Key Issues

In your context, which model for CLIL do you use?

Who is involved in the teaching and the learning?

Who is involved in the planning?

What are the desired learning outcomes?

How can we as teachers account for the quality of the learning experience?

-I usually use the model of Subject topic/syllabus adapted for teaching in the target language
(Biology and Geology in Englinsh in my case). We explore the subject from different perspectives,
integrating different approaching, trying, in this way to engage the all the students. Despite we have
some advice and recommendations from language teachers as well.

-The teacher is the main role involved in teaching, however in some tasks the students interact in
the way they teach each other, everyone participates in the process of learning and teaching. As well
as the teacher learns from this process, trying to improve it continuously.

- The planning is done by the subject teacher, supported by other teachers ideas as well as the
language teacher.

-The desired learning outcomes are always reaching the aims and objectives planned beforehand,
which are based on the contents of the subject, in last term we have the desire for the student to
learn the language, as a natural process.

-As teachers we should plan the classes properly, using an encouraging methodology, with
integrated content tailored to the group we are teaching. The best way to evaluate our teaching
would be through LOCIT, as well as through the students test about their learning process and
teacher. Then maybe involving professional observers that may advise us how to improve.

Key Issues

Define the teaching aims and objectives of your topic.

What are the learning outcomes?

What processes did you have to go through to identify these?

How easy is this to do? What are they issues?

AIMS:

To identify the different planets of the Solar System, their main differences. To think about why
there is life in the Earth and what are the possibilities of finding life in other planets. To enhance
critical thinking.
Teaching objectives:

Know the sequence of planets in the Solar System.

Identify the main features present in each planet, such as type of atmosphere, rings, type of
rotation.

Identify the Earth in the Solar System.

Know the existence of other celestial bodies.

Study the characteristic that make the Earth a planet with life.

Outcomes: At the end of the lesson the students will be able to:

Understand the relationship between the planets of the Solar System.

Differentiate features of each planet, such as atmosphere or rotation.

Research about the current investigation of these features of the planets by NASA.

Understand and think about the Earth is as special planet in which there is life, and the possibility of
finding life in other planets. Also discuss it in class.

-To identify this first I have identified the contents, and with that foundation I have moved to check
which activities would allow the students to reach those contents, so I have related contents and
activities to reach my objectives. Also I have planned “normal level” outcomes and some “high level”
outcome, in the way that they can challenge the students.

-It has not been an easy task, because, this planning takes time, depends on the type of students
group that you have, and also it depends on the topic.

Culture
Content -Research of International Space Station
-Planets and their features (intercultural work)
-Celestial bodies -NASA and ESA
-Earth and life Open the world of space, all in English.
International undersating.

The Solar System

Communication
-Illustration with Label and Captions
-Teacher's speech
-Specific vocabulary: revolution, rotation, tilt,
etc
-Book reading and tasks
Cognition
Questions with Scaffolding:Eg. Which planets
are closer to the Earth? Are they mainly
made of rock or gas? etc
Specific tasks.
Challenges, research, current news, NASA
Key issues

Take a content text and analyse it for the language of learning, how do you prioritise language
needs? What tasks will you design to learn and remember the new language? Stage 1.

Now add the language for learning consider classroom language and tasks associated with the text
eg. If you want the students to discuss issues or engage in group work, how can they do this ell in a
different language?

Try to apply Bloom’s Taxonomy to the tasks. Which skills are appropriate to develop given the
context and the content? What about cultural awareness?

Reflect on how differently you might have used the text in either a language lesson or a mother
tongue subject lesson.

1. First in a new text I prioritise vocabulary, and definitions, we need to be sure that the text and
new words are known, otherwise the process is disrupted. First tasks are to carry on a short
discussion with the students trying to understand which is the level of knowledge in the new
vocabulary, if it is short, we do a flash card game, in which each student choose a word and they
have to define them, the can cooperate each other, in this way the communication and learning is
cooperative.

2. For scaffolding this task, what I do is provide them a common questions and expression related to
the unit they are studying, and they have to use these to ask their classmates, somehow to ask
doubts to the teacher. It is a process of continuous learning and communication.

3. I use tasks related to Bloom’s taxonomy. Example>

REMEBERING: List the planet of the Solar System, from the nearest to the Sun to the farthest.

APPLYING:Compare the Mars and Earths atmosphere, Which of them is more dense and why?

ANALYSING AND EVALUATING: Explain and comment giving your own opinion (logic opinion) about
the next affirmation: “It is possible the existence of life in other planets”.

KEY ISSUES

What does cognitively demanding really mean?

What does linguistically accessible mean?

How can we make materials linguistically accessible especially when

the concepts are difficult?

Use the matrix to plot a set of worksheets, how can these be

improved?

Which quadrants are desirable and which are not?

1. It means to build the knowledge from previous knowledge, but challenging the student, in the way
the hook to the subject and don’t get bored. Eg. Learning by discovering.
2. Teaching in the way the understand almost everything and they can follow the class, at least
scaffold the linguistic demands.

3. Scaffolding, simplifying some definitions and making them more accessible to the student,
sometimes giving them clues and support in this typical scientific words.

4 and 5. The most desirable quadrant would be 3, learning should be smooth and challenging in that
quadrant, however depending on the group of students we could move to 4.

The 3 As tools

Analyse, can help us to plan the language needed for the CLIL lesson, specific vocabulary and
expressions.

Add, teaching strategies about talking, reading or skimming a text can be very useful for students.

Apply. Tasks correctly applied will allow the student to improve and grow in the ladder of learning.

LOCIT

KEY ISSUES

Discuss how LOCIT might work in your school

Design and observation schedule for CLIL

Agree on the format as a group whilst ensuring that there is flexibility for individual an paired
use

Plan a LOCIT programme with a colleague

At my School LOCIT is still not totally implemented, however we meet each week to share ideas and
problems, taking advice from language teachers.

Observation each evaluation, each 3 months, with results after each observation and measures to
take.