HOME ASSIGNMENT #7

Discipline: “Current trend methods and approaches in English language

teaching at school”

Theme: “CLIL”

Theoretical Issues:

1. Definition of CLIL from the point of view of David Marsh, Do Coyle, etc.
2. The 4’C/ 5’C of CLIL.
3. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development. Piaget’s stages of Cognitive
Development.
4. Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning. Zone of Proximal Development. Scaffolding.
5. Bloom’s Domains of Learning. The Cognitive Domain (Bloom’s Taxonomy).
The Affective Domain. The Phychomotor Domain.
6. J. Cummins’ Cognitive Theory of Bilinguism (CALP & BICS).

1. Definition of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)

David Marsh, Do Coyle, and other proponents define CLIL as an educational
approach where subjects or content (e.g., science, history) are taught in a language
that is not the students' first language. This approach aims to promote both content
mastery and language proficiency simultaneously. Marsh sees CLIL as a dual-
focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the
learning and teaching of both content and language.

2. The 4Cs/5Cs of CLIL

The 4Cs framework of CLIL consists of:
Content: the subject matter or discipline being taught.
Communication: using the target language to learn and to communicate.
Cognition: developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and
concrete thinking), understanding, and language.
Culture: exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which
deepen awareness of otherness and self.
Some references add a fifth C, Community, emphasizing the role of CLIL in
preparing students to operate in multicultural and multilingual environments, thus
contributing to a sense of global citizenship.

3. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget proposed that children move through four stages of cognitive
development:
Sensorimotor Stage (birth to about 2 years): Knowledge of the world is limited to
sensory experiences and motor activities. Children learn about the world through
basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and listening.
Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years): Children start to think symbolically and learn
to use words and pictures to represent objects. They lack the ability to perform
operations, which are reversible mental actions.
Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years): Children gain the ability to think
logically about concrete events and understand the concept of conservation.
Formal Operational Stage (12 years and up): The ability to think abstractly, reason
logically, and draw conclusions from available information is developed.
4. Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning
Lev Vygotsky emphasized the social context of learning. His theory is known for
the concepts of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Scaffolding:
Zone of Proximal Development: The difference between what a learner can do
without help and what they can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a
skilled partner.
Scaffolding: The support given during the learning process, tailored to the needs of
the student, with the intention of helping the student achieve his/her learning goals.

5. Bloom’s Domains of Learning

Benjamin Bloom and collaborators identified three domains of educational
activities:
Cognitive Domain (Bloom’s Taxonomy): Involves knowledge and the
development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of
specific facts and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities
and skills. There are six levels in the taxonomy, ranging from simple recall or
recognition of facts (knowledge) as the lowest level, through increasingly more
complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as
evaluation.
Affective Domain: Involves the manner in which we deal with things emotionally,
such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes.
Psychomotor Domain: Involves physical movement, coordination, and the use of
the motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice and is
measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or techniques in
execution.
6. J. Cummins’ Cognitive Theory of Bilingualism (CALP & BICS)
Jim Cummins distinguishes between two types of language proficiency:
Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS): This refers to conversational
fluency in a language, the basic ability to communicate and understand in everyday
contexts.
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP): This refers to the use of
language in academic contexts, requiring more abstract, context-reduced forms of
language that are used in literacy and academic content learning. Cummins argued
that while students may quickly develop BICS, CALP takes much longer to
develop, often five to seven years.

Practical Tasks:

1. Choose the activities/tasks in forming 4’C skills of CLIL from “Eyes

Open” 8 Grade textbook.

Eyes Open” 8 Grade textbook.

Theme: Discover culture
 Content
Read the article and check your answers. P11
 Communication
Work with your partner.Look at the photos and the words in the box.Describe a
wedding you have been to or seen.How was it similar to the weddings in the
photos. P10
 Cognition
Think about another traditional ceremony in your country and answer the questions
with a partner. P10
 Culture
Test your memory.Work with a partner and answer the questions. P10

2. Represent the sample of a Lesson Plan on one of the topics “CLIL” from
“Eyes Open” 8 Grade textbook.
Lesson Plan: Discover Culture
Objective:
Learn about diverse wedding traditions.
Practice listening, speaking, and critical thinking in the target language.
Materials:
Photos of various weddings.
A short video showcasing a wedding ceremony.
A worksheet with wedding-related vocabulary and true/false statements about the
video.
Lesson Duration: 45 minutes
Introduction (5 minutes)
Brief Discussion: Show photos of weddings from different cultures. Ask students
to quickly share if they've attended a wedding and to mention one memorable
element from it.

Main Activities (30 minutes)

First Video Viewing (5 minutes)
Students watch the video to get a general understanding of the wedding being
shown. Prompt them to pay attention to cultural elements and wedding traditions
featured in the video.

Vocabulary Matching (5 minutes)

Before the second viewing, hand out the worksheets. Students quickly match
wedding-related words to their meanings or to images shown in the photos at the
beginning of the lesson.

Second Video Viewing and True/False Activity (10 minutes)

Students watch the video again, this time focusing on details to answer the
true/false statements on their worksheet.
Immediately after, they pair up to compare answers and justify their choices using
evidence from the video.

Memory Test and Discussion (10 minutes)

In pairs, students try to recall details from the video and answer questions on their
worksheet without rewatching the video.
Briefly discuss the answers as a class, correcting any misconceptions and
highlighting interesting cultural elements.

Conclusion (10 minutes)

Cultural Exchange (10 minutes)
Students think of a traditional ceremony in their country or another culture they are
familiar with. In pairs, they discuss how this ceremony is similar or different from
the wedding they watched.
Encourage each pair to share one interesting comparison with the class, focusing
on cultural diversity and traditions.
Assessment:
Participation in pair and class discussions.
Accuracy in the true/false activity based on the video content.
Homework :
Students can write a short paragraph comparing the wedding in the video to a
wedding tradition they are familiar with, focusing on cultural similarities and
differences.