drinks. Students then got
a short article called „The 5 C´s of Sugary Drinks“, where they read about several reasons why sugar is
not healthy. Their task was to write some recommendations about sugar using modal verbs
„should/shouldn´t, must/mustn´t“. Students had a good opportunity to find out new information in
a very interesting way. They were active, motivated and surprised by the facts about sugar they found
out. Their own experience with the experiment was unique. According to the students´ feedback, they
really enjoyed the lesson and shared this experience with their parents and even warned them how
dangerous it is to drink sweet drinks. At the end of the lesson students suggested a new idea for the next
experiment – to find out the amount of salt in some food items like crisps.
Finally, I would like to say that it is a great pleasure for the lecturer to get a feedback on CLIL lessons
which are so amazing and inspiring. The participants of the CLIL course made a lot of interesting lesson
plans and CLIL activities including worksheets and games. I believe that they will be motivated with their

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own success with CLIL lessons and their students will love CLIL lessons as well. Students´ joy and
enthusiasm is the answer to CLIL.
About the workshop leader: Mgr. Anna Pávová studied English and German at Matej Bel University,
then spent a year in the USA. After her return she started teaching English – at first at the Secondary
Forestry School in Banská Štiavnica - her hometown, later in at State Language School (from young
learners to adults) and at private elementary school in Banská Bystrica. Presently she is a teacher in
service and she has been working in Methodology and Pedagogy centre since 2012.

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BEAR IN MIND - Topic-based Skills Improvement in Primary Classroom
Enikő Síró
Frigyes Karinthy CLIL Primary School, Budapest, Hungary
enikosiro63@gmail.com
Abstract: Winnie-the-Pooh, Paddington,Yogi, polar, brown, black… If you can bear the idea of taking part
actively in lots of activities connected with bears, find ways of improving different skills, don’t hesitate to
read this workshop preparation. Following it will bring some fruit. The aim of it is to explore how bears
can help us motivate our pupils, create bear (or other topic)-based activities to improve the four linguistic
skills and find cross-curricular links. The activities can be transformed easily to make them suitable for
different age-groups and levels.
Key words: skills, ELT, primary school, topic, skills
Siró Enikő works as a school-based primary school teacher of English and Civilisation in Karinthy Frigyes
Hungarian-English Bilingual Primary School in Budapest and a freelance teacher trainer and educational
expert in Hungary. She has been involved in several in-service training projects, runs training courses in
the Hungarian and international context.Her special interest lies in holistic approaches in primary
education, teaching culture, teacher development and material design.
Blurb: Winnie-the-Pooh, Paddington,Yogi,polar,brown,black…if you can bear the idea of taking part
actively in lots of activities connected with bears ,find ways of improving different skills,don’t hesitate
to join this session. Attending this workshop will bear fruit.
The aim of her workshop was to explore how bears could help us to motivate our pupils, create bear-(or
other topic)-based activities to improve the four skills and find cross-curricular links. The activities can
be transformed easily to make them suitable for different age-groups and levels.
Activities and reflections from the teacher’s point of view:
1. You can sit down if you….

• attended more than 10 conferences this school year
• travelled more than 3 hours to be here
• are a native teacher of English
• teach in lower primary
• teach pupils between the ages 6-10
• use authentic materials regularly

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• are ready to take part actively
The aim of this activity is to get participants tuned in and let them ’introduce themselves in a nutshell’
with the help of the TPR method. By putting some questions to the participants who had sat down the
trainer gets a very general idea of the backgroud of the participants.
2. Find someone who…

• can name at least 5 famous bears
• has 5 or more teddy bears at home
• knows where Yogi Bear lives
• who can spell the name of Winnie-the-Pooh’s friend
• can name 3 food items which have bears on the label
• has been to a Teddy Bear Museum
• has been to the Bear State
• knows a song about bears
etc.
The aim of this activity:
• as a warmer is to create a friendly atmosphere during the conference workshop by making

participants talk to each other,learn some names/cut down tension in class as pupils don’t have
to speak in front of the whole class,helps them get ’tuned in’.It is personal , pupils can talk about
their own real world.
• as an info-gap activity to improve the speaking and listening skill, to practice asking questions
eg.Can you…/Have you got…/Do you know…/Have you ever been to..?
• as a variation the activity can be transformed to be a fact or vocabulary based activity
E.g. Find someone who can name 5 capital cities/10 wild animals…
3. Pictures-Drawings/photos
• Draw a bear game

Children throw the dice and they can draw only that part of the body which is represented by the
given number in the rules.(eg. 1-head. 2-body…) You need dice, paper, pencils, rules.
By doing this activity young learners can:
practice vocabulary( numbers, parts of the body)

draw
cooperate with each other-win or lose in a game

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as a follow up finish their drawings and describe their bear
• Photos-Describing/comparing and contrasting bears

Students are asked to describe their picture to their partner, then find 3 similarities and 3 differences
without looking at eachother’s photos.
From the teacher’s point of view:

You can introduce pairwork-groupwork at an early stage of language learning to
avoid discipline problems during PW/GW later because children get used to
this type of activity.
It is a real info-gap activity, cooperation is needed to solve the task.
It improves the speaking and listening skill.
It helps practice structures like Both of them, neither of them.
Pupils can bring in their favourite photos or toy bears.It makes the activity personal
4. JELLY BEARS-Build up a character
You need: a packet of jelly bears (sweets), instruction (Don’t eat it!), a list of questions (e.g. What’s your
bear’s name/Where does it live/What is its favourite computer game/food, TV programme….)
Based on the questions pupils build up a character, make up the ’life story’ of their jellybear.
Pupils make it personal and the teacher can learn about the children’s world, their likes, dislikes,
interests.
The activity is also suitable for practicing/revising structures with present simple and describing
somebody.
5. BROCHURES-Bear Museums-Reading for information
You need: brochures, list of questions/grid with points to find (simple information–name/address/phone
number/e-mail address/website or more difficult pieces of information).
Jigsaw reading: Divide the class into groups of 3/4/5 students-depending on the number of the class.
Students solve the task in their groups, eg. fill in a chart based on the brochures ,find information about
the museums. After finishing this stage of the activity the teacher reorganizes the groups to have new
groups where each member has information about a different museum.Students share information,
listen to eachother and take notes about the other museums.Everybody is involved and has to take part

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actively otherwise they cannot fulfil the task and complete the grid about all the museums.As a follow-
up students can tell their opinion, their preferences which museum they would like to visit and give their
reasons why.
By using authentic materials you can train pupils to find useful or necessary information in real life .They
use the language as a tool to get information about the real world around them and learn culture as
well.
About the workshop leader: Enikő Síró, M. A. works as a school-based primary school teacher of English
and Civilisation in Karinthy Frigyes Hungarian-English Bilingual Primary School in Budapest as well as
a freelance teacher trainer and educational expert. She has been involved in several in-service training
projects, runs training courses in the Hungarian and international context. Her special interest lies in
holistic approaches in primary education, teaching culture, teacher development and materials design.

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Using Authoring E-books in CLIL Lessons
Ivana Cimermanová
Institute of British and American Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Prešov, Slovakia
ivana.cimermanova@unipo.sk
Abstract: The presentation by I. Cimermanová is prepared in cooperation with Z. Straková and M.

Sepešiová. It focuses on development of reading in CLIL lessons via a reading program. Specifically this
paper focuses on various ways how to useg authoring e-books in CLIL lessons.
Key words: CLIL, reading program, creativity, e-books
“CLIL is a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and
teaching of both content and language” (CLIL Consortium, 2006). CILT, the National Centre for Languages
(In: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at schools in Europe England, Wales and Northern
Ireland National Description 2004/2005) has described CLIL as learning which ‘aims to introduce students
to new ideas and concepts in traditional curriculum subjects (…) using the foreign language as the
medium of communication’.
Marsh and Langé (2000) consider CLIL to be “any educational situation in which an additional language
and therefore not the most widely used language of the environment is used for the teaching and
learning of subjects other than the language itself”.
The more exhaustive definition was verbalised in 2008: “CLIL is an umbrella term covering a dozen or
more educational approaches (e.g. immersion, bilingual education, multilingual education, language
showers and enriched language programmes). What is new about CLIL is that it synthesizes and provides
a flexible way of applying the knowledge learned from these various approaches. The flexibility of the
approach is, above all, evident in the amount of time devoted to teaching or learning through the second
language. CLIL allows for low- to high-intensity exposure to teaching/learning through a second
language. The approach can also be used for short-term high-intensity exposure” (Marsh et al, 2008 In:
Hem, 2008).
Although using different words they all talk about cross-curricular relations, cross-curricular integration
of material and contents taught what leads towards the feeling of using or learning meaningful language
rather than rote memorization of the words. “Within CLIL, language is used as a medium for learning
content, and the content is used in turn as a resource for learning languages. Students can put the

93
language they are learning into practice instantaneously – a powerful motivation factor” (European
language policy and CLIL, 2008).
Frequently, CLIL is understood as belittling the mother tongue what is not true as CLIL states among its
dimensions clearly that developing oral communication skills in both mother tongue and target
language. Lorenzo (2008) indicates that “the traditional debate in Applied Linguistics as to whether
communication is the cause or effect of L2 learning, has a clear answer in bilingual settings: it is
communicate to learn and not to learn to communicate.” He also states that “a sociolinguistic theory of
L2 acquisition in CLIL contexts would rest on the following principles: Language forms can only be learnt
within a powerful functional mapping. Content and language learning are so closely intertwined that no
line can be drawn between content learning and language development.” … “CLIL is almost exclusively
focus on meaning oriented. … learning is basically incidental and although language awareness is
essential for the proper integration of language and content, typical language awareness activities have
little bearing with accuracy.” … “Finetuning L2 input will be necessary for success in language use but
this does not demand attention to forms – much in the same way as it does not exist in motherese or
any other natural language use environment” (ibid).
The ratio of content and language integration is not firmly set but most authors define the minimum of
25% teaching time should be realised in English language. Pokrivčáková (2010a, p. 83) categorises 2 main
types according to the amount of foreign language use – additive and immerse; additive type is
subdivided into two subtypes according to the length of exposition (low exposition (5 – 15%) and
medium exposition (15 – 50%)). Immerse type is defined as a type with high exposition type (50-100%).
Generally, the CLIL lesson (unit) can be taught by a language teacher who understands the content
subject or the subject teacher who speaks target language. The recommended level of Language
knowledge and performance is B2-C1 (according to CEFR; in Netherlands teachers have to pass the test
at C1 level, but there are also countries where the B1 level is accepted).
Gary Anderson (2012) categorises CLIL based on the way of its application. In case of the subject teacher
who applies CLIL he call it real CLIL, on the other hand, in case of language teacher applying CLIL he uses
the term „lite“ CLIL. He highlights the selected aspects of teaching, starting with language (level),
techniques (that might be common for language teacher (different types of activities, forms, methods,
types of interaction, etc.), that might be not „common“ for subject teacher), evaluation (what should be
assessed – content or language progress), he also discusses materials (that might be a problem, as the
selected text, resp. its content does not necessarily must correspond with curriculum). In academic
literature we find the terms soft CLIL and hard CLIL – in soft CLIL we deal mainly with the language aims
and integration of subject teaching into language learning. On contrary, if CLIL is applied in subject
teaching we deal with hard CLIL.

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Majority of authors associate CLIL planning with 4C content, communication, cognition, culture). “The
4Cs Framework takes account of integrating learning (content and cognition) and language learning
(communication and cultures)“ (Coyle, 2008, p.9). She formulates the following principles of CLIL:
1. “Content matter is not only about acquiring knowledge and skills, it is about the learner creating
their own knowledge and understanding and developing skills (personalised learning);
2. Content is related to learning and thinking (cognition). To enable the learner to create their own
interpretation of content, it must be analysed for its linguistic demands;
3. Thinking processes (cognition) need to be analysed for their linguistic demands;
4. Language needs to be learned which is related to the learning context, learning through that
language, reconstructing the content and its related cognitive processes. This language needs to
be transparent and accessible;
5. Interaction in the learning context is fundamental to learning. This has implications when the
learning context operates through the medium of a foreign language.
6. The relationship between cultures and languages is complex. Intercultural awareness is
fundamental to CLIL. Its rightful place is at the core of CLIL”. (Coyle, 2008, p.9-10)
Marsh (2014) in his lecture speaks about 5 Cs alive in every lesson: “The teacher needs to understand
the cognitive demands of learning the specific topic, or the specific area. The content needs to be clearly
defined there, as does the language. So, the content demands, the language demands need to be very
clearly there. It needs to be linked into the community where the students are, into their lives and it
needs to be focussed on competence building and developing competences at the same time as learning
the content or the language. And these techniques are used by both, language teachers and teachers of
other subjects.” Concerning communication he perceives language in there perspectives – language of
learning, language for learning and language through learning (attributed as Language triptych in Coyle,
Hood, Marsh, 2010).
Skeet (2011) adds 4 more Cs, namely collaboration, choices, creativity, connections. The collaboration
must be observed from two perspectives. The cooperation and collaboration of two teachers – subject
teacher and language teacher, but at the same time the cooperation and collaboration of students during
the lesson (not necessarily just during the lesson – different projects, problem solving, etc.). The second
C stands for choices. As the author claims „I t is important for a teacher to be able to differentiate in
a CLIL lesson, and to identify and understand the differences between the learners in a CLIL classroom“.
He stresses students’ individuality, different learning styles, different language levels and the need and
necessity to enable students to choose their own way of learning. Skeet (ibid) highlights the creativity as
a significant aspect of effective teaching but again, not only from the perspective of the students and
activities that should be creative but whatmore from the perspective of teacher, i.e. teacher must be
creative as soon as while planning the lesson. Teachers also should be ready to experiment and thus
also be prepared for non-traditional, non-classical, non-conventional situations in the class. In CLIL

95
lessons it is necessary to build connections, connections not only between content and language. Skeet
mentions connections to prior knowledge, connections within a lesson and the previous and next
lessons, connection across subjects. It is equally important to connect teaching with real life to manifest
the meaningfulness of learning and possibility of its use in practice.
The CLIL acronym (and the method itself) penetrated to Slovak schools and is frequently discussed in
different discussion fora. Teachers stress its more authentic use and meaningful teaching/learning.
Language becomes a means rather than the primary aim of education.
Reading is the language skill that is used not just in language learning but in learning generally. It is very
important skill that must be developed not only in foreign language teaching but also in mother tongue
and critical approach must be applied in teaching other subjects as well. Current period faces the growth
of power of new technologies (and its slow and gradual integration into educational process), young
generation are digital natives who are part of digital era and we, teachers (still majority of us form the
group of digital immigrants) have to face it. Observing that many students read digital books we decided
to create electronic books for children (and their teachers) that would develop reading skills, enrich
reader’s vocabulary but mostly to build the habit of regular reading in foreign language. Later the idea
was modified and not only reading but also finding the possibilities of creating e-books by pupils
themselves were set as the aims of our project. Our approach was also based on the presumptions that
children are curious (they want to learn, explore and discover) and creative (they love to create materials
and present it).
In the presented text we will present book creating as one of the tools that might be used in CLIL lessons.
There are various possibilities how to create e-books, a vast number of software is available and one can
choose from paid or free software. We used an inexpensive iPad application StoryBook Maker which
allows not only book creation but also book sharing. The programme facilitates use of text, pictures
(there is also a set of pictures available directly in the programme), sounds; children can use their own
photos (what makes them more involved) and they can record themselves (or others) what gives them
a sense of responsibility and they understand they are real authors and illustrators. The users can add
the frame, background to change the design (see picture 1 below).

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Picture 1: Application environment with tools and the book page (result)
Picture 2: 8-year old girl creating her first book
The simple interface enables users to quickly master it and become authors. This gives us a possibility to
pass the responsibility to our students, to make them less dependent on teacher, to create the
opportunity to create the possibility for discovery and selecting content (to certain extent). The role of
the teacher shifts to facilitator and organiser rather than controller. The CLIL e-books are the possibility
how to give students space to do what CLIL teacher wants to reach. After setting the linguistic and
content aims students can personalise it and express themselves (see the sample in pic. 3).

97
An opportunity to share books is very useful tool. Going public makes learner more responsible and
frequently it increases motivation. On the other hand, teacher has to be aware that books his/her
students read are well written (to make sure the leaners do not master inappropriate vocabulary, forms
or phrases.
Creating books allows us to integrate writing strategies and reading strategies into EFL classes.
Whatmore, the content may help us to create a space for CLIL lesson and thus create connections
between the subjects, space for cognition and communication. We use language of learning, language
for learning and language through learning.
Acknowledgement
This article presents partial findings collected while working on project KEGA 006PU-4/2012 Rozvoj
čitateľskej kompetencie v cudzom jazyku prostredníctvom čitateľských programov that is supported by
Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.
Literature
ANDERSON, G. (2012). CLIL Won’t Kill I & II. In Cambridge English Teacher. [online]. [cit. 27. December
2013]. Available at http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1123
CILT. the National Centre for Languages, is the Government’s recognised centre of expertise on
languages [online]. Quoted on 2008-06-02, Available at http://www.cilt.org.uk
CLIL consortium, 2006, Welcome to the CLIL Consortium. [online]. Quoted on 2008-06-02, Available at
<http://www.sme.sk/c/3901686/Matematiky-menej-jazykov-viac.html>
COYLE, D. (2008). Content and Language Integrated Learning Motivating Learners and Teachers. [online].
[cit. 20. November 2014]. available at
http://blocs.xtec.cat/clilpractiques1/files/2008/11/slrcoyle.pdf.

98
COYLE, D., MARSH, D., HOOD, P. (2010). The CLIL Tool Kit: Transforming theory into practice. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-521-13021-9
European language policy and CLIL. [online]. [s.a.]. Quoted on 2008-06-02, Available at
<ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/clilbroch_en.pdf>
Lorenzo, F. The Sociolinguistics of CLIL: Language Planning and Language Change in 21st Century Europe.
[online]. Quoted on 2008-06-02, Available at
<dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/fichero_articulo?codigo=2575489&orden=0>
MARSH, D., Langé (2000). In: CLIL – Content and Language integrated Learning. Modern language s in
Primary Schools Initiatives. ), [online]. Quoted on 2008-06-02, Available at
<http://mlpsi.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=118&Itemid=123#Back>
MARSH, D. et al (2008). In Hem (2008) Content and Language Integrated Learning. British Council Korea.
[online]. Quoted on 2008-06-02, Available at <http://www.britishcouncil.pe.kr/?q=node/438>
MARSH, D. (2014). Why CLIL now? [online]. [cit. 10. November 2014]. available at
http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/1590270-evo14-why-clil-now
Also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL5Cqi35dZk)
POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. (2010a). Obsahovo integrované učenie sa cudzieho jazyka (CLIL) na 1.stupni ZŠ, 2010.
In Straková, Z., Cimermanová, I. (eds.) Učiteľ cudzieho jazyka v kontexte primárneho vzdelávania.
Prešov: Prešovská univerzita, 2010, pp. 99-121. ISBN 978-80-555-0232-8.
POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. (2012). Súčasné trendy vo výskume metodiky CLIL. In Obsahovo a jazykovo
integrované vyučovanie (CLIL) v ISCED 1. Bratislava : Štátny pedagogický ústav v Bratislave, 2012.
ISBN 978-80-8118-110-8.
PRŮCHA, J., WALTEROVÁ, E., MAREŠ, J. (2009). Pedagogický slovník. Praha: Portál, 2009. ISBN 978-80-
7667-647-6.
SEPEŠIOVÁ, M. (2011). Planning a CLIL lesson. In: Sučasni doslidženňa z inozemnoji filolohiji. Vypusk 9:
zbirnyk naukovych prac. Užhorod: Užhorodskyj nacionaľnyj universytet. ISBN 978-966-2303-00-1.
pp. 584-586.
SKEET, J. (2011). Reflections on CLIL. [online]. [cit. 10. november 2014]. Dostupné z:
http://clilreflections.blogspot.sk/2011/12/8-cs-of-clil.html
STRAKOVÁ, Z. (2008). The development of reading competence in primary education In: ELT in primary
education: international conference, November 20-21, 2008, Bratislava, Slovakia. Bratislava : Z-F
LINGUA, 2008, pp. 88-92. ISBN 978-80-89328-21-5.
About the workshop leader: PaedDr. Ivana Cimermanová, PhD is a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts. She
specialises in methodology of teaching English as a foreign language, especially in using technologies in
language teaching. She is an author of number of articles, studies and textbooks. She has also supervised
several projects with this orientation and conducted numerous lectures, seminars and workshops for pre-
service and in-service teachers. Currently her work focuses on introducing the new e-learning system to
the University that will offer the formal and non-formal on-line courses in Slovak and English languages.

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CLIL in Reading Programmes
Zuzana Straková & Michaela Sepešiová

University of Prešov, Faculty of Arts, Institute of British and American Studies, Slovakia
zuzana.strakova@unipo.sk; michaela.sepesiova@unipo.sk
Abstract: This paper provides and demonstrates that the extensive reading approach could be a helpful
tool for teachers to promote learning through a leisure activity. Moreover, it briefly discusses the main
objectives and planned outcomes of KEGA project 006PU-4/2012 ‘Development of Foreign Language
Reading Competence through Reading Programmes’ that has been recently completed. The main aim of
the project was to improve current situation in the English language class via the development of
extensive reading. Systematic exposure to short, simple texts in the target language allows the
development of reading comprehension in specific contexts. Graded reading programmes maximise
vocabulary development, support the automatic use of language chunks, guessing from the context. Both
fiction and non-fiction books engage learners´ interest in discovering new things more in comparison to
memorising definitions in a textbook.
Keywords: learning foreign languages, reading, extensive reading programmes, using CLIL methodology
Introduction
In the Slovak Republic, learning English is compulsory for pupils from the age of eight. The aim of English
language teaching is to make learners communicate in the language, i.e. to develop their communicative
competence. On the basis of previous teaching experience, learning is not usually associated with
pleasure. The reading competence as well as listening, writing, and speaking ones forms the basis of
a foreign language teaching programme because communicative competence is applied through these
competences.
Reading is a term frequently used in the teaching and learning process, but to date there is no consensus
about what it exactly means. The academics agree that there is no explicit description or explanation of
the notion, because it depends on many factors and aspects. However, all of them share the idea that
reading involves three essential objects - the reader, the text and the interaction between the reader
and the text (Grabe 2009). Wallace (1992) also draws the attention to context as one out of the main
aspects of reading. Some authors (e.g. Bamford & Day 1998) have mainly been interested in reading as
the process of constructing of meaning from a printed or written message. Brantmeier and Koda (2009)
note that to comprehend the text requires extraction and integration of various information from the
text and combine it what a reader already knows. The studies presented thus far provide evidence that
in reading it is crucial to characterise its purpose, because the purpose is the key for determining the
type of reading. Only after that it is possible to say what reading strategies shall be applied. While

100
a variety of definitions of the term reading have been suggested, this paper emphasis that reading is
a very complex process of interaction, strategies, comprehension, purpose, learning, efficiency,
evaluation and linguistics. According to Elliot (2005) in her dissertation three elements were identified
as key components: curriculum and reading programmes, instructional strategies, and teacher and
student interaction. A theory of reading competence is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 A theory of reading competence (source: Elliot 2005)
When reading in language classes is considered, it is usually associated with analysis of short texts
including translation, forming and answering questions, which is not perceived very favourably by pupils.

101
Recent evidence suggests that the influence of reading on target foreign language vocabulary skills was
particularly strong in the case of learners who read on a daily basis. Moreover, the students reading in
English in their free time turned out to have larger vocabularies, both receptive and productive (Merikivi
& Pietilä, 2014). Thus, the reading programmes should help learners in the areas listed as follows:
phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
So far this paper has focused on reading and the role of reading programmes. The following section will
have a closer look at CLIL. The essence of CLIL is that it is about teaching and learning content, and that
language is the key to a fuller understanding of the subject matter (Mehisto et al., 2008; Ball 2012;
Pokrivčáková et al. 2008, 2013; Sepešiová 2014, Straková 2013; Hanesová 2014; Gondová 2012,
Cimermanová 2008). CLIL is based on the common-sense belief that better learning takes place when
learners are stimulated by the subject matter, hopefully out of interest but sometimes of necessity. Both
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is catered for. Knowledge of the language becomes the means of
learning content, language is integrated into the broad curriculum, learning is improved through
increased motivation and the study of natural contextualised language, and the principle of language
acquisition becomes central. Broadly speaking, CLIL provides a practical and sensible approach to both
content and language learning whilst also improving intercultural understanding, and has now been
adopted as a generic term covering a number of similar approaches to bilingual education in diverse
educational contexts. Language learning in the CLIL context bears similarities to current ELT practice in
that lessons tend to be of the integrated skills type, language is approached lexically rather than
grammatically and language is noticed and explored rather than taught.
Project description
Part of the aim of this project was to prepare and present CLIL texts within extensive reading programme.
In our opinion the most important thing is do it with young learners. By our previous experience and
drawing on the concept of CLIL, many authors have been able to show there are some important key
aspects that should be taken into account: a choice of suitable content within the “curriculum” to be
acquired through a foreign language according to the cognitive skills and language competence of the
learners; setting of clear aims and outcomes; accurate planning between subject and language teacher
in order to integrate activities, strategies, experiences and absolutely avoid repetition; choice of the
scaffolding appropriate for the age of the learners (visual aids, diagrams, glossaries…) to make content
accessible to learners with limited language skills; choice of strategies and approaches appropriate for
the age (tools/strategies to activate prior-knowledge, cognitive skills) to make content accessible to
learners with limited language skills.
The aim of presented project aimed at reading programmes is to enable students to read without help
unfamiliar authentic texts, at appropriate speed, silently and with adequate understanding. This project
therefore provides an important opportunity to advance the understanding of the impact of free-time

102
reading on foreign language development. It was our prior experience in teaching and learning process
in all stages of our educational environment that has driven this project. Our prior experience might be
concluded as follows: general reading programmes in a school context; systematic development of
reading skills via online tasks; the use of stories for CLIL interconnection, and the use of technology for
the development of other language skills based on the reading texts. The backgrounds of the presented
project are: design of online reading sources; three levels designed for A1- A2 levels at elementary
school; fiction and non-fiction books created; CLIL thread interwoven and pre-service trainees involved
as a part of their training. During the three years duration the team in cooperation with the pre-service
trainees prepared online books (audio included) and worksheets, as well as the instructions for the target
stakeholders. The series consists of 35 books at level A1 for years 3 and 4; 30 books at level A1-A2 for
years 5-7; 50 books at level A2 for years 8 and 9, and 20 books focusing on CLIL.
Young learners (years 3-4) learning a foreign language need simplified input. Likewise, low level foreign
language learners need graded input supplied in most cases by a teacher or some out classroom activities
(e.g. extensive reading programme). Concerning simplified input in presented books, we share opinion
with other linguists (e.g. Krashen 1987; Aebersold and Field 1997). To enable the readers to perceive the
message clearly, the books have been made understandable. We have decided to simplify the texts on
the level of lexis, syntax and information. It has been also assumed that readers´ knowledge of the world,
syntactic simplification, shorter and less complex sentences, illustrations (either pictures or drawings)
and finally presence of familiar topics should be included.
The best texts are those accompanied by illustrations and sounds so that learners can visualise and hear
what they are reading. When working in a foreign language, structural markers such as headings, sub-
headings and diagrams help the learner to navigate the text. A variety of tasks should be provided, taking
into account the learning purpose and learner styles and preferences. Receptive skill activities are of the
'read/listen and do' genre. A menu of after reading tasks (CLIL part) includes for example:
• label a diagram/picture/map;
• fill in a table;
• make notes on specific information;
• reorder information;
• identify places
• label the stages of a process;
• sequence a text;
• fill in the gaps in a text;
• mark a text with the symbols according to areas – I know it (=)
I do not understand (?)
It is new (*).

103
Below the worksheet from the CLIL book Why some animals eat other animals including some tasks
(mentioned above) is presented.
1. A horse does not eat meat. It is a _______________.

2. Animals eat food to get _______________ and _______________.
3. Omnivores eat both_______________ and _______________.
4. A lion is a carnivore so it eats _______________.
5. Animals eat other animals because it is important for _______________.

104
HERBIVORES CARNIVORES OMNIVORES

105
1. VITAMIN A a) It´s good for our muscles and nerve system

2. VITAMIN B b) It´s good for our eyes
3. VITAMIN C c) It´s good for our bones and skin.
4. VITAMIN D d) It´s important for fertility.
5. VITAMIN E e) It prevents us from flu.
Activity 1 1. herbivore, 2. vitamins and energy, 3. plants and meat, 4. meat and insect, 5. balance in the
nature
Activity 2 grass, rabbit, fox
Activity 3 herbivores: rabbit, cow, horse, sheep; carnivores: lion, eagle, shark, spider; omnivores: bear,
pig, rat, human
Activity 4 1B, 2A, 3E, 4C, 5D
Conclusion
This paper has given an account of and the reasons for the widespread use of reading programmes. In
general, therefore, extensive reading means reading one book after another. The reader’s attention is
devoted to the meaning of the text and not the language. Extensive reading builds on the idea that the
best way to learn to read is by reading. The extensive reading is not commonly widespread and used in
Slovak educational environment. Because of this, it would be advantageous to realize that this way may
be the right choice to develop communicative competence in ELT. It should be also taken into
consideration by English teachers as another option to teach and develop the reading competence.
The evidence from this paper suggests that the integration of CLIL and reading helps learners to acquire
and learn concepts which have been dealt with in other school subjects. The same concepts are
introduced in various contexts / various books; thereby there is no need to invent the context. Context
of the books is meaningful and provide a natural purpose for activities after reading. Systematic and
consistent approach in reading development is the key aspect in building vocabulary at A1-A2 level.
Reading programme provides sufficient space for the language immersion. Therefore, reading
programmes can be tailor-made to suit the specific needs of the group of learners. Using CLIL teaching
can be beneficial for developing reading proficiency and reading strategy use. CLIL reading process as
a psycho-lingual guessing game, in which the reader guesses or predicts the text’s meaning based on

106
minimal textual information and maximum use of existing background knowledge. The future
educational approach is about competences.
Acknowledgment
This paper was supported in part by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport
of the Slovak Republic – project KEGA 006PU-4/2012 Development of Foreign Language Reading
Competence Through Reading Programmes.
Selected bibliography and sources used
AEBERSOLD, J A., FIELD, M. L. (1997). From reader to reading teacher: issues and
strategies for second language classrooms. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1997.
ISBN 0-521-49785-X.
BALL, P. What is CLIL. 2000 – 2012. [online]. OnestopEnglish. available at:
http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/teachingapproaches/what-is-
clil/156604.article, last visited 18/12/2014.
BAMFORD, J., DAY, R. (1998). Extensive reading in the second language classroom. Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0 521 56073 X.
BRANTMEIER, C., KODA, K. (eds.). (2009). Reading in languages other than English, In: Reading in
a Foreign Language special issue, 2009, 20(2).
CIMERMANOVÁ, I. (2013). Multimédiá v jazykovom vyučovaní. 2nd edition. Prešov : Vydavateľstvo PU,
2013. ISBN 978-80-555-0761-3.
CIMERMANOVÁ, I. (2009). Možnosti využívania prvkov integrovaného tematického vyučovania v rámci
krúžkovej činnosti so zameraním na anglický jazyk. In: Záujmová činnosť žiakov: stav, problémy,
trendy. Prešov: Katedra fyziky, FHPV PU, KEGA č.3/4114/06, 2009. ISBN 978-80-8068-961-2.
GONDOVÁ, D. (2012). CLIL očami žiakov. In Kráľová, Z. (ed.) CLIL – nová výzva. Ústí nad Labem: Univerzita
Jana Evangelisty Purkyně, 2012, pp. 7-37. ISBN 978-80-7417-507-0.
GRABE, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. New York : CUP, 2009.
ISBN 978-0-521-50986-2.
HANESOVÁ, D. (2014). Development of Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking Skills in CLIL. In: Journal
of Language and Cultural Education, 2014, 2(2), pp. 33-51. ISSN 1339-4045.
HOMOLOVÁ, E. (2003). Autentický materiál ako prostriedok rozvoja jazykových a komunikatívnych
kompetencií žiakov. Banská Bystrica : Univerzita Mateja Bela, 2003. ISBN 80-8055-788-8.
KRASHEN, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Hemel Hempstead :
Prentice Hall International, 1987. ISBN 0-13-710047-7.
MEHISTO, P., MARSH, D., FRIGOLS, M. J. (2008). Uncovering CLIL: Content and Language Integrated
Learning in Bilingual and Multilingual Education. Macmillan Education, 2008. ISBN 978-0-230-
02719-0.

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PIETILÄ P., MERIKIVI, R. (2014). The Impact of Free-time Reading on Foreign Language Vocabulary
Development In: Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2014, 5(1), pp. 28-36.
POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S., B. MENZLOVÁ, FARKAŠOVÁ, E. (eds.) (2010). Creating Conditions for Effective
Application of CLIL Methodology in Slovakia. In POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. et al.: Modernization of
Teaching Foreign Languages: CLIL, Inclusive and Intercultural Education. Brno : Masarykova
univerzita, 2010, ISBN 978-80-210-5294-9.
POKRIVČÁKOVÁ, S. (2013). CLIL Reasearch in Slovakia. Hradec Králové: Gaudeamus, 2013. ISBN 978-80-
7435-302-4.
SEPEŠIOVÁ M., STRAKOVÁ, Z. (2013). Obsahovo a jazykovo integrované vyučovanie (CLIL) a bilingvizmus
v primárnej edukácii. In Na ceste za dvojjazyčnosťou. Od informálneho k formálnemu vzdelávaniu-
On the path to bilingualism: from informal to formal education. Roma : DITI, 2013, pp. 122-159.
ISBN 978-88-88677-10-1.
SEPEŠIOVÁ M. (2014). Profesijné kompetencie učiteľa CLIL v primárnej edukácii. [online]. available at:
www.pulib.sk/web/kniznica/elpub/dokument/Sepesiova1. Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove.
ISBN 978-80-555-1198-6.
STRAKOVÁ, Z. (2013). Developing cognitive strategies in foreign language education. In: Journal of
language and cultural education, 2013, 1(1), pp. 37-50. ISSN 1339-4045.
WALLACE, C. (1992). Reading. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-19-437130-1.
About the workshop leaders: Doc. PhDr. Zuzana Straková, PhD. is a TEFL specialist and has been teaching
and working with pre-service trainees, trainers and in-service teachers since 1991. She works at the
Institute of British and American Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Prešov University in Slovakia. Recent years
of her research has been devoted to teaching English to young learners. Mgr. Michaela Sepešiová, PhD.
works at the Institute of British and American Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Prešov. Her
major research interests focus on the language teaching, TEYL, CLIL, and cultural studies.

108
Training Practice for Primary Teachers of English
Judit Szepesi
ELTE, Budapest, Hungary
szepesijudit@t-online.hu
Abstract: The presenter shares her experiences with her trainees at ELTE and how she can assist her
trainees in the most effective way to become, maybe not the best teachers at once, but for sure, great
lovers of teaching English to young learners. The paper gives a short summary of the presenter’s practical
work with trainees at her school.
Key words: primary teachers, ELT, training, teaching practice, trainees, university
Introduction
Judit Szepesi has been working with trainees as a mentor teacher for a very long time. Her job is leading
trainees’ team practice. Trainees who choose English as a ‘minor’ start to study English teaching
methodology in their 2nd year. In year 3 they start doing teaching practice, as well. The workshop she
lead in Banská Bystrica was intended to give an insight into the practical work with trainees at my school,
at a primary practice school in Budapest. It also aimed to show a 6-minute video recording from a lesson
to show how culture, Halloween was introduced in a very young learners’ starter classroom.
What does the practice of teaching English offer for our trainees?
• regular observations at mentor’s and peers’ English lessons;
• to learn lesson planning;
• to learn how to reflect on peers’ and own lessons;

109
• the opportunity to teach one lesson /semester;

• to practise teaching in different other ways;
• to develop teaching skills in a more and more conscious way.
The procedure of teaching practice
The procedure of teaching practice in English at our school consists of four stages:
1 Preparing teaching together with trainees
A before the session

• topic, lesson’s material, main aims of the lesson are given to trainees 2 weeks before the actual
teaching
• all trainees should plan individually
B procedure of the session

• brainstorming possible areas, activities, etc. of the topic of the lesson
• elaborating one or two chosen ideas together/ in groups
• sharing/presenting ideas worked out on the spot or before by
o trainee teacher
o other trainees
o mentor
• making a short plan with the main steps and aims of the lesson

110
• procedure can change, can be shorter, simpler, more practical or more theoretical depending on
the special feature of the topic ( eg.: shared reading or teaching ‘grammar’ should be presented
first instead of elaborating trainees’ ideas)
2 Finalizing the lesson plan
It is a personal discussion with the trainee(s) some days before the lesson about all the details,
anticipated problems that might occur, necessary preparations that should be done, etc.
3 Teaching
4 Post-lesson discussions
A The usual structure of post lesson discussions:

climate-setting (How did you feel during the lesson? How do you feel it went?
Etc.)
trainee teacher’s self-reflections, self-evaluation (mentors can help with the
following sentences: What were your objectives? How successful do you think
you were in achieving your objectives? I really liked the way you … . I saw that
you … Was there anything in your lesson that you would change if you had
another possibility? What did you find the most successful in your lesson?)
peers’ reflections on the lesson as a whole, personal opinions, general questions
(Eg.: Give examples for good practice from the lesson. What did you really like
in the lesson? What have you learned from this lesson? What can you take
with you from this lesson? Etc.)
reflections on observation points are discussed
if necessary according to the lesson’s focus a/some methodological issue/s are
discussed, or revised to help trainees have an overall view of teaching
B Characteristic features of post–lesson discussions

free, where all opinions are welcome
should be supporting with sincere opinions
should encourage trainees, find and emphasize the creative and successful points
of the lesson
shouldn’t be judgemental, instead of criticism useful pieces of advice should be
given

111
when a negative experience is discussed some alternative/s should be offered at

the same time
Summary: Evaluation of teaching practice at ELTE Primary Practice School
Pros Cons
calm and supportive atmosphere students spend a very short time at practice
school observing English lessons before they
start teaching practice
lots of practical ideas no time for trying out many kinds of methods,
teaching areas
a lot of help in planning very limited time and possibility to teach at

practice school
trainees can learn from each other’s lessons no opportunity to get involved in a real
as well problem situation as a practice school is just
not the ‘right place’ for that
trainees are welcome to try out any new idea,
method or procedure during their lesson
About the workshop leader: Judit Szepesi, M. A. is a primary and lower-secondary teacher of English.
She has been teaching at ELTE Primary Practice School in Budapest for 32 years. She is a mentor teacher
as well. She has taken part in a competency-based foreign language development project as a curriculum
and materials developer for young learners. She is an occasional presenter at national conference.

112
Instead of Conclusion …
Finally, the project team would like to thank all conference participants for coming to Banská Bystrica
and for creating such a wonderful atmosphere. In particular we want to thank those who presented their
lectures and workshops. I wish to thank them especially for their willingness to contribute to this
Conference Proceedings. Thank you for helping us to see that it is possible to learn together to become
better CLIL teachers! May the feedback from the conference be an encouragement to you:
“It was excellent to see how CLIL works.”
“Now I have my CLIL knowledge expanded, enhanced, and my enthusiasm for it reinvigorated.”
”Thank you for wonderfully spent time, lots of new and interesting information, for giving us
a chance to meet new inspiring people.”
”New vision into my future teaching!”
”Thanks for friendly atmosphere, organization, for enabling us to see real CLIL teaching during
the conference.”
”It was super! Fulfilled all my expectations!”
”I wish such cooperation in the future practice of mine!”
”Very good structure of programme: theoretical before lunch, not in the afternoon and practical
workshops in the afternoon.”
”Every presenter touched me.”
”The conference enriched me very much by: very precious inspirations, methods of teaching via
CLIL, positive influence of lecturers – real experts – very good clear communication in English.”
”I met enthusiastic CLIL teachers, researchers which I hope to stay in touch.”
“It was wonderful to experience the reality of CLIL teaching, now I can envisage it and how to
apply it. Thank you, now I have an idea what CLIL is!”

113
Appendices
DVD 1:
Appendices to the presentation of Éva Trentinné Benkő
Appendices to the presentation of Enikő Síró
DVD 2 and 3:
Video recordings of plenary speeches and parts of workshops (for conference attendants only)

114
Title: LEARNING TOGETHER TO BE A BETTER CLIL TEACHER
Executive editor: Doc. PaedDr. Dana Hanesová, PhD.
Academic editor: Prof. PhDr. Bronislava Kasáčová, PhD.
Reviewed by: Doc. PhDr. Eva Homolová, PhD., Slovakia

Proofreading: Ken R. Badley, PhD (part 1)

Issued by: © Pedagogická fakulta, Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici
Number of copies: 100 copies
Number of pages: 114
Edition: 1st edition, 2015
ISBN 978-80-557-0887-4

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Faculty of Education

Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, SR

Banská Bystrica 2015

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Proceedings from an international conference – Published full text conference presentations

Scientific and organizational board of the conference:

Executive editor: Doc. PaedDr. Dana Hanesová, PhD.

Academic editor: Prof. PhDr. Bronislava Kasáčová, PhD.

Reviewed by: Doc. PhDr. Eva Homolová, PhD., Slovakia

Published by: © Pedagogická fakulta, Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici

1st edition, 2015

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Development of CLIL Teacher Education at UMB

Doc. PaedDr. Dana Hanesová, PhD.

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Information about the conference

The conference was held on October 16, 2014 at

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

a Smart Board; topic-based skills

The climax of the final plenary

The native English-speaking

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Living in and for CLIL

1 Personal way to CLIL

How did it start?

Encounters of great importance

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Oxley Hall, University of Leeds, U.K.

The summer of the same year (1987) brought a memorable

Városligeti Primary CLIL School, Budapest

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Main building. University of Leeds, U.K.

A further encounter came in 1997 when I started my MEd (Master of

Entering the international CLIL family

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

A publication on European CLIL. A special issue on CLIL

2 Looking for the secret of CLIL

So, what is CLIL then?3

According to Maljers, Marsh and Wolff, a wealth of

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

How learners learn in CLIL? By learning texts or solving tasks?

a. Some task-types in CLIL

Do the great crossword puzzle. Music in Britain. Civilisation.

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

A domino game. Space (Science)

START through a vacuum. gas and dust.

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

scream. space appears black. radiation.

This is because Space is not completely This is dangerous

The gaps between the stars

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

Moderné vzdelávanie pre vedomostnú spoločnosť/Projekt je spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov EÚ

c. Who is CLIL good for?

Some reservations and arguments:

• Only for the elite, or for all?

So, CLIL is good for/not so good for those who

are ready to take the risk are too shy