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Introducing English to young learners through CLIL
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an educational
approach that brings the English language into the daily life at our school.
It involves using both the learners’ first language and an additional
language in different subjects. In Finland, the predominant CLIL language
is English but also Swedish, German, French and Russian are used as CLIL
languages throughout the country.
At Lapland University Practice School the additional language is English
and it is used as a medium for overall learning. Teaching is adapted according to the competences and the
needs of the learners. The additional language is integrated in the every day practices for learning. In
class, the choice for the language depends on the objectives and the situations involved. However, the
learners’ first language and its development remains the teachers’ main concern.
Our main objective with CLIL is to nurture the learners’ self confidence in using the new language and to
encourage them to produce it. Learning curricular content in different subjects develops the learners’
communication skills as well as their vocabulary in the target language. This prepares the young learners
for the start up studying foreign languages and strengthens their motivation not only to learn languages
but to learning in general.
The introduction of CLIL also provides opportunities to meet the challenges of multiculturalism at our
school. Young learners will learn natural, positive attitudes to foreign languages and cultures. There is a
variety of CLIL research evidence that indicates this positive development.
CLIL at Lapland University Practice School
The Faculty of Education and the Lapland University Practice School are
partners in a two-year project (Kieliosaaminen Lapin voimavaraksi 2010-
2011) which is co-coordinated by the Summer University of Lapland and
the University of Jyväskylä. The project funding is provided by the
European Social Fund. The aim of this project is to strengthen and
diversify language learning and language competence in Lapland.
We have adopted a language showering approach at the Lapland University Practice School. We
incorporate daily English language showers in the delivery of the school curriculum. International
exchange students can also opt for teaching pre-determined curriculum themes by using CLIL during their
teaching practice period at the school .
Everyday life in grades 1 and 2 at Lapland University Practice School
Good morning, children! Good morning, Teacher! Sit down, please. These are
our ways of starting our school day in classes 1C and 2C. The English language
has gradually become part of our everyday life and enriches our learning at
the Lapland University Practice School.
What day is it today? It’s Monday today. Yes, it is. Very good. Greetings,
simple questions and feedback are now part of our classroom life. The main
classroom language remains Finnish, the learners’ first language, but English
is used in teaching as and when appropriate. This enables the learners to
become familiar with new concepts and vocabulary in both languages.
Learners get to recognize and use the names of colours, numbers, days of the
week, names of the months, weather expressions, names for different festivities, rhymes about food, and
different greetings in English. Various activities and games are used to strengthen learning. Appropriate
phrases are used at school meal times. Many songs and games that learners already know in Finnish
become familiar to them in English as well.
Puppets, and other teaching props are used to encourage the use of English. Let’s get-to-know-each other
game starts with someone with the puppet saying: My name is Heidi, here you are Ada, and handing the
puppet to Ada who continues by saying Thank you Heidi. My name is Ada, here you are Miro. The game
goes on until everybody has had the chance to introduce themselves.
Politeness phrases are also learned through games and songs. Children learn how to apologize in both
languages, and greet and take leave from each other at the end of the school day. Good bye. Have a nice
day. - Bye-bye! is the way we end each day.
When learning thematic units such as space, we learn concepts in both languages through auditive and
visual input channels. The English words together with their Finnish equivalents and/or a picture, are seen
as label cards on the classroom walls. The classrooms objects are all labeled for the environment to
support learning by combining a visual recollection with what is heard. Children tend to understand much
more than they can produce, and their language competence grows in a natural way when the new
language is integrated into daily routines, the environment and learning situations.
Young learners need concrete illustrative support material for effective
learning to take place. We have prepared e.g. word cards, word labels, and
games for classroom use. We have also been able to acquire some learning
materials, books etc. for our classrooms. These materials all support and
enrich the children’s learning.
Our objective has been to introduce CLIL into the Lapland University Practice
School and we have had a good start this school year. This development work
has been challenging but rewarding. Our young learners have been very
receptive, enthusiastic and motivated to learn new things in English. We think
that our work will bear good fruit when children move from the second to the
third grade, when English becomes a subject in their curriculum. The CLIL approach has had a positive
effect on their motivation and their attitudes towards foreign languages as well as on their courage to use
the new language.
Young learners on CLIL
In their classrooms our young learners get used to hearing and using the new
language, English, through songs, games, rhymes and daily routines. They
learn in an active way, and their visual environment supports their learning.
The children’s experiences of the new language are positive. Their comments
reveal their attitudes to the new language.
One child comments: It is cool because I learn new things and because it is
easy! Another says: It is nice to learn new and I would like to learn more and
more. Learning feels easy because it is part of their normal school day and
the new language is not an isolated subject they learn. English is integrated in
the curriculum contents so it is difficult to even notice it being there. One
child tells: I can say the numbers and colours, I know the months and the
days of the week, and I know many more words in English. I can speak a little English, adds another, and a
third rejoices: I am brave enough to answer in English!
This shows that the threshold to use English is very low for these young learners. They are motivated to
learn the new language and happy to use it in a natural way. CLIL enables them to be motivated and have
courage to use the language in different situations. Young learners have acquired English vocabulary,
know concepts in English – and make good use of them.
CLIL – the teacher’s view
In summary
CLIL spices up daily teaching. It is lovely to see the children acquire the
new language and develop their language skills. It is great to feel the
enthusiasm and joy that this new learning, understanding and using the
new language, brings about in these children. Introducing CLIL into the
daily practice is very rewarding for the teacher but it naturally creates
some challenges. The teacher needs to reflect on what to teach, and
how, and in what way to best encourage the children to use what they
have learnt. CLIL requires some new materials but also more preparation
time. The mission of our school as a University Practice School creates
some specific challenges.
We realize that we are at the beginning of our CLIL journey. However, the way that CLIL is already present
in our everyday school life, in our classes, and within our learners, makes us feel confident and
determined to continue this exciting journey .
Hanna Autti
Taina Tuomi
Lapland University Practice School, Rovaniemi