On board CLIL to outer space : basic Astronomy CLIL lessons in the lower secondary EFL classroom

1. On board CLIL to outer space: basic Astronomy CLIL lessons in the lower secondary EFL classroom KonstantinaZavalari , EFL Teacher (MEd – Applied Linguistics (OU)) GymnasioLoutrakiou, Korinthia, Greece SlovakEdu - Bratislava , 1 December 2016

2. CLIL equally respects Content and Language in an intertwined relationship

3. CLIL relates to bilingual education, where students of the dominant language of the country or the community are immersed into a second or additional language (Hall et al. 2011)

4. The European dimension of CLIL links it to : plurilingualism pluriculturalism acknowledging that bilingualism is not the case in the present-day Europe. Europe is multilingual.

5. Plurilingualism goes beyond multilingualism . It does not simply have to do with one’s ability to use more than one languages. It views language as a social product, born in social interaction, and plurilinguals can act, react and interact in different sociolinguilistic environments, making use of a series of sociolinguistic skills. ( Costeet al. 2009)

6. Pluriculturalism goes beyond multiculturalism It relates to an individual’s socio-cultural skills, which allow them to act and interact in and across different cultural environments, making those linguistic and cultural choices towards effective communication . (Costeet al. 2009)

7. Plurilingualism/Pluriculturalism vs. Multilingualism/Multiculturalism To my understanding, whereas multilingualism/ multiculturalism can be viewed as a situation, a condition, plurilingualism / pluriculturalismcan be viewed as a (social) skill, which equips individuals with the necessary tools to perform effectively in complex social environments.

8. Teaching a CLIL class: a threefold sociolinguistic model

9. The three theoretical perspectives are aligned with the principles of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism

10. The three theoretical perspectives are interrelated

11. Sociocultural theory The general concept of the famous Vygotskian theory is that : ‘human activities take place in social contexts, are mediated by language and other symbol systems, and can be best understood when investigated in their historical development’ (John-Steiner and Mahn, 1996, p. 191)

12. Vygotsky claimed that: individual and social processes are interdependent development is the ‘transformation of socially shared activities into internalized processes’ (John-Steiner and Mahn , 1996 p. 192) individuals rely on the transmitted experiences of the others to develop mentally. Hence, social interaction is a key aspect to mental development semiotic systems(e.g. numbers, works of art , pictures, signs, etc) – one of which is language– are central means to mental development and the internalization of knowledge internalisationis a mental process intertwined with social , historical cultural and material processes (John-Steiner and Mahn,1996) learning occurs in the zone that covers the area between the level of an individual’s actual development, where they can independently manage knowledge, and the level of one’s potential development, where knowledge is achieved with the aid of a more knowledgeable person (Zone of Proximal Development)

13. Systemic Functional Grammar M.A.K Halliday recognizes language as a system of meanings. Language usage , at any level and in any context, is a process towards meaning construction. For Systemic Functional Linguistics ‘a language consists of a set of systems, which offers the speaker (or writer ) an unlimited choice of ways of creating meaning’ (Bloor and Bloor, 2004, p. 3) Language choices depend on the context and the purpose of communication, and interlocutors partly make their language choices consciously (acknowledging the context) and partly without reflection (as speakers of a language). This process is known as the meaning potential of the language. (Bloor and Bloor, 2004)

14. Systemic: language is made of different systems (e.g. the system of voice [active/passive], the system of numbers, the system of polarity [positive vs. negative], the system of person) Functional : language serves different communicative functions ( e.g. the function of greeting, joking, reprimanding, etc) Interlocutors are offered a variety of choices within their linguistic system to serve a function Functions can be realized both/either grammatically and/or intonationally

15. Metafunctions Interpersonal metafunction:language allows us to get involved ‘in communicative acts with other people, to take on roles and to express and understand feelings, attitudes and judgements’ (Bloor and Bloor, 2004, p.13 Ideational metafunction: ‘language is used to organise, understand and represent our perception of the world and of our own consciousness’ (Bloor and Bloor, 2004, p. 13) Textual metafunction: language connects the content of a text both within it and to other linguistic events

16. Grammar of Visual Design Central concept: visual structures, alike linguistic structures, directly relate to expressions and interpretations of experience, as well as aspects of social interaction (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006) Meanings are culture-dependent. The way different cultures choose to express meanings, visually and/or verbally, is historically specific. Linguistic grammar: ‘an inventory of elements and rules underlying culture-specific forms of verbal communication’ (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006, p. 3) Visual grammar: ‘a quite general grammar of contemporary visual design in ‘Western’ cultures, an account of the explicit and implicit knowledge and practices around a resource, consisting of the elements and rules underlying a culture-specific form of visual communication’ (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006, p. 3)

17. Visual semiotics Pictures are signs and belong to the variety of signs available for/to communication and knowledge internalization, as Vygotsky stressed. Signs are representations of objects or entities, physical or abstract, through which the sign-makers express a complex interest, rooted to their cultural, historic, social and psychological history. Moreover, sign-makers make those representational choices which the specific context allows them to. (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006). Signs express meaningsand their production process presupposes an interdependent relationship between their form and the meaning they are to convey.

18. SFG Metafunctions in Visual Design Pictures (visual design) are a semiotic mode. Hence, they can : serve the ideational metafunction → they are representations of the world around us and inside us. They represent our social, cultural and historic knowledge. serve the interpersonal metafunction→ they enact social interactions and relations serve the textual metafunction → they are ‘texts’, whose elements interrelate and at the same time they relate to their relevant environment

19. The CLIL class in the EFL class: an example from Greece The CLIL methodology was selected as an experimental , supplementary tool within the mainstream , lower secondary EFL class My students range from A1 to B1+ in the CEFR scale and are 13-15-year-olds. CLIL is taught for 3-4 teaching hours per month, out of the 8 teaching hours available for EFL teaching from the curriculum per month (2 per week) CLIL is not officially taught in the Greek compulsory education; it is rather non-existent, and only few teachers apply it in their EFL teaching as a supplementary tool Since there is no teaching material available to the students, I have got involved into designing and producing my own teaching material, following the principles of the threefold scientific model explained above

20. Teaching Astronomy in the EFL class: a CLIL paradigm Astronomy is fascinating, attractive and motivating. Astronomy is part of the curriculum, maybe not as such, but as part of the Physics class Students love anything that has to do with outer space and are curious to learn more. They are also attracted by the unknown (the affective factor) There is a considerable amount of social knowledge about Astronomy, which has been stored and integrated into students’ prior knowledge tank and can be stimulated quite easily There is much useful language to be taught in an Astronomy class, which is not strictly scientific (like the language in Maths, for example), but shares bonds with many other school subjects and can be used in many different social domains

21. Astronomy and Mythology My CLIL paradigm does not only teach Astronomy. It integrates the cultural background of it, Mythology. Therefore, science and legends are intertwined Mythology is the pure cultural aspect of my CLIL teaching approach ( the fourth C in Coyle’s 4Cs CLIL Framework – Culture) The names of the celestial objects and the legends behind them are investigated in an effort my students to see and understand the development of human thinking towards knowledge and meaning Science is seen as a social process, which starts with the individual’s questions about nature and how these questions are investigated and negotiated in the social environment

22. A lesson plan • My CLIL lesson starts with the presentation and negotiation of pictures, relevant to the chapter taught. Therefore, if Mars is to be taught, we start with talking about it, analyzing pictures of the planet. Pictures are the input and our vehicle towards realizing facts about the object. Pictures can tell us several different things about Mars, checking their foreground and background information, their colour, the position of the objects in it, the possible accompanying text. Let’s see how it works below.

23. Mars

24. Mars Let’s talk about the surface of Mars. What colour is it ? What other colours can you see? Why is Mars red? Can you give it a nickname? Now let’s check the ground on Mars. What does it look like? Is it red? Are there any plants, trees or flowers ? Is there any other sign of life? Let’s study the texts on the pictures. Which new facts about Mars can you find in these texts? Did you know any of them? Let’s add some captions to the pictures on the right. Study the pictures again and decide what you can tell the class about Mars.

25. Mars exploration

26. Mars exploration Study the pictures and prepare your presentation about Mars exploration. Here are some key words : satellite station calendar camera rover samples uniforms

27. A bit of ‘Curiosity’- What’s this?

28. How did ‘Curiosity’ land on Mars? Watch first, then discuss ! [Tip: keep vocabulary notes!!]

29. A journey to the centre of Mars

30. Reading can be multimodal Pictures can be a multimodal genre. They can incorporate graphics, charts, short reading texts. Therefore, they can be a comprehensive source of information and a great input in teaching language. Students can study the information about Mars shown on the pictures and this way they can add information and knowledge in a scaffolding manner: they have already used their stored knowledge about the planets and the data the pictures provided them with to initiate a talk about Mars at the beginning of the lesson. Now they have the opportunity to address pictures accompanied by small scientific texts and develop their vocabulary, grammar and syntax. The teacher is there to assist this process and guide the students through the lexicogrammatical and texture features of the picture genre.

31. It is good to read and write As the CLIL lesson develops, students can be provided with different reading sources about the chapter taught. My concern is that the students should start reading texts that match their level of language competence – so the texts can be adapted - , and they may be presented with authentic material which can be a little more demanding linguistically, but not too lengthy. The choice of the reading material always depends on the students’ language level. When students have become familiar with the proper vocabulary, grammatical elements and the texture of the scientific passages, they can start producing their own writing.

32. Mythology What does Mythology have to do with Astronomy? What do legends and myths have to do with science? To my view, legends and myths are not only entertaining tales. They incorporate people’s effort a) to explain the natural world around them, when no scientific means are provided b) to give way to their religious speculations, their attempt to make ‘the divine’ a part of their everyday practice c) to challenge and develop the human thought, during a process of social negotiation. Therefore, to my understanding, there is a lot of social truth and interaction within and behind a legend and there are also important pieces of the fundamentals of social history in them. Why do planets and other celestial bodies have the names of mythological gods and other entities ? This is the crucial question which persuaded me that Mythology could be a very interesting part of teaching Astronomy, a window to a magnificent world of popular legends before science and an amazing field of inter-cultural dialogue .

33. Mars, the god of war Ares in Greek, Mars in English: in Greek we use the Greek name of the mythological god of war (Ares) to name the planet. In English, the Latin name (Mars) is used. What about your language ? Who is Mars /Ares ? A whole debate and negotiation start, based on students prior knowledge. We can talk about the mythological god bringing information from the Greek mythology, and then ask the students to look for information about the god in the Roman mythology and what other mythologies say about their god of war. That way we initiate an inter-cultural dialogue, based on what students have to say from their own knowledge or research.

34. Picture discussion: similarities and differences Classical representations of Mars Modern representations of Mars

35. Raising cultural awareness: an oath to Ares O, mighty Ares, in you we trust, to you we bow. You are our commander, you are our lord, we leave our destiny in your hands. Our body and soul are yours, we do not have a father other than you. To your legs we rest our weapons, the shield, the bow, the spear, the sword. Bless us, proud god .

36. More on cultural awareness: weapons across time and culture

37. Mythology reading It is important that students get involved in reading, form various sources, about Mars in Mythology. Reading can involve both legends of Mars from different cultures and pragmatic information about the god or other gods of war in other cultures. Reading exercises can include making a family tree, creating a mind map, filling in a chart, drawing a picture, filling in gaps in sentences, answer comprehension questions. Students can also be challenged to make their own presentation about Mars in class, using pictures as their aid or starting a question/answer game with their peers.

38. Mythology writing In Mythology texts are basically of two (02) kinds : narratives and reports. These two are of the genres analyzed in SFG. Narratives and reports have important differences as far as grammatical and texture choices are concerned (e.g., past tenses for narratives, present tenses in reports, more passive voice in reports, more active voice in narratives, time development is important in narratives, procedure development is important in reports, etc). Familiarizing students with the principles of these two genres can give them a safe platform to produce their own writing. Studying reading passages of either genre and guiding the students through their development, we can provide them with as many tools as possible for them to write successfully. It is not an easy task, but it is worth the effort.

39. Conclusions Teaching CLIL has been a rewarding and thrilling experience. Students, at their majority, love it, as it is an alternative way of teaching EFL and they feel satisfied because they can use the English language more and more effectively. Moreover, it teaches them a fascinating subject and they seem to have many things to contribute. Teaching CLIL using the threefold linguistic model that I have analyzed is extremely challenging. It requires lots of theoretical studying and a constant investigation on how theory can be put in practice. This does not only have to do with the preparation and organization of the teaching material, but also with the way the whole lesson should be organized.

40. I hope you have found this presentation interesting and thought-provoking I would be glad to answer any of your questions or accept your remarks at the following email : d.zavalari@yahoo.gr It has really been my honour THANKS FOR WATCHING