The CLIL Approach

Short Introduction

CLIL gives students the opportunity to develop their foreign language skills while exploring a subject-specific topic. Teachers do not need to begin by delivering an entire lesson in a foreign language. A short activity, a simple vocabulary-building task or the use of a foreign-language source can already provide an effective starting point.

How I Discovered CLIL

As part of the Erasmus+ programme, I originally intended to enrol in an English language course. However, as the course I had selected was already full, I chose a training programme that combined intensive language learning with teaching methodology. This is how I came to participate in the Intensive English Course and CLIL for Teachers in Florence.

The course was an intensive, speaking-focused language programme in which we developed our own English skills through the CLIL approach. This was particularly useful because we did not only learn about the method in theory; we also experienced how it works from the learner’s perspective.

What Does CLIL Mean?

CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning. It is an approach in which students explore a subject-specific topic partly or entirely through a foreign or additional language. The learning process therefore has a dual focus: students develop their subject knowledge and their foreign language communication skills at the same time.

In CLIL, the foreign language is not only the subject of learning but also a tool for acquiring and applying knowledge. Students use the language in meaningful, content-based situations: they search for information, solve problems, compare ideas, draw conclusions and explain their thinking. The focus is therefore not on practising grammar rules in isolation but on using language purposefully. The European Centre for Modern Languages also describes CLIL as a dual-focused approach in which subject learning and language learning support and reinforce one another. (ECML – Content and Language Integrated Learning)

It is important to emphasise that using CLIL does not necessarily mean teaching an entire lesson in a foreign language. The approach can be introduced through shorter lesson segments, individual activities or projects. This gradual implementation can be particularly helpful for teachers who are less confident in their own language skills or who teach students with a limited foreign language vocabulary.

Steps for Using CLIL

1. Define the Subject-Specific Learning Objective

The first step is to decide what subject knowledge or skill the students should acquire. This might involve recognising a mathematical relationship, conducting an experiment, exploring the causes of a historical event or analysing a work of art.

2. Define the Language Objective

It is also useful to identify the foreign-language vocabulary and expressions that students will need to complete the activity. The language objective might involve understanding a small number of subject-specific terms, following simple instructions, making comparisons or preparing a short oral presentation.

3. Provide Language Support

Students cannot be expected to know all the language they need in advance. Their learning can be supported through:

• bilingual vocabulary lists or word banks;

• pictures, diagrams, signs and symbols;

• model sentences and sentence starters;

• short worked examples;

• pair or group work;

• the purposeful use of digital dictionaries;

• the strategic use of the students’ first language when necessary.

Appropriate language support, often referred to as scaffolding, enables students to access subject content even when they face linguistic difficulties. The ECML’s resources on language in subject teaching also highlight the importance of defining language objectives, differentiating tasks and using a range of scaffolding techniques. (ECML – Developing Language Awareness in Subject Classes)

4. Encourage Active Language Use

Students should not only read or listen to information in the foreign language but should also be given opportunities to use it themselves. They can discuss a solution with a partner, justify their choices, prepare a short presentation or formulate their conclusions in a few sentences.

5. Assess Content and Language Development

When assessing students’ work, it is useful to distinguish between subject-specific performance and language use. A language mistake does not necessarily mean that the student has failed to understand the subject content. Feedback should therefore focus primarily on comprehension, problem-solving and the success of the student’s communication.

An Example from Mathematics

As a mathematics teacher with less confident foreign language skills, I initially found it difficult to imagine how mathematics and language learning could be connected. Later, however, I realised that I had already used an approach similar to CLIL.

During an Italian language lesson—even though I am not a language teacher—we worked on Italian mathematics competency tasks. Although we did not know all the words in the tasks, the mathematical context, diagrams, numbers, units of measurement and familiar relationships helped us infer the meaning of many expressions. The students therefore needed not only their mathematical knowledge but also their reading comprehension, logical thinking and ability to make linguistic inferences.

A similar approach could be used in a mathematics lesson incorporating English, for example through a percentage-calculation task based on a travel budget.

Subject objective: calculating percentage values, discounts and final prices.

Language objective: understanding and using expressions such as price, discount, total, increase, decrease and per person.

Steps of the activity:

1. Students receive an English-language price list, ticket or accommodation offer.

2. They interpret the information with the help of a short vocabulary list.

3. Working in pairs, they calculate the discounted price or the total cost of the trip.

4. They use simple sentence frames to explain their solution, for example:
   The original price is…
   The discount is…
   The final price is…

5. Finally, they compare their results and briefly explain their choices.

The level of difficulty can easily be adapted to the students’ needs. Learners who are less confident in the foreign language can be provided with word banks and sentence frames, while more advanced students can formulate and justify their solutions independently.

Ideas for Other Subjects

CLIL can be used in almost every subject:

• science: following experimental instructions, naming equipment and comparing results;

• history: exploring foreign-language sources, timelines, maps or short biographies;

• geography: analysing weather data, charts, maps and country profiles;

• digital literacy or ICT: using foreign-language software interfaces and instructions;

• physical education: using foreign-language names for movements, game rules and simple instructions;

• art or music: presenting works of art, describing moods and expressing opinions;

• project work: researching information in a foreign language, creating posters and giving short presentations.

Practical Advice for Introducing CLIL

It is advisable to introduce CLIL gradually. A five- or ten-minute foreign-language activity or the use of a few subject-specific terms can be sufficient at first. Teachers should begin with a topic that students already know, so that unfamiliar language is not combined with entirely new subject content.

It is not necessary to correct every language mistake immediately. If students understand the task, apply their subject knowledge correctly and successfully communicate their ideas, then the main purpose of communication has already been achieved. Language accuracy can be developed gradually.

A supportive classroom atmosphere is particularly important. Students are more willing to speak in a foreign language when they know that making mistakes is a natural part of the learning process.

Conclusion

The CLIL approach has shown me that integrating subject teaching and foreign language development is not an opportunity available only to language teachers or teachers with advanced language proficiency. It is not necessary to teach entire lessons in a foreign language. Even a short, carefully prepared activity can allow students to use their language skills in a meaningful subject-specific context.

My previous experience of working with Italian mathematics competency tasks also demonstrated that students are often able to understand more from a foreign-language text than they initially expect. Mathematical relationships, visual elements and context provide valuable support, helping students experience success while developing their subject knowledge, language skills and problem-solving abilities at the same time.

Note: The opinions and positions expressed herein reflect the author's views only and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Union or the Tempus Public Foundation. The European Union and the funding authority cannot be held responsible for them.