A comparison of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approaches in secondary school bilingual programmes in Croatia

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Usporedba pristupa integriranog učenja sadržaja i jezika (CLIL) u dvojezičnim srednjoškolskim programima u Hrvatskoj
• Author: Lorena Jerbić
• Mentor: Stela Letica Krevelj (mentor)
• Committee member: Renata Geld (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Bojan Prosenjak (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Stela Letica Krevelj (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2024-07-04, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) involves teaching non-language subjects through the medium of an additional, target language with the goal of acquiring knowledge of both subject content and the target language. Originating in Europe, this bilingual educational approach has been widely studied in different European educational systems. However, there are no studies that have examined how CLIL with a foreign target language is implemented in the Croatian context. Therefore, the aim of the present thesis is to describe and compare the organisation of the Croatian secondary school CLIL programmes with English as the target language. The study was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews with three headteachers and five teachers in the CLIL programmes and an analysis of the CLIL schools’ official school documents. The CLIL programmes were described and compared using the adapted model of the “continua of multilingual education” (Cenoz, 2009, pp. 31-39), that analyses programmes as more or less bilingual regarding four educational features: the continua of subject, language of instruction, teachers and school context. The results show that the CLIL programmes vary in the number of instruction hours in the subject the English language, placing them on distinct points on the continuum of subject. Furthermore, the CLIL programmes can also be positioned differently on the continuum of the language of instruction due to the variation in the number of the bilingually taught subjects in the programme. Nevertheless, the CLIL programmes can be considered as equal on the same continuum regarding the use of the target language in class as English dominates in the bilingually taught subjects in all programmes. All CLIL programmes can also be regarded as equivalent on the continuum of teachers when it comes to the CLIL teachers’ proficiency in English, but they differ to some extent concerning the feature of teacher training in bilingual education, since not all schools offer professional development for CLIL teachers. Finally, the CLIL programmes can be considered as bilingual on the continuum of the school context when it comes to the availability of extracurricular activities aiming at advancing the students’ linguistic and intercultural competences. However, the majority of the CLIL programmes cannot be regarded as bilingual in relation to the features of the language of communication and the linguistic landscape due to the higher use of Croatian for these purposes.

Abstract (croatian)

Integrirano učenje sadržaja i jezika (engl. Content and Language Integrated Learning, CLIL) odnosi se na poučavanje nejezičnih predmeta kroz dodatni, ciljni jezik s namjerom stjecanja znanja iz predmetnog gradiva i ciljnog jezika. Ovaj obrazovni pristup europskih korijena detaljno je istraživan u različitim europskim odgojno-obrazovnim sustavima. Međutim, ne postoje istraživanja o provedbi CLIL-a sa stranim ciljnim jezikom u hrvatskom kontekstu. Stoga je cilj ovog diplomskog rada opisati i usporediti organizaciju CLIL programa s engleskim kao ciljnim jezikom u hrvatskim gimnazijama. Istraživanje je provedeno putem polustrukturiranih intervjua s tri ravnateljice i petero nastavnika u CLIL programima te analize službenih školskih dokumenata škola s CLIL programom. CLIL programi opisani su i uspoređeni pomoću prilagođenog modela „kontinuuma višejezičnog obrazovanja“ (Cenoz, 2009, str. 31-39) koji analizira obrazovne programe kao više ili manje dvojezične na temelju četiriju obilježja: kontinuuma školskih predmeta, jezika nastave, nastavnika i školskog okruženja. Rezultati pokazuju da se CLIL programi razlikuju u broju nastavnih sati iz predmeta Engleski jezik, što ih smješta na razne dijelove kontinuuma školskih predmeta. Nadalje, CLIL programi također se mogu različito smjestiti na kontinuumu jezika nastave zbog nejednaka broja predmeta koji se poučavaju dvojezično. Unatoč tome, svi se CLIL programi mogu smatrati jednakima na istom kontinuumu što se tiče upotrebe ciljnog jezika jer engleski dominira u nastavi dvojezičnih predmeta u svim programima. Svi CLIL programi također se mogu smatrati jednakima na kontinuumu nastavnika kada je riječ o njihovoj razini znanja engleskog jezika, ali se u određenoj mjeri razlikuju u pogledu organizacije stručnog usavršavanja nastavnika za poučavanje u dvojezičnoj nastavi, koje se provodi samo u nekim školama. Nadalje, CLIL programi mogu se analizirati kao dvojezični na kontinuumu školskog okruženja kada je riječ o dostupnosti izvannastavnih aktivnosti s ciljem unaprjeđenja jezičnih i međukulturnih kompetencija učenika. No, većina CLIL programa nije dvojezična u pogledu značajki jezika komunikacije i jezičnog krajolika zbog veće upotrebe hrvatskog jezika u te svrhe.

• Keywords: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL); English; secondary education; Croatian educational system
• Keywords (croatian): CLIL; engleski jezik; srednjoškolsko obrazovanje; hrvatski odgojno-obrazovni sustav
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:823163
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: TEFL; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra edukacije engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2024-07-05 12:22:17