Bilingual vs. Monolingual Optional Courses in Intensive
or Bilingual Schools
Prof. Sanda Gabor
Gh. Sincai High School
International Study ProgrammesLLP Comenius Training Course
Cheltenham July 2010
CLIL- Content and Language Integrated Learning for teachers who teach History, Geography or
other Arts Subjects
What is CLIL?
Content and Language Integrated Learning
• Teaching school subjects through English
Why CLIL?
• Traditional education-gap between language study and other subjects
• Helps students transfer knowledge from one language to another
• Develops CALP
CALP
• Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
Fully developed if students acquire in school the ability to understand and express academic information
BICS
• Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
More focused upon during language classes
Different Approaches to CLIL
• Bilingual approach- teaching in English along with the mother tongue (dr. Diana Hicks)
• Immersion- monolingual-teaching in English only(Graham Workman)
Bilingual Approach
• The medium of teaching- English and mother tongue-Romanian/Hungarian
• It regards subject teachers and language teachersPROBLEMS• Subject teachers not well trained in English• Language teachers not well trained in the subject• Lack of text books-more work for the teacher
Possible Solutions
• Subject teachers are helped by language teachers in planning the lesson and the syllabus
• The lesson will be in English and in Romanian • The language teacher teaches a familiar
subject at a medium level of information stressing more on language
British History-CLIL Optional Course
• Aims at improving: Vocabulary Speaking Skills Reading Skills Listening Skills Writing Skills
• Taught by language teacher• Suitable for level B1, B2and A group age 13-19
– For level A Romanian language is used at a rate of 60% of the lesson
Steps to Take
1. Choose parts of the subject that are attractive and accessible to the group age
2. Use a diversity of teaching methods3. Use electronic as well as traditional
materials4. Set reachable targets
Vocabulary, Reading and Speaking Lessons
• Strategies
Guess the meaning of the wordLexical associations ChunksLexical chainsReport to class
Guess the meaning
• Teacher prepares a text to be given to students in which there are several (not more than 3-4) unknown words
• Students are asked to highlight the words they don’t know
• In pairs they are asked to guess what the meaning could be- they are asked to try to explain in English as well as in Romanian
• Plenary-class helped by the teacher find the correct meaning and for a word list
Lexical Associations
• For specific language students are asked to find similar situations or words in Romanian from Romanian History
Chunks
• Groups of 2 or more words used together to form meaning
• General chunks• Topical chunks• Students are asked to highlight them with different
colours• Students are asked to arrange them on two columns• Students practice both BICS and CALP
Lexical chains
• Students arrange the topical chunks in lexical chains to obtain a chain of main events
Reading Practice Strategies
• Jigsaw Reading
• Reading for specific information
• Gapped text
• Comparing texts and written sources
Developing Critical Thinking
• Prediction-story analysis
• Comparing assumptions with the real facts
Speaking Practice
• Dialogue
• Drama
• Comparing events or pictures
Writing
• Letter writing
• Essay writing
• Article writing
Use of the Internet
• Short documentaries on youtube create atmosphere and listening opportunities
• Sites selected for individual research
• Games
Immersion Classes
• Taught only in English• Develop CALP• Students do not transfer terms specific to
their culture properly• Cultural identity might have to lose
• The presentation was based on materials provided by dr. Diana Hicks and Graham Workman during the Cheltenham Course July 2010
• For specific materials and more information please access www.cetaclil.eu
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