What is Content and Language Integrated Learning?

Joanna Wiseman
A teacher sat at a table with young students working together
Reading time: 4 minutes

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an approach where students learn a subject and a second language at the same time. A science course, for example, can be taught to students in English and they will not only learn about science, but they will also gain relevant vocabulary and language skills.

It’s important to note that CLIL is not a means of simplifying content or reteaching something students already know in a new language. CLIL courses should truly integrate the language and content in order to be successful – and success is determined when both the subject matter and language is learned.

Who is CLIL for?

CLIL can work for students of any age, all the way from primary level to university and beyond. So long as the course content and language aims are designed with the students’ needs in mind, there is no limit as to who can benefit from this teaching approach. However, it is most commonly found in primary and secondary school contexts.

What are the main benefits of CLIL?

Many teachers see CLIL as a more natural way to learn a language; when a subject is taught in that language there is a concrete reason to learn both at the same time. And as students have a real context to learn the language in, they are often more motivated to do so, as they can only get the most of the content if they understand the language around it.

Moreover, being content focused, CLIL classes add an extra dimension to the class and engage students, which is especially advantageous in situations where students are unenthusiastic about learning a language.

CLIL also promotes a deeper level of assimilation, as students are repeatedly exposed to similar language and language functions, and they need to produce and recall information in their second language.

Furthermore, it has the advantage that multiple subjects can be taught in English, so that students’ exposure to the language is increased and their language acquisition is faster.

CLIL also encourages students to develop 21st century skills, including the ability to think critically, be creative, communicate and collaborate.

What are the challenges of CLIL?

As CLIL is subject-focused, language teachers may also have to develop their own knowledge of new subjects in order to teach effectively.

They must also structure classes carefully so that the students understand the content of the lesson, as well as the language through which the information is being conveyed.

And when it comes to classroom management, educators need to be very aware of individual student understanding and progress.

It’s therefore important to consistently concept check and scaffold the materials to be sure both the language and content are being learned.

How can you apply CLIL to your class?

It’s important to have a strategy in place when applying CLIL in your courses. One of the key things to remember is that the language and subject content are given equal weight and that it shouldn’t be treated as a language class nor a subject class simply taught in a foreign language.

According to Coyle’s 4Cs curriculum (1999), a successful CLIL class should include the following four elements:

  • Content – Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to specific elements of a defined curriculum
  • Communication – Using language to learn whilst learning to use language
  • Cognition – Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and concrete), understanding and language
  • Culture – Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which deepen awareness of otherness and self

Using a number of frameworks can help you prepare your lessons and make sure activities are challenging yet achievable for your learners.

Bloom’s Taxonomy, for example, classifies learning objectives in education and puts skills in a hierarchy, from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).

In the diagram below, you can see the levels increasing in complexity from the base up to the triangle’s peak.

The framework shows how different tasks relate to different levels of assimilation. It’s fairly intuitive, but applying this information to your lesson preparation is not always so straightforward.

That’s where the helpful Blooming Verbs list comes in. The following chart shows you how different verbs can correlate to the different stages in the taxonomy, allowing you to formulate questions and design activities that develop your CLIL classes in a logical way.

By using the verbs in the first column you’ll see how much they remember about a topic you have covered previously. Examples might include:

  • Can you name three different types of jungle animal?
  • Can you tell me how often a python eats food?
  • Can you describe what it’s like in the rainforest?

You can then do the same for the subsequent stages of the taxonomy.

The verb chart can also help you design a class project or series of activities that follow a logical sequence using the “Students will be able to…” (SWBAT) framework. This will help you set clear objectives and check progress towards the end of a class, series of classes or course.

Here’s an example of how you can develop a set of objectives using the verb columns to help you navigate Bloom’s Taxonomy:

  1. SWBAT name 10 different animals that live in the rainforest
  2. SWBAT predict what animals eat
  3. SWBAT complete a simple food chain
  4. SWBAT categorize animals into different classifications (mammal, reptile, fish etc.)
  5. SWBAT recommend ways to protect an endangered species
  6. SWBAT create a new habitat for an endangered species of their choice

In this way you will be able to scaffold your materials to ensure that your students are supported step by step while learning subject matter and achieving language learning objectives.

Read our posts 'Talking technology: Teaching 21st century communication strategies' and '21st-century skills and the English language classroom'.

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    By Ehsan Gorji
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    Imagine a class of English language students aged 8– 9 taught by a dynamic teacher they love. The young learners sit together for two hours, three times a week to learn English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The vibe they bring with them to the class, plus the dynamic teacher and the creativity she develops in her lesson plans, is fantastic.

    I have been observing trends in teaching EFL to young learners, and it is clear to me that school directors, syllabus generators, teachers, parents and learners are all satisfied with this image… “Hooray! Young learners sit together for two hours, three times a week to learn English as a Foreign Language. And the teacher is able to manage the class. Bravo!” But is it enough?

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    When the teacher reviews the emails, she smiles as she finds many uses of the simple past tense—both in affirmative and negative forms. She then drafts an email thanking everyone and praising them generously. She includes a link to a PDF of other exercises to reinforce the grammar (the next day in class, they will review the completed handouts).

    This hardworking teacher tries to blend her style with digital literacy and applies creativity along the way. Everything seems perfect in her class, and she regularly receives emails from parents thanking her. Nevertheless, some questions remain: What was the task? What was the learning outcome? Which learning objective should have been tracked?

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    *Assessing Young Learners of English: Global and Local Perspectives,Dr Marianne Nikolov, 2016.

    Which important dynamics should be considered?

    The assigned piece of homework said: write an email to a friend and tell her about your last holiday. However, what actually occurred was a shift from this task to the students’ best performance in producing simple past-tense sentences. There are other important dynamics that have migrated out of the teacher’s focus. Did the students begin their emails appropriately? Was the tone appropriate? Did they pay attention to organizing their thoughts into sentences and paragraphs? Was the punctuation correct? Did they end their emails in the right way?

    If the coursebook had been equipped with clear and concrete learning objectives, the course directors would have employed them while designing study syllabuses, and the teacher would have used them when lesson planning. Consequently, the student’s formative and summative progress would have been evaluated against those detailed learning objectives rather than according to what some did better than the average.

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    • Can use appropriate standard greetings and closings in simple, informal personal messages (e.g., postcards or emails). (GSE: 37/A2+)

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