To CLIL or not to CLIL, that is the question...

These last lessons we have been dealing with CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). Our teacher suggests that the best way to use this methodological approach is through project work.

CLIL is a very useful approach to teach, since you are teaching language and content at the same time. If you feel comfortable teaching through CLIL, your students will perceive that positively and they will probably enjoy the process and will not be reluctant to learn contents in English.

On the other hand, if we want to be successful, all the teachers should be involved in the project. If this is the case, the English teacher can focus on more or less peripheral aspects of the project.

When planning a project, as the one we need to plan for our microteaching, we have to think about some important aspects:

• Aims
• Competences
• Concepts (language and content)
• How to introduce the topic
• Stages of the project
• Materials
• Assessment
• Activities, tasks and worksheets

Tasks cannot be isolated; they need to follow a structure. There should be warm up activities, middle activities and a final task. The activities should be assessed.

Storytelling

This week we have introduced storytelling in English teaching in Primary. To exploit the story, the teacher needs to act, mime, exaggerate, make use of voice, etc. So we can’t be very shy at that moment.

First, we have to introduce the story. That can be done talking about the cover, the drawings, the title, a character of the story in a drawing, an object, etc. We can also use the mystery box.

While telling the story teachers should also manage the group. If possible, it is better to split the class in two groups. One group can be listening in the multimedia room or in the computers, stories they already know and follow the listening while reading. In this way, students practise intonation, associate words with pronunciation, and obtain better comprehension of the story.

On the other hand, the other group need to be managed while they listen to the teacher. It is important to keep their attention during the reading. After the reading, or even during the reading, the teacher can ask questions to be sure students follow the story.

Questions after the reading should:

-          Develop students’ cognitive skills

-          Ask about their personal experience

-          Ask about the plot

-          Contain CLIL elements

Furthermore question should encourage participation and help develop their oral skills. Through stories, children develop understanding of themselves and the world around them. Storytelling is a class event which engages children’s interest, attention and imagination and develops their language skills. Children with different intelligences and learning styles like it. It also provides a framework for social skills and attitudes, such as active listening, collaborating, turn taking and respect for others.

Project work

This last week we have been learning about project work. A nice way to introduce the topic to students is using “a mystery box”. The students do not know the content of it and they need to guess what there is inside through questions. This technique activates their cognitive skills, curiosity and attention, fosters use of English, and promotes interaction.

After using the box, we can continue working on the topic through different activities (for example, for the project “the family”, we had laminated members of the family and we did different tasks with that material: who is missing?, prepositions, etc.). A good tip we received is that when correcting, you should always do it in front of the student so they can see it.

The structure of the project is based upon two questions:

-          What do we know? (previous knowledge)

-          What do we want to know?

Having all this information into account, the teacher has to close the gap between these two stages by creating engaging tasks and activities. As teachers, we also need to decide the outcomes, including structures, of the project. Attractive activities can be storytelling, videos, songs, role-plays, pictures and drawings, etc.

The project should always conclude with a final task. This task needs to provide information for their learning and can be used with assessment purposes. Also a grid and observations are good tools for evaluation.

September lessons

These first lessons the teacher has introduced the subject and explain all the tasks we will have to complete for the course.

She has also given us many useful tips for our teaching, especially concerning class management.

We have also reviewed previous knowledge about English Didactics. My classmates mentioned concepts such as project work, CLIL, storytelling, microteaching, etc.

One of the key points in teaching English is instructions given to students. As teachers, we must be sure that our students understand what they have to do and what we expect from them. That will make them feel confident. A way to do so is modelling and giving examples. As a foreign language teacher, we should not be scared or ashamed of gesturing and miming, even overacting a little, when explaining. 

Concerning class management, grouping is an essential issue. Make them work in pairs, then little groups and finally in open class. One of the members of the group is the speaker. That will make your class more dynamic.  Also, it is important to have their attention; songs, riddles and chants can be useful tools in that aspect. And most important: they are irrepressible doers because it is by doing that they learn.

A very good lesson was the one where Ricard Garcia came to class to give us some tips about going digital and online resources. The following day, I used voki.com in class with my students and they loved it! Their attention was fully there! I also love the time line websites, and the webs related to story writing, such as storybird or fodey.

We have also spoken about skills, and the teacher has told us that reading and writing should be developed after speaking and listening. In Primary 1 and 2 we should focus in oral skills, while written skills will come later. 

In general, I would say that the most relevant idea these first weeks, it is the fact that English teachers need to know well their students because you are treating with children, very sensitive human beings.