Prof. Carla Tosoratti
Good practices in teacher training
THE CLIL NETWORK
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN THE ITALIAN
EDUCATION SYSTEM
English: compulsory
 From primary to end of secondary (6 to 19)
 Junior School (11-14): two foreign languages
(English and French/Spanish/German)
 Two or three foreign languages in some
secondary schools (14-19)

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
CLIL IN ITALY

A lot of CLIL projects started in the 1990s,
mainly in secondary schools

New School Reform: 5th year of secondary -one
subject is taught in a foreign language

Taught by subject teachers
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
OUR REGIONAL AND LOCAL FRAMEWORK
CLIL first pioneered in technical schools (ITI
Malignani and ITC Zanon, Udine)
 CLIL local network in Udine
 Regional School Authority Office encouraged
dissemination of practices and training
 CLIL network in Friuli Venezia Giulia

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
OUR LOCAL EXPERIENCE
Province of Gorizia: area of bilingualism and
minority language
 2002: a group of secondary school teachers of
English decided to set up a CLIL project in two
technical and vocational schools
 Informal meetings followed to lay the
foundations of the project

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
WHY CLIL?

Teachers expressed a wish to improve their
knowledge of English or attend English classes

Some could already speak English fluently, and
wanted to “do something new” in class
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
WHY SHOULD I BECOME A CLIL TEACHER?
It is like “starting afresh “
 To enhance interaction and communication
 To foster interdisciplinarity
 To give students (and myself) the opportunity of
improving their (our) L2 skills

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
HOW WE STARTED
Informal chats with colleagues during school
break to get to know their views
 Non-language teachers were then asked to join
the project “officially” by filling in a
questionnaire
 The project was then approved by most local
secondary schools which set up a network

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
TRAINERS’ TASKS
Trainers are:
 L2 teachers with experience in training
 Main tasks:
1. Organize and run CLIL courses
2. Collect resources
3. Monitor and share experience
4. Maintain contacts
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
TRAINING ALSO MEANS…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Help learners find specific materials in L2
Encourage colleagues to produce their own
activities
Help learners to prepare lessons
Keep records of CLIL products
Be ready to support colleagues
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
WHO ARE TRAINEES?
Non-language teachers: initial L2 test to assign
them to groups
 Ideal number of trainees per course: 12 - 15
 Learners’ competence should be at least B1
 They should be aware of what kind of long-term
involvement the project requires

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
CLIL TEACHER TRAINING
Main phases:
 CLIL course: language and CLIL methodology
course
 Self-study/group study: finding resources and
materials; lesson preparation
 Language course abroad (LLP, Comenius)
 Subject-specific workshops
 Seminars at local and regional level
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD…THE TRAINING
COURSE
Minimum 30 hours
 Both language and CLIL methodology
 Based on “tasks” which both develop L2 and
get students familiarize with new teaching
strategies and activities
 Encourage pair and group work
 Use both language course and authentic
content materials from the beginning

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
ACTIVITIES

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Reading comprehension:
Questionnaire
True/false
Pre-reading and while-reading discussion
Vocabulary: explain terms using L2, give
opposites/synonyms
Chart completing
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
MORE EXAMPLES
Reporting texts/situations
 Note taking
 Role playing
 Problem solving
 Summarizing
 Micro-lessons
 Listening comprehension

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
CLIL TEACHERS’ INDIVIDUAL WORK
Regular reading of content-related texts and
materials
 Creation of specific glossary
 Development of L2 communicative skills
 Lesson preparation: choice of content/creation of
activities
 Self-analysis…
 Regular contact with trainer and other colleagues

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
SOME PROBLEMS…
The CLIL teacher:
 May find it “unnatural” using L2 – afraid of
making mistakes
 May feel L2 methodology too distant from
his/her own teaching habits
 Tends to focus on quantity of content given
 Might feel isolated among other teachers
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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
TRAINING TIPS
Have CLIL learners observe peers’ lessons and
fill in grids
 Analyse observation grids
 Discuss in plenary after lesson
 Examine both quality of content and class
interaction
 Have learners share feelings

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
THE FUTURE…
Compulsory attendance of language and
methodology courses run by university
 Full implementation of Secondary School
Reform
 CLIL in junior and primary schools to enhance
language learning

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Prof. Carla Tosoratti
THANK YOU
carlatoso@libero.it
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