Transcript 3rd International Conference on Teaching English as a

Scaffolding in the primary CLIL classroom:
Teacher strategies for making input
comprehensible.
Maria Ellison
Context of pre-service language
teacher education at Faculdade de
Letras . UP.
 What needs scaffolding in CLIL lessons
 Design and use of a scaffolding tool for
student-teachers of CLIL and teacher
educators


Mestrado em Ensino de Inglês e de Alemão/Francês/Espanhol no Ensino
Básico (2 years = 1 year curricular + 1 year practicum)

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) introduced in
didactics lessons
‘CLIL is a dual-focused educational approach in which an
additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content
and language’
Meehisto, Marsh & Frigols 2009:9



Experiments with CLIL pedagogy in primary schools in practicum (where
possible) from 3 to 5 lesson sequences
Content = primary curriculum (Estudo do Meio)
Negotiation and collaboration with generalist teachers



Trainee teachers learn the methodologies and
strategies for teaching another subject through the
medium of a foreign language.
Even if trainee teachers do not intend to specialise
in this area, such training improves their language
competence, encourages more comprehensive
use of the target language in non-CLIL classes, and
gives teachers ways of raising social, cultural and
value issues in their foreign language teaching.
CLIL approaches encourage cooperation with
colleagues from different disciplines.
Kelly et al, 2004: 77
‘In the context of classroom
interaction, the term scaffolding
has been taken up to portray the
temporary assistance that
teachers provide for their students
in order to assist them to
complete a task or develop new
understandings so that they will
later be able to complete similar
tasks alone.’
Hammond and Gibbons (2001: 15)
In-service seminars at university
 Frameworks for planning CLIL lessons, scaffolding strategies
 Task and materials design
 Analysing video-recordings of student-teachers’ CLIL lessons
Bottom-up approach to raise awareness of features of teacher’s
performance. ‘Awareness is a prerequisite for change’
Thornbury (1996)

Comparison with EFL lessons
In schools
 Observation of generalist teachers’ lessons for scaffolding of
content, language and learning in L1.
 Planning with generalist teachers
 Post-lesson reflections with generalist teacher, university tutor
•The ‘what’ and the ‘how’
of content learning
•Language of, for and
through learning
•Academic language
CALP
Content
Communication
Culture/community
Cognition
•Learning about self and
others. Learning alone,
from and with others.
•Social interaction as basis
for learning. ZPD -Vygostky
•T
•
•
•
Thinking skills: lower to
higher order
Re: Bloom’s Taxonomy
Multimodality

Exisiting ‘tools’ for
CLIL subject teachers
I

Key features of CLIL

Best practice
L
C
Planning
Materials
aims for 4Cs (content,
communication,
cognition, culture)
makes appropriate
choices for
developmental level
(content and language)
anticipates language
demands : language
for/of/through learning
anticipates learning
demands: appropriate
sequencing of tasks from
lower to higher order
thinking skills; linguistic and
content demands
balanced
builds on prior learning
considers a variety of
interaction patterns
uses visuals, realia,
technology, film to support
learning
language is supported
(e.g.,simplified, key words
underlined)
cognition is supported (use
of diagrams, pictures
which show relationships
between key ideas)
materials are balanced in
terms of language
demands and cognitive
demands
Delivery
teacher’s language
teacher talk: modifying
language
communicative functions
to support learning
supporting content and
cognition
supporting
language/communication
 Research questions:
Can the observation tool of pre-determined scaffolding
criteria be used effectively to detect evidence of
scaffolding in student-teachers’ CLIL lessons?
What further strategies do the student-teachers use to
scaffold input that could be added to the
taxonomy of teacher strategies?
How can the scaffolding criteria be used to develop the
pre-service teacher education programme?

Data-collecting methods: observation and
video-recording of lessons. Transcriptions
Mind Map – Nature
Seeds, bulbs
and cuttings
A. Growing Plants:
2. Plant Reproduction
Type of
reproduction
Understand that plants reproduce in different ways
Identify plants that reproduce through
seeds, bulbs and cuttings
Explain how a plant reproduces
Explain how to grow a plant
Content
Culture
Nature
Growing Plants:
Communication
Understand and
explain
Cognition
How plants reproduce
2. Plant Reproduction
Experiment
Language of
Learning
 Key vocabulary
Language for
Learning
 Group work:
 Describing
discussing, arguing,
 Identifying
predicting
 Language to answer
questions
Language through
Learning
Understand
 Group work:
presenting results
 New vocabulary to
Listen and
number
carry out the
activities
 Language to carry
Complete
sentences
out some worksheet
tasks
Rute Matos
2010/2011
Describe
Order the
steps
How to
grow a plant
Take notes
(before and after
the experiment) –
what I know/
what I learnt
Compare
notes with
other groups
Predict / discuss:
what I need to
grow a plant
Distinguish:
seeds, bulbs
and cuttings
CLIL Lesson Plan
UNIT: Growing Plants (2. Plant Reproduction)
TIMING: 3
Lessons
CLASS LEVEL: 3rd A
SCHOOL: EB/JI Quinta de S. Gens
Aims

To present the content of the unit;

To introduce the topic – plant reproduction;

To make learners aware of the different types of plant reproduction;

To make learners aware of what they already know about plant reproduction;

To help learners understand the different types of plant reproduction;

To help learners describe how to grow a plant;
Teaching objectives
(What I plan to teach)
Content
Cognition
 Types of plant

Enable learners to identify different types of plant reproduction
reproduction

Lead learners to understand how plants reproduce

Let learners predict/ discuss what they need to grow a plant

Make learners distinguish between seeds, bulbs and cuttings

Vocabulary building, learning and using
 Understand how plants can
reproduce
 Understand how to grow a
plant
Culture
 Identify plants that
reproduce through seeds,
bulbs and cuttings
 To become aware that
plants can reproduce
differently
 To become aware of the
importance on the sun,
water and soil in the
process of growing a plant
 Respect Nature and plants
Communication
Language
Language of learning
 Key vocabulary: seeds,
bulbs, cuttings,
cabbage, parsley, tulips,
iris, roses, daisies, plant,
grow, soil, water, plant
pot, sun.
Language for learning
 Discussing/ arguing/
predicting – to grow my
plant I need…/ I think
my plant reproduces
through…
through learning
 Language
needed to
carry out
activities and
explanations;
 Language to
check
results;
 Language to
carry out
some
worksheet
tasks
Stage
Time
Procedure
Interaction
(teaching instructions)
Learning aim
Scaffolding strategies
T. asks SS if they remember what they
Lead in
did the previous lesson- growing a plant/
planting.
T.
leads
SS
to
recall
 Remembering

the
the words they are
different steps they followed last lesson.
10m
As SS answer T. writes words such as,
plant
pot/
soil/
seeds/
bulbs/
Write on the board
going to need and
use later
 Recalling
cuttings/
water/ roses(…) on the board.
T. says: can you tell me - a cabbage
Whole class
 Remembering
reproduces through… and a rose grows
from…
SS
should
answer
completing

 Recalling
Begin a sentence and
let students finish it.
the sentences.
T. gives a handout and explains SS that

Recalling

Sequencing
they have to look and order the steps
Checking
knowledge
according to the planting they did in the
previous lesson.
T. asks: can you tell me which is number
the

Thinking
seeds, the bulb and the cuttings? What

Remembering
did we do first?

Sequencing
one?
10m
Do
you
remember
planting
Put your hand up if
you want to answer
S. number the steps.
After putting the steps in order T. asks

Sequencing
SS: so number one is… and reads the
sentence and asks SS to complete.
Whole class


Begin a sentence
and let students finish

Writing
it.
T. does the same with the other steps.

Do the correction
on the board
pictures

Listening
(cabbage, tulip, roses) on the handout

Identifying
T.
Listening activity
tells
SS
to
look
at
the
and says T. is going to describe those

Point to handout
Teachers’ voices



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
I’m learning about developmental skills and
concepts
I never thought about tasks before
I’m enjoying looking for and creating
materials and thinking about the content.
It’s new and interesting.
I’m conscious of thinking skills, tasks and
scaffolding in my lesson planning.
‘Now I ask myself: How can I make them
think? That’s new!’
Agrupamento de Escolas da Senhora da Hora
EB/JI da Senhora da Hora
Name: ___________________________
1. Order the steps and write.
Get a__________________
2. Listen and number the plant pots. Complete the sentences
Put ______/_______/_______
in the soil.
roses - seeds
-
tulip -
flower -
cabbage -
bulbs
soup - Spring - vegetable - cuttings - leaves
I grow a ______________ from _______________.
Plants need ____________
Put some ___________ in the
plant pot.
This plant has green ________________________.
It’s a _________________________.
I can make a delicious ___________ with this plant.
Take care of your plant
Put some ________________
I grow a ______________ from _______________.
This flower grows in the _____________________.
8
Put a label in your ___________
Cover with more ___________
I grow ____________ from ________________.
This plant is a ___________________________.
Variety of visual, audio, kinesthetic
support
 Mis-match of cognitive and linguistic
demands – children can identify key
word in sentences but not the
surrounding language. Able to do the
reading/writing activity only with
teacher’s support

18: T:
//frog// .. and tadpoles have lo:::ng tails ((gestures))
((T puts
flashcard on blackboard and writes ‘tadpole and long tail)) .. then
tadpoles grow .. get bigger …. they are tadpoles but they have ((T
shows flashcard of bigger tadpole and points to its legs)) .. what’s
this? …. le:::gs .. legs .. ok .. so the tadpole grows legs and the tail
is smaller right?
Student-teacher C
Modifying language
************************************************************
((To a student)) .. you don’t think so? what is the difference
58: T:
between this one and this one ((T points to the two pictures of
younger and older tadpole)) is their a difference?
59: S1:
((points to the tails))
60: T:
the long tail ..
ok .. so which one is number five?
can you
come and show me?
61: S1: ((goes to front of the class and points at the correct tail))
62: T:
yes .. this one is number five because this frog has a small tail?
Student-teacher C
Learner engagement using stimulus and gesture to clarify meaning
Transcription conventions adapted from Dalton-Puffer (2007), based on Atkinson and Heritage
(1984).
Similarities between CLIL lessons:
 Initiation-response-feedback pattern
(Sinclair and Coulthard 1975)
 Questions: mainly convergent, to recall
information, frequently repeated about key
language
 Incomplete declarative statements with
rising intonation
 Few referential/open questions
 Communicative functions: Consolidating,
summarising, reviewing, repeating
 Gesture,demonstration, visual stimulus
 Impromptu mini drills

Is it a language lesson or a CLIL lesson?

I’m always drilling!

I’m so surprised at how many things I do at once. I’m giving an
instruction and in the middle I interrupt myself to tell someone to
be quiet or do something…

There were two tasks to do at once!

I didn’t give them enough thinking time!

I was afraid to focus too much on language.

‘She (generalist teacher) says I should think as a Portuguese
teacher, correct mistakes and make them answer always in
English. This should be a kind of a rule. I am too worried about
content’

Accumulating list

Used as a checklist for university tutor and studentteachers

Student-teachers more conscious of what they do,
what they need to do and why in language lessons
as well as CLIL lessons
‘Thinking skills are in language lessons, too! ‘
Student-teacher C

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Coyle. Do, Hood. Philip, Marsh. David. (2010). CLIL: Content and
Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Dalton-Puffer. Christiane. (2007). Discourse in Content and Language
Integrated Learning (CLIL) Classrooms. Language Learning and
Language Teaching 20. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins
Publishing Company
Hammond. Jennifer (ed) (2001). Scaffolding: Teaching and Learning in
Language and Literacy Education. Primary English Language Teaching
Association. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication
data.
Kelly, M. Grenfell, M. Allan, R. Kriza, C. McEvoy, W. (2004) European
Profile for Language Teacher Education – A Frame of Reference. A
Report to the European Commission Directorate General for Education
and Culture. Retrieved from
http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/pdf/doc477_en.pdf
Mehisto. Peeter, Marsh. David, Frigols. Maria Jesús. (2008). Uncovering
CLIL. Oxford: Macmillan
Sinclair. J, Coulthard. R. (1975). Towards an analysis of discourse. Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Thornbury. Scott. (1996). Teachers research teacher talk. ELT Journal.
50/4.
Thank you!
Maria Ellison
[email protected]