CLIL in languages other than English –
Successful transitions across educational stages

Overview

Concepts and
background

Portfolio and formative assessment

CLIL in LOTE
How to define CLIL and LOTE?

Transitions
How to distinguish between vertical and horizontal transitions?

Defining objectives
Why focus on transitions in CLIL LOTE?

Investigating the field
The CLIL LOTE study

Ensuring coherence
The guiding principles for CLIL

Transitions

All learners experience different transitions on their educational path. [...] In all forms of transitions, the question of continuity or discontinuity arises at the interfaces.

The project distinguishes between vertical transitions (across educational stages) and horizontal transitions (between languages and between languages and subjects) Beacco et al. (2016).
A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training. The Language Dimension in All Subjects, Council of Europe.

See also the distinction between vertical and horizontal coherence in Beacco et al. (2016). Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education. Council of Europe, p. 100. . CLIL can in itself be represented as a transition between language and content.

The resources focus on CLIL LOTE transitions vertically:

from primary (ISCED 1) to lower secondary education (ISCED 2)
from lower secondary to upper secondary education (ISCED 3)
from secondary to tertiary education (ISCED 5-7).

In some resources pre-primary education (ISCED 0) is included.

The resources address CLIL LOTE transitions horizontally, proposing strategies for teaching that take account of languages across the different disciplines at a given educational stage. This horizontal transition is at the heart of the CLIL approach. Furthermore, instead of teaching the target language in isolation, the proposed materials promote horizontal transitions by the means of a pluralistic approach to languages in CLIL (i.e. Content and Languages Integrated Learning, CLsIL) offering curricula and teaching/learning activities involving more than one language, including home languages. In addition, some outputs also take the transition from formal to non-formal contexts into account.

Based on Candelier et al’s (2012) definition for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures, the project proposes the following definition for Content and Languages Integrated Learning (CLsIL) The concept of Content and Languages Integrated Learning (CLsIL) has been introduced by Candelier et al. in the “Discovery Module” of the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA/CARAP).: The term ‘Content and Languages Integrated Learning (CLsIL)’ refers to didactic approaches that use teaching/learning activities involving several (i.e. more than one) languages/varieties of languages in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), instead of dealing with the target language in isolation. In addition, some outputs also take the transition from formal to non-formal contexts into account See for other studies on CLIL in a plurilingual perspective:
Daryai-Hansen et al. (2016), Gearon & Cross (2020).
Daryai-Hansen, P., Barfod, S., & Schwarz, L. (2016). ”A Call for (Trans)languaging: The Language Profiles at Roskilde University”. In: Mazak, C. M. & Carrol, K. S. (eds.), Translanguaging Practices in Higher Education: Beyond Monolingual Ideologies. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism series. Multilingual Matters, 29-49. Gearon & Cross (2020).
“Plurilingualism in the Content and Language Integrated Classroom. Students’ Languages as Resources in the CLIL Context. In: Kim Bower et al. (eds) 2020 Curriculum Integrated Language Teaching. CLIL in Practice, Cambridge University Press.

The resources proposed on this website include recommendations to support CLIL in languages other than English across educational stages. These recommendations are based on previous researchTo cite three examples:
Beacco et al. (2016) A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training. The Language Dimension in All Subjects, Council of Europe;

Beacco et al. (2016). Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education. Council of Europe;

Chambers, G.N. (2020) ‘What pupils say about Transitions (KS2-3) and What This Might Mean for CLIL’. In: Kim Bower et al. 2020 Curriculum Integrated Language Teaching. CLIL in Practice, Cambridge University Press. and results of the CLIL LOTE study carried out across ECML member states in 2021.

The list of recommendations is not exhaustive but it covers key areas identified in the CLIL LOTE study. According to the study, CLIL LOTE transitions can be supported at four levels:

national/regional education authorities (macro level): through guidelines in the curriculum and teacher education
institutions, e.g. schools, universities (meso level): through collaboration between institutions of different educational levels
classes/groups/teachers (micro level): through collaboration between teachers of different educational levels and teaching materials
learners as agents (nano level)
See for the nano level: Chambers (2020).

Gary N. Chambers (2020). What Pupils Say about Transition (KS2–3) and What This Might Mean for CLIL. In: K. Bower et al. Curriculum Integrated Language Teaching. CLIL in Practice. Cambridge University Press, p. 63-92.
: through collaboration between students of different educational levels

The recommendations clearly indicate the overall objective of CLIL LOTE transitions: the development of learners’ competences for life and work.

The resource website is structured according to the five thematic areas of the recommendations relating to different target groups concerned:

Curriculum – for curriculum designers and decision-makers

Teacher education – for teacher educators and decision-makers

Collaboration between institutions, teachers and/or students of different educational levels – for teachers and head of schools

Teaching materials – for teachers and teaching material designers

Portfolios and formative assessment – for teachers and teaching material designers

	Support transitions in CLIL through

the national/ regional level (macro level)	institutions, e.g. schools, universities (meso level)	classes/ groups/ teachers (micro level)	learners as agents (nano level)

specific guidelines in the curriculum	collaboration between institutions of different educational levels	collaboration between teachers of different educational levels	collaboration between students of different educational levels
initial and in-service teacher education		teaching materials where transitions are taken into account	portfolios that follow the learner across educational stages
For the development of competences for life and work