THE PATTERNS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF
LANGUAGE USE IN CLIL CLASSROOM
By
Didi Sukyadi
Indonesia University of Education
Presented at
Thai TESOL Conference
Khon Kaen, Bangkok, 25-26 January 2013
Background
• Since 2006, the implementation of content language
integrated learning (CLIL) started through the
establishment of called Fledgling International
Standard Schools (FISS).
• Every municipal goverment should establish one FISS
which should meet national education standard plus
standards adopted from those of OECD countries.
• FISS was characterized by the use of English as the
language of instruction for teaching math and sciences,
while for the rest of the subjects useBahasa Indonesia.
Problems
• Most math and science teachers do not have
sufficient training in English and English teaching
pedagogy.
• Some teachers are indicated to use only a small
amount of English during their teaching such as
for opening and closing the lesson.
• The main activities are mainly in Bahasa
Indonesia.
• Now, the law ordering the running of FISS has
been nullified by Constitution Court, but the spirit
and practices are still alive.
Research Question?
1) What are the patterns of interaction during
the teaching and learning activities.
2) Is the use of language pedagogically indicate
an effective classroom interaction?
Theoretical Framework
• Snow, Met and Genesee (1989) CLIL language:
content obligatory language for learning content
and content-compatible language for supporting
content
• Coyle et al (2010): CLIL Language: 1) Language of
learning, 2) Language for learning, and 3)
language through learning.
• Language of learning= content language,
language for learning = for learning interaction,
language through learning = for learning new
knowledge.
Theoretical Framework
• Different from ordinary conversation where the
transition-relevance place (TRP) becomes
available through: (1) “the current speaker selects
the next speaker,” (2) “the next speaker selfselects,” and (3) “the current speaker, in the
classroom discourse, the rule is the IRF sequence
(teacher initiation–student response–teacher
feedback; Sinclair & Coulthard, 1975) or IRE,
where E stands for Evaluation (Mehan, 1979).
According to Wells (1993) in Waring (2009)
Effective CLIL Classroom
(de Graaff et al 2007)
(1) Teachers facilitate exposure to input at a
(minimally) challenging level by selecting
attractive authentic materials, adapting texts
up to the level of the learners and scaffolding
on the content and language level by active
use of body language and visual aids.
Effective CLIL Classroom
(2) Teachers facilitate meaning-focused
processing by stimulating the learners to
request new vocabulary items, check their
meaning, use explicit and implicit types of
corrective feedback on incorrect meaning
identification, and practice through relevant
speaking and writing assignments.
Effective CLIL Classroom
(3) Teachers facilitate form-focussed processing
by giving examples, using recasts and
confirmation checks, clarification requests and
giving feedback (sometimes including peer
feedback). CLIL teachers providing explicit
form-focused instruction, e.g. by explaining
rules.
Effective CLIL Classroom
(4) Teachers facilitate output production by
encouraging learners’ reactions, working in
different interactive formats and practising
creative forms of oral (presentations, round
tables, debates) and written (letters, surveys,
articles, manuals) output production, suggesting
communicatively feasible tasks, giving the
learners enough time for task completion,
encouraging learners to speak only in English,
providing feedback on students’ incorrect
language use and stimulating peer feedback.
Effective CLIL Classroom
(5) Teachers facilitate the use of compensation
strategies by stimulating students to
overcome problems in language
comprehension and language production,
reflecting on use of compensation strategies,
and scaffolding on-the-spot strategy use.
METHOD
• Respondent: Biology, Math and Physics
teachers teaching in Junior High Schools
categorised as Fledling International Standard
Schools.
• Their teaching sessions (a session for each
teacher was videotaped and transcribed.
• The results were analyzed based on the
theoretical framework mentioned above.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
• IRF is confirmed:
Extract 1.
32 F: By the way ((pause)) where is DNA is
located? (=I)
33 Students: Nucleus. (=R)
34 F: Correct. This is cell [showing her slides to
the students] (F)
Initiation
• Teacher mostly uses questions to initiate IRF
Extract 2.
T : =Oh, no. Greater than 180°. ((pause))
(mekka bunit cor)
200 degree is call? 200 degree is call? ((pause))
Ok Hasni. ((pause)) What is the name? Ayo
Acute angle, obtuse angle, and then?
S : Right
T : Right angle. And then? ((pause)) What is the angle?
((pause)) R- r- r-?
S : Right
T : No. R – E – ?
Language of Learning and Language
For Learning are essential in IRF
F:
By the way ((pause)) where is DNA is located? (=I)
Students: Nucleus. (=R)
F:
Correct. This is cell [showing her slides to the students] (=F)
Cell is the basic of living things and nucleus at the center of
cell.
Let’s make define!
That’s nucleus [looking at power point slide about nucleus]
What is that? [pointing to the slide] (=I)
Students: Chromosome. (=R)
F:
Good. Chromosome is coil of DNA. DNA’s strange ((pause)) like
this [looking at slide of DNA] Yup ((pause)) amazing (=R), right?
(=I)
Students: Yeah. (=R)
IRF & Language Trptych
• The knowledge of language of learning is really
important for CLIL classroom teachers and
students as only by knowing the language of
learning IRF, including language for learning, can
be achieved.
• When they know the language of learning, then
they will be able to use it as language for learning
that will establish successful conversation during
the class in that the contribution comes from
both sides.
Teacher’s Feedbacks are varied
• Extract 4.
F:
Is it possible? David Beckham and Victoria
have children like this?
Students: No.
F:
Of course not. Why?
Students: Different spesies.
F:
Excellent. So amazing phenomena in genetic
is a spesies can reproduce similar spesies.
Humans reproduce humans. Cats reproduce cats.
Elephants reproduce elephants. That’s amazing.
Effective CLIL Classrooms
• It can be seen clearly that for the first category, exposure to input,
all the teachers have fulfilled the indicators given by Westhoff
(2004).
• There was problem with the text selection, text adaptation, teacher
talk adaptation, and text adaptation during the teaching and
learning process.
• For the second category, content-oriented processing, third
category, form-oriented processing, and fifth category, strategic
language use, all the teachers have also fulfilled all indicators.
• However, the frequency among the teachers in the process of
applying all indicators was different. In this study, the physics
teacher was found to be the least frequent teacher who applied all
indicators for the effective language teaching performance in CLIL
classroom
• In the fourth category, (pushed) output, only physics teacher who
did not fulfilled all the indicators. There were two indicators that
were not applied, asking the students for interaction and
stimulating the students to use the target language.
Effective CLIL Classrooms
• Biology and Mathematics teachers always asked
their students to give presentation in English,
they stimulate them to speak in English and help
them when they had some difficulties in the use
of the special terms as well as the grammar.
• In the contrary, physics teacher did not try to
have her students give presentation in English
although in the conversation they have already
used English.
• In other words, it can be said that Physics teacher
has not stimulated the students yet to use the
target language and this is influenced by the
English Proficiency of the teacher.
Thank You