Re-framing CLIL: How a cognitive-linguistic turn may unfold integration

Initially introduced as the perfect approach to foster foreign language development and content knowledge at the same time, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has experienced some ups and downs not only in empirical research, but also in classroom practice. Although empirical research to date has been informed by various linguistic theories, most notably sociolinguistic models, classroom discourse and systematic functional linguistics (see Llinares & Morton, 2017), content teachers in higher education still stress content knowledge as the major aim of their classroom discourse, thus failing to see the pivotal role language plays in this context.

Since 'the existence and stability of content separate from language is an illusion' (Byrnes, 2005 quoted in Nikula & Dafouz, 2016) and 'an understanding of CLIL as fusion implies a multiperspectival view on both language and content, which, taken together, should help us understand the fusion of language and content' (Dalton-Puffer et al., 2010: 289), unfolding integration may be the key to enhancing the original concept of CLIL further and thus unravelling the complexity of integration.

In our paper we argue that integration is the key to successful CLIL and that a turn to cognitive linguistic theories may make the I in CLIL eventually more visible. For this purpose, we have to make this linguistic dimension of knowledge building explicit and transparent to teachers by drawing their attention to the human cognitive architecture.

References

Dalton-Puffer, C., Nikula, T., & Smit, U. (Eds.). (2010). Language use and language learning in CLIL classrooms (Vol. 7). John Benjamins Publishing.

Llinares, A. & Morton, T. (2017). Applied Linguistics Perspectives on CLIL (Language Learning & Language Teaching). John Benjamins Publishing Co.

Nikula, T., & Dafouz, E. (Eds.). (2016). Conceptualising integration in CLIL and multilingual education (Vol. 101). Multilingual Matters.