A Blend of CLIL & IT

1. A Blend of CLIL & IT Denise Özdeniz The theoretical part is adapted from a talk by Zeynep Urkun Examples based on Beyond the Boundaries, Sabanci University

2. 2ndLanguage Acquisition & CLIL • “focus of the second language classroom should be on something meaningful, such as academic content, and that modification of the target language facilitates language acquisition and makes academic content accessible to second language learners.” (Crandall, 02)

3. Krashen (1982):a second language is most successfully acquired when the conditions are similar to those present infirst language acquisition. • the focus of instruction is on meaning rather than on form • the language input is at or just above the proficiency of the learner • there is sufficient opportunity to engage in meaningful use of that language in a relatively anxiety-free environment

4. The benefits of implementing CLIL • Natural language acquisition occurs in context (Grabe & Stoller, 1997; Met, 1991) • Language is best learned through active involvement with content (Jensen, Linda & Weighle, Sara Cushing, 1997) • Facts and skills taught in isolation need much more practice and rehearsal before they can be internalized or put into long term memory (Grabe & Stoller, 1997) • Not enough time to isolate the content and language (Met, 1991) • Second language acquisition enhanced by comprehensible input; however, comprehensible input alone does not suffice — students need form-focused content instruction (Grabe & Stoller, 1997; Met, 1991) • More sophisticated, complex language is best taught within a framework that focuses on complex and authentic content (Grabe & Stoller, 1997)

5. Language learning becomes more concrete rather than abstract (Genesee,1998) • Studying vocabulary in context definitely leads to more effective learning and remembrance. (Jensen, Linda & Weighle, Sara Cushing, 1997) • CBI lends itself to authentic, successful learning approaches — “cooperative learning, strategy use, extensive reading, all known to improve language abilities” or information gathering skills, organizing skills, analyzing skills and generating skills (Grabe & Stoller, 1997) • More opportunities to use the content knowledge and bring expertise to class (Grabe & Stoller, 1997)

6. Putting Theory into Practice • Students focus on an academic subject e.g. The Environment, Marketing Skills, Art History • They work in groups to identify key areas of knowledge and key casual relationships between key concepts e.g. Between patriarchy & corporate glass ceilings • Students carry out research to increase their knowledge base • They store (Cornell notes )& share this information using wikis, blogs, think, pair, share routines.

7. Focusing on Language • Consciousness raising activities help students notice and highlight the vocabulary, rhetorical patterns and discourse patterns common to the academic field. E.g. Medicine & health Lexical area : body parts, bodily functions, Discourse pattern: scientific process, problem -solution

8. Worksheets from CLIL Classrooms • Writing a Problem-Solution Text on the Common Cold • Writing a Problem-Solution Text on the Common Cold, ANSWER KEY • Dicto-composition - The Nocebo Effect

9. A Six-Ts Approach by, FredrickaStoller & William Grabbe 1. Themes 2. Texts 3. Topics 4. Threads 5. Tasks 6. Transitions

10. 1.THEMES :The central ideas organizing key curricular units e.g. Sociology & gender stratification • Selected by considering • student needs – in faculty/examinations • institutional expectations – mission & goals • resources available – course books, computers • teacher abilities and interests • Timing – hours available per theme • “healthy” tension

11. 2.TEXTS Written/aural content resources providingstudentswithinformationbelonging to thetheme Importantcriteriafortextselection: • Studentinterest • Organised around target discourse patterns • Contains target rhetorical patterns and lexis • Different perspective on key concepts • Highlights relationshipsbetween concepts

12. 3.TOPICS :the subunits of content - explore more specific aspects of the theme • E.g. History subunits: • How history is documented • Primary and secondary historical sources • The distortion of historical facts to meet present or past ideologies • Psychological research on the accuracy of memoryand its impact on primary sources

13. 4.THREADS:connectionsbetween themes which create greater curricular coherence • May be indirectly tied to the central idea of each theme but more abstract (responsibility, ethics, contrasts, power, etc) which aim to provide natural links between themes • E.g. Education Unit- the reorganization of education away from memorization towards research skills & establishing casual relationships • History Unit- How memorization of facts has made history unpopular & the need for research based work on local history

14. Threads:increase curricular coherence& encourage recycling Threads can be mind mapped & written on other graphic organizers e.g. Comparison, cause effect, problem solution Brought out through writing prompts which require students to quote from texts over a number of units. Glogsters enhance the sharing of such links

15. 5.TASKS activities & techniques focusing on content, language & strategy instruction • Effective tasks • Challenge the students linguistically and content wise • Require students to use several modes of working e.g. Note taking from a lecture, prioritizing key points through negotiation with others, writing a summary and retelling the summary to a partner. Recording a discussion of the summaries on a mobile phone to be listened to 24 hours later at a recycling stage Creating a movie maker to show concepts, explanation and examples

16. 6.TRANSITIONS :explicit links providing coherence across topics in a theme unit and across tasks within topics • Activities to highlight transitions • KWL charts( Know, want to know, have learned) • Graphic organizers e.g. Venn diagrams of what is similar about 2 topics, tasks, spider grams, fishbone grams showing casual relationships • Topic/ lexical set chains within texts or recorded material – chains co-authored on a wiki • Voicethread recordings to show connections

17. References Brinton, DonnaM. & Snow, Marguerite Ann, Content-Based Second Language Instruction. Newbury House, 1989 Content-based Instruction, Retrieved from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/content.shtml on November11, 2003 Grabe, W., & Stoller, F.L. (1997). A Six-T’s Approach to Content-Based Instruction. In Snow, M.A. & Brinton, D.M. (Eds.). The Content-Based Classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and content (pp. 78-94). White Plains, NY: Longman. Jensen, Linda & Weighle, Sara Cushing, in Snow, M.A. & Brinton, D.M. (Eds.). The Content-Based Classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and content (pp. 201-211). Kasper, Loretta F.& et al. (2000). Content-Based College ESL Instruction, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon. Smith, Kari (2004) Current Issues in Performance Assessment, in IATEFL’s Testing, Evaluation & Assessment SIG Newsletter Turner, Jean (1997) Creating Content-based Language Tests: Guidelines for Teachers, in Snow, M.A. & Brinton, D.M. (Eds.). The Content-Based Classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and content (pp. 187-199). White Plains, NY: Longman. Why Content-Based Instruction? Retrieved from http://carla.acad.umn.edu/CBI.html, on December, 5, 2003