Content and Language ◗◗ Teachers need to be trained: it is preferable for the
Integrated Learning (CLIL) subject teacher to be trained in English, though it might
In this Unit we will:
◗◗ Find out what CLIL is
◗◗ Consider how it can be used in the classroom
◗◗ Become more familiar with activities in New Challenges 3
which have CLIL potential
◗◗ Complete tasks for the teacher portfolio
First things first
CLIL, as an approach for language teaching and learning,
has become very popular in the last few years. Most ELT
magazines or journals these days have at least one article
on CLIL in an issue. A quick search of the Internet also
brings up many CLIL sites. On your own or in your study
group, discuss what you think CLIL means in a practical
sense in the classroom. Try and find information about it
on the Internet or in an ELT journal or magazine.
Feedback
A CLIL approach means students learn new content at the
same time as they are learning the new language. The
theory behind CLIL is that when the focus is on meaningful
content, students will acquire language in much the same
way as mother tongue children do. Students learn to
understand and use the target language by experiencing
it as a learning tool. This approach also has its roots in
bilingual education, where students learn some school
subjects through their mother tongue and other school
subjects through a second (or even a third) language.
CLIL is not the same as ELT topic-based approaches. In
CLIL, students learn new content at the same time as they
are learning the new (target) language. In topic-based
approaches, familiar content is used as a way of giving
meaning and context to the new language. Some of the
content might be new to students in topic-based material
but the main objective is for students to learn language.
The main objective in CLIL is for students to learn the new
content (for example maths, history, geography) as well as
the new language.
A CLIL language syllabus is shaped by the needs of the
subject. For example, students learning history through
English will need to understand and use past tenses from
day 1, whereas students learning science through English
will need to understand and use conditionals and present
tenses from day 1.
Preparing for CLIL
Clearly, if students are to learn new content through
English, there is a significant amount of preparation which
needs to be done. Subjects which are generally used as
vehicles for CLIL are maths, history, geography and science.
Here is an example of the preparation process for teaching
maths through CLIL:
◗◗ Maths text books need to be rewritten in English and the
English syllabus within the materials needs to be graded
to suit the students’ level and the needs of the subject.
◗◗ Tasks within the text books need to be developed and
graded so that they support the learning of the subject as
well as the learning of the language.
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be possible for an English teacher to be retrained as a
subject teacher. Either way it is not a fast process!
◗◗ Assessment needs to be developed. It won’t be possible
to use the same assessment as before. Students will need
to be assessed in maths through English and the marking
of the assessment will need to provide information on
their level of maths, not their level of English. What
students can do and know in English will need to be
assessed separately.
◗◗ Students need to be given some formal lessons in
English, for example one lesson a week, which focus on
grammar and vocabulary.
Task: Is CLIL used in your school or local context? If it is,
what are the teachers’ opinions of it? What do the students
think of it? If not, do you think it would work in your
context? Why/why not?
CLIL for teenagers
Many of the teaching/learning experiences of CLIL around
the world have taken place in secondary schools with
teenagers. There seem to be a number of reasons for this:
◗◗ Teenagers are not always motivated to learn another
language. They find content more interesting and so CLIL
is a way of helping them learn the target language in a
less direct way.
◗◗ The secondary curriculum is very full, and CLIL seems
to offer a way of combining two subjects: language and
content.
◗◗ Teenagers have formed basic concepts which enable
them to understand and function in the world through
their experience in primary school and are ready to build
on these in a new language in secondary school.
◗◗ CLIL presents teenagers with a new challenge and this is
an aspect to which many of them respond positively.
Some pros and cons of CLIL
As with any approach, there are both positive aspects and
drawbacks to CLIL (see Task on the following page).
Trying out aspects of CLIL with New
Challenges 3
New Challenges 3, as you will know from using the book
and from the information in the Teacher’s Book, has a
topic-based approach which enables students to learn
about the world. In learning about the world, students
will come across concepts which are new to them and
which they are first encountering in the target language.
In this way they will be learning new content through the
language and the focus will shift from the language to the
content.
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 Teacher development workshops

Task: On your own or in your study group, brainstorm a Talk to your students about CLIL. Find out what they think
short list of positive aspects and drawbacks of CLIL for your of it and if it is a way they’d like to learn. Remind them
context. Can you add points which haven’t been mentioned that they may want to go to university in an
above? English–speaking country and so they will be in a CLIL
environment then. It may also be that some of the
Answers universities in your country offer courses through English
too. Ask students what they think about this.
Positive aspects
TP If you want to attend a course on CLIL, find out from
◗◗ Students learn a subject and a language at the same the Internet where courses are currently offered and where
time the nearest ones are to you. Get together with a group
◗◗ Language becomes a tool for communication and is of interested teachers and enrol on the course! You can
therefore more ‘real’ to the students probably apply for funding to help with the costs too. Keep
notes of the whole experience in your teacher portfolio.
◗◗ It provides a challenge for students and can make the
subject more appealing
◗◗ Students use a wide range of language skills and
strategies
◗◗ Students are exposed to a wider range of language
than in the traditional ELT syllabus
◗◗ The whole experience is more meaningful and
students have a real purpose for communicating in
the target language
Drawbacks
◗◗ Teachers need to be trained in this new approach and
this training takes time
◗◗ Text books need to be adapted/rewritten
◗◗ Students who are not successful language learners
may lose out on key subject knowledge
◗◗ Students who are not interested in the subject or
who find it particularly challenging may be less
successful in the target language than they would be
in traditional language classes
◗◗ Assessment needs to be prepared by experts, unless
teachers are specifically trained in how to assess
through a CLIL approach
◗◗ The possible effects on the development of spoken
and written skills in students’ L1

Task: Have a look at the four Across Cultures sections in

New Challenges 3. Think about the following:
Which pieces of information in each one do you think will
be new for your students? How can you develop these into
further new areas in the classroom so that the main focus
is on the content not the language?
If there’s nothing that you think will be new information
in any of the sections, what can you add to each one which
is new? Where will you find this information and how can
you present and develop the ideas in it with the students?

Over to you!
Here are a few ideas and activities to help you develop your
understanding of CLIL:
TP Look on the Internet and find out if CLIL is being
used in your region. If it is, contact your local group
and ask if you can come along to any meetings or be
sent any newsletters. Keep notes of the meetings and/or
your response to the readings about CLIL in your teacher
portfolio.
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