Towards improved teacher CLIL practice

Abstract

Abstract Teachers in TTO and international schools teach both content and language. To do this effectively they use a method called "Content and Language Integrated Learning" (CLIL). In this research we identify design principles for creating a rubric-styled feedback tool for effective CLIL practice. We distil the main criteria for effective CLIL practice from the academic literature and validate it using an expert group of TTO teachers. Using descriptors of our own design, we generate feedback on the design principles for such descriptors using the same expert group of TTO Teachers. Approximately sixty-six percent of the criteria from the literature is validated by our expert group. However, it is noted that the degree of validation is dependent on the personal experience and familiarity of different teachers with the various aspects of CLIL. We show that descriptors must be very specific with no room for interpretation or discussion. Furthermore, they must describe realistic levels of competence and should avoid the quantification of things such as percentage of participation and attention levels, which are found to be immeasurable. The results of this research provide a solid basis for the creation of a rubric-styled feedback tool for the effective implementation of CLIL techniques.