What is CLIL?
Imagine if you were living in France, Italy or Japan, and you were studying History (for example) in French, Italian or Japanese. This is what CLIL is!
CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning; that is, Immersion into the Language. CLIL at Penola integrates 1 or 2 subject areas: HUMANITIES and/or RELIGIOUS EDUCATION with the foreign language.
Who can study CLIL?
At Penola, we offer this opportunity to students entering year 8 who are achieving at least a B+ average in Year 7 Japanese, Italian or French, and to students entering year 9 who are achieving at least a B+ average in Italian or Japanese.
Why study using the CLIL Methodology and what does it entail?
The 21st century requires skills and knowledge of Australian students that allow them to participate in working towards global solutions for global challenges. Programs such as CLIL are amongst the most promising to achieve global competencies.
CLIL programs provide additional exposure to the skills needed to learn to decipher, read and write in a foreign language. The programs are designed to enhance meaningfulness of the content that underpins the School’s languages program, in relation to the broader curriculum. These skills learnt then become transferable to many, if not all, other subject areas.
Participating in a CLIL program undeniably facilitates the development of new communicative skills while learning new content, understanding and knowledge. This therefore creates opportunities for authentic and purposeful communication and comprehension in the target language.
How does it work?
Students are allocated 3 periods per week for the foreign language and 3 periods per week for each CLIL subject. This means that they receive more periods per week of instruction in the language than the average student, which therefore enables them to be extended and accelerate as they move further up the school.
The content in CLIL Humanities and Religious Education is the same as in the Mainstream. The difference is that the content is mostly delivered and assessed in the foreign language, therefore making the language itself the tool for communication.
As for the Language, students learn the vocabulary and structures related to their Humanities/R.E. units as well as some of the topics taught in the Mainstream Language course, which would then allow them to communicate about themselves, their everyday lives, topics of interest to them, World issues and so on. For example: CLIL students in Italian or French may study the past tense earlier than Mainstream students as they may need to be able to speak about history.
In addition, classes may be smaller than Mainstream classes and may have the support of a native-speaking teacher and Language Assistant in the classroom.
What are the benefits?
- Improved skills – Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
- Students who complete CLIL may accelerate to VCE Units 1 & 2 in year 10, and 3 & 4 in year 11, thereby allowing for an Accelerated subject.
- Students who complete CLIL who do not wish to accelerate or who prefer to work on their skills for an extra year can gain entry to an “Advanced” Course in each of the Languages, which will set them up for success in VCE.
- CLIL Students who have travelled overseas reported that they were easily able to function in the Language and felt confident to converse with native speakers.
What the students say:
