Section 1 TBL (task-based learning) in CLIL Background Narrative

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This unit explores the implementation of some task-based approaches in CLIL classrooms. This teaching technique consist of specific tasks that are given to students, which they need to carry out through collaborations with their colleagues. The interactive feature of this technique brings with itself many benefits and advantages. Problem solving activities or tasks involving planning something imply interaction between students, which leads to the necessity to communicate between them with a clear and precise purpose of solving the task. Besides meaningful communication and development of critical thinking regarding the content, in CLIL classes, this technique also provides the opportunity to acquire language, new vocabulary through the use of real language.

The activities described below are based on the types of cognitive skills involved as they were classified by Prabhu (1987)

-Information gap activities involve “a transfer of given information from one person to another – generally calling for the encoding or decoding of information from or into language.” (Prabhu 1987: 46)¹⁾

Information gap activities are beneficial in CLIL classes as they allow the pupils to actively collaborate with one another, they communicate for a purpose in an authentic communication situation and they also develop their teamwork skills.

Example of activity:

Draw my Picture

• Level: 4^th grade
• Subject: Arts
• Theme: cold/warm colours
• Prior knowledge: The pupils are familiar with the concepts of primary, secondary and tertiary colours, cold and warm colours.
• CLIL vocabulary: prepositions of place: up, down, the upper/down left/right corner, in the front, background, etc.
• Grammar structure: Present simple- imperative mode
• Activity: The pupils work in pairs, one of them receives a picture/drawings/photos or famous paintings replicas. The pupil who has the “information” has to give instructions to their colleague, who will try to draw and colour in order to reproduce as well as possible the original.

Other ideas for activities that can be done in CLIL classes which can be adapted depending on the content taught:

20 Questions - A pupil thinks of a word and the rest of the pupils have to guess the word by asking questions like: Is it……? For example: A pupil thinks of a bear. The other pupils might ask questions like: Is it an object? or is it a human? Does it have legs? etc. The pupil who thought of the word must answer with” yes” or” no”

Find Your Partner – The teacher prepares printed cards, two each having the same image related to the topic of the lesson. The pupils go around the class, card faced down, they need to find the person with the same image by asking questions like: Are you….?, Do you……? etc.

Further helpful material:
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-english/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/02/information-gap-esl.pdf

-Reasoning-gap activities involve “deriving some new information from given information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of relationships or patterns.”

Example of activity:

The Story of the Painting

• Level: 4th grade
• Subject: Arts
• Theme: famous paintings
• Prior knowledge: The pupils are familiar with the different painters’ work of art
• CLIL vocabulary: vocabulary chosen according to the content
• Grammar structure: Present simple/Past Simple
• Activity: The pupils work in groups; each group receives a card with a copy of a famous painting which they studied in arts classes, and a set of words which they need to use in order to create a story of the famous painting. After they finish their story, each group will read it for the class.

Other ideas of reasoning gap activities that can be done in CLIL classes which can be adapted depending on the content taught:

Plan a Party – the pupils need to plan a party (for them, for a colleague, end-of-the year party) using the information provided by the teacher (list of items/ideas adapted to the lesson/unit topic)

Plan a Trip – Same as the above, in groups, the pupils will develop a plan for a trip with the class, using the information provided.

-Opinion-gap activities involve “identifying and articulating a personal preference, feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation.”¹⁾

Example of activity:

My Favourite Band

• Level: 4th grade
• Subject: Music
• Theme: musical genres
• Prior knowledge: The pupils are familiar with the different styles of music
• CLIL vocabulary: vocabulary chosen according to the content, adjectives
• Grammar structure: Present simple
• Activity: The pupils need to present their favourite music band or their favourite music style. The pupils express their opinion over their colleagues’ presentations.

Other ideas of opinion gap activities that can be done in CLIL classes which can be adapted depending on the content taught:

The same type of activity as the one described above may have many variations and can be adapted to different lesson contents: My Favourite Painting-for art classes, My Favourite Animal- for natural science classes, etc.

Debate- Depending on the level of the groups, the students are invited to express their for/against opinion on a certain topic which the teacher announces: for example “Summer is the best season”-natural science classes, “classical music is better than modern music”- for music classes, etc.