ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF CLIL MATERIALS

 

     

Multilingual call 2021-2022 has just been published and this means that there will be new schools joining us in implementing subjects through English. Yesterday I  received  some telephone calls from teachers who are concerned about the most  adequate materials for CLIL lessons.  If I had to describe the key to effective  CLIL materials, I would say something like this: choose those materials that allow students to develop real-world tasks in the target language. 

 Going deeper into the features of CLIL materials without breaking the  scope of  a blog entry, we could say that the following ingredients are a must: 

 

·    Each unit should include  explicit correlation between  content and language objectives .

 ·   Input- output scaffolding tools (On the one hand,  key language support to enable students reach the content objectives. On the othe hand, visual support such as   illustrations with labels and captions that are closely related to  subject-specific vocabulary and objectives)

 ·   Content-area text types which are carefully chosen and always accompanied by content-area literacy strategies.

 ·   Graphic organisers like Venn diagrams, tables, and flow charts which help all  learners to support both active reading and  written or oral presentation of content  by students.

 ·  ICT applications which result   in a virtual ‘hands on’ format  that increase motivation among students  through active engagement in the learning process.

 ·   Integration of all language skills throughout the CLIL unit.

 ·    Cognition skills are gradually developed 

·    Formative assessment tasks are included.

·  Teachers' notes include everything the teacher needs for a good CLIL approach. 

In my view, the aforementioned  features can be  put into practice  in  any  content area  at Primary and Secondary levels. I am looking forward to letting you know about the "How-To-Do-It" after the Easter break. During March we will chiefly  devote our energy to planting the seeds of multilingual projects for the next  academic years  at our schools.

However, I will not wait till April  to provide you with some more food-for-thought  on the topic  by recommending  an inspiring book on CLIL materials by Amanda McLouglin, CLIL materials writer and teacher trainer : “How to write CLIL materials”, published on February 25th 2021. You can read about it here.

From these lines, I would like to express my congratulations to Amanda on this book for  her   clear and accurate insight into CLIL materials.