CLIL – Content and Language Integrated Learning

In 2010, Bohunt School – the founding school of the nine-school family, Bohunt Education Trust, was the first school in the UK to introduce immersion language teaching (CLIL – Content and Language Integrated Learning).

This innovative teaching pedagogy sees a group of students in Key Stage 3 taught a third of their curriculum in the target language: French, Spanish or Mandarin. Native language speakers take tutor time and teach subjects like PSRE, Art, Drama and PE. We have also taught Maths, Science and History in the target language. The approach is so innovative that, when first introduced, it was shown by students from Bohunt School being asked to visit David Cameron, the UK’s Prime Minister, to teach him Mandarin before his visit to China.

The choice of this style of learning came out of an in-depth discussion of why we teach languages. We don’t teach students languages so they can get outstanding grades in their exams, we teach them languages so they can thrive in foreign countries that speak that language; we teach them foreign languages so they can be great linguists. CLIL goes far beyond just teaching a student a language though. Immersion/CLIL teaching enables teachers to challenge students cognitively, whilst improving their linguistic skills.

Communication is the key to progress. If students can communicate about learning in Drama or IT via the target language then they are gaining knowledge of the subject and advancing their language skills. The cognitive learning should not be compromised to accommodate their level of language. The teacher needs to prepare material that is accessible yet still cognitively challenging. Their ability to persevere, problem solve, work collaboratively, work independently and link up their learning are all skills that are explicitly developed in a CLIL programme.

The evidence that the approach is working is clear. First of all, and unsurprisingly, the language results are superb. Students take their GCSE languages at the end of Year 9, two years early, as they are ready: in 2019, an incredible 100% grades 9-5 (96% achieved grades 7-9).

The impact of the cognitive challenge and enhanced behaviours for learning, developed through the need to work collaboratively in order to understand what is going on, is also clear. By the end of the first year of the programme, students in the CLIL groups are outperforming their peers in ALL subjects, not just their foreign language. By the time the students reach Key Stage 4 there is no clear gap in attainment, although they are still outperforming their peers in some subjects. In essence students are well equipped to deal with other challenges across the curriculum due to the transferable skills they have gained in the CLIL lessons; an emphasis on skills and communication is enhancing attainment. Even more interesting is the way that being in the CLIL group enhances students’ attitudes to learning. This gap doesn’t close over time (see graph below). The enhanced challenge, the students developing resilience and the students having enhanced communication skills is improving their attitude to learning overall.

How it works at Bohunt

CLIL was first introduced in 2010 with a French tutor group, followed by Spanish, French and then Mandarin in 2014. There are then two methods of delivery:

1. Native speakers are used for the CLIL teaching. This is also the case for their tutor times. During the afternoon registration reading, CLIL tutor groups read books in their CLIL language. PSHE curriculum is also delivered in both English and their CLIL language.
2. During RS, drama, PE and computing, the language teacher delivers these subject areas, collaborating with the specialist teacher when needed.

The Major Challenge Faced

There are very few resources available for CLIL teaching and therefore Bohunt has collaborated  with specialist teachers to ensure that it offers the CLIL student the same learning opportunities as non CLIL groups. We have had to innovate to create and maintain a communicative and highly active learning environment.

What do students do in Years 10 and 11 once they have taken the language GCSE?

Students go on to do a Key Stage 5 course, the HSK Level 3 in Mandarin, the DELF B1 course in French and DELE qualification in Spanish. These courses are designed to prove the advanced language skills of non-native speakers. This has proved to be extremely challenging for the students as many of the topics are more suited to an older student with more life experiences, literary and academic knowledge. Furthermore, the gap between GCSE and KS5 is big and they need a strong grounding in grammar which the CLIL course endeavours to provide, beyond that of most students with a GCSE in a Modern Foreign Language.