CLIL: A Science Lesson with Breakthrough Level Young EFL Learners

Overview & Synopsis

This paper reports on the implementation of a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach to teach a science subject topic to young learners. The participants of the study were 10-11 year-old elementary school children who lived in Tahiti, French Polynesia. The study comprised four identical lessons: a) two CLIL lessons (English/L2); and b) two science subject lessons (French/L1). The approach used in the lessons drew on the principles of CLIL and sociocultural theories. The study was designed to investigate if CLIL could be applied effectively with beginner level young learners with 25- to 30-minute English as a Foreign Language (EFL) showers. The study also sought to explore if there would be any observable differences between a CLIL lesson (L2) and a subject lesson (L1) regarding: a) the teaching/learning of content knowledge; b) the learners' willingness to participate in classroom activities; and c) the types of classroom interactions used. The study employed video recordings to gather data. The videotaped data were transcribed and the transcribed data were analyzed qualitatively by focusing on classroom exchanges, and non-verbal contextual elements. The data were also analyzed quantitatively by using descriptive statistics, and the results obtained were presented through histograms. The results indicated that successful CLIL practice is possible with Breakthrough level young learners. This study also showed that dialogic exchanges can be used both as a means for scaffolding content and language learning.