Introducing English to young learners through CLIL

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an educational

approach that brings the English language into the daily life at our school.

It involves using both the learners’ first language and an additional

language in different subjects. In Finland, the predominant CLIL language

is English but also Swedish, German, French and Russian are used as CLIL

languages throughout the country.

At Lapland University Practice School the additional language is English

and it is used as a medium for overall learning. Teaching is adapted according to the competences and the

needs of the learners. The additional language is integrated in the every day practices for learning. In

class, the choice for the language depends on the objectives and the situations involved. However, the

learners’ first language and its development remains the teachers’ main concern.

Our main objective with CLIL is to nurture the learners’ self confidence in using the new language and to

encourage them to produce it. Learning curricular content in different subjects develops the learners’

communication skills as well as their vocabulary in the target language. This prepares the young learners

for the start up studying foreign languages and strengthens their motivation not only to learn languages

but to learning in general.

The introduction of CLIL also provides opportunities to meet the challenges of multiculturalism at our

school. Young learners will learn natural, positive attitudes to foreign languages and cultures. There is a

variety of CLIL research evidence that indicates this positive development.

CLIL at Lapland University Practice School

The Faculty of Education and the Lapland University Practice School are

partners in a two-year project (Kieliosaaminen Lapin voimavaraksi 2010-

2011) which is co-coordinated by the Summer University of Lapland and

the University of Jyväskylä. The project funding is provided by the

European Social Fund. The aim of this project is to strengthen and

diversify language learning and language competence in Lapland.

We have adopted a language showering approach at the Lapland University Practice School. We

incorporate daily English language showers in the delivery of the school curriculum. International

exchange students can also opt for teaching pre-determined curriculum themes by using CLIL during their

teaching practice period at the school .

Everyday life in grades 1 and 2 at Lapland University Practice School

Good morning, children! Good morning, Teacher! Sit down, please. These are

our ways of starting our school day in classes 1C and 2C. The English language

has gradually become part of our everyday life and enriches our learning at

the Lapland University Practice School.

What day is it today? It’s Monday today. Yes, it is. Very good. Greetings,

simple questions and feedback are now part of our classroom life. The main

classroom language remains Finnish, the learners’ first language, but English

is used in teaching as and when appropriate. This enables the learners to

become familiar with new concepts and vocabulary in both languages.

Learners get to recognize and use the names of colours, numbers, days of the

week, names of the months, weather expressions, names for different festivities, rhymes about food, and

different greetings in English. Various activities and games are used to strengthen learning. Appropriate

phrases are used at school meal times. Many songs and games that learners already know in Finnish

become familiar to them in English as well.

Puppets, and other teaching props are used to encourage the use of English. Let’s get-to-know-each other

game starts with someone with the puppet saying: My name is Heidi, here you are Ada, and handing the

puppet to Ada who continues by saying Thank you Heidi. My name is Ada, here you are Miro. The game

goes on until everybody has had the chance to introduce themselves.

Politeness phrases are also learned through games and songs. Children learn how to apologize in both

languages, and greet and take leave from each other at the end of the school day. Good bye. Have a nice

day. - Bye-bye! is the way we end each day.

When learning thematic units such as space, we learn concepts in both languages through auditive and

visual input channels. The English words together with their Finnish equivalents and/or a picture, are seen

as label cards on the classroom walls. The classrooms objects are all labeled for the environment to

support learning by combining a visual recollection with what is heard. Children tend to understand much

more than they can produce, and their language competence grows in a natural way when the new

language is integrated into daily routines, the environment and learning situations.

Young learners need concrete illustrative support material for effective

learning to take place. We have prepared e.g. word cards, word labels, and

games for classroom use. We have also been able to acquire some learning

materials, books etc. for our classrooms. These materials all support and

enrich the children’s learning.

Our objective has been to introduce CLIL into the Lapland University Practice

School and we have had a good start this school year. This development work

has been challenging but rewarding. Our young learners have been very

receptive, enthusiastic and motivated to learn new things in English. We think

that our work will bear good fruit when children move from the second to the

third grade, when English becomes a subject in their curriculum. The CLIL approach has had a positive

effect on their motivation and their attitudes towards foreign languages as well as on their courage to use

the new language.

Young learners on CLIL

In their classrooms our young learners get used to hearing and using the new

language, English, through songs, games, rhymes and daily routines. They

learn in an active way, and their visual environment supports their learning.

The children’s experiences of the new language are positive. Their comments

reveal their attitudes to the new language.

One child comments: It is cool because I learn new things and because it is

easy! Another says: It is nice to learn new and I would like to learn more and

more. Learning feels easy because it is part of their normal school day and

the new language is not an isolated subject they learn. English is integrated in

the curriculum contents so it is difficult to even notice it being there. One

child tells: I can say the numbers and colours, I know the months and the

days of the week, and I know many more words in English. I can speak a little English, adds another, and a

third rejoices: I am brave enough to answer in English!

This shows that the threshold to use English is very low for these young learners. They are motivated to

learn the new language and happy to use it in a natural way. CLIL enables them to be motivated and have

courage to use the language in different situations. Young learners have acquired English vocabulary,

know concepts in English – and make good use of them.

CLIL – the teacher’s view

In summary

CLIL spices up daily teaching. It is lovely to see the children acquire the

new language and develop their language skills. It is great to feel the

enthusiasm and joy that this new learning, understanding and using the

new language, brings about in these children. Introducing CLIL into the

daily practice is very rewarding for the teacher but it naturally creates

some challenges. The teacher needs to reflect on what to teach, and

how, and in what way to best encourage the children to use what they

have learnt. CLIL requires some new materials but also more preparation

time. The mission of our school as a University Practice School creates

some specific challenges.

We realize that we are at the beginning of our CLIL journey. However, the way that CLIL is already present

in our everyday school life, in our classes, and within our learners, makes us feel confident and

determined to continue this exciting journey .

Hanna Autti

Taina Tuomi

Lapland University Practice School, Rovaniemi