CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning and the
term was coined twenty years ago by David Marsh and Anne Maljers. Margarita
explained it quite simply: It’s when you teach a subject using a foreign
language. Any subject. Math, for example. Why do that? Because it does not
actually matter in which language you learn the numbers as long as you learn
how to count. “Baby CLIL” is practised with very young children, starting from
ages 3-4. More complicated problems can be introduced later on. This method
helps get children to learn by experience by doing and by making things.
Shapes, numbers, positioning and movement, spelling and all sorts of concepts
can be taught and learned through games and activities that are fun.
Benefits? There are, obviously. This practice really motivates
kids and the use of the foreign language becomes meaningful because it’s being
used in context. And when the context is fun and games, that’s even better.
Actually, CLIL functions as a secret mechanism that serves a hidden purpose
which aims to improve children’s overall linguistic competence. As Margarita
put it: “Kids get the whole picture.” Moreover, “kids that engage in such
activities learn how to become citizens of the world by being introduced to how
other people think.” Margarita clearly stated that she is a huge advocate of
multilingualism, not just bilingualism and yes, she quoted psycholinguist Frank
Smith, who said that: “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two
languages open every door along the way.” The video Margarita made that we got
to watch at the end of her presentation is a clear proof that CLIL can work
really well, even with very young children, especially when put it into
practice in a fun and creative way.
No comments:
Post a Comment