This study examines Ecuadorian EFL teachers' CLIL knowledge and pedagogical practices. An online questionnaire and class observations were designed for data collection. The questionnaire was filled out by 105 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed four latent dimensions of CLIL practices which were also evidenced in the observations: guiding input and supporting cognitive skills, supporting output, focusing on content, and languaging (oral language). Teachers' lack of knowledge of CLIL principles hinders content and language integration in classes. Implications for teacher training and future research are discussed.
This chapter begins by providing an overview of developments in multilingualism and multilingual education in relation to Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in South America, focusing particularly on Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay. Then there is a discussion of key moments in the evolution of CLIL in Latin America, followed by a presentation of present-day perspectives where three relationships between CLIL research and practice in the region are foregrounded. These include studies which have yielded positive results related to motivation, the implementation of translanguaging pedagogies and the inclusion of interculturality. A second relationship refers to research which has produced both positive and negative results in relation to language and cognitive development, while a third highlights the contribution of CLIL teachers to materials development and curricular integration. Some key issues noted have to do with the need for a situated CLIL approach, as well as the inclusion of an intercultural dimension.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has become one of the preferred approaches in many public and private second and foreign language education programmes. Therefore, language teachers must know how to teach both language and content, in combination, to deal effectively with the learning objectives CLIL programmes demand. By using a mixed approach based on surveys and interviews, perceptions regarding the needs and competencies needed to teach CLIL-based lessons were analysed. The two-year study was carried out with pre- and in- service teachers who took a yearly CLIL course related to the teaching of English through Science and Mathematics during their second and final year at a private English Teachers Training Course (TTC) in a well-known private language institution in Montevideo, Uruguay. All the participants considered that the course was highly relevant and necessary to fully understand the approach and become confident towards teaching CLIL-based courses. The chapter highlights the importance of teaching linguistic aspects as well as content for the approach to be effective.
