Chapter 9. "Teachers help teachers"
Through studying the best approaches to make students learn and acquire a second language, one is faced with the term 'CLIL,' which stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning, an umbrella term presupposing a dual-focused education, in which non-language contents are taught through a foreign language (Marsh, 2002, p. 10). This methodology has proven successful in keeping the students familiar with the foreign language, thus improving essential skills such as fluency, and reducing language anxiety. Consequently, it aims the development of linguistic competence in English and content knowledge acquisition (Piacentini et al., 2019).
As EFL aspiring teachers, we were asked if we would implement a strategy like this in our future lessons, leveling up the learners' contact with English and featuring interdisciplinary work in the classroom. Despite the initial general uncertainty of the class, it was argued that teaching a different subject than one was trained to could maximize the risk of spreading wrong information. However, it could be an effective strategy to implement in schools. Given the case of international students, this methodology could be beneficial, not only for them, enabling a better communication environment with their classmates and teachers, but also for their peers, who would be prepared to integrate intercultural projects in platforms like eTwinning.
Accordingly, international projects are major opportunities for students, to improve their intercultural communicative competence and enhance their empathy toward others. Therefore, CLIL models can also "develop competencies for democratic culture applied in difficult social contexts with learners who are low achievers and disengaged." (Leão, 2022, p. 221) Hence, for this to be possible, there must be a solid base of collaboration, respect, and mutual help between different subject teachers.
In the future, I wish to always seek cooperation and union with my teacher colleagues, in order to provide a safe and rich environment in which students can boost their creativity, curiosity, and knowledge of the world surrounding them. It is only with adequate communication that good projects can be successful and actually helpful and worthwhile in an educational environment. After all, teachers help teachers, and those who do so are mutually helping their students positively learn, which must be the shared ultimate goal.
References
- Leão, A. (2022). From Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) to Intercultural Citizenship and Language Integrated Learning (ICLIL). In M. Ellison, M. Morgado, & M. Coelho (Eds.), Contexts and Conditions for Successful CLIL in Portugal. U.Porto Press.
- Marsh, D. (ed.): 2002, CLIL/EMILE—The European Dimension: Actions, Trends and Foresight Potential, Public Services Contract DG EAC, European Commission.
- Piacentini, V., Simões, A. R., & Vieira, R. M. (2019). Teachers’ view of language(S) in (Clil) science education: A case study in Portugal. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 77(5), 636-649.
