Content and language integrated learning should start at primary school level
Yes
89%
No
7%
Don?t know
4%
Total votes: 3418
January 2008
A new European Network for CLIL has been set up: the CLIL Cascade network. More information will follow soon.
The European Council gives its support to CLIL/EMILE Education and Culture at a glance, nr 22, European Commission, 2005
CLIL - content and language integrated learning - has an important role to play in ensuring the attainment of EU objectives in the area of language learning. It enables pupils to study a non-language related subject in a foreign language.
During the Education, Youth and Culture Council of the 23-24 May, the Luxembourg Presidency drew on the conclusions of the March symposium in Luxembourg on The ever changing European classroom - the potential of multi-lingual education.
The conclusions were:
it is necessary to make the public more aware of the benefits of CLIL;
the promotion of CLIL will increase mobility of students and workers;
the establishment promotional structures at national and EU level will contribute to the development of CLIL;
teachers should follow a training programme specific to CLIL, including a work or study period in a country where the target language is spoken;
it is necessary to investigate methods for monitoring levels of participation in CLIL at the various levels of education;
it is necessary to facilitate the use of a wide range of languages within the framework of the CLIL initiatives;
information exchange on good practices in CLIL should be encouraged at European level.
Conference Luxembourg, 10-11 March 2005
The Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union organized a symposium entitled 'The Changing European Classroom - the Potential of Plurilingual Education', in Luxembourg from 10th to 11th March 2005.
The European Council has placed language learning and linguistic diversity high on the European agenda. In plurilingual education, language is used as a medium for learning content (history or geography, for example), and the content is used in turn as a resource for learning language. The advantage of this approach to learning is that the curriculum can serve two functions simultaneously, thereby increasing the time available for language instruction to the advantage of the content-matter syllabus. The European Commission's Action Plan for the promotion of Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity 2004-2006 underlines the major contribution that plurilingual education can make to the Union's language learning goals.
At this conference policy-makers and decision-takers examined ways in which the increasing use of learning through a foreign language could be incorporated in the Member States' education systems.
More information about the Luxembourg Presidency can be found at www.eu2005.lu
Take part in the Guardian CLIL Debate!
The Guardian Weekly, in association with Macmillan Education, is organising a special debate about Content and Language Integrated Learning (Clil) and its impact on English language teaching at the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language conference in Cardiff in April.
A panel of experts is invited to chart the global uptake of Clil and English-medium education. They will assess how the roles of English language teachers are likely to change and how Clil can be introduced effectively into education systems.
For more information about the event, click here.
Report CLIL/EMILE - The European Dimension
In 2003, David Marsh of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland compiled a report on CLIL for the European Commission.
CLIL/EMILE - the European Dimension seeks to provide the European Commission with practical information and analysis constituting a broad survey of the situation 'on the ground' in Europe. Specific focus is placed on the relevance and potential of CLIL in relation to the Commission's overall language objectives.
CLIL Matrix - A Council of Europe Project for quality assurance in CLIL
Over the past decade there has been considerable interest in improving additional language learning across all educational sectors. One solution which has emerged is teaching and learning through a second/foreign language (often referred to as Content and Language Integrated Learning - CLIL, or bilingual education). After a period of widespread experimentation there is now a need to pool experience with respect to maximizing successful implementation of this educational approach.
The CLIL Quality Matrix team will collect data on good practice in CLIL/bilingual education from ECML member states. The general aim is to produce a Quality Matrix which shows how best practice may be achieved, and potential outcomes in terms of added value. It targets primary and secondary schools, and vocationally-oriented colleges, and focuses on quality assurance and management issues. CLIL/bilingual education specifically handles methodologies for broadening (through greater exposure) and diversifying (different learning approaches) language learning so as to promote plurilingualism, change attitudes towards the self as a language learner, and harness the potential of new instruments such as the CEF/ELP.
The CLIL Quality matrix will comprise brief descriptors of good practice and inter-relationships between them and will become available on-line and on CD-ROM.
More information on this project, as well as progress made can be found through www.ecml.at
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