TKT CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning
What CLIL is
CLIL teaches curriculum content (science, history, geography, art) through an additional language, with a dual focus: subject learning and language development. It is not immersion, not a translation exercise and not a language lesson that happens to have a topic. The 4Cs framework – content, communication, cognition, culture – is a useful planning lens, as is BICS (conversational fluency) versus CALP (academic, cognitively demanding language).
Language for CLIL
Distinguish three categories. Language of learning: the key subject vocabulary and structures of the topic (evaporation, condensation). Language for learning: the classroom functional language learners need to operate (I predict that..., Can I have..., In my opinion...). Language through learning: emergent language that arises from the activity and is taken up and recycled. Also useful is the distinction between content-obligatory language (needed to understand the content) and content-compatible language (useful but not essential).
Cognition, scaffolding and assessment
Plan cognitive challenge using Bloom's taxonomy, moving from LOTS (identify, describe) to HOTS (compare, evaluate, justify). Scaffolding includes visuals, graphic organisers, substitution tables and sentence frames, glossaries, modelling, activating prior knowledge and collaborative tasks. Assessment should judge subject content, with language supported rather than penalised; use formative tasks, rubrics, portfolios and self/peer assessment. Judicious code-switching to L1 is a resource, not a failure.
Traps
- Don't 'dumb down' content: reduce the language demand, not the cognitive demand.
- Confusing language of / for / through learning is the commonest CLIL error.
- CLIL is not the same as a language lesson with a topic theme.
- Subject teachers are not expected to correct every language error.
Rule of thumb
Plan backwards from the task: What must learners think about? What language does that thinking require? Then build a support box (frame, word bank, model) that supplies exactly that language.