Content and Language Integrated Learning: In Search of a Coherent Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has gained widespread acknowledgement in numerous education systems not only in Europe but also in other continents since its outset in the 1990s in Europe. However, despite its extensive reputation, CLIL has not yet attained a fully developed educational model. This study highlights the need for a coherent theoretical framework compatible with competency-based CLIL practices. The first pat of this paper reviews the literature on CLIL research and practices. The second part of the paper describes an ongoing longitudinal CLIL research study, which has been carried out by the authors in a French Polynesian primary school context since 2012. Drawing on the observations made during this longitudinal study and the through the review of the Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) literature, the authors attempt to substantiate the appropriateness of the sociocultural perspective to CLIL practices designed especially for young learners. The authors also highlight the compatibility of the sociocultural perspective with the competency-based approaches. This section also briefly mentions some research methodologies compatible with CLIL practices viewed from this sociocultural perspective. In the final section, the authors discuss potential CLIL research perspectives.

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Author Information
Zehra Gabillon, University of French Polynesia, French Polynesia
Rodica Ailincai, University of French Polynesia, French Polynesia

• Category: Language education

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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