Teaching Science Through English - A CLIL Approach PDF
Teaching Science Through English - A CLIL Approach PDF
Teaching Science Through English - A CLIL Approach PDF
through English –
a CLIL approach
CLIL – CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING
Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Contents
3 What is CLIL?
Content first
The 4Cs of CLIL
Content-obligatory or content-compatible language?
26 References
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
What is CLIL?
CLIL is an acronym for Content and Language Integrated Learning. It is an approach to teaching the
content of curricular subjects through the medium of a non-native language. In a CLIL course, learners
gain knowledge and understanding of the curricular subject while simultaneously learning and using the
target language.
Content first
It is important to notice that ‘content’ is the first word in CLIL. This is because curricular content leads
language learning. Learning about science involves developing knowledge and understanding of: the
material and physical world; the impact science makes on life and on the environment; scientific
concepts; scientific enquiry. In addition, learners need to develop the accurate use of scientific language.
For example:
Biology
Describing characteristics: Plants have three main organs: leaves, stems and roots.
Explaining a process: Photosynthesis takes place in leaves. The leaves take in and
expel gases from the atmosphere. They get rid of excess water
in the form of water vapour.
Describing functions: The stem keeps the plant upright and supports it. It also carries
water and minerals to other parts of the plant.
Expressing purpose: Plant roots have two functions: to fix the plant to the ground; to
absorb water and minerals.
Science teachers in CLIL programmes therefore have to know the specific academic language that
learners need in order to communicate their knowledge of scientific concepts, processes, functions and
purposes. They also need to ask scientific questions, to analyse scientific ideas, to evaluate experimental
evidence and to make conclusions and justify them. In order to achieve competence in communicating
ideas, teachers should help learners notice key grammatical patterns as well as key content vocabulary.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
2 Communication: What science language will learners communicate during the lesson? e.g. the
language of comparing and contrasting in order to analyse similarities and differences between fungi
and plants.
3 Cognition: What thinking skills are demanded of learners in the science lesson? e.g. classifying
leaves, thinking about advantages and disadvantages of growing plants in polytunnels.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Content-obligatory language
Every subject has its own content-obligatory language associated with specific content. This is the
subject-specific vocabulary, grammatical structures and functional expressions learners need to:
Content-compatible language
This is the non-subject specific language which learners may have learned in their English classes and
which they can then use in CLIL classes to communicate more fully about the curricular subject.
For example, science teachers could identify the following language for learning about vertebrates:
Teachers do not need to use the technical descriptions of these two types of language.
Usually content-obligatory language is described as subject-specific or specialist language.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Wait time
Wait time refers to the time teachers wait between asking questions and learners answering them.
When subjects are taught in a non-native language, a longer wait time than usual is needed so that
learners can process new subject concepts in a new language. This is especially important at the start
of new CLIL courses so that all learners are encouraged to take part in classroom interaction.
Collaborative tasks
Include tasks that involve learners in producing key subject-specific vocabulary and structures in
meaningful pair or group work activities. Tasks may be at word level, e.g. a pair work information-gap
or labelling activity, or at sentence level, e.g. pairs can ask and answer questions about different body
organs, groups can explain how they plan to do an experiment or explain their results after doing an
experiment. They can do this either digitally or face-to-face. Activities should support processing
of new science content and language.
Cognitive challenge
Learners usually need considerable support to develop their thinking skills in a non-native language.
They need to communicate not only the everyday functional language practised in many
English classes, but they also need to communicate the cognitive, academic language of school
subjects. In CLIL, learners meet cognitively challenging materials from the beginning of their courses.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Providing scaffolding, i.e. content and language support strategies which are appropriate but temporary,
is therefore very important. For example, writing a substitution table on the board to support skills
of expressing purpose:
Providing effective scaffolding is a challenge to all CLIL teachers because learners vary in the amount
of support they need and in the length of time the support is needed. Learners might need more support
and for longer in one subject than in another.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
yybe able to present and explain concepts in their subject area clearly and accurately
yycheck pronunciation of subject-specific vocabulary which may look similar to other words in
English but have different pronunciation
yybe able to use appropriate classroom language to present new concepts, to question,
paraphrase, clarify, encourage and manage their classes in English.
Language teachers may decide to teach subjects in CLIL or may be asked to. They need to feel
confident about their knowledge and skills related to the subject they are going to teach. For example in
science, language teachers need to:
yyknow how to explain scientific concepts and applications of science in meaningful and creative
ways that will deepen learners’ understanding
yybe prepared to answer questions about scientific concepts which may be unfamiliar to the
learners, for example, ‘What is the difference between bacteria and viruses?’
yywiden their knowledge of science vocabulary and its pronunciation.
yyinput
yytask
yysupport
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
The table below gives an example of the way a classroom activity can be differentiated for less able
learners who are finding out about bones.
Differentiation is also necessary for more able learners. Teachers need to plan extension activities to
develop learner autonomy and learners’ higher order thinking skills for science. This is when Information
and Communications Technology (ICT) can be very useful for online learning activities such as web
quests and independent fact-finding.
Use of L1
In CLIL, it is recognised that some use of L1 by learners, and sometimes by teachers, is a bilingual
strategy that helps learners communicate fluently. Moving between L1 and the target language, either
mid-sentence or between sentences, is quite common for learners in CLIL. This is known as code
switching. Classroom observations show that use of L1 and the target language happens between
learners in the following interactions:
It is important that teachers avoid using L1 unless they are in a situation when it would benefit or
reassure learners. Some schools have a policy where no L1 should be used. Teachers should be able to
justify when they use L1.
Lack of materials
One of the most common concerns of CLIL teachers is that they can’t find appropriate science materials
for their classes. Either they cannot find anything to complement the work done in the L1 curriculum or
adapting native-speaker materials takes too much time. Increasingly, publishers are producing resources
for specific countries. However, as teachers gain more experience of CLIL, they generally start to feel
able to adapt native speaker materials from science websites and from subject-specific course books.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Assessment
CLIL assessment leads to much discussion. Teachers are unsure whether to assess content, language
or both. Different regions, different schools and different teachers assess in a variety of ways. What is
important is that there is formative as well as summative assessment in CLIL subjects and that there is
consistency in how learners are assessed across subjects in each school. Learners, parents and other
colleagues need to know what learners are being assessed on and how they are being assessed.
Teachers observe and assess learners’ performance using specific criteria. Performance assessment can
involve individuals, pairs or groups of learners. As CLIL promotes task-based learning, it is appropriate
that learners have opportunities to be assessed by showing what they can do individually and
collaboratively. Performance assessment can also be used to evaluate development of communicative
and cognitive skills as well as attitude towards learning. For example, teachers can look for evidence of
learners’ ability to explain the effects of microorganisms on the human body (communication), reflect
on the reliability of their findings (cognitive skills) and share information with other group members
(attitude).
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
that living things are organisms explain the features of plant the history of the discovery
made up of cells and animal cells of cells
similarities and differences draw diagrams of plant and
between plant and animal cells animal cells
the functions of cells compare and contrast
how plant and animal cells functions and features
divide of cells using a table
explain how plant and animal
cells divide
yySubject content
What content will learners revisit and what content will be new? Learners need to hear subject-specific
language more than once, so revisiting a new concept is necessary. For example, endoskeleton and
exoskeleton may be confused because the words are similar, or reflection and refraction may be
confused because the concepts are both related to the topic of light. To revisit concepts, teachers
should present learners with different tasks that demand different language skills but that are aimed
at communication of the same concepts. While planning, teachers should also note any anticipated
difficulties learners may have with content and language learning.
yyCommunication
As CLIL promotes collaborative learning, teachers need to plan pair work or group work activities so
that learners can communicate the language of the subject topic. Communicative activities should be
integrated during the lesson, rather than left to the end of the class. They can be:
yyshort, e.g. tell pairs of learners they have 3 minutes to brainstorm words related to muscles
yylonger, e.g. tell learners they have 10 minutes to work with a different partner to draw a diagram
of how arm muscles work. Finally, pairs tell their partners how accurate their diagrams are.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
CLIL teachers need to plan how to support learners in developing learning skills, such as planning
how to set up an experiment, ‘following instructions and working safely, making observations and
measurements, recording observations and measurements, handling data, drawing conclusions,
evaluating the experiment.’ (Hayward, 2003)
yyTasks
Teachers need to think about the kind of tasks learners will do during the lesson and as a follow-up.
It is important to plan a range of tasks which require different challenges, such as less demanding tasks
which involve transferring numerical data, for example about the times different metals take to react
to acid, and comparing results of tests shown on two different graphs. More demanding tasks include
evaluating evidence of, for example, changes in rocks as a result of chemical weathering, and applying
subject knowledge to everyday or hypothetical situations, e.g. Why does water in some areas of the
country damage washing machines and how could the damage be reduced?
yyLanguage support
All teachers need to plan to support for:
Sometimes support for input and output can be the same. It is useful to think of support at word,
sentence and text levels. In science, tasks include all three. The table below shows some examples
from the topic of food chains:
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
yyCross-curricular links
CLIL promotes links with other subjects in the curriculum so teachers should plan to include references
to learning similar content in other subjects. For example, if learners are studying the topic of forces in
science, it is useful to find out if they have been studying how the body uses forces in P.E.
(physical education). For design and technology, learners can find out which levers are applied in the
home and in industry. Teachers can then make links to forces in biology and physics. The example
of bones that follows can be linked to learning in P.E.
yyAssessment
In CLIL plans, it is important to link the assessment of learning, i.e. formative assessment to the
attainment of learning outcomes for the lessons. Many European CLIL programmes use ‘Can Do’
statements as these are clear for both teachers and learners. Assessment criteria are therefore
transparent. For example, in a science topic:
Teachers should keep ongoing records of continuous, formative assessment done through observation
of learning experiences in the classroom, in the science lab or outside. It is not necessary to record
information about each learner during each lesson. However, over a period of several weeks, evidence
of learners’ progress as they work towards achieving the learning outcomes needs to be recorded. Here
is part of a record for formative assessment in science. Teachers record the date when they observe
learners’ achievement of the following:
name can describe the can give examples can ask a research can check a
three physical of substances question related hypothesis
states of matter which are mixtures to separating by separating
and how a of components mixtures, and set mixtures and
substance can up an experiment evaluate the
change from one experiments
state to another
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
It is clear that the quantity and complexity of new science vocabulary was causing problems.
Highlighting key content vocabulary with explanations can be helpful.
The second set of questionnaires asked learners to tick a list of factors that help them learn school
subjects in English. The learners were aged between 13 and 16 and were from different Spanish schools
implementing CLIL programmes.
yypictures: 38%
yydiagrams: 19%
yyword lists: 18%
yytranslations: 49%
yyuse of computers: 19%
yyteacher explanations: 56%
yyfriends: 36%
The results of the surveys show, firstly, how important it is that teachers explain their subject content
effectively and, secondly, if friends support each other in the classroom, it is important to include
experiential learning, especially in science subjects.
CLIL teachers also report that at the start of courses, learners need considerable scaffolding
and encouragement to help them learn. This can be in the form of clearly presented step-by-step
instructions or explanations, constructive feedback and use of language frames. Learners respond
positively to meaningful contexts that personalise learning. They also need regular consolidation
of new content and language.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
It is useful to keep a list of task types and to tick off the ones that have been used over a school term or
a year. Here are some examples of task types for science:
circle, underline, tick describe and guess, information transfer sequence stages in a
the word, sentence or e.g. the bone, muscle from text to graph or scientific process
diagram which is true table
collect and organise find the mistake or label or match true/false; yes/no,
information find the link, e.g. diagrams or images e.g. an elimination
between different game
organisms Is the material solid?
(yes)
compare and contrast gap-fill multiple choice/odd
results of experiments one out Is it organic? (no)
Is it a mineral? (yes)
complete the identification keys, PowerPoint
diagram/table/graph e.g. a binary key with presentations Can it be several
questions to help colours? (yes)
learners identify Is it a type of rock?
minerals (yes)
Questions teachers should ask about the tasks they use are:
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Learning outcomes
yyto review the names of the main bones in the human skeleton
yyto understand the functions of the human skeleton
yyto investigate a question about the strength of bones
yyto be able to use a forcemeter to measure forces in newtons
yyto be able to record numerical data in a results table
yyto be able to consider the variables to be kept the same when carrying out an investigation
yyto be able to use results to make conclusions
Learning outcomes
The above learning outcomes can be divided into those which focus on science content, i.e. bullet points 2, 3, 4
and 6, and those which focus on content and language, i.e. bullet points 1, 5 and 7. It is important that teachers
notice learning outcomes which may need language support. Many teachers like to write the learning outcomes on
the board so that learners are clear about what they should understand and achieve by the end of the science lesson.
Learners also need to understand that the aim of the experiment is to help them develop scientific enquiry skills
in addition to learning about bones.
What is a forcemeter?
How do we use one?
Which unit is used to measure forces?
Questions
When asking questions, remember to use direct questions such as the examples listed. Indirect questions can cause some
difficulty with word order and are more difficult for some learners to comprehend. Avoid using, ‘Does anyone know …?’ or
‘Do you know …?’ because with teenagers in CLIL contexts, these can sometimes lead to silence.
Remember to wait for an answer to each question because learners need additional time to process language, to think
of an answer and to work out how to express it in English.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
If learners have already covered the concepts, check understanding using a quick oral or written quiz.
For example, hand out to pairs of learners a five-question multiple-choice quiz with questions such as:
Set a time limit of four or five minutes to answer and check that learners agree with each other before
taking feedback.
As well as ensuring that all students have a firm basis from which to begin the lesson, oral or written
questions also help to consolidate some of the vocabulary that will be used in the lesson: forcemeter,
force, unit and newton. You can help students to learn and understand these words by showing them a
forcemeter and using the words as you demonstrate how to use it. Ensure that they are all able to read
the scale on the meter.
Scientific vocabulary
Science is full of technical terms that need to be used correctly. Some of the science terms have different meanings
when used in everyday speech. For example, the word 'force' and ‘unit’ have several different meanings in English.
This could lead to confusion or, in some cases, learners may not know the meanings in everyday use so are less
likely to be confused by them.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
If possible, show students a model of a skeleton. If that is not available, a good diagram can be used
instead. Ask the class to suggest what their skeleton does. Use this to introduce the term function.
The idea that structure relates to function is an important one in science and will recur in many different
topics. Elicit or pre-teach that the skeleton supports the body, protects parts of it (e.g. the brain and
heart) and helps with movement.
Talk about the names of the bones with the class, ensuring that they know how to pronounce each
name. They will generally enjoy learning the correct technical terms (e.g. ‘scapula’ rather than
‘shoulder blade’).
Checking understanding
The following two techniques are effective ways of checking understanding of science vocabulary:
1) Asking learners to ‘point to’ their ribs provides a quick and easy way to concept check some vocabulary as you can
easily see who is unsure of what ribs are.
2) Asking about similarities and differences is an effective way to encourage higher order thinking skills. It also provides
practice in naming the bones in the arms and legs and helps learners develop skills of observation as they look at
diagrams.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Use discussion and questioning to consolidate both language and understanding of concepts.
For example, you could say and ask:
As a class exercise, ask learners to write the names of the bones on an unlabelled diagram of a
skeleton, or to attach labels to the appropriate parts of a model. Labelling an unlabelled diagram
(preferably one that is not identical to the one in their textbook) is a good homework exercise and
helps learners to remember new vocabulary.
Scientific enquiry
Ideas and evidence Learners make predictions and if possible give evidence for their ideas.
Carrying out the Learners make systematic observations and take accurate
investigation measurements using appropriate apparatus.
They identify when they need to repeat observations and
measurements in order to obtain reliable data.
Recording and Learners communicate what they have done using scientific language
presenting data and diagrams or graphs.
If possible, take enough materials so that groups of learners can do the experiment in class. A practical
approach to learning science is memorable, collaborative and meaningful. Present the instructions as a
worksheet and use diagrams to help learners to understand what they should do. If this is impractical,
ask learners to watch you demonstrate the experiment at the front of the class. If learners can only read
about an experiment on a worksheet, real understanding may not take place.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Language support
Collaborative work is an important part of developing enquiry skills. However, learners often do not know enough
language to discuss, challenge statements and present alternative ideas. It is helpful to tell learners that ‘on-task’
talk should be in English, i.e. talking about the experiment and what they are doing. ‘Off-task’ talk, e.g. negotiating,
turn-taking or asking for clarification may be done in the L1 if they don’t know the English words. The aim is not to slow
down the process of doing experiments but to encourage communication of ideas. It is also helpful to write language on
the board or on laminated cards so learners can refer to it and use it when necessary. For example:
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Adapting a worksheet
With any materials, teachers need to ask: Is the content suitable? Is the language suitable?
Sometimes, and if possible, changes need to be made. For example, in the worksheet above, it may help learners to:
• simplify some language: instead of real bones not real bones
rather than break but not break
• reduce the amount of language: It’s easiest to do this in pairs Do this in pairs.
• delete the ‘summary’ as this is not important for the experiment.
Write additional language support on the board to make everything very clear. For example:
• a list of materials needed:
a drinking straw
half a drinking straw
a quarter of a drinking straw
a ruler and marker pen
a forcemeter, a wooden block with a nail in it at one end
• add two further headings above the results table:
variable reading
• provide sentence level support for communication of results:
The ________er the straw, the __________ easily it breaks.
Variables
It is important to introduce or consolidate the term variable before learners start the experiment or to
check understanding of it after they have done the experiment. A variable is something that can change
in an experiment. In this experiment, the effect of changing one variable (the length of the 'bone') on
another (the force needed to make it break) is investigated. Consolidate the meaning of this term by
asking learners questions such as:
yyWhat variable will you change/did you change in your experiment? How will you
change/did you change this variable?
(Answer: We will change/We changed the length of the 'bone' by using different lengths
of straw.)
yyWhat variable will you/did you measure in your experiment? How will you/did you measure it?
(Answer: We will measure/measured the force needed to make the straw bend, by pulling
with a forcemeter and reading the force when the straw just starts/just started to bend.)
An important feature of a well-planned scientific experiment is that all other variables should be kept
the same. This is so that only the variable investigated (the length of the 'bone') affects the results.
Learners often instinctively understand that the experiment must be 'fair', and the term 'a fair test'
is important. You can ask:
yyWhat variables will you keep the same in your experiment to make it a fair test?
(Answer: the material of the straw; the diameter of the straw; always pulling halfway
along the straw.)
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
Recording data
Recording data in a well-constructed results table is an important skill. Here, learners have a
results table on the worksheet, complete with headings. Later in the course, you can give them
partly completed tables, and later still you can expect them to construct their own.
The purpose of a results table is to communicate data clearly. The headings of rows and columns
therefore need to be very clear. Learners should always include the units in these headings, rather than
writing them with the numbers in the other cells of the table. Check understanding of the word 'unit'
by asking students:
Conclusions
Making a conclusion from a set of results is another important skill. It is often a good idea to look back
at the title or aim of the experiment before writing a conclusion. Here, the aim of the experiment was
to find out if long bones break more easily than short ones, so the conclusion should use the results to
answer this question. A conclusion should be short; a good conclusion is generally a single sentence,
which directly answers the question that was being investigated. For example: From the results of our
experiment we have proved that long bones break more easily than short ones.
Anticipated problems
Content: some learners may not find the task challenging. You could encourage these learners to address scientific
enquiry skills by increasing the level of demand. For example:
1) A sk them to make three measurements of the force needed to bend each length of straw, then calculate the mean
(average) value. They need to modify the results chart if they do this.
2) A sk them to take measurements for at least five different lengths of straw, then plot a line graph of their results with
the length of straw on the x-axis and the mean force needed to bend it on the y-axis.
Self-evaluation
Learners should be encouraged to evaluate their experiment. In particular, they should think about how
much they trust their results, and how confident they are in their conclusion. This is a high-level skill and
many learners will need language support to evaluate what they did. Provide a language frame so they
can do this effectively. For example:
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
With time and practice, learners will be able to include a discussion or evaluation each time they write
up an experiment. To begin with, it is a good idea to discuss the evaluation orally with the whole class,
rather than expecting learners to write their own discussion.
It is important to note that the experiment did not use real bones, and that the forces applied to them
are not the same as the kind of forces that break real bones. Most students will be aware of this so
they should be encouraged to write one or two sentences about the differences after they write their
conclusion, explaining that their experiment cannot really answer this question with any certainty.
Plenary
It is a good idea to conclude the lesson by bringing learners together to round everything off in a plenary.
You could discuss:
yyany problems that they had when doing their experiment, and how they solved them
yythe results that they found – were they what they expected?
yythe conclusions they made
yyany suggestions for how they could make their experiment better if they did it again.
This provides further opportunity to use and consolidate new vocabulary associated with this topic. At
this stage some learners may code-switch, using some L1 and some English. Accept this and encourage
them to try again or translate or write sentence starters on the board to help them communicate in
English only. Leave time to revisit the learning outcomes and to ask learners:
yyDo you think you made a good start at achieving the outcomes?
yyWhat will help you understand them more clearly?
You can then use their answers when giving homework or when planning the next lesson.
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL approach
References
Bentley, K. and Phillips, S. (2007) Teaching science in CLIL, unpublished raw data
Coyle, D. (1999) Theory and planning for effective classrooms: supporting students in content
and language integrated learning contexts in Masih, J. (ed.) Learning through a Foreign
Language, London: CILT
Hayward, D (2003) Teaching and Assessing Practical Skills in Science, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Jones, M, Sang, D. and Fellowes Freeman, D. (forthcoming) Cambridge Checkpoint Science Coursebook
7 (p.7), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Snow, M. A., Met, M. and Genesee, F. (1992) A conceptual framework for the integration of language
and content instruction. In P. A. Richard–Amato and M.A. Snow (eds) The multicultural classroom:
Readings for content–area teachers (pp.27–38), New York: Longman
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Teaching Science through English – a CLIL
approach
This book is designed to help CLIL (Content and Language Integrated
Learning) teachers practically and effectively teach science through the
medium of English. Written by experienced CLIL teachers, it provides
useful tips and guidelines on how to plan lessons and develop activities
and resources in support of a CLIL approach.
Cambridge English
Language Assessment
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United Kingdom
www.CambridgeESOL.org
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