CarmelinaMaurizio_Contribute_CLIL_2016.pdf

THE CLIL LESSON

The criteria to build up a CLIL lesson, but first of all, those to select quality materials, are based on how and what extent a lesson will be used for, but, basically, they should promote critical and creative thought, discussion and learner autonomy, helping students in recognising the limitations of their current thinking and learning and understanding, when they need additional information in order to contribute to joint problem-solving 6 . Mehisto, P. (2012), Criteria for producing CLIL material,Encuentro revista, The following can be considered the main aspects of a CLIL lesson 7 :

-The texts are accompanied by illustrations and visual markers (headings, sub -headings), so that learners can visualise what they are reading, that helps them find their way through the content.

Identification and organisation of knowledge -Texts are often represented diagrammatically, that is learners are helped to categorise the ideas and information in a text, thanks to, for example, tree diagrams for classification, groups, hierarchies, flow diagrams and timelines for sequenced thinking such as instructions and historical information, tabular diagrams describing people and places, and combinations of these.

-The language learners are expected to be able to reproduce is the one based on the use of their own words, both simple and more complex language, without no grading of it. The CLIL teacher could highlight useful language in the text, categorising it according to functions.

Here it follows a short list of the possible activities students could be asked to do in a CLIL lesson 8 :

• Listen and label a diagram/picture/map/graph/chart

COGNITIVE AND LINGUISTIC ADVANTAGES

Let now consider what are the advantages related to CLIL approach, both form the cognitive and the linguistic viewpoint.

First of all, CLIL is long-term learning, so it means that students become academically proficient in English after 5-7 years in a good bilingual programme, in fact the basis of CLIL is that content subjects are taught and learnt in a language which is not the mother tongue of the learners and so knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content. In a CLIL lesson, language is seen in real-life situations, so errors are a natural part of language learning and it becomes clear that fluency becomes more and more important than accuracy, and, last but not the least, learners develop fluency in English by using English to communicate for a variety of purposes, integrating it into the curriculum (Perez -Canado 2012) 9 .

It is also very important to focus on the advantages in a CLIL lesson, from a wider perspective, in fact CLIL helps to introduce a wider cultural context 10 , to prepare for internationalisation, to access International Certification and enhance the school profile; but not only, it helps also to improve overall and specific language competence, to prepare for future studies or working life and to develop multilingual interests and attitudes, increasing learner motivation.

CLIL approach is important also from the social side:

the European Union sees the diversity of language and the need for communication as central issues, so with increased contact between countries, proportionally there will be an increase in the need for communicative skills in a second or third language, not only in English of course. Everybody knows that languages will play a key role in curricula across Europe.

Let also think about crosscurricular advantages, specifically for young people, CLIL helps them in Marsh, D. (2015), Added value of integrating ELT across the curriculum, Singapore Switzerland) or regional language (Slovenia and United Kingdom). The language is often the other official language of the country. Immersion teachers are native speakers.

-"submersion", relates to the linguistic and cultural integration of migrants, whose children are taught in the language of the majority group, with the aim of developing skills in the language that may be foreign to them, but which is needed for access to the curriculum and daily life inside and outside school (Admiraal et al. 2006). This is common in the teaching of migrant children in schools in many European countries.

-CLIL is where the target language of bilingual education is a foreign language and the target group is the linguistic majority of a certain country.

CLIL has precedents in immersion programmes (North America) and education through a minority or a national language (Spain, Wales, France), and many variations on education through a 'foreign' language. The rules for the teachers' training were issued in 2011 (Regolamento per la formazione iniziale degli insegnanti -Rules for the training of the beginner teachers) and they state that they have to follow a 21 According to the school autonomy, they could plan, also on the base of tthe students' interests, training paths, which involve more subjects, also thanks to international agreements (Translated from the Italian by the author)