Questions to Oriol Pallarés

CLIL questions:

1-Our level of English is very low if we compare it with the rest of Europe. What proposals
can help the children to improve their English level?

Well, CLIL is definetely an answer to this question, giving the oportunity to our students to be
exposed to the language more than 3 hours a week, so CLIL can be a help to improve the level of
English of Catalan students.

2- Who invented this procedure of knowledge?

Well, CLIL is not a metodology, CLIL is basicaly teaching a class using another language, and that
is not a metodology, that is simply teaching that class using, in this case, English. What happens
here is when you teach a class in a foreign language, it becomes a little more difficult for the
students, specially for the students here because they have a low level of English and so, because is
more difficult, teachers have to use certain strategies to help the students, is not a metodology, it's a
combination of strategies that teachers will use to help the students be in that class, which is in
another language, and the teachers will use certain strategies depending on the students they have,
depending on the school, etc. So, if you ask me who invented this, I don't know, because this is an
old thing. It's true that when in Europe, a few years ago, they started teaching English, basicaly, in
some countries, because they though English was important, and they called it CLIL.It started in
Finland I think, in the 90', but I think it's older.

3-What was the reception of the schools and teachers? Did they trusted in this project from
the beginning, or it was difficult?

Teachers were offered the possibility to do CLIL to an innovation program, and usually, what
happens is that only the teachers who want to improve their teaching went for this type of program,
so the reception was very good, but only those teachers that always trusted in improving their
teaching. A lot of teachers right now, are using CLIL programs in a lot of schools and other teachers
don't know what is CLIL yet, they don't even know that exists.

4-Do you think the children and teenagers can learn more about science if they do the class
using CLIL?

When you do a class in your own language, you learn a lot, that's for sure, or maybe not, I don't
know but you can learn a lot. When you do it in a foreign language 2 things can happen: if the
teacher is not aware that the students need help, the students will probably feel lost they won't feel
safe in that environment and therefore they will probably not learn anything, or very little because it
will be too difficult for them. On the other hand, if the teacher is aware and the teacher provides the
students with a help, and students succeed, they follow the teacher, they do the tasks etc, then, if
they succeed, if the problem is not they can't follow, they will be OK in that classroom, but, they'll
be using a foreign language. The answer to this question is that using a language that is not your
own language is a bigger effort, and bigger efforts make the people think, and thinking, makes the
people learn.
6-Which aspects are improved using CLIL in classes?

What I have observed in my teaching when I was teaching in a CLIL classroom is that because
CLIL is something difficult, it's about adapting things, it's about deciding which activities will work
and which activities won't, so because CLIL makes teachers think a little more on planing what they
are going to do in class, one of the aspects that I have seen in CLIL improves a lot is, that it forces
teachers to reflect on what they do in class, it makes them think what to do and why and how and it
makes them be very careful when they prepare the activities, when they select the material, and so
on. CLIL made me improve as a teacher, because it made me be more aware of what is going on in
the classroom.
On students the improvement are for example the communicative competence, it makes you be
communicative, more confident and also, in the CLIL class, students has to help each other a lot, so
they improve their autonomy, they have to work in team, so they cooperate, and thinking skills are
improved.

7-What level of English must have a teacher that wants make CLIL in his/her classes?

Probably enough to be able to communicate, what that means in terms of European levels or official
level, I would say that a teacher who is able to have a conversation in English, the problem is not
the terminology, like in science, they problem is being able to manage the class, being able to talk to
the students not about one word but about a process or a problem or explaining things, or being able
to discuss with the students, being able to ask questions. I would say that a teacher who wants to do
CLIL has to be able to speak English in a conversation about a general topic, and have enough
fluency to ask questions. I have seen that the Department of Education is asking for a B2 level
which is equivalent to level 5 of EOI, this will allow teachers to teach everything they want in the
CLIL classroom.

8-Why do you’d recommend CLIL to an school or high-school? Why the Education

Department has decided promote CLIL in the classes?

It increases the motivation of students and those students who don't like languages have an
opportunity to learn languages without being aware that they are learning languages because CLIL
is using languages in a natural way, with a real purpose. So I would recommend it because we can
reach all types of students, not only those students who like English, by using CLIL we reach a
wider range of students; and also I would recommend CLIL because it forces change, it makes
students think and reflect, and makes teachers think, and reflect, and change, and improve.
Personal questions:

1-As a teacher, what was your experience using CLIL in classes?

I started 15 years ago teaching in a school when they had a bilingual program, and it was called
“bilingual education”. Now, when I look back, I see some similarities and some differences. It was
not CLIL, because CLIL is teaching a class using English in any school, and it's for everyone, for
those students who speak English and for those who don't. When I taught 15 years ago, when I
started in that school, I taught science in English and music in English, but my students had a very
high level of English because that was a bilingual school. So it was sort of CLIL, but don't exactly
what is CLIL today. So that was my first experience.

2-In your opinion, there are some negative aspects in CLIL?

I don't see negative aspects, I mean, of course if you don't help your students they won't succeed
and they will all fail, they will not learn anything, they will hate English because it was too difficult
for them to follow the class, but, good CLIL, I don't see any negative aspect. The only thing I can
think of is that right now, in this country we can only offer CLIL to some students because is an
optional thing, because teachers don't get paid to do it, like, if you do the class in Catalan, you'll
earn the same that if you do it in English. Make a class in English, requires more preparation, so
who want to do it? Only those teachers who want to try new things, or who earn to improve their
classes and the system, so because of we don't have enough teachers who don't want work more,
then it is a negative side of it. I think CLIL should be offered to everyone right now in any school

Training in CLIL:

1-In what year was the first training class in Catalonia?

Well, there is a program, where you know I work which started 3 years ago, before this program
there was another program, so let's say the biggest program started 3 years ago because more
schools applied for PELE and there was a bigger demand and so they had to train teachers to give
this courses, and I'm one of those trainers, we're now over 20 trainers in this new program

2-Did you find any difficulty when you started training teachers in CLIL?

Yes, quite a few, the first thing I saw was that teachers from other subjects wanted to teach in
English, because they thought that it can help the students in their English, but also I saw that some
of the English teachers were there just because they were told they had to there, but not because
they wanted, so that was a little difficult and still is. Another problem was that some teachers who
were there were feeling to spend time working hard to prepare material.
3-How many schools and high-schools have teachers trained in CLIL in Catalonia?

I have no idea, actually I have this information at home if you're interested. What I know is that in
the years 2005 and 2006 we had some schools doing CLIL, and right now we have a lot more
schools which have applied for PELE and doing CLIL, and those teachers have followed the course,
so right now we have a lot of schools which have somebody who knows what CLIL is, but it's not
enough, we need more people learning about CLIL.

4-In what places can you take this training classes of CLIL?

In many places right now because CLIL is not a Catalan thing or an Spanish thing, it's an European
thing or a worldwide thing, and so lots of universities are offering masters degrees, postgraduate
courses, teacher training courses, private institutions they're also offering courses, even some
private universities have invented an exam for teachers who want be qualified to do CLIL, so this is
getting bigger and bigger.

5-What requirements must have a teacher to participate in this course of training?

You have to apply for PELE (Pla Experimental de Llengües Extrangeres), if the school gets it,
receive some money to buy material and so on and the teachers who work in those schools which
have applied for PELE can take this courses, so basicaly, the requirements is apply for a PELE.