Ian MacKenzie Universit de Genve

1
Ian MacKenzieUniversité de Genève

• Content and Language Integrated Learning,
• Professional English, and the Future of ELT

2

• Many children now start learning English in
  primary school, study other subjects through the
  medium of English in secondary school, and become
  proficient in the language.
• So is there a future for the ELT profession?
• What about the use of English for professional
  purposes?

3
EFL and language schools

• EFL tends to concentrate on grammatical accuracy
  and native speaker-like pronunciation.
• It stresses learning about the culture and the
  society of native speakers, and emulating the
  native speaker. The learner is an outsider, a
  foreigner

4
Ah, foreigners

• To be English would be my luck. I would be
  moderately enthusiastic and moderately
  philistine, and a good sport. I would be kind to
  foreigners in a moderately superior way, and also
  to animals, except for the ones I kill, and I
  would lead a decent life, like most English
  people.
• Jan, a Czech, in Tom Stoppards play
  RocknRoll (2006)

5
EFL and secondary schools

• Until recently, in many countries, English was
  taught at secondary school as a foreign language.
• Consequently and inevitably EFL produces high
  levels of failure.
• The traditional private sector young adult EFL
  market basically exists to rectify some of these
  failings.

6
Studying for a university degree in English

• University degree courses are increasingly taught
  in English, so learners need a high level
  ideally IELTS level 6.0 or 6.5 in order to
  enter university.
• In the past, most European university students
  didnt even exit at that level.
• 6 years of secondary school English (600-700
  contact hours) generally leads to IELTS level 4.0
  at best.

7
Introducing English at the primary level

• Higher levels of proficiency of English require
  the introduction of English language learning at
  the primary level.
• English is increasingly being seen as a generic
  learning skill, alongside basic literacy, maths
  and IT, rather than a foreign language.
• Consequently it has to be introduced to children
  at an early age, preferably around 6.

8
Primary school English

• Growing numbers of children are learning English
  in primary school.
• 91-100 in Norway and Austria
• 81-90 in Spain
• 71-80 in Italy and Sweden
• 61-70 in Finland (where CLIL began)
• 31-40 in France
• (2002 data)

9
Towards a bilingual world?

• Many former colonies in the outer circle have
  bi- or trilingual middle-class populations
  (India, Singapore, etc.), and have English as a
  second or official language.
• But many expanding circle countries, including
  Columbia, Chile and Mongolia, have announced
  plans to become fully bilingual within a
  generation.

10
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

• Even if English is introduced at the primary
  level, there arent enough hours in the timetable
  to get learners to university level
• unless you teach other subjects through the
  medium of English.
• This has come to be known as Content and
  Language Integrated Learning or CLIL.

11
How does CLIL work?

• English is learned through the study of a
  specialist subject.
• One or more curriculum subjects are taught and
  learnt through the medium of a language which is
  still being learned.
• Either subject teachers teach entirely in
  English, or English teachers add content to their
  classes.

12
The advantages of CLIL

• It is based on language acquisition, not enforced
  learning.
• Language is integrated into the broad curriculum.
• Learners who struggle with grammar-focused
  exercises may be more motivated by CLIL
  materials.
• The focus is on natural language and inherently
  interesting content that is relevant to the
  learners other studies.
• Learners are learning as they use the language,
  and using it as they learn not learning now to
  use later or learning now to pass an exam.

13
CLIL in practice

• Language is used to learn as well as to
  communicate.
• The subject matter determines the language
  needed.
• Input comes from listening, and reading
  meaningful material.
• Speaking focuses on fluency not accuracy.
• Lexis and grammar are recycled in writing
  activities.
• Learners develop fluency by using English to
  communicate for a variety of purposes.
• Learners (are expected to) become proficient in
  English after 5-7 years in a good bilingual
  programme.

14
Secondary English teachers

• From a language point of view, CLIL contains
  nothing new to language teachers.
• What is different is that
• either the language teacher also has to become
  the subject teacher,
• or the subject teacher has to be a) bilingual,
  and b) trained to develop language skills.
• Unless the former occurs widely, the only
  general (non subject-specialist) secondary school
  English teachers will be remedial ones.

15
The future of ELT

• David Graddol argues that
• As English becomes positioned as a generic
  learning skill, alongside basic literacy and
  maths, and is taught to ever-younger learners,
  English specialists may find themselves more
  marginalised and their professional knowledge and
  experience less influential in the way English
  curricula are designed and delivered.
• (Guardian Weekly, CLIL debate)

16
The disappearing English teacher?

• David Graddol
• as soon as 15 years time the need for
  specialist English teachers will decline rapidly,
  from university level downwards, until the
  teaching of English is focused entirely on young
  learners and remedial work for older students.

17
Today Finland, tomorrow the world?

• David Graddol
• Finland, where Clil could be said to have been
  invented, is now also at the leading edge of
  another phenomenon the disappearing English
  teacher. There is an inevitable logic that as the
  project succeeds, so specialist English teachers
  are made redundant.
• See also Graddols free downloadable book,
• English Next, available on the British Council
  website.

18
On the other hand

• If everyone successfully learned English at
  school, the adult ELT market would largely
  disappear. Hmm
• Not everyone will be able to master a subject
  simply by reading about it in English.
• CLIL could lead to language problems and
  potential educational failure learners could be
  denied entry to BA or MA programmes because of
  their level of English.
• Many learners will still need English for
  special purposes.

19
Yes, but could I teach using CLIL materials?

• Why not?
• The material is still only a vehicle for the
  language, and the teacher doesnt need to know
  everything.
• Teachers can learn as they teach, and sometimes
  the learners can teach the teacher.
• Learners may be able to explain things about the
  topic while the teacher helps them with the
  English needed to talk about these ideas.

20
(A thinly-disguised plug for one of my books!)

• For example, the Acknowledgements to English for
  Business Studies include I have to thank my
  students in Lausanne in the late 1980s, from whom
  I learnt quite a lot about business.
• And thats true!

21
Professional English in Use

• There is still room for hybrid teaching
  materials which, while focusing on a professional
  subject matter, practise the relevant language.
• Such as, for example, the Professional English
  in Use series.

22
Professional English in Use

• Professional English in Use Finance
• is available now.
• Professional English in Use Medicine,
• Professional English in Use Law, and
• Professional English in Use ICT For Computers
  and the Internet
• will be available from May 2007.

23
Professional English in Use

• While pure CLIL is a shift in focus from
  language to content, the Professional English in
  Use series focuses on both content and language.
• As with all the In Use books, the left-hand page
  introduces content, and the right-hand consists
  of exercises practising the language and concepts
  presented on the left.

24
The comprehension exercises

• The comprehension exercises on the right-hand
  page focus on content (rather than grammar,
  etc.), e.g.
• classifying technical terms
• completing sentences
• completing tables
• gap-fills
• labelling graphs and diagrams
• matching half-sentences
• multiple-choice comprehension questions
• putting events in sequence
• True/False statements

25
The vocabulary exercises

• But there are also vocabulary exercises, because
  understanding the vocabulary is necessary to
  understand the topic
• collocation exercises
• crosswords
• matching words and definitions
• sentence completion
• word groups
• etc.

26
The Over to you section

• The right-hand page also includes an Over to you
  section allowing learners to relate the concepts,
  words and expressions to their own professional
  situation, studies and opinions. E.g.
• Think about the company you work for or your
  place of study. What are its most important
  assets? Are they shown on the balance sheet?
• What are the most diversified conglomerates you
  know of? Are they successful? Why do you think
  this is?
• If you were starting up a new company, what
  product or service would it offer? What would
  you include in your business plan to convince
  venture capitalists to invest?

27

• Self-study learners reading and thinking about
  professional topics like finance, law, medicine
  or ICT in English, and doing comprehension and
  vocabulary activities,
• and you guiding learners in your semi-CLIL
  classroom,
• are both instances of
• Professional English in Use