CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), students learn various subjects like history, art, science and math in a foreign language. Rather than being a stand-alone subject, language becomes a skill acquired in the classroom while mastering other types of content.
Tips for Planning and Teaching CLIL Lessons
As you can see from the lesson plans above, you can get creative with CLIL lessons and include diverse themes! Whether you want to make your own lesson plan or you’ll be working off these examples, here are some ways to make your CLIL lessons even more effective:
Teach vocabulary separately
Pick the important concepts and words and teach them in isolation from the main lesson. I usually prep students by doing this beforehand, but you can also choose to wait until after the class.
During the class, assume your students are native speakers of the target language and just teach the subject. For example, when the lesson is about math, teach actual addition and subtraction, not the translation of the word “addition” in German. Teach the math and be a math teacher for the duration of the activity.
In the course of the lesson, kids will be compelled to use their critical thinking skills to figure out the meanings of any unknown words.
Include authentic materials
Aside from CLIL materials on the subject you want, look for authentic materials too about the subject at hand. For example, on top of CLIL-specific materials about philosophy in German, I’d look for native German discussions, blogs, websites, forums and book excerpts about philosophy too
There are three particular sites that I often check because they’re loaded with authentic materials and educational links:
- Government sites and ministries. One of the aims of national leadership, for all states, is the education of their populace. So you can be sure that their websites have links to resources that can help you find material for CLIL. For example, the site for France’s Ministry of National Educationhas links to academic sites and even its own search engine.
- Websites for the top universities in the country. Naturally, these sites are replete with links to the latest research, publications, lessons and journals. You may also find online libraries, databases and even e-books you could use. Take the example of Technische Universität München, one of the top universities in Germany.
- Forums for native speakers. When you join these forums, you’ll have reached the inner sanctum of the country—at least online. Read the posts and discussion and you’ll have an insider’s look not only at their relationship problems, you’ll find in their postings, links to sites that native speakers actually use and recommend to each other. This one’s big in China.
Give simple worksheets
Keep any CLIL worksheets visually appealing and user-friendly. Avoid overcrowding it or making it too “busy.”
Use a consistent font and style throughout—ideally a basic font that won’t be distracting. Include lots of pictures and graphs to enhance the visual appearance.
These are my favorite resource websites for worksheets:
- One Stop English — This site provides unique English CLIL resources that can be adapted to any language. You’ll find puzzles, crosswords, vocabulary worksheets and more catering to a range of ages.
- Teachers Pay Teachers — As the name suggests, this is a platform where teachers can sell resources that they’ve created to other teachers. Just look up “CLIL Teaching Resources,” and you can even filter for worksheets and select them by subject and grade.
- Scholastic’s Teacher Resources — This is a great place to find worksheet ideas to fit any subject you’re teaching through CLIL. You can get grade-appropriate lesson plans here on everything from literature to basic science to economics.
- Instant Online Crossword Puzzle Maker— This non-traditional worksheet option is great for teaching vocabulary in any subject or language in an engaging way. You can use this instant crossword maker to easily produce fun worksheets targeting any vocabulary set you’re working on.
- Pinterest — Mostly known for craft and home decor inspiration, this popular platform is now also a go-to source for great lesson plan ideas, especially for elementary school children. Just type “CLIL” into the search bar plus the name of the target language (e.g. “CLIL italiano”).
Do scaffolding
Give the students the temporary support they need to reach higher levels of comprehension and mastery, in terms of both the language and the content.
Begin with simple tasks and work your way up to those that are more complex. Give clear directions and explain concepts in multiple ways to ensure understanding.
I sometimes start with intro exercises where students match vocabulary with images, followed by guided readings where key vocabulary is highlighted. After that, students can do more involved discussions and activities that involve problem-solving and research.
Use gestures, visual aids and props.
You used to just stand there and talk. With CLIL, not anymore. Illustrate what you’re speaking about, and you’ll see that students are better able to grasp your message.
Break up presentations with videos and images that students will find interesting. You can show mind maps or flowcharts to explain more complicated processes.
I also try to bring props whenever I can. I’ve used 3D models of different shapes in math when explaining concepts like area or volume and even puppets for storytelling. If the subject is history or geography, these might be objects related to what the students are learning.
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