Implementing CLIL Programs: Key Factors and Materials
Key Factors for Implementing CLIL Programs
Based on the Ikastolas’ experience, four key factors contribute to the successful implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programs:
- CLIL programs require school-wide adoption and promotion, not just support from individual teachers.
- They must be supported by didactic materials tailored to student needs.
- Teacher training is crucial, as teaching through a foreign language involves more than simply changing the language of instruction.
- Program results need evaluation to measure objective achievement and the benefits relative to invested energy and resources.
School Project
Implementing a CLIL program should be, at minimum, a decision made by the entire school community. It may require addressing several potentially controversial issues, such as:
- The academic profile of students in the CLIL program: Will it be offered to all students, or only to those with a strong command of the foreign language and/or subject content?
- Will CLIL be implemented by subject teachers (during subject teaching hours) or by English teachers (during English teaching hours)?
- Which subject will be taught through the foreign language?
- Will that subject be taught *only* through English, or will the school also offer the same or similar content in the school’s usual language of instruction?
- If subject teachers implement CLIL, what is the role of the English teacher?
- Will the school’s usual English curriculum be modified?
When facing these issues, the Ikastolas decided that:
- All students should have access to Social Sciences through CLIL (SSLIC). The opportunity to learn Social Sciences through English should be offered to all students, regardless of their proficiency in English or Social Sciences.
- SSLIC students should follow the same curriculum as if they were studying Social Sciences in Basque.
- This CLIL program, involving teaching Social Sciences through English, should be implemented during Social Science hours (preferably by the Social Science teacher), not during English hours.
- There would be no additional Social Science instruction in Basque; therefore, those contents will only be taught through English.
Thus, SSLIC aimed not only to develop students’ linguistic competence in English but also to achieve the objectives of Social Sciences as a subject *per se*. The objectives and contents of English classes would be adapted to support the language needs derived from studying Social Sciences through that language (in addition to the content and language integration approach of the Social Science curriculum).
Didactic Materials
Due to the characteristics of the CLIL project, the Ikastolas created Social Science didactic materials that integrated the content and language of the subject. Considering the students’ varying proficiency in the target language, materials for English teachers were also created. These materials provided extra support for linguistic structures, skills, and text genres needed for success in Social Sciences.
Creating CLIL Materials for Social Sciences
For Social Science CLIL materials, the starting point was adapting and translating didactic materials created by the Ikastolas network for teaching Social Sciences in Basque to students in this age range. This process resulted in the textbook *Ostadar Social Sciences*. It involved analyzing the original Social Science content and materials from linguistic and cognitive perspectives.
From this analysis, activities were created to break down the main linguistic and cognitive difficulties, facilitating student access to the subject’s content. Linguistic activities were added to help students comprehend and produce Social Science texts. Activities were also created to guide students through the cognitive processes required by the subject. These activities integrated both the language and content specific to Social Sciences.
Additionally, the English language subject syllabus was designed to work on the same cognitive processes and linguistic features. This materials creation process resulted in a detailed teacher’s *guide*, including strategies for classroom interaction and guiding student comprehension and production, so that students appropriately assimilate Social Science content. An additional teacher *guide* with similar characteristics was created for the materials used during English hours. The activities created for the Social Science CLIL materials can be grouped into four types, which are explained below.