Knowledge of CLIL and Principles of CLIL
What makes CLIL distinctive
CLIL is dual-focused education: a subject is taught through an additional language, and both content and language are planned for. Content drives the lesson; language is the vehicle, not the syllabus. Candidates must know Coyle's 4Cs framework - Content (subject knowledge and skills), Communication (interacting and producing language), Cognition (thinking skills, LOTS to HOTS) and Culture (intercultural understanding and citizenship) - and how the 4Cs interact rather than sitting side by side.
A second must-know is Cummins' distinction between BICS and CALP. BICS (basic interpersonal communicative skills) is conversational fluency, often acquired quickly and misleading for teachers; CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency) is the decontextualised, subject-specific language learners need to reason and write in the discipline. CLIL learners frequently sound fluent socially while struggling with academic text and abstract explanation.
The language of / for / through learning triad organises planning. Language of learning is the key vocabulary and structures of the topic; language for learning is the classroom metalanguage of managing tasks (predicting, comparing, negotiating group work); language through learning is language that emerges and is recycled as learners think things through.
Traps to watch for: options that treat CLIL as ordinary EFL lessons with topic vocabulary; the claim that teachers must be native speakers or have perfect grammar; the implication that L1 has no place (well-planned, limited L1 use is part of good CLIL practice); the assumption that difficulty is solved by simplifying content rather than supporting language. A frequent distractor confuses BICS and CALP or claims BICS must precede all content teaching.
Rule of thumb: if a lesson plan lists only subject objectives, it is not CLIL - look for a paired language objective derived from the content.