Education of the republic of uzbekistan termiz state university department of english language and literature

CLIL in teaching young learners
How can CLIL be beneficial in a young learner classroom? Shin (2006) claims that content-based instruction responds favourable to the way young learner’s learn: they are active learners and thinkers (Piaget, 1970), learn through interaction with other people (Vygotsky, 1962) and actively construct knowledge through their own activities and through scaffolding they get from adults (Bruner, 1983). Content-based instruction “provides a CLIL „neither an approach that belongs to language learning nor one that

belongs to subject teaching. It is a unique approach which develops when the two teaching methodologies are merged “(Ioannou-Georgiou and Pavlou 2010, 5). Ioannou-Georgiou and Pavlou (ibid.) argue that implementation of this approach results not only in improvement of language skills and subject knowledge, but also promotes multiculturalism, intercultural knowledge and understanding, the development of diverse learning strategies, the application of innovative teaching methods and techniques, and increases learner motivation. Moreover, content related instruction supports how the brain makes connections and how learning takes place, thus facilitating students’ cognitive development (Curtain & Dahlberg 2010, 3). These characteristics of CLIL make it potentially beneficial in promoting learning in general.

Nowadays CLIL appears in many different forms and models andunder different names, depending on the context in which it is being implemented. Ramirez Verdugo (in Ioannou-Georgiou and Pavlou 2010, 16-17) distinguishes four broad CLIL varieties which go from content oriented to language-oriented: 1. immersion, from partial to total, where some, most or all subjects are taught in a target language; 2. Subject courses, where curricular subjects (like citizenship, environmental studies, design and technology) can be taught through the target language; 3.language showers for pre-primary and primary children, where there is a regular, short and continuous exposure to CLIL in one subject area taught in the target language for 15 or 30 minutes several times a week. 4 language classes based on thematic units, where lesson plans involve a topic-based approach including specific content from other curriculum subjects. Often, two terms are used to distinguish two broad varieties of CLIL: soft CLIL, which refers to contexts where topics from the curriculum are taught as part of a language course, and hard CLIL, in which almost half the curriculum is taught in the target language (Bentley 2010, 6). All these varieties are based on integrated approach, can be adapted to specific conditions and language levels, and promote the development of learning skills. These core characteristics make CLIL adaptable to teaching young learners.