AN EXPLORATION OF CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED PEDAGOGY.
Fielding, Ruth ; Harbon, Lesley
AN EXPLORATION OF CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED PEDAGOGY.
INTRODUCTION
CLIL education and other forms of bilingual education have existed
for some time (for a comprehensive review and comparison of the many
different forms of bilingual education see Baker & Wright, 2017).
CLIL is primarily distinguished from other forms of bilingual education
by being a model used for additional language learning in which there is
no minimum time specified for learning through the target language.
Schools can therefore implement CLIL to varying extents, from one
subject area (or Key Learning Area- KLA) through to a whole day or
multiple days per week. Most research on CLIL programs comes from the
United Kingdom and European contexts. Frameworks have been developed
which describe CLIL pedagogy (Coyle, Hood & Marsh, 2010), but
teachers working with us found these were insufficient to guide the
practice they were undertaking in their school contexts.
Research exists on immersion contexts in Canada and USA, but much
of that research has taken place either with secondary learners, or in
primary schools which offer full or partial immersion: contexts which
can be much more extensive in terms of time on task than the CLIL model
we explore here. Little research has offered teachers a practical idea
of how a CLIL pedagogy differs either from accomplished teaching of
primary school students in general or from teaching in other languages
classrooms.
We have found in our research in schools in NSW that teachers crave
a more tangible and specific pedagogical model to illustrate what they
do, which enables them to speak about their work at a pedagogical level.
The teachers in the NSW programs knew, for example, about the 4Cs
(Coyle, Marsh & Hood, 2010) frame, which indicates how Content,
Communication, Cognition and Culture underpin what takes place in CLIL
classrooms (see the following section on prior literature for more
detail) However teachers found it difficult to apply this and other
existing frameworks and sought some specificity about the types of
interactions they use in the classroom to move between the different
requirements of a CLIL classroom.
We draw on data from classroom video footage to analyse the
discourse and interactions of the classroom to propose a pedagogical
model that outlines how CLIL pedagogy combines the use and learning of
two languages alongside content learning. We also signal where the
pedagogy reflects notions of accomplished teaching in primary schools
and where it offers something unique to a CLIL setting. We argue that
the key distinguishing aspects of accomplished primary pedagogy and
accomplished CLIL pedagogy is in the cycle of learning in the classroom
and the in-flight changes employed by teachers as they integrate and
embed multiple semiotics and content into their interaction with the
students through two languages. The CLIL difference can be seen in the
need to move between language 1, language 2, subject content and
classroom management seamlessly. We argue that translanguaging is used
in these contexts rather than code-switching, because the movement is
more complex than purely the teacher's binary movement between two
languages. The discourse flow can be either from language to language
and back again, use of paralinguistics to support communication, or a
combination of the two between and across both languages, with
pedagogical reasons (e.g., scaffolding comprehension, behaviour
management, emphasis) as the basis of moving between languages.
We propose a pedagogical model that outlines how CLIL pedagogy
combines the teaching/learning and use of two languages alongside
content teaching/learning. In so doing we also highlight the unique
aspects of the pedagogy that make this teaching CLIL rather than simply
emulating accomplished primary education. We note that the teachers in
these classrooms have developed their pedagogical practice to respond to
real-life challenges of their particular contexts. The programs were
initially set up with the simple instruction that they were to be
"bilingual programs". It is through their implementation that
a CLIL model has emerged within classrooms.
The guidance and instruction provided to the teachers in how to
teach "bilingually" was extremely limited, and higher-level
guidance for teachers on the wide variation possible within that term
was not initially provided (Baker & Wright, 2017). We acknowledge
that one of the key factors in this context is that the teachers were
given no background understanding or training in the many models of
bilingual education available, and therefore their pedagogical practice
has emerged as an approach developed in the field, building upon their
notions of accomplished teaching and pedagogical practice more
generally. It has been through our research with them that they have
encountered and identified with CLIL as a pedagogical framework
(Fielding & Harbon, 2014), and so their practice has developed in
response to their needs rather than developed using the guidance of
existing CLIL frames. We believe, that the development of these
programs, which now have many similarities to other CLIL programs
(Coyle, Hood & Marsh, 2010), can offer insight into the specific
pedagogical practices taking place in the CLIL classroom. We have found
in exploring these classrooms that the essence of the pedagogy is framed
through the teacher interaction and their fast-paced switches between
language, content and process, utilising translanguaging as a key
communicative tool.
BACKGROUND LITERATURE
What is accomplished primary pedagogy?
Siraj and Taggart (2014, p.6) have indicated that "there are
numerous definitions of pedagogy and much time has been devoted to
debating their subtleties". At various times pedagogy has been
referred to as a science, an art, and also more broadly as any and all
decision-making that a teacher undertakes (Marzano, 2017; Siraj &
Taggart, 2014), Debates continue around the meaning of the term. In this
article we use pedagogy to refer to the decision-making and practice of
teaching as undertaken by the teachers we observed. As the teachers are
in a primary school setting, we start from an understanding of
accomplished practice in primary teaching and then focus upon what
accomplished practice in a CLIL setting might involve. Prior studies use
a variety of terms such as "best practice", and
"effective practice", but we prefer to use the term
accomplished to align with the accomplished teaching of languages and
cultures developed in Australia (AFMLTA, 2005).
Siraj and Taggart (2014, pp. 6-12) in their extensive longitudinal
study of primary pedagogy have indicated that accomplished practice
includes:
* teacher organisational skills enabling a good pace in class
* clearly shared objectives between teacher and student
* good behaviour management
* collaborative learning
* explicit cross-curricular linking
* dialogic teaching and learning (interactive discourse about
learning)
* evaluative feedback
* use of 'plenaries' within lessons.
Their research with a larger group of academics scopes elements
which add affective dimensions and a wholistic approach to accomplished
teaching practices:
* (meaningful) homework
* (positive) classroom climate
* personalised teaching (and learning), where teachers react to
students' individual needs
* assessment for learning.
This prior work results in a comprehensive set of elements, which,
it is argued, add up to accomplished practice (Siraj-Blatchford,
Shepherd, Melhuish, Taggart, Sammons and Sylva, 2010). We would see
these elements as part of accomplished practice in any primary
classroom, including a CLIL program classroom.
The Five Standards of Effective Pedagogy (Tharp, Estrada, Dalton
and Yameuchi, 2000) have been developed by Tharp et al. (2000) as key
factors leading to learning success for all students regardless of
background and language. These are:
* joint productive activity
* language development
* contextualisation
* challenging activities
* instructional conversation.
We would therefore argue that any CLIL pedagogy would involve
within it elements of this list of characteristics of effective primary
pedagogies, but also that there are specific elements which set CLIL
aside from general classroom practice.
Prior pedagogical work in CLIL/ bilingual pedagogy:
Bilingual education in its many forms comprises common elements,
such as teachers with a competence in two languages, and use of a
language other than the language commonly used by class participants to
teach and learn content areas such as geography, history, maths or
science. CLIL has evolved as one form of bilingual education pedagogy
likened to immersion (Cenoz, Genesee and Gorter, 2014). CLIL has
distinct characteristics, primarily the lack of a prescribed quantity of
time to be spent in the new language of learning per week, In addition,
the contexts in which CLIL takes places tend to be additive language
environments, although the multilingual nature of citizens in countries
like Australia mean that the boundaries between previously distinct
education models now need to be merged, and more complex models which
incorporate notions such as a translanguaging pedagogy need to be
developed, Coyle, Marsh and Hood (2010) use the 4Cs Framework to
indicate their understanding of how language and content learning should
be integrated within a CLIL pedagogy. They indicate that there arefour
key components to a CLIL pedagogy: Content, Communication, Cognition and
Culture. They suggest that all four must be interlinked, taking into
account the specific overarching context in which learning takes place.
They argue that effective CLIL pedagogy encompasses these four Cs within
their context through:
* progression in knowledge, skills and understanding of the content
* engagement in associated cognitive processing
* interaction in the communicative context
* development of appropriate language knowledge and skills
* acquisition of a deepening intercultural awareness (Coyle et al,
2010, p.41).
They also refer to Cummins' well-known Matrix which indicates
the consideration required in bilingual learning settings of cognitive
and linguistic demands to ensure that learning is both linguistically
and cognitively appropriate for learners (Cummins, 1984).
In our experience, while such theoretical constructs are available
to teachers working in CLIL settings, teachers themselves still are not
clear about what their practice might look like in the classroom in
order that they might use a checklist to guide their pedagogy. Teachers
seek a clearer indication of what their work might look like. In
addition, the CLIL 4Cs does not allow for movement between languages
which we know works effectively within the classrooms we have studied.
We therefore feel there is a need to incorporate further elements into a
CLIL pedagogy to allow for the reality of these complex classrooms. Fa
this reason, elements of a translanguaging pedagogy (Creese &
Blackledge, 2010; Garcia, 2009; Sayer, 2012) need to be incorporated
into a CLIL pedagogy.
TRANSLANGUAGING AS PEDAGOGY
Theoretical exploration of how bilingual pedagogy is enacted, has
increasingly argued that bilingual pedagogy needs to move away from
monolingual norms and the separation of languages. Creese and Blackledge
(2010, p.112) use Garcia's term "translanguaging" and the
long-established term "heteroglossia" to describe how they see
bilingual pedagogy being enacted according to bilingual norms in what
they term "flexible bilingualism". Creese and Blackledge
(2010, pp. 112-113) identify seven key elements to a flexible bilingual
pedagogy:
1) the use of bilingual label quests, repetition and translation
across languages
2) the ability to engage audiences through translanguaging and
heteroglossia
3) the use of student translanguaging to establish identity
positions both oppositional and encompassing of institutional values
4) recognition that languages do not fit into bounded entities and
that all languages are needed for meanings to be conveyed and negotiated
5) endorsement of simultaneous literacies and languages to keep the
pedagogic task moving
6) recognition that teachers and students skilfully use their
languages for different functional goals such as narration and
explanation
7) use of translanguaging for annotating texts, providing greater
access to the curriculum, and lesson accomplishment.
Creese and Blackledge (2010) conclude that bilingual pedagogy needs
to legitimise the movement between languages to "ease the burden of
guilt" (p.113) which teachers experience when translanguaging in
contexts where monolingual expectations of language separation prevail.
Within languages education theorisation, an increasing understanding of
a multilingual turn has developed (Conteh & Meier, 2014; Hajek &
Slaughter, 2015; May, 2014), However, this has yet to impact in any
significant manner upon the expectations of the wider community
including teachersfrom non-language teaching backgrounds.
Following a similar theoretical underpinning to Creese and
Blackledge, Sayer (2012) explores the use of translanguaging as a
pedagogical tool in bilingual classrooms in Texas. He argues that
although his research initially intended to count the language functions
that were taking place in each language in the classroom, by undertaking
a translanguaging approach he observed that the focus needed to be less
upon the "language per se and more concerned with examining how
bilinguals make sense of things through language" (Sayer, 2012,
p84). He insists that within this approach the bilingual discourse
practices need to be seen within their social order and therefore he
re-emphasises the approach of Creese and Blackledge using language
ecology (Kramsch & Whiteside, 2008) as the approach to study. Sayer
(2012) identifies three forms of translanguaging:
1) teaching standard languagethrough the vernacular
2) using the vernacular to mediate academic content
3) imparting lessons that instil ethnolinguistic consciousness and
pride.
We can see through Sayer's (2012) study that the users of the
translanguaging pedagogy are not just teachers, and that students, too,
enact the pedagogy. We see the important crossover between
translanguaging pedagogy and the use of language in CLIL classrooms. We
see elements of translanguaging as pedagogy in this context in the
following ways:
* repetition
* translation (in limited amounts)
* simultaneous literacies and languages
* teacher and students using both languages to achieve different
goals.
We are brought to the point of realising a place for the use of
English (as the dominant language in our context) as well as the target
language within a CLIL pedagogy.
There is very little empirical research exploring the spoken
language use of teachers in bilingual settings. Lorenzo (2008) explored
teachers' use of instructional discourse in bilingual settings by
exploring the reading texts used by teachers in CLIL settings. He
examined how the texts were adjusted by the teachers to make them
comprehensible. Lorenzo argued that the use of CLIL as a pedagogy had
"outpaced" the development of research and good practice
(2008). We can see that in the case of teacher talk in the classroom
this may still be true. We can also argue that as policy-makers
establish top-down policy mandates to introduce "bilingual" or
CLIL programs, they do so without knowledge or understanding of the
necessary training for teachers to know how to change their teaching.
Lorenzo (2008) explores how teachers use three different strategies;
* simplification using processes such as reducing the number of
words per sentence or restricting the range of vocabulary
* elaboration - such as paraphrasing, repetition, apposition
* rediscursification - more use of questioning, more explicit use
of markers of evaluation, attitude, hedging, shortening of secondary
ideas, use of supporting text such as footnotes, graphs, visual tools,
glossaries, pre-tasks.
Lorenzo (2008) concludes that teachers need to be taught explicitly
how to use language in the bilingual classroom, what language to use,
and need specific development on how to modify input in optimal ways for
their classroom. While Lorenzo's workfocussed upon reading texts,
we would argue that many of the strategies used by teachers in adapting
written text for their learners are similar in nature to the adaptations
of their teacher talk in the classroom within a CLIL pedagogy, in
particular the use of paraphrasing, repetition and rediscursification.
Such strategies need to be taught through professional education and
through sharing within a community of practice.
Lewis, Jones and Baker (2012) cite Estyn (2002) who indicated that
the best uses of translanguaging between Welsh and English were:
* speaking and listening - listen in one language and give the gist
in another; express information in a formal register through switches
* reading - use sources in both languages and summarise the main
points orally or in writing in one language; read a text in one language
and complete tasks based on it in another language
* writing - communicate information that has been read or heard in
one language in writing in the other language; summarise information
heard in one language accurately in another language.
This model has similarities to a typology described by Garcia
(2009) which includes the previewing of content in one language, the
conduct of the task in the target language and the reviewing of the task
in the first (or both) language(s). Lewis, Jones and Baker (2012)
identify three types of translanguaging - classroom translanguaging:
that which takes place in the classroom and is planned and/or
serendipitous with a pedagogic emphasis;
* universal - translanguaging: with cognitive, contextual and
cultural aspects; and
* neurolinguistic translanguaging: which explores the brain
activity when both languages are activated.
For our study we are concerned with the classroom translanguaging
and we believe there is a place for this within the frame of a CLIL
pedagogy. The pedagogical framework we discuss in this paper, the frame
we have seen embodied in the four NSW school contexts, is outlined in
the following section.
FRAMEWORK
Our study is framed by accomplished primary classroom pedagogy with
a focus on the language-related elements which define a CLIL pedagogy.
The Five standards of Effective Pedagogy (Tharp, Estrada, Dalton
and Yameuchi, 2000) are:
* joint productive activity
* language development
* contextualisation
* challenging activities
* instructional conversation.
All five are seen in successful primary classrooms, but within a
CLIL classroom we argue that there are elements within the Language
Development strand of the 5 standards and in the target language.
Specifically, Language Development is broken down into four sub-strands:
* modelling, eliciting, probing, restating, clarifying, questioning
and praising
* connecting language with literacy
* using the first/dominant and second/additional languages for
clarification
* in-flight changes.
It is these four sub-strands that we believe indicate how a CLL
classroom contains elements of difference from a primary classroom in a
non-CLIL setting, and also differences to a non-CLIL languages program.
These elements we argue, show evidence of the grounded nature of
the development of this CLIL pedagogy. We further explain the notion of
the in-flight changes to be:
* between language learning and content learning
* between Korean/Indonesian/Chinese/Japanese and English
* between different modes of language and the process of learning
and/or classroom management.
These changes can also be seen through the following strategies
taken from the sub-strands of the five standards and incorporating the
use of translanguaging:
* restating/ probing for further clarification
* paralinguistics (e.g. gestures, tone, volume, speed of speech)
* connecting language with reading or writing
* translanguaging
* embedding of culture.
It is through these five elements that we see CLIL pedagogy being
enacted in the four sets of classrooms we studied. We see the key to the
pedagogy to be within the in-flight changes and teachers' guidance
of students through a cycle of learning which involves multiple semiotic
resources. This means the teachers use gestures, a multitude of
resources, restating, in-flight changes and paralinguistics to scaffold
the language and content messages they are delivering to their students.
The teachers use body language to convey meaning and embed multiple
layers of content into their interactions. The students thus participate
in a cycle of learning that engages them with content through the
language in a variety of ways within a short space of time.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
The data presented here were collected from four schools in NSW,
Australia. In 2009 the four schools had been selected to participate in
a pilot program introducing a bilingual style of language learning. Each
school was allocated one of four government-identified "priority
languages" at the point of introduction of the program - Chinese,
Indonesian, Japanese and Korean - and began implementing a program from
2010, beginning with the Kindergarten and Year 1 class and progressing
through to Year 6 (the final year of primary school in NSW). At the
start of the program the teachers were simply advised to implement a
bilingual program with the only requirement being five hours of language
learning to be integrated with subject-matter teaching each week. Our
first piece of research in the schools identified that the model being
followed in each case could be most closely aligned with a CLIL style of
bilingual education (Fielding & Harbon, 2014). Data collected for
this article comprised the classroom discourse and physical activity
captured on video during observations at each of the four schools in
2013/2014.
In order to explore the nature of the pedagogies developing and
unfolding in these four school contexts, we sought to answer the
following research questions:
1. What is the nature of the CLIL teaching in these schools that
allows for language development alongside content learning?
2. What is the difference between CLIL pedagogy and accomplished
teaching in a primary monolingual context?
We gathered data in the form of video footage of the four school
classrooms. These videos were recorded after we received University
ethics permissions and NSW Department of Education and Communities SERAP
(ethics) approval to film the classroom interaction. The classroom
footage was then transcribed for the verbal interaction in each of the
languages: Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian, Japanese and Korean. Native
speakers of each language undertook the transcription, and also
translated the transcripts into English. Alongside the verbal
transcription, annotations were allocated to the interaction depicting
the physical interaction taking place alongside the verbal interaction
indicating body language, gestures, facial expressions, unspoken
responses and questions and any other physical elements of the classroom
interaction.
These transcripts and the original videos were then used as the
data sources to develop themes underpinning the pedagogies used by each
teacher. Using the "Five Standards" as a basis for thematic
coding, the transcripts and videos were re-examined for their
indications of:
* in-flight changes
* between language learning and content learning
* between Korean/Indonesian/Chinese/Japanese and English
* between different modes of language and the process of learning
and/or classroom management
* restating
* probing for further clarification
* paralinguistics
* connecting language with reading or writing
* translanguaging/ code-switching
* embedding of culture.
Findings
Our findings are discussed in relation to the framework depicted
above and in line with the research questions.
1. What is the nature of the CLIL teaching in these four schools
that allows fa language development alongside content learning?
The nature of CLIL teaching is shown through the in-flight changes
we have observed across the four schools.
In all examples that follow, the transcription is presented within
the columns thus:
Speaker Transcript English translation Paralinguistic notes
(where applicable)
In-flight changes can be seen broadly in the following examples;
Example 1: Korean
In this example students in Year 1 are learning about which foods need
to be kept in the fridge. The in-flight changes can be seen between the
content learning about which foods must be kept in the fridge and the
language learning of food vocabulary. The teacher also moves between
Korean and English to emphasise a key point.
Teacher gwa il
Student gwa il
Teacher gwa il, gwa il deureoga X haeboseyo
Student uyu
Teacher uyudo deureogaji?
Teacher (English) We put food in the fridge don't we?
Teacher eum sik
Students eum sik
Teacher eumsikeul yeojjokega
Teacher igeoseul mandeulgeo
Teacher (fruit)
Student (fruit)
Teacher (fruit, fruit goes inside. X you try)
Student (milk)
Teacher (milk goes inside too doesn't it?
Teacher We put food in the fridge don't we?
Teacher (food)
Students (food)
Teacher (the food goes on this side)
Teacher (we're going to make this)
Teacher
Student
Teacher
Student
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Students
Teacher Shows on a model
Teacher Shows a paper fridge they will make
Example 2: Japanese
In this example the teacher switches from content instructions, to
classroom management, to English for further management of the task,
then back to Japanese.
Teacher o arekkusu jyouzu
ashi
hai sutanpu
Alanna Alanna
ichi ni san
ichi ni san
ichi ni san
ichi ni san
Teacher sensei chekingu, miteiruyo
Ethan jyouzu
Teacher (English) hold your pen properly
Student 2 ichi ni san yon
Teacher (English) yes they probably do need
a wash with all the texta on them
(English) this one especially
Teacher Oh Alex, very good
legs
here a stamp
Alanna Alanna
one, two, three
one, two, three
one, two, three
one, two, three
Teacher I'm checking, I'm looking
Good work, Ethan
Teacher hold your pen properly
Student 2 one, two, three, four
Teacher yes they probably do need a wash
with all the texta on them
this one especially
Example 3: Indonesian
In this example the Indonesian teacher makes in-flight changes to
switch to a language focus and back to content.
Teacher Ya. Yes.
Ok, siapa belum depat? Ok, who hasn't had a turn?
Isabel? Isabel? Isabel Ayo, coba.
Isabel. Ayo, cobe
Student
Teacher Lebih keras, keras, dan besar. louder, louder
Encang. Encang.
Merayakan. To celebrate.
Waisak. Vesak.
Student
Teacher
Student Student reads the text
on the board.
Teacher Teacher gestures for the student to
be louder
Teacher corrects the pronunciation
Student Student keeps reading the text
Teacher
Teacher Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Restating: correct pronunciation
Student
Example 4: Indonesian
In this example, in-flight changes can be seen to switch to a technical
classroom instruction and then switch back to content.
Teacher Oh, di Indonesia ada Hari Ibu. Oh, in Indonesia there is
Ya, Hari Ibu, bagus. Mother's Day. Yes Mother's
Ini pena merah. Tidak apa-apa Day, good.
oh, tidak apa-apa. This is red pen. That is ok.
Callum? Oh, that is ok.
Hari Paskah, Callum?
Student Hari Paskah? Sudah. Easter.
Teacher John. Easter? We have that already.
Oh, Zane, diamlah. Maaf? John.
Hari ANZAC. Oh, Zane, silent please.
Student Hari ANZAC. Sorry?
Teacher Bagus John. ANZAC Day.
ANZAC Day.
Good John.
Teacher
Student
Teacher
Teacher gestures that she needs Use body language to replace
the student to repeat. complex instruction
Student
Teacher
The in-flight changes occur so quickly:
* for focusing students' attention
* for ensuring comprehension
* for classroom management.
Without close attention to the written transcript of the oral
interactions, and close scrutiny of the video footage, the
spur-of-the-moment evidences of teachers making decisions to take the
class discourse in one way or the other, such translanguaging strategies
could be missed using other observation schedules.
2. What is the difference between CLIL pedagogy and accomplished
teaching in a primary monolingual context?
The second research question can be answered by our exploration of
the language based and translanguaging sub-elements of the in-flight
pedagogy. These are shown in the following sections with examples of
each element.
The sub-elements of the in-flight pedagogy
To further indicate our findings we show in the following section
some examples of classroom interaction, which highlight particular
elements of the in-flight pedagogy.
Paralinguistics
The use of paralinguistic strategies can be seen in the following
examples:
Example 1: Japanese
In this example the teacher uses body language to indicate physical
instructions,
Teacher u Oops
douzo Here you are
Student ariga:ou thank you
Student(s)
Classroom Teacher (English) Oop
Teacher a Jyacinta Ah Jacinta
Chotto kocchi suwatte Sit a bit further over to the
side
Kocchi
there
Tatte tatte
Stand up, stand up
Classroom Teacher (English)
(English) Ethan move across
Teacher Lachlan where should you
be?
Suwatte
Douzzo
Sit down
Here you are
Teacher
Student Takes card walks to toward baskets
Student(s)
Trips over Jacinta
Classroom Teacher
Teacher
Moves to Jacinta and taps on her
arm
Move hands up to indicate
"stand up"
Classroom Teacher
Teacher Wave her hand to the left to indicate
"Move here"
Teacher
Student
Student(s)
Classroom Teacher
Teacher
Use body language to facilitate
understanding
Use body language to facilitate
understand
Classroom Teacher
Teacher Use body language to replace
complex instruction
Example 2: Japanese
In this example the teacher uses body language to indicate classroom
management and instructions.
Teacher Tsugiwa katakana ikuyo Next we'll do katakana
ii? Okay?
Ripiito shinai We don't repeat
Ripiito shinai We don't repeat
Shiitse Shhh
Ripiito shinai We don't repeat
Teacher and Barney Will suwatte chanto Barney, Will sit properly
Students song song
a I u e ohayou a I u e good morning
ka ki ku ke konnichiwa ka ki ku ke hello
sa shi su se soudesune sa shi su se that's right
ta chi tsu te tomodachi ta chi tsu te friend
na ni nu nonbiri na ni nu ne carefree
minnadee utaumashou Everybody let's sing
ha hi hu he hokkaido ha hi hu he hokkaido
Teacher
Shakes head
Put her finger on her lips to indicate
"be quiet"
Crosses arms making an 'x'
indicating 'no'
Teacher and
Students
Palm open and close to represent
mouth movement - singing
Teacher
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Teacher and
Students
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Example 3: Japanese
In this example the teacher uses gestures to indicate what she means
and for classroom management.
Teacher sensei I
Will walk around and
aruite check
Ms. Smith will
cheku suru kara Walk around and check
Smith sensei mo Do you understand
airuite cheku suru Yes
Yes, okay whose is this?
wakatta?
Students hai ah ah shhhh
Teacher hai jya kore dare?
here, because the pens are
a ash here
koko pen koko ni arukara
Teacher Points to herself
Motions walking using index and
middle finger
Points to both eyes
Motions walking using index and
middle finger then points to both
eyes
Students Holds up laminated sheet of A4
Teacher paper
Puts her finger on her lips to indicate
'be quiet'
Teacher Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Students
Teacher
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Use body language to facilitate
students' understanding
Example 4: Indonesian
In this example the teacher uses gestures to indicate her meaning, and
to assist with student understanding.
Teacher O. bagus Wow, good.
Siapa senang? Oh, saya juga. Who's happy? Oh, me too.
Angkat tangan, Tahlia. Hand up, Tahlia.
Zane dan Oscar, diam Zane, Oscar, silent please.
Student Dua puluh satu days to Twenty one days to
Teacher (inaudible) birthday (inaudible) birthday
Ulang tahunnya (inaudible) (inaudible) birthday...
O, Tahlia senang sekall. Wow, Tahlia is very happy
Ok, bagaimana cuaca hari inii? Ok, how is the weather
Hari ini, emm, musim, musim today?
apa? Today, umm, season, what
Tahlia, hari ini musim...? season?
Pertama hari, musim? Tahlia, today's season is...?
First day of...?
Teacher
Teacher puts her hand up to show
who is happy should put their hand
up.
Student
Teacher
The teacher fanned herself with both
hands to indicate that it's hot
Teacher
Use body language to replace
complex construction
Student
Teacher
Use body language to elicit
student's answer
Example 5: Chinese
In this example the teacher uses gestures to indicate her meaning, and
to assist with student understanding.
Speaker Oral Text
Teacher '3A ban de tongxue, tamen you 20 jige, you
25 geren, quandui de. Tamen hen bang!
hen lihai! (... kids asked sth.) dui.
(English) Last week
shanggexing qu. Nimen zheyiban yao jiayou!
Speaker English translation
Teacher Last week the 3A class had over 20
pupils, they have 25 in total, they
have been great, been brilliant, doing
extremely well. Yes
Last week, you guys need to carry
on
Speaker Paralinguistics
Teacher Teacher on chair in front of class sitting on floor in
front of her
Raises left hand high and points (for emphasis)
Repeats "last week" in Chinese
CONNECTING LANGUAGE WITH READING AND WRITING
Continuing to answer research question 2, we found teachers also
showed evidence of their explicit linking between what they were saying
about how to read or write in the language.
Example 1: Japanese
In this example the teacher points to the written word as she says it.
Speaker Transcript English translation
Teacher namae no renshuu wo practice (writing) names
shimasu okay?
ii? okay?
ii? one
ichi
two
ni
three
san four
yon five
go one
ichi two
ni
Speaker Paralinguistic notes (where applicable)
Teacher
Holds up A4 sheet of paper and Connect language with
points
Points to sheet of paper for each
number
Speaker
Teacher
reading
Example 2: Japanese
In this example tracing is used to emphasise the written style of
language.
Traces over katakana
Teacher miteinai You're not looking
miteinai You're not looking
hai miteinai Excuse me, you're not
looking
Student Lachlan Lachlan Traces over katakana
RESTATING
Further answersto research question 2 include teachers showing
howthey use restating (Tharp etal, 2000) as a strategy eitherto
emphasise language, to correct language or to ensure understanding.
Example 1: Indonesian
Teacher Tanggal berapa hari ini? lihat What date is today?
Student papan tulis. Look at the board.
Teacher
Satu Desember, dua ribu December, first, two
sebelas thousand and eleven
Repeats the student's Repeats the student's answer
answer
Bagus sekali Very good
Oh, ada berapa hari sampai Oh, how many days to go till
Student hari Natal? Zane Christmas? Zane
Teacher Dua puluh empat Twenty four
Dua puluh empat Twenty four
Teacher Point to the board Use body language to facilitate
Student students' understanding
Teacher
Students are silent
Student
Teacher
Restate to enhance the acquisition of
the correct answers
Example 2: Japanese
In this example the teacher restates a student answer and then uses
that answer to continue the classroom talk.
Student natsu summer
Teacher natsu, hontou? summer, really?
That's right, isn't it?
sou da ne
They said it at the end, didn't
saigo ni uteta ne? koko ni they? Here
Yes. Here
hai, Koko ne That's right, my favourite is
sou, boku ga natsu ga summer
ichiban suki desu. Ne?
Student
Teacher Restates
nods Use body language to facilitate
understanding
EMBEDDING CULTURE
Yet another answer to research question 2 was how teachers also
showed ways in which their classroom talk had cultural elements embedded
within it (Tharp et al, 2000).
Example 1: Indonesian
In this example the teacher models a particular style of dance to
support their talk.
Student Inaudible Speech Inaudible Speech
Teacher Tidak, karena Tari Randai No, because Randai Dance
dari Pulau Sumatra, Tari is from Sumatra, Kecak is
Kecak dari Pulau Bali from Bali
Student
Teacher Teacher gestures Kecak Dance Use body language to facilitate
Culture embedded in content student understanding
TRANSLANGUAGING
Teachers indicated that they moved between languages at different
times in their teaching for particular purposes, thus indicating a need
for translanguaging (Garcia, 2009) even if used sparingly.
Example 1: Korean
In this example the teacher reiterates a key point in English to a Year
1 class.
Student uyu (milk)
Teacher uyodo deureogaji? (milk goes inside too doesn't
Teacher (English) We put food in the it)
Students fridge don't we? We put food in the fridge
Teacher eum sik don't we?
eumskeul yeojjokega (food)
(the food goes on this side)
Student
Teacher
Teacher
Students
Teacher Shows on a model
Example 2: Indonesian
In this example the teacher switches to include some key words in
English.
Teacher Dewa, dan dewi, (English) Dewa, dan dewi, gods and
gods and goddesses goddesses
Teacher Translanguaging
Example 3: Chinese
In this example the teacher uses both languages to restate and
reinforce in relation to classroom management.
Speaker English translation
Teacher Guolai, Guolai, zheli zuo Come Come and sit here
Student (English) He's gone around there He's gone around there
Teacher (English) Okay Okay
Teacher Kan laoshikan laoshi Look at me, look at me
Teacher (English) Okay Laoshi you qiaokeli Okay I have chocolate
Speaker Paralinguistics
Teacher
Student
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Example 4: Chinese
In this example the teacher uses both languages for emphasis and
reinforcement
Speaker Oral Text
Teacher '3A ban de tongxue, tame nyou 20 jige, you
25 geren, quandui de. Tamen hen bang! hen
lihai! (... kids asked sth) dui
(English) Last week
shanggexingqu, Nmen zheyban yao]iayoul
Speaker English translation
Teacher Last week the 3A class had over 20
pupils, they have 25 in total, they
have been great, been brilliant, doing
extremely well, Yes
Last week
Last week, you guys need to carry
on
Speaker Paralinguistics
Teacher Teacher on chair in front of class sitting on floor in
front of her
Raises left hand high and points (for emphasis)
Repeats last week in Chinese
DISCUSSION
We show that the in-flight changes are the key to the CLIL
classroom, and the subelements of those in-flight changes are what
separates CLIL pedagogy from more standard accomplished teaching. We
also believe that the key difference between a CLIL classroom and other
languages classrooms in the NSW context is that the teaching of other
KLA content comprises the whole of the lesson, every lesson. Most
languages classrooms in NSW teach language-as-object and therefore these
classrooms most closely resemble a primary classroom with delivery in
English (the dominant language). The strategies being used by the
teachers might be seen in other languages classrooms but the quantity of
KLA content, the speed of changes made by the teacher, and the hidden
and embedded nature of language learning, in our opinion, distinguish
these classrooms from other languages classrooms. The classroom
transcripts and analysis of the physical interaction in the classrooms
clearly show in-flight changes such as the switching between the
learning of content to a focus upon language, switching between the
target language and English (in limited amounts) and switching between
the process of learning and classroom management. Sometimes these
switches are combined and show both a switch in focus and a switch in
language simultaneously. A teacher in any classroom has to make an
abundance of decisions in a short space of time. Indeed, early
scholarship on the topic of teaching focused on teacher decision making
as a basic skill of teaching Hunter,1979; Shavelson, 1973) ). Calderhead
(1981)- albeit at a distance now in time-argued that teachers, rather
than making decisions, responded in more automated ways to particular
cues in the classroom. Gill and Hoffman (2009) subsequently related
teacher decision-making to teacher beliefs. Regardless of the
technicalities of teacher choices in the classroom, the CLIL setting
adds a further layer to the teacher's pedagogical choices and
knowledge development due to the classroom requirements of teaching
content through language. These teachers have the added complexity of
doing everything the primary teacher does through a new language. Their
work is measured against KLA outcomes rather than language outcomes and
this distinguishes these classrooms from other language-asobject
classrooms. The teachers assess and report on KLA learning, with
language learning being treated as a by-product of this environment. The
teacher has in mind both language and content as they plan and deliver
their teaching, but they must ensure that their students achieve the
outcomes in the KLA before they return to their main classroom and class
teacher, who does not repeat or translate any content.
This means that teacher decision-making within the CLIL classroom
involves deciding which language to use, how, and in which ways, how to
speak about the subject content in that language and how to balance the
set of outcomes they need to achieve through the new language. The
teacher must decide how and when to emphasise language and how and when
to overlook language to focus on content. They must also decide when a
focus on language is imperative in order to achieve the content
outcomes. However the content outcomes are at the heart of the measured
learning within an educational context with a strong focus upon outcomes
and accountability (please see our forthcoming work on assessment within
these contexts).
Yet in our observations, teachers appear to seamlessly move between
the different demands of their CLIL classroom, thus depicting the
in-flight nature of their pedagogy through the apparently smooth
manoeuvre between different foci of content, language and processes of
learning. How they do so is important to understand. We believe that
there are a number of key elements within this in-flight pedagogy which
appear to make it more specifically CLIL rather than simply accomplished
practice in primary teaching, or accomplished languages teaching. The
linguistic elements and the notion of translanguaging specifically make
the pedagogy different to another primary classroom. The focus upon
content outcomes distinguishes it from other languages classrooms. The
teachers also exhibit a range of pedagogical strategies which emulate
accomplished teaching at primary level but which are particularly
essential to the CLIL context and enhance understanding while
facilitating the in-flight changes.
We believe that the elements common to all accomplished teaching
include:
Element 1: The pedagogy involves 3D activities
When teaching new content, teachers frequently use 3D means to
convey the conceptual knowledge to students in order not to necessitate
a verification of understanding in the first/dominant language. This
type of learning occurs in many accomplished primary classrooms,
although some may operate in a more traditional manner. In the CLIL
classroom almost all new content learning involves a form of hands-on
modelling, a physical demonstration, and students physically
manipulating items and realia to grasp the new concept. In one of our
observations we had observed the teacher using a model of the earth in
the form of a polystyrene ball with the axis as a stick through the
centre. The teacher physically manipulated the ball on the axis to
demonstrate how the turning of the earth and its rotation around the sun
impacts upon day and night and the seasons, Students then undertook
their own physical enactment of the phenomenon constructing their own
model. We saw such physical enactments of conceptual learning many times
and with different agegroups across the four schools.
Element 2: The pedagogy involves use of multiple semiotic resources
Within all classroom interaction we observed the use of a range of
resources at all times. Language, images, gestures, music, and extensive
use of the Interactive White Board with self-designed or sourced
interactive resources were at almost all times integrated together. The
classroom learning therefore relies upon the use of multiple senses to
ensure conceptual understanding. Student productive use of language
follows after a multi-sensory experience of language and content which
is active in terms of conceptual development, but language use is not
insisted upon until later in the learning cycle. The multiple semiotic
experience is necessary to ensure that understanding of subject content
takes place. Without such deep and rich learning environments students
might flounder in picking up the required content. This emulates
accomplished primary classrooms which ensure a range of approaches to
learning. In the CLIL classroom this is embedded throughout every
element of each lesson.
Element 3: Concepts of space
The use of space and the movement of students and teachers appears
less traditional, and is quite flexible in the CLIL classrooms
particularly in terms of "people, place and time". In other
words, the students come to the front of class often to take on a
student-as-teacher role (Fielding, 2015), they undertake leadership in
the learning cycle, and are apprenticed into the role of teacher/user of
content and language. This reflects what has been seen in other
bilingual modes of education where the use of a studentas-teacher role
is seen as empowering the students in their language use and in
developing agency in the classroom (Cohen, 2008; Cummins, 2000;
Fielding, 2015). It emulates some accomplished primary classrooms but
also shows elements specific to bilingual modes of education.
The final two elements, we argue, distinguish the pedagogy as being
CLIL through the manner in which they are implemented:
Element 4: The in-flight pedagogy
It is through the in-flight pedagogy that we argue the CLIL
classroom differs from nonCLIL primary classrooms. In-flight changes may
occur in other accomplished classrooms, however the nature of the range
of different changes in the CLIL classroom makes it distinct from other
accomplished primary school teaching through the movement between
languages as an additional layer. The illustrations of the pedagogical
components of the in-flight change shown in the findings section
indicate how the switches between content, language and process occur
both linguistically and physically. The teachers' use of re-stating
and probing questions in the target language facilitates the Community
of Practice apprenticeship-style of learning for students in the
classroom. It also enables the teacher to develop the dual focus on
content and language by reiterating content or language points at any
time and clarifying understanding of language or content at all stages
of the learning cycle. The teacher use of paralinguistics enables the
teacher to focus on content learning without as much need for linguistic
focus in the early stages of a new topic. By using gestures, body
language and visual support the teacher can enhance understanding of
content knowledge without needing additional time to focus on the
linguistic aspects. Then through the pedagogical cycle (as depicted in
Figure 1, below) the learning of language and new vocabulary associated
with the content occurs as a by-product of the learning cycle. The
embedding of a focus on reading and writing, and of intercultural
elements also ensures efficient use of classroom time. Underpinning the
teachers' switches is a pedagogy which empowers the teacher to
undertake translanguaging as needed to facilitate the smooth-running of
the classroom. Thus individual teachers use English (as the mainstream
language) in differing amounts.
Element 5: The pedagogy involves student apprenticeship (Community
of Practice)
Student development of linguistic and content knowledge follows a
cyclical pattern of apprenticeship. Students gradually build up their
use of language and content within a Community of Practice (Lave &
Wenger, 1991) modelled and facilitated by the teacher. The cycle
involves: hearing about the content, seeing the content (image/hands-on
resources), manipulating the content (make something, do something),
speaking about the content and writing about the content. Therefore
there are three receptive activities before the first productive
activity in linguistic terms. We depict this in Figure 1, below, as a
pedagogical cycle ensuring that engaging with the multiple resources and
repetitive use of language result in both content and language learning
through an apprenticing into the language and the content. The teacher
guides and facilitates student use of language and content through
multiple sources of engagement with the topic and linguistic structures.
In this way we see a Community of Practice approach to both language and
content. This emulates how bilingual development may occur in societal
bilingualism (Baker & Wright, 2017; Duff, 2007) within the
classroom.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Further exploration of classroom interaction in these contexts is
needed to understand the linguistic patterns in more depth. We believe
that the linguistic pattern h the pedagogy can be described as unpacking
and repacking of semantic density. In other words, technical content
language is broken down into common sense everyday language, and then
built back up into technical language again, The teachers who see their
students achieving well in terms of content and language appear to
skilfully rebuild the language and content complexity to a high level.
Further exploration of classroom interaction is needed to understand
this pattern of interaction in more depth and to further explore the
pedagogical model.
CONCLUSIONS
The teachers in these schools have developed a ground-up approach
to their context needs. By exploring whattakes place in the classroom
and examining this to see common threads across four schools which each
developed their own approach, we can see the key elements of CLL
practice. The key factors are an apparently seamless set of changes
within the teacher interaction which we refer to as in-flight changes.
These changes enable the teachers to shift in focus between content, two
languages and the processes of learning at a fast pace and to quickly
cover both content and linguistic foci. We have indicated how the
teachers show five key factors within their pedagogies that show
accomplished primary pedagogy but more specifically demonstrate elements
specific to a CLIL classroom. These elements are: restating/probing;
paralinguistics; connecting language with reading/writing;
translanguaging; and embedding of culture.
These elements combine together to construct a pedagogy that
empowers the teacher to make in-flight changes in relation to language,
content and process in a seamless manner. They can switch between the
target language and English and between a focus on content or language
learning at any time. In this way the pedagogy reflects elements of
accomplished primary teaching and accomplished languages teaching.
However it is through the combination of content and language that an
accomplished CLIL pedagogy differs from accomplished primary teaching.
In the CLIL pedagogical cycle content outcomes are the primary focus,
but delivery and teacher guidance of learning ensures simultaneous
learning of the new language.
REFERENCES
Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations
(AFMLTA). 2005. Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of
Languages and Cultures. Melbourne: AFMLTA/DEST. Retrieved from:
http://pspl.afmlta.asn.au/doclib/Professional-Standards-for-Accomplished-Teaching-of-Languages-and-Cultures.pdf
Calderhead, J 1981, A psychological approach to research on
teachers' classroom decision-making British Educational Research
Journal, Vol. 7, pp. 51-57.
Cenoz, J., Genesee, F. & Gorter, D. 2014 Critical analysis of
CLIL: Taking stock and looking forward, Applied Linguistics, Vol. 35
(3), pp. 243-262, Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amt011
Cohen, S. 2008. Making visible the invisible: Dual language
teaching practicesin monolingual instructional settings PhD thesis,
University of Toronto.
Creese, A. & BIackledge, A 2010 Translanguaging in the
bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching?, Modern
Language Journal, Vol, 94 (1), pp. 103-115.
Cummins, J, 1984. Bilingualism and special education: Issues in
assessment and pedagogy, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Cummins, J. 2000. Language, power and pedagogy:
Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters.
Duff, P. 2007 Second language socialization as sociocultural
theory: Insights and issues. Language Teaching, Vol. 40, pp. 309-319.
Fielding, R. 2015. Multilingualism in the Australian suburbs.
Singapore: Springer.
Fielding, R. & Harbon, L, 2014. Implementing a Content and
Language Integrated Learning Program (CLIL) in NSW: Teacher perceptions
of the challenges and opportunities, Babel, Vol. 49 (2), pp. 4-15.
Garcia, O. 2009. Bilingual education in the 21st Century, Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
Gill, M, & Hoffman, G. 2009. Shared planning time: A novel
context for studying teachers' discourse and beliefs about learning
and instruction. Teachers College Record, Vol 111 (50), pp. 1242-1273.
Hajek, J & Y. Slaughter. 2015. Challenging the monolingual
mindset: Reconsidering Australia's language potential. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
Hunter, M. 1979. Teaching is decision making, Educational
Leadership, Vol 37 (1), pp. 62-67.
Kramsch, C. & Whiteside, A. 2008. Language ecology in
multilingual settings. Towards a theory of symbolic competence, Applied
Linguistics, Vol. 29 (4), pp. 645-671.
Lave, J &Wenger, E 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate
peripheral participation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lewis, G., Jones, B. & Baker, C. 2012. Translanguaging:
Developing its conceptualisation and contextualisation,
Educational Research and Evaluation, Vol. 18 (7), pp 655-670.
Lorenzo, F 2008- Instructional discourse in bilingual settings: An
empirical study of linguistic adjustments in Content and Language
Integrated Learning, Language Learning Journal, Vol 36(1), pp 21-33.
Marzano, J. 2017, The new art and science of teaching: A
comprehensive framework for effective instruction Bloomington: Solution
Tree Press.
May, S. 2014. The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL
and bilingual education. New York, NY: Routledge
Saunders, W. & O'Brien, G. 2006. Oral language. In F.
Genesee, K. Lindholm-Leary, W. Saunders, & D. Christian (Eds.),
Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence
New York Cambridge University Press, pp. 14-63.
Sayer, P. 2013. Translanguaging, TexMex, and bilingual pedagogy:
Emergent bilinguals learning through the vernacular, TESOL Quarterly,
Vol 47(1), pp 63-88.
Shavelson, R.J. 1973. What is the basic teaching skill? Journal of
Teacher Education, Vol 24 (2), pp. 144-151.
Siraj, l & Taggart, B. 2014. An exploration of effective
pedagogy in primary schools: Evidence from research, London: Pearson.
Siraj-Blatchford, l., Shepherd, D., Melhuish, E., Taggart, B.,
Sammons, P. & Sylva, K. 2010. Effective primary pedagogical
strategies in English and Mathematics in Key Stage 2: A study of Year 5
classroom practice from the EPPSE 3-16 longitudinal study, London, UK:
Department for Children, Schools and Families. Retrieved from
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/183324/DFE-RR129 pdf
Tharp, R, Estrada, P, Dalton, S., & Yamauchi, L. 2000. Teaching
transformed: Achieving excellence, fairness, inclusion, and harmony
Boulder: Westview Press.
Ruth Fielding, University of Technology Sydney
Lesley Harbon, University of Technology Sydney
Lesley Harbon is Professor and Head of Schools of International
Studies and Education at the University of Technology Sydney. Her
collaborative research with Dr Ruth Fielding on CLIL and bilingual
education has been ongoing since 2005. Her linguistic landscape and
language teacher education research are also continuing. Lesley
supervises and examines masters and doctoral research projects. Lesley
has presented a number of keynote addresses to professional language
education organisations over the pastten years.
Dr Ruth Fielding is a Senior Lecturer at the University of
Technology Sydney where she manages the French and Francophone studies
program. Ruth is an active researcher with a focus on multilingualism,
bilingual education and CLIL, language and identity and language
learning and teaching. Ruth has worked at the University of Canberra and
the University of Sydney in the area of language teacher education.
Prior to an academic career she was a school teacher of French and
German. Ruth's book Multilingualism in the Australian Suburbs is
available as an e-book and as a hardback book from Springer.
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright
restrictions.
COPYRIGHT 2018 Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2018 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.