This symposium addresses the peculiarities of languages in mainstream schooling by focussing on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) pedagogy in predominantly Anglophone contexts. Many European countries have developed CLIL as part of their national curriculum policy in the last 20 years. In short, CLIL involves the teaching of non-language content, such as Science, through the medium of a language other than the dominant language in society. In Germany, for example, the language of CLIL instruction is typically English, while in the UK and Australia it might be French, Japanese and other languages. Students in the UK and Australian programs can be language learners, but also often heritage or background speakers of the language used. This symposium therefore considers the position of CLIL as a language teaching approach in predominantly Anglophone countries and similar settings, as well as its role in providing first language instruction to some of the participating students.

In contrast to many European countries, the UK’s progress in CLIL and that of Australia lags well behind. Further, a trend of CLIL becoming synonymous with “learning English” has also emerged due to its strong influence in non-Anglophone European countries and recently also Asia (Lin, 2016). Learning or maintaining a language other than English differs considerably from learning the global language of English, setting Anglophone countries apart as a challenging and unique context for CLIL as a new pedagogical approach.  Despite recommendations from national reviews, the number of sustained CLIL projects has remained small, in spite of considerable interest from teachers (e.g. Bower, 2017; Hunt, 2011; Smala, 2013; Coyle, 2007, Cross, 2013).

This symposium presents research on CLIL in predominantly Anglophone contexts in the UK and Australia, and contexts in which CLIL languages include languages other than English.  It will address learning or maintaining a language in predominately Anglophone countries by rationalising why such contexts have specific challenges that contrast to other non-Anglophone countries. The symposium contributions consider what CLIL means in these contexts and why it is so different from contexts in which English is the vehicular language. Similarities to CLIL issues in broader contexts will be also explored. In doing so, the symposium will also move languages education away from the problematic silos of “English as an Additional Language (EAL)”, “academic curriculum subjects”, and “modern foreign languages” that exist within Anglophone curriculum contexts, towards a more holistic understanding of the value and benefits of languages learning as part of students’ broader education experience, including critical and creative thinking, first language literacy and development, and intercultural awareness.

The symposium considered several research questions:

How do school leaders implement different models of CLIL, what are their perspectives?

How do primary and secondary teachers build language into units of work in Science and Humanities?

How does CLIL participation affect inhibition thresholds of studying content in a non-native language?

How can curricula be merged through CLIL? What do formal and informal merged curricula look like?

How can we view bilingual programmes like CLIL in a multilingual world? What does it mean for people in CLIL programmes?  What are the challenges?

Why is CLIL in English dominant countries a way of providing high quality learning experiences? How can CLIL pedagogy be built on through whole school approaches towards interdisciplinary language learning e.g. EAL?

This symposium has two parts. Part 1 investigates UK school leaders ‘views on CLIL, CLIL and multilingual schooling landscapes of Australia, and CLIL in South Tyrol. Part 2 looks at ‘merged curricula’ across nation-states in CLIL programs, critical pedagogic approaches in CLIL, and an emerging model for CLIL that guides and promotes PTL - Pluriliteracies Teaching for Learning.

Bower, K. (2017) 'Speaking French alive': learner perspectives on their motivation in Content and Language Integrated Learning in England. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. doi:10.1080/17501229.2017.1314483 Conteh, J., & Meier, G. (Eds.). (2014). The multilingual turn in languages education: opportunities and challenges. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Coyle, D. (2007) United Kingdom, England, in A. Maljers, D. Marsh, and D. Wolff, (eds.), Windows on CLIL: Content and language integrated learning in the European spotlight. European Platform for Dutch Education. Cross, R. (2013). Research and evaluation of the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach to teaching and learning languages in Victorian schools. Melbourne, Australia: Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood. Hunt, M. J. (2011) UK teachers’ and learners’ experiences of CLIL resulting from the EU-funded project ECLILT, Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 4(1): 27-39. Lin, A. M.Y. (2016) Language Across the Curriculum & CLIL in English as an Additional Language (EAL) Contexts - Theory and Practice, Singapore: Springer. May, S. (2014). The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and Bilingual Education. New York: Routledge. Smala, S. (2013) Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) pedagogies in Queensland, International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 8(3): 194-205.