Current Teaching Strategies in CLIL Background Narrative

---

Over the past few years, research has demonstrated the efficacy of using CLIL methodology in classes, not only in the content learning aspect, but also in the positive effect it has on the language skills. Built on the 4 Cs principles (Content, Cognition, Communication, Culture), these offer a sound and strong foundation for the development of CLIL lesson plans, but applying these four principles only is not enough if teachers want to use CLIL efficiently and successfully in their classes. In order for the CLIL approach to be really successful, teachers need to first change their teaching paradigm, then they need quality materials that can be adapted to the class context, and also effective teaching strategies. There is a great number of teaching strategies that support CLIL learning and unit 3 will explore some of these. This unit intents to offer the trainees some guidance on various teaching strategies, starting from Hattie’s top ten most effective of the impact on learning. The trainees will get acquainted with the strategies which are described in Section 1, followed by examples and applications of these strategies in Section 2 and ending with a simple template that will help them create their own CLIL ideas in Section 3.

1. Direct Instruction
   As the name says, Direct Instruction is a teaching strategy that uses forward, explicit and clear technique in order to teach a specific subject, concept or skill. It is teacher-oriented, which means that the teacher is the focus of attention and gives clear presentation of information. The method is usually used when new, theoretical content is introduced such as explaining grammar rules, mathematical theorems, new laws in physics and so on. Although it might be considered by some an obsolete method of teaching and it is not recommendable to have a whole teacher lecture class, for obvious reasons, it is, however, very efficient when the teacher knows to adapt this method to the task, meaning teaching through direct instructions when it suits the skill to be taught.
2. Note Taking and Other Study Skills
   Note taking is one of the oldest and one of the most important study strategies. It is an essential learning skill and students are encouraged to use this strategy from the early years of school, because of the many advantages it has. Firstly, it can be used not only as a study method, but also as a review method in preparation for tests, which leads to higher scores. Secondly, it helps retain important information because it makes it easier to look up specifics. There are several methods and ways of this study strategy, therefore the students need to discover which method apply best for them so as to improve their performance. The Cornell method, outlining, mapping, charting and the sentence method are some of the efficient methods used in Note taking.
3. Spaced Practice
   Another efficient method of study is Spaced Practice which is practically a method of revision of content over a longer period of time. The method consists of study sessions done at certain time intervals in which the student goes back to previously learned content. Good planning and pausing are essential for this method to be really effective so the teachers have a very important role in teaching the students how to correctly plan the study sessions. Through the repeated sessions, the student will find it easier and easier to recall information. Using spaced practice, the student will be able to build a strong foundation for better performance in class and on tests.
4. Feedback
   Feedback is one of the most known teaching methods and it is applied in almost all fields of life, not only in education. The term is used to describe a constructive criticism regarding a person’s or a group’s actions or behaviours. In class, it is widely used because it is a method, whether we are talking about continued feedback or instant feedback, that allows the students get an evaluation of their work or performance and helps them improve or enhance performance. Using positive feedback in class improves communication because it shows the student that the teacher is actively listening and it gives an opportunity to motivate the student.
5. Teaching Metacognitive Skills
   The term Metacognition is used to refer to a person’s ability to be aware of their own learning behaviours. By applying metacognitive strategies in class, the teachers help their students become more aware of their learning processes, are able to plan, monitor and evaluate and understand their performance. Thus, they become more efficient in learning and thus they make progress. Metacognitive skills focus not on what to learn, but on how to learn.
6. Teaching Problem Solving Skills
   Together with teaching metacognitive skills, this method is equally important because it focuses on the personal development of the student, on a long term. Acquiring problem solving skills enables students to identify, analyse, and find solutions to implement. It develops critical thinking and collaborative, team spirit together with a proactive attitude. The students need to work together in order to identify the problem in a situation, come up with possible solutions and then, analyse and determine which solution is/are optimum for solving the problem.
7. Reciprocal Teaching
   Reciprocal teaching is an interactive teaching strategy in which students assume a role in the assigned group in order to help develop reading comprehension skills. The roles given to each student involve questioning, predicting, clarifying and summarizing. This method helps students develop comprehension in reading by finding and organizing information, but also give a personal interpretation of the findings.
8. Mastery Learning
   This teaching strategy has become more and more popular in the past years due to its efficacy because it moves beyond students acquiring new information and content and goes into the level of students mastering their knowledge and content. This strategy enables students to develop at their own pace, moving away from the teacher centered approach into differentiated learning or blended learning.
9. Concept Mapping
   Concept mapping is a teaching strategy similar to the mapping method which enables students to better visualize the content, make better connections between concepts and ideas. It also helps them better organize these concepts and ideas. Concept mapping can be a key tool for the teacher as a planning device or as a pre-teaching strategy.
10. Worked Examples
    The worked example strategy, although it deals with problem solving situations, differs from the other teaching method as it leads the student to the solution by step-by-step explanations from the teacher. It is an efficient method because it helps the student get familiarised to problem solving and it can offer support for further practice, especially when the students have little prior knowledge.