CLIL in FL communication

3. To select educational means and types of tasks which possess the development potential of reflection and communication [Алмабекова О. АREFLECTION AND COMMUNICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH].

Reflection is analyzing something by means of reflection, studying and comparison (G. Schmidt).

Comprehending educational activity in CLIL lessons, the pupil focuses attention both on "cognitive" activity products, and on structure of the activity. The reflection helps pupils to formulate received results, to define the further purposes of work, to correct an educational strategy. The reflection is connected with a goal-setting.

Reflection can be done in any stage of lesson. The following can be exposed to educational reflection:

1 . Mood, emotional state, feelings proceeding in this or that educational situation. It is expedient at the beginning of a lesson for the purpose to establish an emotional contact with pupils.

2. Activity of learners that gives the chance of judgment the ways and working methods with a studying material.  In CLIL this type of reflexive activity can be done in checking homework.

3. Content of learning material. It is used for identification of level of understanding the content of material.

The formation reflexive competence in CLIL classroom helps learners:

- to master language skills through methods of reflection;

- to activize reflexive activity at lesson.

In the process of CLIL, educational (воспитательная) function is also occupied:

- the increase of motivation to learn the "content" of subject;

- the formation of Intercultural Communication.

In CLIL learner possesses self-knowledge, self-cognition, self-evaluation and self- control, letting through the information.

2.2. CLIL and interactive technologies.

Successful language learning can be achieved when students have the opportunity to receive instruction, and at the same time experience real-life situations in which they can acquire the language. CLIL is a tool for intercultural learning. Expressing yourself in a language other than the mother tongue is a path towards intercultural development. In Kazakhstan schools CLIL approach is quite a new idea, but it is very motivating for both teachers and students.

Project-based learning 

Project work is not a new methodology. Its benefits have been widely recognized for many years in the teaching of subjects like science, geography, and history. So some teachers have been doing project work in their language lessons for a long time.

A project is an extended task which usually integrates language skills work through a number of activities. These activities involve working towards an agreed goal and may include planning, the gathering of information through reading, listening, interviewing, etc., discussion and processing of the information, problem solving, and oral or written reporting, and display. Project-based learning has been promoted within ELT for a number of reasons. Learners' use of language as they negotiate plans, analyze, and discuss information and ideas is determined by genuine communicative needs. At the school level, project work encourages imagination and creativity, self-discipline and responsibility, collaboration, research and study skills, and cross-curricular work through exploitation of knowledge gained in other subjects. 

Pupils do not feel that English is a chore, but it is a means of communication and enjoyment. They can experiment with the language as something real, not as something that only appears in books.   Project work captures better than any other activity the three principal elements of the communicative approach. These are:

- concern for motivation, that is, how the learners relate to the task;

- concern for relevance, that is, how the learners relate to the language;

- concern for educational values, that is, how the language curriculum relates to   the general educational development of the learner.

Firstly, project work is very personal. Secondly, project work is a very active medium. It is a kind of structured playing. Students do not just receive and produce words, but they also learn through doing.

Integration of language with other skills

To distinguish CLIL from ELT we could say that ELT focuses on learning the language, whereas CLIL focuses on learning trough English.

Project work creates connections between the foreign language and the learner’s own world. It encourages the use of a wide range of communicative skills, enables learners to exploit other fields of knowledge, and provides opportunities for them to write about the things that are important in their own lives.  It is widely recognized that one of the most important benefits of learning a foreign language is the opportunity to learn about other cultures. However, it is important, particularly with an international language like English, that this is not a one-way flow.

The purpose of learning a foreign language is to make communication between two cultures possible. English, as an international language, should not be just for talking about the ways of the English speaking world. It should also be a means of telling the world about your own culture. Project work helps to create this approach. 

Although project work is not limited to contend based learning, it can, however, provide an excellent opportunity for children to synthesise content area knowledge, language and skills. Project work can be carried out with almost with all ages and levels, and allow teachers and children to bring together content and language in a personalized and meaningful way. It can be used to consolidate information from different parts of the curriculum very naturally and, at the same time, enables children to acquire skills such as how to research information, how to select information and how to present and communicate findings [Nina Lauder "CLIL in primary classroom" 2008].

Projects and CLIL have a lot in common. They both:

- integrate language and skills;

- involve the use of functional language, which is dictated by the topics being investigated and studied;

- shift away from "language-driven" approach by presenting and working with English in a natural, realistic context;

- give children the opportunity to use English beyond the realms of the language class;

- provide a variety of stimuli for distinct learning styles, learners and levels [CLIL with children. Nina Lauder, 2008].

Creative Technologies (brainstorming) and CLIL.

Many teachers avoid brainstorming, as they associate it with noise or discipline problems.  This may be true at the outset, but once you seehow it works and how much fun it can be.

Brainstorming is the challenge is to help students channel their energy and use it in an organised way. Brainstorming should never turn into criticism. Perhaps the most precise definition of brainstorming is: “All ideas that come up before any discussion or judgment takes place.

The average learner finds it difficult to come up with a variety of ideas in response to a problem. However, the child feels less pressured and less alone when working in a group and is much more likely to come up with different ideas, solutions and connections.

The advantages of brainstorming in CLIL are twofold. With respect to language and content  it will provide:

• a natural situation for communicating in English.

• an opportunity to actively use and revise content vocabulary.

• a chance to learn new concepts or vocabulary from other students.

Yet, brainstorming goes beyond language and content teaching. Students also learn how to:

• really listen to others.

• negotiate and be tolerant towards different opinions.

• develop critical thinking skills.

All these are ‘real-life skills’. Our learners –future managers, scientists, salespeople, artists, journalists– will remember with gratitude the teacher who taught them how to use and develop these vital interpersonal communication skills.

Information and communications technology and CLIL.

There is no doubt that ICT have had an enormous impact in education in general and in language learning in particular. This paper draws the readers’ notice to the Web, the Internet, Multimedia and Concordancers. A large number of benefits are attributed to these educational technologies, according to the relevant literature. Among many others one could list the following:

- enhanced levels of motivation;

- students active participation and self-expression;

- opportunities for:

   authentic language use;

   increased language input and output;

   increased learner participation;

   using the target language in meaningful situation;

  students' collaboration and socialization;

  developing language and intercultural awareness;

  working across the curriculum, etc.[ Peterson, 1997; Singal, 1997; Slaouti, 1997; Somekh &  Davis, 1997; Warschauer & Whittaker, 1997 etc]

The Web caters for authentic input in the English language and, therefore, CLIL students can use online resources to work on different non linguistic subjects without needing to resort exclusively to course books. Learning can be organized on the basis of educational materials that are available online and are reviewed, enriched and improved regularly. An example of a site with educational material that can be accessed free of charge is the “BBC schools learning resources for home and school” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/). The site provides activities for CLIL pre school and primary school learners on a variety of subjects such as geography, history, literacy, music, numeracy, science, etc., as well as materials and activities for CLIL secondary school students such as art, business studies, citizenship, design and technology, English, geography, history, math, music, PE, science, etc. The materials are presented in the most fascinating way through Multimedia, i.e. there is sound, video and animation. The students can either work individually in the classroom and at home or cooperate in groups at school. The activities are graded according to subject and difficulty, and target at developing all students’ intelligences and learning styles.

Web quest and project work constitute another blended learning methodology that can be very effective in CLIL. There is a wide range of sites in the Web providing information on a significant number of topics for study. Students can access Wikipedia, which is a Web based free content encyclopaedia, to retrieve and to elaborate information. Wikipedia, which is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world, has grown into one of the largest reference sites and includes more than 10.000.000 articles in more than 250 languages. It is continually updated and includes topics on art, biography, geography, history, mathematics, science, society, technology, etc. Furthermore, except from Wikipedia, there is a selection of official sites with information which have the advantage of being delivered through Multimedia. CLIL students can work individually or collaboratively to gather information to make power point presentations in the classroom, to fill in questionnaires, to create posters to be exhibited in the classroom, to compose postings to upload in the Internet, etc. 

Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) via the Internet includes synchronous technologies (Internet Relay Chat, MSN or Yahoo Messenger, MOOs, 3D environments etc) and asynchronous (email, forum areas or bulletin boards and discussion lists, etc.). Our attention in this paper is focused on platforms of communication which may be used for CLIL students’ collaboration. These platforms can cater for either or both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, and can be supported by a number of mobile devices (wireless laptops, mobile phones, digital interactive TVs, iPods etc). It is up to the CLIL teacher and students to decide on which mode of communication (synchronous, asynchronous or both) and which devices they will select for their interaction.

The platforms can be used for the creation of online collaborative projects in which CLIL students can communicate with other students on a national or an international level to exchange information, to elaborate issues of common interest and to create common digital materials that are published in the Web, so that they can expand their knowledge in various school subjects and develop intercultural awareness. The target language is the vehicle of communication and the benefits in terms of language learning are considerable. It is reported in the literature that CMC via the Internet provides a context for authentic communication as it offers a feeling of reality and a purpose for language production; it enables the teachers to supplement curriculum work with online discussions; it enhances autonomous learning and promotes equal opportunities for participation in the learning procedures, since the shy students are given more chances to interact with others through online collaboration (Warschauer, 1996 and 1998, etc.).

Critical thinking and CLIL.

Critical thinking is usually described as "thinking about". It involves reasoning and reflecting in teaching and learning experience. Critical thinking is one of the leading technologies that should be developed in students. Critical thinking is an approach to conceptualizing information from observation, experience, reflection or reasoning. Then it can be basis for action, activity in learning.

The role of critical thinking in CLIL classroom can be hardly overvalued. Critical thinking is the ability to question information, to analyze and synthesize information from a number of sources in order to develop the ability to go beyond given information, to create new way of thinking about ideas.

Psychologist Deane F. Halpern considers critical thinking as cognitive approach to strategies which a desired outcome. In CLIL it helps to integrate new perspectives in learning. Critical thinking involves:

- gathering relevant information;

- evaluating and analyzing experience;

- making generalization and conclusion;

- drawing assumptions;

- identifying problems and finding possible solutions.

CLIL helps to develop necessary skill and habits of critical thinking, and motivate learners curiosity. Critical thinking skills and process include:

- enquiring knowledge through observation;

- taking into account the context;

- applying relevant criteria for making judgment;

- collecting and sorting information;

- evaluating primary sources;

- comparing and discussing, making and generalization;

- making reports, essays, etc.

2.3. Learning strategies in CLIL.

The basic school provides a bridge from the primary school on the one hand and the profile school on the other hand. This stage of schooling has very many characteristics in the psycho-pedagogical aspects of pupils' development. All of these are closely rebuild in FLTM at this stage in the following:

- the increasing role of communicative-cognitive orientation of FLT;

- the growth of motivation to FL;

- the increasing role of competence approach;

- individualization and differences in FLT;

- integration of all speech activities;

- reflective self-regulation, self-control;

- interconnection of FL subject with other school subjects (CLIL);

- Language Learning Strategies (LLS) become an integral part of FLL and FLT aimed at ICC.

 

Since language learning is active and it is realized through cooperation and exploration, CLIL students’ attention needs to be drawn to strategic competence -the development of compensation strategies that enable them to overcome linguistic barriers in the FL and express themselves adequately, using rephrasing, alternative expressions, body language, etc.

 

Research into LLS began in the 1960 . The development in cognitive psychology influenced much of the research done on LLS.

Rubin started doing research focusing on the strategies of successful learners and stated that once identified such strategies could be made available to less successful learners.

The term LLS has been defined by many researchers. Different ‘learning strategies’ (LS) definitions have been used in second or foreign language learning context. Tarone defined LS as the attempts to develop “linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language -- to incorporate these into one's interlanguage competence.” Weinstein and Mayer defined learning strategies broadly as “behaviours and thoughts that a learner engages in during learning” which are “intended to influence the learner's encoding process” . Later, Mayer, more specifically, defined LS as “behaviours of a learner that are intended to influence how the learner processes information” . Weinstein et al. outlined LS in more detail: “learning strategies are considered to be any behaviours or thoughts that facilitate encoding in such a way that knowledge integration and retrieval are enhanced. More specifically, these thoughts and behaviours constitute organized plans of action designed to achieve a goal. Examples of learning strategies include actively rehearsing, summarizing, paraphrasing, imaging, elaborating, and outlining”. Rubin later defined LLS as those strategies that “contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly”. Language Learning strategies for R. Oxford,  are “specific actions, behaviours, steps, or techniques that students (often intentionally) use to improve their progress in developing FL skills. These strategies can facilitate the internalisation, storage, retrieval, or use of the new language. Strategies are tools for the self-directed involvement necessary for developing communicative ability.” The definitions referred to above illustrate that there has been a clear change of how scholars in the field see learning strategies. They began to focus on the product of leaning strategies, particularly in the linguistic or sociolinguistic competence aspects; later on, they meant to pay more consideration to the learning process itself and this appears from how language learning strategies are classified.

All language learner use LLS either consciously or unconsciously when processing new information and performing tasks in the language. So, the usage of LLS is indispensable.

There are different approaches to classification of  LLS. According to Rubin there are 3 types of strategic use by learners that contribute directly to language learning:

1) learning strategies:

a) cognitive learning strategies:

- clarification / verification

- guessing / inductive inferencing

- deductive reasoning

- practice

- memorization

- monitoring

b) metacognitive learning strategies:

- planning

- prioritising

- setting goals

- self-management

2)communication strategies;

3)social strategies.

R. Oxford distinguished 62 LLS. She divided them into 2 groups: direct and indirect.

1) Direct strategies:

a) memory-related:

-creating mental linkages

-applying images and sounds

-reviewing well

-employing action

b) cognitive

-practising

-receiving and sending messages strategies

-analysing and reasoning

-creating structure for input and output

c) compensation strategies:

-guessing intelligently

-overcoming limitations in speaking and writing

2) Indirect strategies:

a) metacognitive strategies:

-centering your learning

-arranging and planning your learning

-evaluating your learning

b) affective strategies:

-lowering your anxiety

-encouraging yourself

-taking your emotional temperature

c) social strategies:

-asking questions

-cooperating with others

-empathizing with others.

There are 3 types of Models of  Learning Strategies.

1) Learning as storage. The aim of this model is reproduction, no creation. It includes different types of drills, repetitions, practice learning, multiple choice testing, use of pictures, music applications, schemes, body language, etc. It includes no cognitive strategies, but only memory-related strategies.

2) Learning as processing. The aim is to product and create. The model suggests cognitive strategies: analyzing, summarizing, transforming, substitution, categorizing, grouping.

3) Learning as constructing. The aim of model is to produce and construct own speech. It includes problem-solving tasks, projects, pragma-professional tasks, round table. This model suggests cognitive, meta-cognitive, social strategies.

Metacognitive strategies have a higher order function which entails planning, monitoring and evaluating a learning activity.  They regulate learning and are applicable to a wide variety of tasks.  Cognitive strategies are the steps used in learning or problem-solving that require direct analysis or transformation of learning materials. They are more directly linked to performance on a particular learning task.  Social-affective strategies are ways in which learners interact with others or control their emotional state to assist learning.

The current consensus is that there are no “good” or “bad” strategies but a strategy can be used effectively or ineffectively in a given context. Teachers and learners in a CLIL context can benefit from a knowledge of strategies, particularly at the beginning of a course. For the teacher strategies will help to convey input, focusing on, not only the final goal of learning but the process or steps towards getting there. A strategic approach also ensures that learners are challenged at different levels of cognitive complexity, using differnt thinking skills. For learners an awareness of strategies can help them plan, monitor and evaluate their learning and become more active, reflective and so autonomous learners who understand more fully what the learning process entails (Benson, 2001; Holec, 1981; Little, 1991).

In the early stages of CLIL teachers should emphasise receptive skills (reading and listening) and allow learners to respond in FL, FL2 or by non-verbal responses to instructions. Here are some examples of strategies that students can be taught for reading and listening:

a. Reading

• looking at titles, headings and illustrations to predict the contents of the text

• thinking about what you already know about the subject

• scanning for specific information

• skimming for a general idea

• using the context to guess the meaning of unknown words

• using a dictionary to find out the meaning of unknown words

• looking at prefixes and suffixes to understand parts of speech

• thinking about the most important points in the text

• thinking about the topic of each paragraph

• distinguishing the main ideas from supporting points

• understanding techniques for giving examples, paraphrasing, making connections

• identifying the writer’s opinion or attitude

• identifying logical arguments