CLIL in Colombia: Challenges and Opportunities for its Implementation.

Abstract

CLIL “Content and Language Integrated Learning” is an approach that has been gaining momentum in applied linguistics within the last few years. Although at first its implementation might appear to be something simple, as there is a tendency to think that for the successful application of CLIL based lessons it is only necessary to impart classes in English, in fact, there is a series of elements that language teachers and scholars should be take into consideration before reducing such an innovative approach to that simplistic view. Hence, in this reflective article I address some of the challenge and opportunities that may arise when implementing this innovative metho to language teaching with an especial emphasis on the Colombian context. Within the context of this reflective article, firstly I present a general theorization of the CLIL approach. Secondly, I reflect on three of the challenges as well as on three the opportunities for the implementation of said approach in our national context. Finally, I present the conclusions.

Full text

No. 24
CLIL in Colombia:
Challenges and
Opportunities1
AICLE in Colombia: Desafíos y
Oportunidades
Jhon Eduardo Mosquera Pérez2
Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia,
Colombia
1 Received: December 26th, 2021 / Accepted: May 2nd 2022
2 jhon58745@hotmail.com
G E  L R J. ISSN -.
N.  (J - J, ). pp. -.

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Abstract
“Content and Language Integrated Learning” or “CLIL” as it is most commonly referred to, is an
innovative methodology that has been gaining interest in the last few years.Although at rst its
implementation might appear to be something simple, as there is a tendency to think that for
the successful application of CLIL based lessons it is only necessary to impart classes in English,
in fact, there is a series of elements that language teachers and scholars should consider before
reducing such an innovative approach to that simplistic view. In light of this, in this reective
article I address some of the challenges and opportunities that may arise when implementing
CLIL in Colombia. Firstly I present a general theorization of CLIL. Secondly, I reect on three
of the challenges as well as on three the opportunities for the implementation of said approach
in our national context. Finally, I present the conclusions and some possible research venues
revolving around this eld.
Key Words: CLIL in Colombia, Challenges, Education, Language Teaching, Opportunities.
Resumen
El “Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lenguas Extranjeras” o “AICLE”, como se le conoce
comúnmente, es una metodología innovadora que ha venido ganando interés en los últimos
años. Aunque en un principio su implementación puede parecer algo sencilla, ya que existe
una tendencia a pensar que para la aplicación exitosa de lecciones basadas en AICLE sólo es
necesario impartir clases en inglés, de hecho, hay una serie de elementos que los profesores y
profesores de idiomas deben considerar antes de reducir un enfoque tan innovador a una visión
simplista. En el presente artículo reflexivo analizo algunos de los desafíos y oportunidades que
pueden surgir al implementar AICLE en Colombia. En primer lugar presento una teorización
general de lo que es AICLE. En segundo lugar, reexiono sobre tres de los desafíos así como
sobre tres oportunidades para la implementación de dicho enfoque en nuestro contexto
nacional. Finalmente, presento las conclusiones y algunas posibles vías de investigación en
torno a este campo.
Palabras Clave: AICLE en Colombia, Educación, Enseñanza de Lenguas, Oportunidades,
Retos
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Resumo
A “Aprendizagem Integrada de Conteúdos e Línguas Estrangeiras” ou “AICL”, como é vulgarmente
conhecida, é uma metodologia inovadora que tem vindo a ganhar interesse nos últimos anos.
Embora a princípio sua implementação possa parecer um tanto simples, pois há uma tendência
de se pensar que para a aplicação bem-sucedida de aulas baseadas em AICL é necessário apenas
ministrar aulas em inglês, de fato, há uma série de elementos que professores e professores
das línguas deve considerar antes de reduzir uma abordagem tão inovadora para uma visão
simplista. Neste artigo reexivo analiso alguns dos desaos e oportunidades que podem surgir
ao implementar o AICL na Colômbia. Primeiramente, apresento uma teorização geral do que
é AICL. Em segundo lugar, reito sobre três dos desaos, bem como três oportunidades para a
implementação de tal abordagem em nosso contexto nacional. Por m, apresento as conclusões
e alguns possíveis caminhos de pesquisa em torno deste campo.
Palavras Chave: AICL na Colômbia, Desafíos, Educação, Ensino de línguas,
Oportunidades.
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Introduction
“Content and Language Integrated Learning”, or CLIL, as it is more commonly
referred to, is an innovative methodology that has been gaining traction in
applied linguistics and language teaching in the last few years. is has occurred
probably because of the potential it has for improving language while combining
it with subject knowledge. Although this methodology was originally designed for the
European context, because of its versatility and adaptability it soon spread to other
contexts, and thanks to this situation, multiple empirical and contextual articles have
emerged.
An analysis of scholarly literature revolving around CLIL in the international
spectrum makes evident that scholars’ interest towards this area of knowledge has
grown with no precedent. For example, Curtis, (2012); Lorenzo, (2007); Lorenzo et
al. (2009); McDougald and Pissarello (2020) have inquired into the potential of CLIL
for English language teaching and learning processes and established that although it
is vital to bear in mind the particularities of the context of which this methodology
is applied, overall, students who are exposed to this type of teaching show positive
results. is armation has been further supported by Costa and D’Angelo (2011) who
suggests that if well implemented, CLIL “represents an extremely eective approach”.
In the national scenario, CLIL has been gaining notoriety as well. Whereas in
previous years English in Colombia was taught following what authors such as
Kumaravadivelu (2003) and Reagan (2004) call “instrumentalizing” and “objectifying”
views respectively, nowadays educational institutions appear to be are more aware
of what the overall language teaching and learning process requires and now
methodologies as it is the case of CLIL are being implemented.
Even though the previous situation is something positive, it is not undeniable that
in Colombia there are some challenges that need to be considered when it comes to
the implementation of CLIL. e privilege of English over other languages (including
foreign and indigenous), the inconsistency between language policies, and the lack
of preparation in teacher education programs regarding CLIL are some of the most
recurrent aspects that cause diculties in the implementation of such a methodology.
Considering these elements, in the context of this article I center my attention on
analyzing the challenges that arise for the implementation of CLIL in Colombia.
However, beyond merely analyzing these factors, I would also like to discuss about the
possibilities and benets of applying CLIL in a context like Colombia, as my intention
through this reective article is to analyze both sides so as to illustrate not only the
negative but also the positive aspects derived from the implementation of the process
I have been referring to until now.
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Challenges for the Implementation of CLIL in Colombia
English is the most privileged language
When considering the possible challenges that may come when implementing
CLIL in Colombia, the rst aspect that comes to my mind is related to the privileged
position English has in this country.
It is not a secret that in Colombia English is the most privileged language aer
Spanish. Previous scholarly literature has supported this fact. Guerrero (2008)
and Mejia (2011) for example have established that even if other languages as it is
the case of French, German, to mention a few, oer excellent opportunities for the
educational scenario, English is the most privileged language because of the inuence
that countries from what Kachru (1992) regarded as the “inner circle” (eg. the United
States, England) have over Colombia. is inuence has not only positioned English
as the most “adequate” language to learn. Further than that, this action has contributed
to the spread of native speakerism ideologies and other neoliberal agendas including
“Americanization” and “Mcdonaldization”. As a result of these dynamics, the more
American/British you sound, the more procient speaker of the English language you
are considered.
In two critical discourse analysis (CDA) studies, Escobar (2013) and Valencia (2013)
rearmed this situation and concluded that in Colombia, English has contributed
to the “manufacture of consent for foreign intervention” and has also disseminated
“identity shaping discourses”. In short, it means that in our national territory, English
has acted with a twofold purpose: on the one hand, it has contributed to access to
international opportunities and globalization. is is evident. On the other hand, it
has fullled a type of “linguistic imperialism” (Canagarajah, 1999) and has gained
privilege over other languages which deserve equal importance and respect.
When considering all of these circumstances, it is understandable why the dominant
language for implementing CLIL in Colombia would be English. Nevertheless,
and as suggested by authors from the national panorama, it becomes necessary to
transgress this situation and begin to incorporate the utilization of other languages (as
I mentioned it above, foreign and indigenous) along with CLIL so that our students
have a richer experience when learning through this methodology.
Language Policies: decontextualized documents which do not acknowledge our
students’ realities
A second challenge that rises when fully considering the implementation of a
methodology like CLIL in Colombia, is that for many years national language policies
have disregarded our students’ realities. Following the perspective of Correa and Usma
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(2013), national linguistic policies have been designed under bureaucratic models,
which implies that individuals who do not belong to elite communities will not have
the same opportunities as individuals who do belong to those. It means that “It is not
the same to learn English in a cosmopolitan city like Bogotá as it is in the countryside,
or in a highly touristic town like Santa Fe de Antioquia as in a farming town like
Yarumal” (P. 236) because of course both contexts are dierent.
Let us consider for example the case of rural education in Colombia. If we as
educators have had the opportunity of engaging in rurality, we know rst hand that
most commonly, schools in these zones do not count on the necessary equipment
to properly develop a CLIL based class as computers, tablets, projectors, cd players
are scarce. erefore, to really promote the implementation of a methodology like
CLIL in Colombia (including of course urban and rural zones), it is fundamental to
stop designing decontextualized language policies where it seems that policy makers
and other stakeholders have been “sitting at dierent ends of the same table” (Correa
& Usma, 2013, p. 239) and acknowledge our schools and students’ contexts by
incorporating actors from all scenarios into the process of design of such documents.
Furthermore, and when doing such a task, applying “Ethnographic longitudinal
multisite case studies” as suggested by Correa and Usma (2013, p. 232) would be
excellent for students coming from all places as that approach could shed light on their
“real” reasons for acquiring a foreign language so as to have these motivations more
into account when designing new policies..
Lack of preparation regarding CLIL in teacher education programs
Language teacher education (LTE) programs are the place where prospective
teachers prepare them to work in the teaching scenario in their near future. Crandall
(2000) manifests that LTE constitutes the space where pre-service teachers´ contact
with learning and teaching methodologies shape their initial professional development
dimension along with their initial teaching repertoire as language instructors. is is
coherent bearing in mind that LTE represents the place where prospective teachers
have their rst educational experiences within and outside the university.
According to Freeman (1989) and Trent (2010) LTE programs contribute to the
development of teachers’ initial identities and practices. us, it is in this space where
teachers will shape the pedagogical practices they will implement in the future, when
they graduate and become in-service teachers. Possibly another challenge that appears
when considering the implementation of CLIL in Colombia is that in our national
context, in LTE programs prospective teachers are exposed to several courses and
areas of knowledge, but, it seems that during this time, there is no formal preparation
to teach content through language in the future. is fact has been further asserted
by Brown and Bradford (2017) who stress that language teachers are one of the main
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diculties when properly implementing CLIL because they may have not received
adequate preparation.
Hence, to contribute to the consolidation of CLIL as an area of interest and
knowledge in Colombia, LTE should incorporate in their curricula materials and
courses regarding this eld as prospective language teachers could feel interested in
teaching content through language in their professional milieu. Likewise, teacher
training programs revolving around CLIL should be developed in the context of our
country because even if prospective language teachers began to receive that type of
education at university level, a large number of language teachers (those who have
been in service for many years) would still need preparation revolving around CLIL.
e previous idea is asserted by Granados-Beltrán (2011) who holds that LTE as
well as development programs regarding CLIL should be designed and subsequently
implemented because “it is clear that for these eorts to be fruitful, they cannot be
seen as an isolated endeavor undertaken solely by languages departments” (p. 14).
erefore, initial teacher education as well as continuous professional development
programs, or teacher training, as it is also referred to, really need to address this
situation so that CLIL gains relevance at all educational levels in Colombia. e theme
regarding professional development will be better addressed in the following sections,
though.
Now I present the opportunities that may derive from the implementation of CLIl
in Colombia:
e Consolidation of a New Research Agenda
In a previous literature review I was able to establish that in Colombia there
have been some dominating categories when it comes to research in ELT. Teachers´
professional development (Buendia & Macias, 2019), pedagogical skills and teaching
approaches (Álvarez & Sánchez, 2005; Sierra, 2007), reective practices and research
skills (Castro-Gárces & Martínez-Granada, 2016; Clavijo et al., 2004) identities and
beliefs (Castañeda-Londoño, 2017; Torres-Rocha, 2017) and virtually mediated
teaching and learning environments (Galvis, 2011; Guerrero, 2012) appear to be the
most recurrent ones.
Other dominating categories I identied are related to teachers´ emotions
(Méndez-López, 2020; Méndez-López & Peña-Aguilar, 2013); English speaking
teacher´s perceptions about their non-native condition (Viáfara, 2016), teachers´ socio
cultural representations (Álvarez, 2009), EFL literacy teaching and learning (Torres &
Castañeda-Peña, 2016; Mora, 2016), gender based pedagogies (Castañeda-Peña, 2010,
Mojica & Castañeda-Londoño, 2017), critical discourse analysis on language policies
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(Guerrero, 2008) and more recently, professional development within postgraduate
education (Viáfara & Largo, 2018). However, it seems to be that despite the fact that
quite a few empirical and conceptual articles revolving around CLIL in Colombia
have been published (Mcdougald, 2015; Leal, 2015; Otalora, 2019), more research
regarding this area is being needed.
Properly implementing CLIL in Colombia may lead, therefore, to the consolidation
of a new research agenda that may help shed light on how CLIL is being implemented
in the country. Besides, promoting this action is necessary because it would also
gradually enhance the incorporation of content through English and would contribute
to develop a better understanding on how CLIL, if that is the case, is being applied
across dierent contexts in the national territory.
In short, promoting CLIL as a research agenda is extremely important and urgent
because previous scholarly literature on this area has come from private settings (e.g.
Universidad de la Sabana, Universidad Ponticia Bolivariana, among others) and it
appears that rural contexts and other spaces as it is the case of public schools and
universities have not carried out research studies regarding CLIL. us, successfully
implementing CLIL would not only contribute to the development of a new research
agenda. Beyond this, it would promote the development of studies to continuously
examine the advantages/disadvantages that CLIL has for our country.
A Shi of Paradigms: Towards A New Connotation of Bilingualism
Perhaps one of the most valuable opportunities for the application of CLIL
in Colombia is the potential it oers to challenge the wrong perceptions towards
bilingualism that exist in the country (as it was already suggested above). For instance,
Implementing CLIL with languages dierent to English would not only contribute to
the detachment of native speaker ideologies (Guerrero, 2008; Macias, 2010; Mejia,
2011; Viáfara, 2016). Beyond that, it would raise awareness among the population
about the importance other languages have for the cultural panorama of the world and
the overall country, as not only in the United States, England, Australia, or Canada;
what Kachru (1992) regarded as “inner circle countries” exist opportunities for
academic and professional preparation.
is aspect has been discussed by Escobar (2013); Valencia (2013) as both authors
argue that in Colombia we have been sold the idea that English equals success and
better opportunities in life in this globalized world; aligning with what professor
Mahboob (2011) denotes as a “gatekeeping” condition, that is, individuals who have
not access to high quality English education will not have the same opportunities
than those who can aord to pay for better conditions (Correa & Usma, 2013).
en, promoting the incorporation of other languages into the utilization of CLIL
(e.g. French, German, Russian, indigenous), would really contribute to the awareness
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raising process about the role of languages worldwide, and about the potential that
other territories (including our own) have to oer.
New Opportunities for Professional Development
At rst, professional development can be conceived as “a life-long process of
growth which involves collaborative and/or autonomous learning “(Crandall, 2000,
p. 36). is aligns with Cra´s (2000) ideas where he contends that professional
development refers to a set of experiences that educators go through to become more
professional within their eld. However, other authors such as Johnston (2009) and
Freeman (2004) have used the term professional development to be more specic and
have stressed that it refers to education that second language educators go through in
order to become better prepared in their role as teachers.
Even though various denitions of what professional development converge, it is
paramount to characterize the dierent types of professional development levels that
exist in the academic eld of English language teaching. For instance, Richter et al.
(2014) separate professional development between formal and informal opportunities
for learning. Regarding formal opportunities for learning, these authors hold that
“these are dened as structured learning environments with a specied curriculum,
such as graduate courses or mandated sta development” (Richter, et al., 2014, p. 117).
In contrast to this, informal opportunities for learning are seen as actions which do
not follow a specied curriculum. Freeman (1989) otherwise, separated the notion
of what training is from development. According to Freeman (1989, p. 39), teacher´s
training is “a strategy for direct intervention by the collaborator, to work on specic
aspects of the teacher’s teaching” while the main objective of teacher´s development is
to “generate change through increasing or shiing awareness” (Freeman, 1989, p. 39).
According to Crandall (2000) and Freeman (2013), there have been at least three
or four widening gyres within the eld of second language teachers’ professional
development. Crandall (2000) asserts that the rst shi that took place within language
teacher education (LTE) was related to the advance from “transmission, product-
oriented theories to constructivist, process-oriented theories of learning, teaching,
and teacher learning” (p. 34), through which learners became empowered and active
participants of their own learning processes.
e second shi highlighted the lack of inclusion of learners´ realities since it
appears to be that language teacher education programs have historically “failed to
prepare teachers for the realities of the classroom” where multiple everyday situations
were overlooked. As a result of these acknowledgment processes, the LTE eld
commenced to progressively incorporate teachers´ situated practices and cognition to
foster a higher level of appropriation of all contexts among educators.
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e third shi represented, according to Crandall (2000, p. 35) “a growing
recognition that teachers’ prior learning experiences (what Lortie [1975] refers to
as “the apprenticeship of observation”) play a powerful role in shaping their views
of eective teaching and learning and their teaching practices”. is aspect has been
especially supported by authors such as Borg (2004) and Freeman (1989) who have
held that teachers´ early passive learning experiences as pupils allow them to recognize
and shape their initial practices as future novice teachers. However, scholarly literature
has also evidenced that through constant exposure to real teaching world and through
constant reection upon their professional and pedagogical dimensions, educators
begin to detach from their inherently acquired practices/methodologies to more
elaborated and complex ones; moving from what Kumaravadivelu (2003) called
“teachers as passive technicians” to what he also regarded as “teachers as reective
practitioners” and “transformative intellectuals”.
And nally, the fourth shi constituted a growing concern for boosting teachers´
professional development through observation, inquiry, workshops, and continuing
programs, where collaborative initiatives have gained relevance.
e previous widening gyres, especially the last one, have been really important
for the eld because they have acknowledged that nowadays teachers’ continuous
professionalization is a process of paramount importance. However, it is also essential
to remark that not only formal processes gain importance in this regard. Adey (2007)
recommends the use of study groups where a number of individuals belonging to
the school community may discuss aspects related to policies, lesson planning and
students´ work. Ferrance (2000) proposes the implementation of action research
studies as a manner to identify school failures and to subsequently work towards
solving them, while Butcher (2002) advocates the use of mentoring.
Other authors including Callahan et al. (2001), Crandall (2000), Cosh (1999),
Day (2002), among others, have recommended the use of teacher´s reection logs,
journals, video-monitoring, audio-monitoring, portfolios, collaborative learning and
formative feedback as a complement to teacher´s professional development.
Bearing all the previous information in mind, CLIL represents the perfect
opportunity for the development of new professional development programs in
Colombia as many in-service and pre-service teachers are not fully acquainted with
this area of knowledge. Short and long CLIL specialized courses (Mcdougald, 2009;
2015); academic events, workshops, SIGS (special interest groups) are some of the
initiatives that could take place within the national territory as a manner to keep
raising awareness about the potential that CLIL had for our educational scenario.
Besides this, this action would also require the development of new curricula,
courses, and syllabi within the framework of LTE programs because these settings
represent the place where pre-service teachers would be initially exposed tha type of
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knowledge, as remarked by Freeman (1989) and Trent (2010) who maintain that LTE
represent the starting point of all language teachers.
Finally, I nd it worth mentioning that for CLIL based professional development
programs to properly work, these must be accessible to teachers from all communities,
as highlighted by Torres-Rincón and Cuesta-Medina (2019, p. 22) who arm that
“constant CLIL professional development opportunities need to be accessible to a
wider variety of teachers” as it seems that mostly intense or bilingual private settings
have had access to this type of experiences.
In another contribution, Granados-Beltrán (2011) suggests that LTE and
professional development programs regarding CLIL should be designed and
subsequently implemented because “it is clear that for these eorts to be fruitful, they
cannot be seen as an isolated endeavor undertaken solely by languages departments”
(p. 14). erefore, continuous professional development programs and initial teacher
education within the context of LTE really need to address this situation so that CLIL
gains relevance at all education levels in Colombia.
Conclusions
e rst conclusion is that although there are several challenges for the
implementation of CLIL in Colombia, there are also opportunities for its proper
appropriation. For instance, fostering the consolidation of a research agenda through
which many research initiatives would take place, as well as creating new professional
development opportunities for language teachers in general are some of the main
initiatives to happen if CLIL continues to gain notoriety in the Colombian context and
especially in language teaching.
Secondly, through this activity I was able to establish that even though CLIL is
a relatively new eld for the context of Colombia, there are already some research
initiatives that have been contributing to the consolidation of the eld. It is the case
for example of the initiatives carried out by Mcdougald (2009; 2015;); Montoya and
Salamanca (2017); Rodríguez-Bonces (2021); who have been inquiring into CLIL and
have found that this approach indeed oers advantages for context where English does
not hold the status of a second language. Hence, from my view, it becomes extremely
urgent to keep conducting research to keep fostering research studies in Colombia as
a manner to understand how CLIL develops in several contexts: be these urban, rural,
private, or public.
Finally, aer having written this article it is also important for me to mention that
CLIL is an approach that will continue informing not only my own research agenda
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but also my practices as a language teacher, as implementing this approach to teaching
in Colombia will surely continue posing new principles, practices, and pedagogical
techniques, but as teachers we must stay updated and take advantage of the potential
benets it may have for the overall eld of English language education and for our
students.
Possible Research Venues Regarding CLIL in Colombia
As suggested until now, although there have been some initiatives revolving around
teachers’ knowledge base and understandings concerning CLIL, it becomes important
to have more research initiatives in order to contribute to the consolidation of this area
nationally. Future research projects may examine for example the intersection between
CLIL and language teacher education, teacher’s identity, and materials and curriculum
design as a manner to have a wider understanding on how this approach has been
permeating these other areas of knowledge within the eld.
Additionally, future research projects may examine how the possible benets
or disadvantages that using CLIL with languages dierent to English may have on
students overall educational process, as there has been a tendency in Colombia to
associate CLIL with English, and other languages; be these indigenous or foreign, have
been le aside (Mejia, 2011).
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Author
Jhon Eduardo Mosquera Pérez holds a B.A in English language teaching and
an M.A in English language teaching, both from Universidad Surcolombiana.
Currently, he is a 4th semester student in the master´s degree in learning and teaching
processes at Universidad Ponticia Bolivariana and belongs to the research groups
“APRENAP” and LSLP (Literacies in Second Languages Project). His research interests
revolve around the areas of language assessment, language teacher identity, teacher’s
professional development, English as an international lingua franca, critical discourse
analysis, among others. He has been an active presenter at national and international
academic specialized events.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4027-3102
How to reference this article: Mosquera Pérez, J. E. (2022) CLIL in Colombia: Challenges and
Opportunities for its Implementation. GIST – Education and Learning Research Journal, 24.7-24.
https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.1347
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