Towards implementing CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) at CBS (Tunja, Colombia)

Abstract

Lately, the use of CLIL in classrooms has been expanding due to the interest in educating bilingual children. In Colombia, this approach is becoming known and is being applied in many schools, mainly bilingual. This article presents a case study research that sought to investigate how CLIL is applied at Country Bilingual School to contribute to the bilingual education offered to these students. The study was supported by the latest theoretical constructs about CLIL from representative authors such as Coyle, Hood and Marsh (2010), among others. The data consisted of six videotaped classes from fifth grade, a class observation form, a students’ questionnaire, an informal interview, a teacher’s journal and other documents, such as the Teacher’s lesson plans. The results were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using Seliger and Shohamy (1990) techniques. The study revealed that, although the observed classes meet most of the standards of a good class in terms of language teaching methodology, there are many aspects that need to be considered and applied in order to use CLIL effectively.

Keywords

• Additional language, bilingual education, Content Language Integrated Learning, teaching through content, Language of, for and through learning, 4Cs, CLIL matrix, Assessment in CLIL