CLIL in languages other than English

 

It is hard to believe that another academic course is coming to an end.  Last  CLIL seminar session took place on May 31st and it was a memorable event due to several reasons: there were  LOCIT presentations that showed students' CLIL outcomes in different subjects, we presented the tools for UDL implementation,   teachers  highlighted the benenefits of professional networking and insisted on  the need to keep on taking part in teacher training sessions throughout their teaching professional life.

If I had to choose one of the many conclusions teachers have drawn regarding CLIL practice, I would say that the most  crucial one is that they have confirmed  there are successful transferences or transitions among languages. In the seminar sessions we have presented plenty of methodological clues for making the subject area comprehensible for students and these clues are valid in languages other than English. This is the reason why Basque and English teachers working together  with the subject teachers will make the most of the CLIL approach. I must say that Basque schools are already paving the way for a true development of a plurilingual competence. Still, there is a long way to go. 

French is the second foreign language in most of our schools and there are some subject teachers who are implementing their subject in French so I will try to contribute by listing some useful resources to facilitate their EMILE practice:

-  A basic resource on EMILE is available here 

- This is a powerful blog with practical resources in French. If you wish, enter here to access resources for Secondary students. 

-  A website on plurilingual education in French can be found here

Last but not least, the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe is currently developing a project on CLIL in languages other than English. If you visit their website, you will find the project description and the outcomes in English, French and German. If you enter this link, you will access a great number of resources in different languages. 

From these lines, my heartfelt thanks to the authors of the aforementioned projects, which  are essential to see CLIL as a way to promote excellence in language education.