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Implementing CLIL as an Innovation in Primary School: Identifying Influencing Factors
Abstract
The implementation of CLIL as an educational innovation has not yet been intensively investigated. This study aims at identifying factors which are potentially influential for the implementation in four heterogeneous primary CLIL programs. Using participant observation and Grounded Theory Methodology, the results yield a hierarchical category system comprising properties of CLIL teachers, other stakeholders, and the CLIL program. The analysis suggests that initiations by single teachers are less likely to succeed in the long run than programs carried out over a longer period involving the school as a whole. Phase-specific characteristics suggests that the commitment of the leadership, sufficient resources and their exchange, as well as CLIL-related experience are pervasive overarching aspects. For new small-scale programs, an autonomous scope of action, the commitment of other stakeholders, the general workload and additional time are crucial, as is an official status of the innovation, while in established programs, evaluation, improvement and extension become increasingly relevant. Future research needs to test these hypotheses regarding their actual predictive power for a successful innovation. (submitted)
Bilinguale Unterrichtskonzepte, die auf europäischer Ebene auch unter dem Sammelbegriff CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) zusammengefasst werden, haben in den vergangenen Jahren in den internationalen Bildungssystemen an Popularität gewonnen. Obwohl sich auch in Deutschland ein stetiger Zuwachs bilingualer Unterrichtsangebote verzeichnen lässt, weist CLIL insbesondere auf Grundschulebene mit knapp 2 % eine eher geringe Implementationsrate auf (FMKS 2014). Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht mögliche Faktoren, welche die Implementation von CLIL im Primarbereich beeinflussen (können). Leitende Fragen sind unter anderem: Welche Einflussfaktoren fördern bzw. hemmen die CLIL-Implementation an Grundschulen? Was sind mögliche Gelingensbedingungen bzw. Hindernisse? Unter welchen Bedingungen entscheiden sich Lehrkräfte für bzw. gegen eine Implementation von CLIL? Gerahmt durch ein methodenintegrierendes Forschungsdesign (Mixed Methods), finden sich in der Forschungsarbeit sowohl qualitative als auch quantitative Studien zur umfassenden Analyse förderlicher und hinderlicher Einflussfaktoren bei der Implementation von CLIL. Die qualitativen Vorstudien (Beobachtungen an Schulen, Lehrerinterviews, Telefonbefragungen mit Schulleitungen) dienten anfangs der Generierung potenzieller Einflussgrößen und Hypothesen. Die identifizierten Einflussfaktoren wurden im Anschluss in einem umfassenden Kategoriensystem zusammengefasst, um daraus ein quantitatives Messinstrument zu erstellen. Dieses wurde dann im Rahmen der quantitativen Hauptstudie (Online-Befragung) mit 307 Grundschullehrkräften eingesetzt. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen deuten darauf hin, dass die Implementation von CLIL mit zahlreichen Faktoren auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen (bildungspolitisch, organisational, personell) zusammenhängt. Zudem zeigte sich, dass zu unterschiedlichen Implementationszeitpunkten (beginnende bzw. bereits bestehende CLIL-Umsetzung) unterschiedliche Faktoren relevant bzw. einflussreich werden können. Des Weiteren deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass Lehrkräfte, die sich für eine Implementation von CLIL entscheiden, andere persönliche (individuelle) sowie kontextuelle (schulische) Voraussetzungen bzw. Bedingungen aufweisen als Lehrkräfte, die sich gegen eine Implementation entscheiden.
Der Erwerb einer Fremdsprache findet im Rahmen eines komplexen Systems von Entwicklungsbedingungen statt. Um zu klären, welche Prozesse beim Erlernen einer L2 ablaufen, ist es notwendig, diese Vielzahl von Einflussfaktoren in die Betrachtungen einzubeziehen. Der vorliegende Beitrag geht auf die Bedeutung externer sowie individueller Faktoren ein und zeigt ihre Zusammenhänge mit L2‐Erwerbsprozess in einem bilingualen Schulkontext auf. Im besonderen Fokus des Beitrags stehen das familiäre und sozioökonomische Umfeld, Charakteristika des (bilingualen) Schulprogramms, insbesondere in Bezug auf die Dauer und Intensität, sowie die Einstellungen der beteiligten Akteure und die Rolle der Lehrkraft, die u.a. die Qualität des sprachlichen Inputs umfasst. Bezüglich der individuellen Faktoren werden die kognitiven und sprachlichen Fähigkeiten der L2-Lerner betrachtet und ein Zusammenhang von Fremdsprachenerwerb und familiärer Mehrsprachigkeit hergestellt. Für die Übertragung in die pädagogische Praxis sind diese theoretischen Erkenntnisse bedeutsam für administrative Entscheidungen wie auch für den konkreten Einsatz von Prinzipien und Strategien im (bilingualen) Unterricht.
In recent years, early language learning has become increasingly popular in Germany. However, there are no uniform guidelines as to the implementation of immersion programs; consequently, school officials seeking to set up an immersion program are confronted with the difficult task to plan and implement their ideas. This paper gives an overview of important issues and strategies to consider when establishing a language immersion program. After providing a definition of the concept of immersion teaching, the article turns to important aspects of practical impementation and addresses a number of issue such as logistical considerations, choice of immersion language, teacher recruitment and parent participation. The implication is to plan comprehensively and to follow established best practices when starting an immersion program.
(Language of chapter: German.)
This paper outlines my concerns with Qualitative Data Analysis' (QDA) numerous remodelings of Grounded Theory (GT) and the subsequent eroding impact. I cite several examples of the erosion and summarize essential elements of classic GT methodology. It is hoped that the article will clarify my concerns with the continuing enthusiasm but misunderstood embrace of GT by QDA methodologists and serve as a preliminary guide to novice researchers who wish to explore the fundamental principles of GT.
This paper discusses the challenges of acquiring English across different institutions from preschool to secondary school with regard to both regular language education that starts at primary level and bilingual programmes which may be offered at various stages in the learners' course of education. It is suggested that content-based bilingual programmes with no specific language curricula allow for a smoother transition across institutions than language-course-oriented approaches. The latter are problematic because the higher the level of institution, the more strongly the problems of transition are perceived. Additionally, programmes with a form of regulation within their transition processes encounter fewer problems than programmes without regulated transition. This is supported by the results of a survey that was conducted across more than 100 preschools, primary and secondary schools.
This chapter gives a concise overview of research results with regard to immersion teaching in preschool and primary school. After disentangling some terminological issues concerning, notably, the usage of the terms immersion and CLIL, the authors go on to discuss different forms of immersion programs, results of L2 attainment, content learning, competence in the L1, cognitive skills, and the attainment of so-called at-risk learners. In the second part of the chapter, practical, methodological and didactic considerations for the implementation of immersion programs are discussed. The authors conclude with making a case for intensive bilingual education.
Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is regarded as an innovative or alternative approach to communicative language teaching (CLT). Stakeholders, researchers, and other actors involved in teaching foreign language embrace CLIL in the hope that deficiencies in foreign language learning can be overcome so as to meet new socio-economic needs. However, CLIL is not only about benefits. This article, firstly, outlines some of its challenges and drawback particularly in reference to teachers and teacher development since other difficulties may be rooted in how teachers are prepared to respond to the new issues that CLIL seems to raise. Secondly, it describes pre- and in-service CLIL teacher development opportunities partly based on personal experiences at the University of Warwick as well as other personal experiences of workshops in Argentina. Finally, the article suggests possible ways of incorporating a CLIL understanding in Argentina as an example of an EFL context.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) initiatives in schools have become widespread across Europe and beyond in the last decade or so. Drivers for this include the role of English as the language of international economic activity, media and culture, belief in the value of early start and meaning-focussed instruction in foreign language learning, and a policy position which promotes a multilingual Europe. In many contexts, CLIL initiatives are local: teachers and educational leaders with assistance from teacher educators and experts in universities establish programmes, which are then shaped by available resources, human and material. While the commitment, enthusiasm and energy for CLIL at classroom and school levels are essential requirements for educational innovation, they may not, in the longer term be enough for sustainability and ongoing development. This paper examines the implementation of CLIL as an innovation and identifies some issues where wider policy support and coordination may be useful. It draws on the findings of an evaluation study of a CLIL project implemented in four countries, and identifies issues and ways forward for an effective strategy for CLIL in terms of foreign language learning, subject learning, and positive learning experiences for every child.
Classrooms the world over are full of people who, for different reasons, are learning additional languages and/or are studying through languages that are not their first. Gaining insight into such contexts is complicated for researchers and practitioners alike by the myriad of contextual variables that come with different implementations and make comparison and generalization a tricky business. We welcome Cenoz et al.'s (2013) article as an important contribution to the debate on how best to tackle this problem. In this Forum piece we would like to, however, redress the balance on two issues: the fact that terminologies have histories and the emphases on the research agenda suggested for future Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) research.
This study examined metalinguistic awareness in children who were becoming bilingual in an immersion education program. The purpose was to determine at what point in emerging bilingualism the previously reported metalinguistic advantages appear and what types of metalinguistic tasks reveal these developmental differences. Participants were 124 children in second and fifth grades who were enrolled in either a French immersion or a regular English program. All children were from monolingual English-speaking homes and attended local public schools in middle socioeconomic neighborhoods. Measures included morphological awareness, syntactic awareness, and verbal fluency, with all testing in English. These tasks differed in their need for executive control, a cognitive ability that is enhanced in bilingual children. Overall, the metalinguistic advantages reported in earlier research emerged gradually, with advantages for tasks requiring more executive control (grammaticality judgment) appearing later and some tasks improving but not exceeding performance of monolinguals (verbal fluency) even by fifth grade. These findings demonstrate the gradual emergence of changes in metalinguistic concepts associated with bilingualism over a period of about 5 years. Performance on English-language proficiency tasks was maintained by French immersion children throughout in spite of schooling being conducted in French.
The issue of “scale” is a key challenge for school reform, yet it remains undertheorized in the literature. Definitions of scale have traditionally restricted its scope, focusing on the expanding number of schools reached by a reform. Such definitions mask the complex challenges of reaching out broadly while simultaneously cultivating the depth of change necessary to support and sustain consequential change. This article draws on a review of theoretical and empirical literature on scale, relevant research on reform implementation, and original research to synthesize and articulate a more multidimensional conceptualization. I develop a conception of scale that has four interrelated dimensions: depth, sustainability, spread, and shift in reform ownership. I then suggest implications of this conceptualization for reform strategy and research design.
In ELT literature, the reader often finds the terms Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and immersion used interchangeably, even though there are important differences between them. These two labels usually appear as generic terms covering any kind of teaching in which an L2 is used to teach content. In this article, we attempt to unravel this ambiguity from the Spanish context, describing from a psycholinguistic and methodological point of view the aspects they share and, above all, their main differences. Although CLIL can be implemented in different foreign languages, the fact is that English is the language overwhelmingly used as a means of instruction in most European countries (Eurydice. 2006. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at School in Europe. Brussels: European Commission).
By failing to appropriately control for selection effects, most previous research has overestimated the effects of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) on the development of students' foreign language skills. Furthermore, the CLIL-effect on the content subject is still widely unknown. Therefore, the present study investigated skill development of 1806 German CLIL and non-CLIL eighth-graders in English and History controlling for a wide range of student, classroom and teacher characteristics. Results of multilevel modelling confirmed that CLIL-classrooms showed greater increases in English listening comprehension but not general English skills as measured by a C-test than non-CLIL-classrooms. In History, the increases in subject knowledge over one school year were comparable despite CLIL-students' larger amount of instruction (three instead of two hours per week). The results confirm previous, differential findings for English. For the content subject, they indicate that CLIL-classrooms need to invest substantially more time to achieve comparable learning outcomes.
The growing interest in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has resulted in enthusiasm in and active pursuit of improved methods of foreign/second-language (L2) teaching in Europe. However, the definition and scope of the term CLIL both internally, as used by CLIL advocates in Europe, and externally, as compared with immersion education in and outside Europe, indicate that the core characteristics of CLIL are understood in different ways with respect to: the balance between language and content instruction, the nature of the target languages involved, instructional goals, defining characteristics of student participants, and pedagogical approaches to integrating language and content instruction. We argue further that attempts to define CLIL by distinguishing it from immersion approaches to L2 education are often misguided. The aim of this article is to examine these ambiguities and to call for clarification of the definition of CLIL. Clarification is critical if CLIL is to evolve and improve systematically and if CLIL educators are to benefit from the experiences and knowledge acquired in other educational settings.
The purpose of this study was to enlist practitioners in language immersion programs in the identification and elaboration of issues and challenges in immersion language teaching. Through focus groups and extensive individual interviews, 6 elementary Spanish-language immersion teachers in 3 school settings (a suburban full-immersion school and 2 inner-city magnet programs—1 partial and 1 full immersion) served as informants. Five major themes emerged: the primacy of language, the balance between language and content, assessment, the spectrum of learners in immersion programs, and the sociopolitical context of immersion schooling. Within each of these themes, teachers described the particular challenges of immersion teaching and illuminated the complexity of immersion classrooms on a microlevel. In a complex setting where the learning of curricular content and second language acquisition are expected to develop concurrently, teachers are in a unique position to add to our knowledge of immersion schooling.
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