Knowledge theories supporting CLIL

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is a term created in 1994

by David Marsh and Anne Maljers as a methodology similar to but distinct from
language immersion and content-based instruction. It's an approach for
learning content through an additional language (foreign or second), thus
teaching both the subject and the language. The idea of its proponents was to
create an "umbrella term" which encompasses different forms of using
language as medium of instruction.
CLIL is fundamentally based on methodological principles established by
research on "language immersion". This kind of approach has been identified
as very important by the European Commission because it can provide effective
opportunities for pupils to use their new language skills now, rather than learn
them now for use later. It opens doors on languages for a broader range of
learners, nurturing self-confidence in young learners and those who have not
responded well to formal language instruction in general education. It provides
exposure to the language without requiring extra time in the curriculum, which
can be of particular interest in vocational settings. The European Commission
has therefore decided to promote the training of teachers to enhance the

language competences in general, in order to promote the teaching of

non-linguistic subjects in foreign languages.
In this unit we are going to revise some of the general linguistic and
psycholinguistic theories, which underlie the implementation of CLIL; and learn
from the experts why this new approach to learning can be successful.
Furthermore, we will also be putting them into practice with examples and
activities immediately after each section.

1. Introduction

In CLIL lessons the cognitive challenges of language learning are great; much of the
content lies outside children's direct experience and is often more abstract. For example,
in science lessons learners may struggle to describe and compare the properties of
materials, may find it impossible to hypothesize about why particular materials are used
for particular purposes. They may be able to write up the procedural part of a report
after testing materials but not how to write conclusions. By being taught specific
thinking skills and the associated language, learners are better equipped to deal with the
complex academic and cognitive demands of learning school subjects in a foreign
language.
Typical language and thinking tasks could be experimenting with different colour
combinations in an art class, trying out magnets in the science class or investigating the
lines of symmetry of 2D shapes in maths lessons, what kinds of skill, aside from basic
language skills, will they need to draw on or develop? Learners may be encouraged
to predict what will happen,
to carry out simple investigations or experiments,
to describe and record what they observe,
to find patterns, notice similarities and differences,
to compare results, to draw conclusions and so on.
If we take the example of predicting, learners may know the use of will/ going to for
an easy, everyday situation. However, with little knowledge of the concept of
magnetism, for example, learners may not be able to think very clearly about their
intended meaning and may not know the subject-specific words of attract or repel.
Some children find it difficult enough to draw on these more academic kinds of
interaction in their first language, never mind a foreign language. As John Clegg wrote in

an earlier article: The truth is that schools don't often teach these skills explicitly.
Instead, teachers hope that their learners will pick them up.
In this section we are going to learn the theory and possible applications of the following
linguistic and psycholinguistic tenets:
1. Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains.
2. Learning styles and Gardner's multiple intelligences.
3. Vigotsky's scaffolding theory.
4. Jim Cummins' common underlying linguistic competence
5. Krashen's theory of learning .v. acquisition.
6. Advantages of plurilingualism in creativity.
(Much of the content on this page was taken from 0NE STOP ENGLISH at http://onestopenglish.com)

2. Bloom's and Marzano's taxonomy of learning domains

Today there is international recognition that education is more than just learning knowledge and thinking, it
also involves learners' feelings, beliefs and the cultural environment of the classroom. Nevertheless, the
importance of teaching thinking and creativity is an important element in modern education. Benjamin
Bloom was the first to develop a highly popularized hierarchy of six thinking skills placed on a continuum
from lower to higher order skills: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and
evaluation. According to this system, lower order skills included recalling knowledge to identify, label, name
or describe things. Higher order skills called on the application, analysis or synthesis of knowledge,
needed when learners use new information or a concept in a new situation, break information or concepts
into parts to understand it more fully, or put ideas together to form something new. Bloom's structure was a
useful starting point and triggered many applications to school activities and curricula.

Bloom's revised taxonomy of thinking skills

In 2001 a former student of Bloom, Lorin Anderson, published a revised classification of thinking skills
which is actually rather similar to the original but focuses more on verbs than nouns and renames some of
the levels.
Fig. 1 Bloom's Revised Taxonomy
Higher order thinking skills
Creating

making, designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing,

Evaluating

checking, hypothesizing, experimenting, judging, testing, monitoring,

Analyzing

comparing, organizing, outlining, finding, structuring, integrating

Applying

implementing, carrying out, using

Understanding

comparing, explaining, classifying, exemplifying, summarizing

Higher order thinking skills

Remembering

recognizing, listing, describing, identifying, retrieving, naming, finding, defining

Lower order thinking skills

We can see that these levels have an intuitive appeal to many teachers; however it can also be difficult to
implement some of these ideas. For example, comparing falls both under analyzing and understanding,
which is confusing. Here analyzing the level of comparison depends on context, for example: how complex
is the concept or knowledge being compared?

Linking thinking and language

The figure below is an example of how publications on thinking skills began to start linking some common
thinking and process skills with the typical language required. For reasons of space, only three levels are
exemplified.
Fig. 2 Typical thinking and language skills
Thinking skill
Remembering/ Recall
recognizing,
listing,

Possible language
Questions using who, what, where, when, which how, how
describing, much?

identifying, retrieving, naming, finding, Tasks using describe, choose, define, find, label, colour, match,
defining
underline key vocabulary in different colours (e.g. parts of a
system and functions)
Language:
That's a (because it has and )
This is a and this is what it does.
This has
This is a kind of . which/that
A is a kind of which/that
This goes with this.
Understanding/ Interpreting

Questions using is this the same as? What's the difference

comparing, explaining, exemplifying,

between? Which part doesn't fit or match the others? Why?
classifying, understanding cause and Tasks using classify, explain, show what would happen if give
effect, generalizing, summarizing,

an example, show in a graph or table, use a Venn diagram or

chart to show
Language:
This is ..( a kind of) but that one isn't (because)
This has ( a type of)but that one doesn't/hasn't (because).
These are all types of because
This belongs/ goes here because
If we do this then
This leads to..
This causes

Applying to new situations

Questions using what would happen if..? What would result in

Planning, implementing, carrying out, ? How much change is there if you ?

drawing conclusions, reporting back
Tasks using Explain what would happen if, Show the results
of,
Using investigations and experimental inquiry e.g. surveys, web
quests etc. choosing how to record and represent information
Language:
A variety of language functions for planning, hypothesizing,
asking questions, reporting, drawing conclusions e.g.
What shall we try/ do first?
if we try this then ...that could be
First we thought about then weThis must be .. because
It can't be because

Marzano's taxonomy of skills in education

In 2000 Marzano published a different way of looking at skills. His classification is based on the Knowledge
Domain and three systems - the Cognitive, the Self and the Metacognitive. The self system involves a
learner's attitudes, beliefs and feelings that determine his/her motivation. The metacognitive system relates
to learning to learn: it helps the learner to set goals, make decisions about and monitor which information
is necessary and which cognitive processes are the best fit for the task in hand.
Fig. 3 Marzano's New Educational Taxonomy
KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN
Information

Mental procedures

Physical procedures

COGNITIVE SYSTEM
Knowledge

Comprehension

Analysis

Knowledge use

retrieval
Matching,

Recall: Recalling Synthesis:identifying

information, facts, what is important
sequences and remember.
processes.

classifying,

error Decision-making,

generalizing
and problem-solving,
to analysis,
specifiying: by engaging in these experimental

inquiry,

Representation: putting cognitive processes learners use investigations. These are

this information into what they learn to create insights also especially useful in
categories.
Graphic

and invent ways of using learned project-type work.

organizers information in new situations.

encourage this process.

The knowledge domain, consists of three categories of knowledge: information, mental procedures and
physical procedures. A child at primary level may learn about quadrilaterals and the key vocabulary and
characteristics to describe them. This is the what of knowledge. She will also learn how to draw different
kinds of quadrilateral (physical procedures) and how to compare or classify them (mental procedures). The
cognitive system is made up of four components:
knowledge retrieval,
comprehension,
analysis, and
knowledge use.
Marzano's cognitive system is similar to the six levels of Bloom and Anderson. In knowledge retrieval (cf.
Remembering and Understanding) the child needs to be able to identify and put a name to new
information; for example, the topic might be mammals and the names of different types of big cat, such as
tiger, lion, cheetah and so on. Facts about mammals will involve statements and generalizations using the
simple present tense, such as:
mammals have a covering of fur, hair, or skin,
mammals give birth to live young,
mammals are warm -blooded,
mammals feed their young with milk from the mother,
tigers have stripes but cheetahs and leopards have spots, etc.
tigers can swim
These language functions can be linked to all four basic language skills using activities based on oracy
(speaking and listening) and literacy tasks (reading and writing). For example, learners can listen to
descriptions of animals and choose the correct picture, use a tick chart to listen to comparisons of big cats
and then use this as a speaking frame to produce simple sentences. Learners might read simple
descriptions of big cats and transfer key information onto a chart, then use this chart to write simple
sentences. This basic knowledge can be extended to compare and classify types of big cat in different
ways according to features such as habitat, characteristics, appearance etc.
Under comprehension the learners sort out which information is important or relevant for a task and ignore
other information. Graphic organizers such as charts, grids, Venn diagrams and flow charts are especially

important here for learners as they organize information in a way that reduces the language load. Thus
they help the learner to focus on the key language and thinking required.
In analysis the learners need to draw on more complex thinking processes - matching, classifying,
generalizing and specifying - in order to create and invent new insights or new ways of using learned
information. These skills are likely to be highlighted when carrying out investigations. Knowledge use is the
highest form of thinking process under Marzano's system and is used particularly in the creation of
investigations, projects and web quests, where application and the creation of new ideas are particularly
useful.

Conclusion
These attempts to analyze and classify thinking processes move from a foundation of simpler, lower order
skills to more complex higher order skills. However, there is still no consensus about the exact number of
skills or levels, the interaction between them nor is it easy to analyse the level of difficulty of a particular
task or the precise thinking skills required. All we can do for now is draw on insights that have been made
and see which ones seem to fit in with our views. The next article focuses on process skills and
data-handling, referring particularly to the use of graphic organizers to record and interpret data. The
importance and benefits of graphic organizers for both learners and teachers will be described and how
teachers can plan for them. Different types of organizer will be outlined and one type called glyphs will be
illustrated in some detail.

References
Anderson, L.W. and D. Krathwohl (eds.) (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing: a
Revision of Bloom's Educational Objectives.Longman. New York.
Biber, D. (1986). 'Spoken and written textual dimensions in English: Resolving the contradictory findings.'
Language 62, 384-414.
Corson, D. (1995). Using English words. New York: Kluwer.
Cummins, J. (1979). 'Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum
age question and some other matters.' Working Papers on Bilingualism. 19, 121-129.
Harlen, W. And A. Qualter, (2007). The Teaching of Science in Primary Schools.3rd edn. Abingdon, Oxon:
Routledge.
Marzano, R. J. (2000). Designing a new taxonomy of educational objectives. Thousand Oaks, CA.: Corwin
Press.

2.1 Practice

Practice
Activity 1
Activity 2

2.2 Further reading

Situaci
How to Use Bloom's Taxonomy in Class

2.3 Task
1. Think of an exercise for your students related to the subject you currently teach. When you ask the
questions, problems or whatever you have in mind, take into account the table we have provided. Tag the
questions, activities... with the colours we have inserted in Table1 beside the categories, and bear in mind
at all times to move up from lower order thinking skills to higher order thinking skills when asking those
questions, which, in itself, will make a more sensible way of progressing through the exercise.
Table1
Table2
Example1

3. Multiple Intelligences and learning styles

Howard Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences

An intelligence is the ability to solve problems,

or to create products, that are valued within
one or more cultural settings.
-- Howard Gardner
FRAMES OF MIND (1983)
1. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence
(word smart or book smart)
This intelligence involves the knowing which comes through language; through
reading, writing, and speaking. It involves understanding the order and meaning of
words in both speech and writing and how to properly use the language. It involves
understanding the sociocultural nuances of a language, including idioms, plays on
words, and linguistically-based humor.
If this is a strong intelligence for you, you have highly developed skills for reading,
speaking, and writing and you tend to think in words. You probably like various
kinds of literature, playing word games, making up poetry and stories, engaging in
involved discussions with other people, debating, formal speaking, creative writing,
and telling jokes. You are likely precise in expressing yourself and irritated when
others are not! You love learning new words, you do well with written assignments,
and your comprehension of anything you read is high.
2. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence
(math smart or logic smart)
This intelligence uses numbers, math, and logic to find and understand the various
patterns that occur in our lives: thought patterns, number patterns, visual patterns,
color patters, and so on. It begins with concrete patterns in the real world but gets
increasingly abstract as we try to understand relationships of the patterns we have
seen.
If you happen to be a logical-mathematically inclined person you tend to think
more conceptually and abstractly and are often able to see patterns and
relationships that others miss. You probably like to conduct experiments, to solve
puzzles and other problems, to ask cosmic questions, and analyze circumstances
and peoples behavior. You most likely enjoy working with numbers and
mathematical formulas and operations, and you love the challenge of a complex
problem to solve.
You are probably systematic and organized, and you likely always have a logical
rationale or argument for what you are doing or thinking at any given time.

3. Visual-Spatial Intelligence
(art smart or picture smart)
We often say A picture is worth a thousand words! or Seeing is believing! This
intelligence represents the knowing that occurs through the shapes, images,
patterns, designs, and textures we see with our external eyes, but also includes all
of the images we are able to conjure inside our heads.
If you are strong in this intelligence you tend to think in images and pictures. You
are likely very aware of object, shapes, colors, textures, and patterns in the
environment around you. You probably like to draw, paint, and make interesting
designs and patterns, and work with clay,
colored markers, construction paper, and fabric. Many who are strong in visualspatial intelligence love to work jigsaw puzzles, read maps and find their way
around new places. You probably have definite opinions about colors that go
together well, textures that are appropriate and pleasing, and how a room should
be decorated. And, you are likely excellent at performing tasks that require seeing
with the minds eyes, such as visualizing, pretending, imagining, and forming
mental images.
4. Intrapersonal Intelligence
(self smart or introspection smart).
At the heart of this intelligence are our human self-reflective abilities by which we
can step outside of ourselves and think about our own lives. This is the introspective
intelligence. It involves our uniquely human propensity to want to know the
meaning, purpose, and significance of things. It involves our awareness of the inner
world of the self, emotions, values, beliefs, and our various quests for genuine
spirituality.
If this intelligence is one of your strong points you may like to work alone and
sometimes you may shy away from others. You are probably self-reflective and
self-aware and thus you tend to be in tune with your inner feelings, values, beliefs,
and thinking processes. You are frequently bearers of creative wisdom and insight,
are highly intuitive, and you are inwardly motivated rather than needing external
rewards to keep you going. You are often strong willed, self-confident, and have
definite, well-thought out opinions on almost any issue. Other people will often
come to you for advice and counsel.
5. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
("body smart" or "movement smart")
We often talk about learning by doing. This way of knowing happens through
physical movement and through the knowing of our physical body. The body
knows many things that are not necessarily known by the conscious, logical
mind, such as how to ride a bike, how to parallel park a car, dance the waltz, catch
a thrown object, maintain balance while walking, and where the
keys are on a computer keyboard.
If you have strength in this intelligence area you tend to have a keen sense of body
awareness.
You like physical movement, dancing, making and inventing things with your
hands, and roleplaying.
You probably communicate well through body language and other physical
gestures. You can often perform a task much better after seeing someone else do it
first and then mimicking their actions. You probably like physical games of all
kinds and you like to demonstrate how to do something for someone else. You may
find it difficult to sit still for long periods of time and are easily bored or distracted
if you are not actively involved in what is going on around you.

6. Interpersonal
(people smart or group smart)
This is the person-to-person way of knowing. It is the knowing that happens when
we work with and relate to other people, often as part of a team. This way of
knowing also asks use to develop a whole range of social skills that are needed for
effective person-to-person communication and relating.
If this person-to-person way of knowing is more developed in you, you learn
through personal interactions. You probably have lots of friends, show a great deal
of empathy for other people and exhibit a deep understanding of other points of
view. You probably love team activities of all kinds and are a good team
member--you pull your own weight and often much more! You are sensitive to
other peoples feelings and ideas, and are good at piggybacking your ideas on
others thoughts. And you are likely skilled at drawing others out in a discussion.
You are also probably skilled in conflict resolution, mediation, and finding
compromise when people are in radical opposition to each other.
7. Naturalist Intelligence
(nature smart or environment smart)
The naturalist intelligence involves the full range of knowing that occurs in and
through our encounters with the natural world including our recognition,
appreciation, and understanding of the natural environment. It involves such
capacities as species discernment, communion with the natural world and its
phenomena, and the ability to recognize and classify various flora and fauna.
If the naturalist intelligence is one of your strengths you have a profound love for
the outdoors, animals, plants, and almost any natural object. You are probably
fascinated by and noticeably affected by such things as the weather, changing leaves
in the fall, the sound of the wind, the warm sun or lack thereof, or an insect in the
room. At a young age you were likely nature collectors, adding such things as bugs,
rocks leaves, seashells, sticks, and so on to your collections. You probably brought
home all manner and kinds of stray animals and today you may have several pets
and want more. You tend to have an affinity with and respect for all living beings.
8. Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence
(music smart or sound smart)
This is the knowing that happens through sound and vibration. In the original
research on the theory of multiple intelligences this intelligence was called musicalrhythmic intelligence.
However, it is not limited to music and rhythm so Im calling it auditoryvibrational, for it deals with the whole realm of sound, tones, beats, and vibrational
patterns as well as music.
If you are strong in this intelligence area you likely have a love of music and
rhythmic patterns.
You are probably very sensitive to sounds in the environment; the chirp of cricket,
rain on the roof, varying traffic patterns. You may study and work better with
music in the background. You can often reproduce a melody or rhythmic pattern
after hearing it only once. Various sounds, tones, and rhythms may have a visible
effect on you--others can often see a change in facial expressions, body movement,
or emotional responses. You probably like to create music and you enjoy listening
to a wide variety of music. You may be skilled at mimicking sounds, language
accents, and others speech patterns, and you can probably readily recognize
different musical instruments in a composition.

3.1 Practice

Situaci

The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of
education at Harvard University. Here is a discussion of the eight different intelligences Dr. Gardner
proposes and their relationship to the CLIL classroom. Each explanation is followed by lesson plans or
exercises which can be used in class.

Teaching the Student

The most important element when catering to diverse learning styles is remembering to
teach to the student and not just the subject. Teachers should be trained to take into
consideration a variety of learning styles and make efforts to teach in ways that make
true learning available to all students. Once teachers are familiar with these learning
styles, classroom activities and study habits can be adjusted to accommodate the styles
of any group of students.
Learning styles are most often divided into three basic groups. There are the auditory
learners, visual learners and kinesthetic or tactile learners. In addition to these basic
groups, some educational theorists also recognize verbal, logical, social and solitary as
additional styles. Here is a systematic breakdown of each learning style and some
suggestions for addressing these styles in the classroom.

Teaching Auditory Learners

Auditory learners learn best through hearing the message. Students who are auditory
learners respond well to lectures and verbal instructions. They may also be interested in
books on tape or listening to review material. Some auditory learners have greater
success with oral exams due to the fact that they are able to process verbally, hear the
questions, and hear their own responses. Teachers auditory learners requires the teacher
to use rhythmic memory aids such as acronyms, short songs, or rhymes. For studying,
auditory learners do best when they are able to read their material aloud. Flip cards
which can be read aloud may also be useful.

Teaching Visual Learners

Visual learners process information according to what they see and the images they
have created in their mind. When teaching visual learners, their seating position should
be in the front of the room to help them avoid external visual distractions. Illustrations,
diagrams, and charts are very helpful when working with visual learners. Students who
are visual learners are often the best note-takers because they need to see the
information being presented. Flip cards can be very helpful for visual learners as it
isolates an image of the material they are studying.

 Teaching Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic, or tactile, learners learn best through touching, feeling and doing. Teachers
trying to reach kinesthetic learners should incorporate hands-on projects, multi-media
assignments, skits, movement, and physical artifacts as examples. Assigning a diorama
or skit is a great example of how to reach a kinesthetic learner. These students also
respond well to object lessons if they are able to touch the object involved.
Hands-on experiments are another great tool for teaching kinesthetic learners. This is
easily done with science material, but can also be incorporated into social studies and
even language arts, if teachers keep a close eye on the environment of the history
lesson or the story being studied. Information about geography, customs, and food can
often be reworked into a hands-on experience. Examples of this include mummifying a
chicken in association with a social studies unit on ancient Egypt or preparing an ethnic
food in conjunction with a culture-based language arts story. These sorts of ideas attract
and engage the kinesthetic learners in the classroom.

Teaching Logical, Social or Solitary

These learning styles are not as commonly discussed as the above three, but to warrant
some mention. Logical learners are those students who most enjoy problem solving,
logic games and reasoning. These students love riddles, word problems, and problem
solving games or worksheets, so provide many when teaching them. The categories of
social and solitary describe how the students prefer to study, either in groups or
individually.

Determining a Student's Style

Teachers should consider ways they can determine the learning styles of their students.
This can be a very different process for various age groups. For older students, teachers
can use curriculum for teaching learning styles and then offer personality tests
specifically designed to help identify their students' styles. With middle school students,
teachers should incorporate a variety of learning styles in an effort to reach all students
as testing this age group can be particularly difficult due to shyness, reading readiness
and social pressures.
For kindergarten and early elementary teachers, the use of an object lesson, such as an
unusual pet or particularly old item, can help identify the students primary learning
styles. Young students who are kinesthetic learners are generally the first ones to ask
Can I hold it? while visual learners are the ones who sit right in front, but may not
want to touch what is being shown. Auditory learners are the ones who talk about the
lesson the whole rest of the day. To observe students, it is best to have the object lesson
taught by a co-worker or have a co-worker observe the students.

Is it worth it?
While incorporating such a variety of techniques into curriculum and teaching can be
difficult, the reward of reaching every student is well-worth the effort.

4. Lev Vigotsky's scaffolding theory

Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy
Rachel R. Van Der Stuyff
Adolescent Learning and Development
Section 0500A - Fall 2002
November 17, 2002

I. Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy - Definition and Description

Scaffolding instruction as a teaching strategy originates from Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and his
concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). "The zone of proximal development is the distance
between what children can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with
competent assistance" (Raymond, 2000, p.176). The scaffolding teaching strategy provides individualized
support based on the learner's ZPD (Chang, Sung, & Chen, 2002). In scaffolding instruction a more
knowledgeable other provides scaffolds or supports to facilitate the learner's development. The scaffolds
facilitate a student's ability to build on prior knowledge and internalize new information. The activities
provided in scaffolding instruction are just beyond the level of what the learner can do alone (Olson & Pratt,
2000). The more capable other provides the scaffolds so that the learner can accomplish (with assistance)
the tasks that he or she could otherwise not complete, thus helping the learner through the ZPD
(Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000).
Vygotsky defined scaffolding instruction as the "role of teachers and others in supporting the learner's
development and providing support structures to get to that next stage or level" (Raymond, 2000, p. 176).
An important aspect of scaffolding instruction is that the scaffolds are temporary. As the learner's abilities
increase the scaffolding provided by the more knowledgeable other is progressively withdrawn. Finally the
learner is able to complete the task or master the concepts independently (Chang, Sung, & Chen, 2002, p.
7). Therefore the goal of the educator when using the scaffolding teaching strategy is for the student to
become an independent and self-regulating learner and problem solver (Hartman, 2002). As the learner's
knowledge and learning competency increases, the educator gradually reduces the supports provided
(Ellis, Larkin, Worthington, n.d.). According to Vygotsky the external scaffolds provided by the educator
can be removed because the learner has developed "...more sophisticated cognitive systems, related to
fields of learning such as mathematics or language, the system of knowledge itself becomes part of the
scaffold or social support for the new learning" (Raymond, 2000, p. 176).
Caregivers help young children learn how to link old information or familiar situations with new knowledge
through verbal and nonverbal communication and modeling behaviors. Observational research on early
childhood learning shows that parents and other caregivers facilitate learning by providing scaffolds.
scaffolds provided are activities and tasks that:

The

Motivate or enlist the child's interest related to the task

Simplify the task to make it more manageable and achievable for a child
Provide some direction in order to help the child focus on achieving the goal
Clearly indicate differences between the child's work and the standard or desired solution
Reduce frustration and risk
Model and clearly define the expectations of the activity to be performed (Bransford, Brown, and
Cocking, 2000).
The activities listed above are also detailed in the Executive Summary of the Research Synthesis on

Effective Teaching Principles and the Design of Quality Tools for Educators, which refers to these as
"...Rogoff's six characteristics of scaffolded instruction" (Ellis, Larkin, Worthington, Principle 5 section, para.
2).
In the educational setting, scaffolds may include models, cues, prompts, hints, partial solutions, think-aloud
modeling and direct instruction (Hartman, 2002). In Teaching Children and Adolescents with Special
Needs the authors provided an example of a procedural facilitator (hint, cue-card, partially completed
example). When trying to teach the math skill of rounding, a teacher may list, "...the steps of rounding
hundreds beginning with the first step of 1. Look at the number in the ten's position', (this) provides hints
to the students" (Olson and Platt, 2000, p.180). This cue prompts the students to complete the next step of
the task. Educators may also use questions as scaffolds to help students solve a problem or complete a
task. Teachers may increase the level of questioning or specificity until the student is able to provide a
correct response. This type of scaffold is reflected in the following excerpt, "...if you receive no response
or an incorrect response after asking the question, "How do we change lady to ladies?" you should
proceed with a more intrusive verbal prompt: "What is the rule?" to remind the student that there is a rule.
If necessary, continue with "What do we do when a word ends in y to make it plural?" to give the student a
part of the rule" (Olson and Platt, 2000, p.186). As the student develops his or her ability with applying the
rule, the number and intrusive nature of the questions would be decreased until the student can do the task
without prompting.
Following the use of teacher provided scaffolds, the educator may then have the students engage in
cooperative learning. In this type of environment students help students in small group settings but still
have some teacher assistance. This can serve as a step in the process of decreasing the scaffolds
provided by the educator and needed by students (Hartman, 2002).
Teachers have also used scaffolding to engage students in research work and learning. In this context,
scaffolding facilitates organization of and focus for students' research (McKenzie, 1999). The structure and
clearly defined expectations are the most important component of scaffolding in this context. The teachers
provide clarity and support but the students construct the final result through their research. In a chapter
on scaffolding, Scaffolding for Success, Jamie McKenzie provides a visual image analogy of how
scaffolding works, "The workers cleaning the face of the Washington Monument do not confuse the
scaffolding with the monument itself. The scaffolding is secondary. The building is primary." (McKenzie,
1999, Matters of Definition section, para. 6). He goes on to describe eight characteristics of scaffolding.
The first six describe aspects of scaffolding instruction. The last two refer to outcomes resulting from
scaffolding and are therefore presented in a later section of this paper. According to McKenzie scaffolding:
1. Provides clear direction and reduces students' confusion - Educators anticipate problems that students
might encounter and then develop step by step instructions, which explain what a student must do to
meet expectations.
2. Clarifies purpose - Scaffolding helps students understand why they are doing the work and why it is
important.
3. Keeps students on task - By providing structure, the scaffolded lesson or research project, provides
pathways for the learners. The student can make decisions about which path to choose or what things
to explore along the path but they cannot wander off of the path, which is the designated task.
4. Clarifies expectations and incorporates assessment and feedback - Expectations are clear from the
beginning of the activity since examples of exemplary work, rubrics, and standards of excellence are
shown to the students.
5. Points students to worthy sources - Educators provide sources to reduce confusion, frustration, and
time. The students may then decide which of these sources to use.
6. Reduces uncertainty, surprise, and disappointment - Educators test their lessons to determine possible
problem areas and then refine the lesson to eliminate difficulties so that learning is maximized
(McKenzie, 1999).
Scaffolded instruction is also employed in problem based learning environments. "Problem-based learning
(PBL) is an educational approach that challenges students to "learn to learn"." (Ngeow and Yoon, 2001, p.
1). In this type of classroom the teacher must assess the activities that the students can perform
independently and what they must learn to complete the task. The teacher then, "...designs activities which
offer just enough of a scaffold for students to overcome this gap in knowledge and skills." (Ngeow and
Yoon, 2001, p. 2). The authors also describe several of same scaffolding activities or characteristics that
were presented by Bransford, Brown and Cocking and McKenzie thus illustrating scaffolding's applicability
to various educational settings.

II. Scaffolding - Related Theory, Theorists, and Research

Scaffolding instruction as a teaching strategy originates from Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and his
concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist whose
works were surpressed after his death in the 1930s and were not discovered by the West until the late
1950s ("Lev Vygotsky's archive," n.d.). His sociocultural theory proposes that social interaction plays a
fundamental role in the development of cognition. ("Social Development Theory," n.d.). Vygotsky
"...theorized that learning occurs through participation in social or culturally embedded experiences."
(Raymond, 2000, p. 176). In Vygotsky's view, the learner does not learn in isolation. Instead learning is
strongly influenced by social interactions, which take place in meaningful contexts. Children's social
interaction with more knowledgeable or capable others and their environment significantly impacts their
ways of thinking and interpreting situations. A child develops his or her intellect through internalizing
concepts based his or her own interpretation of an activity that occurs in a social setting. The
communication that occurs in this setting with more knowledgeable or capable others (parents, teachers,
peers, others) helps the child construct an understanding of the concept (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking,
2000). The communication helps the child develop inner or egocentric speech. The inner speech is
abbreviated speech for oneself that eventually directs personal cognitive activities. Inner speech is
developed as the adult initially models a cognitive process and communicates the steps as in "think-aloud"
modeling. "...Over time and through repeated experiences, the child begins to internalize, and assumes
responsibility for the dialogical actions, (i.e. it becomes a "private speech" spoken aloud by the child to
direct personal cognitive activity)." (Ellis, Larking, Worthington, n.d., Principle 5 Research section, para.3).
In subsequent similar activities the amount and or type of modeling and guidance provided by the more
knowledgeable other will be reduced until the child is able to complete the activity without these supports
or scaffolds, the child's inner speech would now be directing the child's activities. ("Four Stage Model," n.d.
and Jaramillo, 1996).
The second foundation for scaffolding instruction is Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal
development (ZPD). The ZPD "...is that area between what a learner can do independently (mastery level)
and what can be accomplished with the assistance of a competent adult or peer (instructional level)" (Ellis,
Larkin, Worthington, n.d. Principle 5, Research section, para.1). Vygotsky believed that any child could be
taught any subject effectively using scaffolding techniques by applying the scaffolds at the ZPD. "Teachers
activate this zone when they teach students concepts that are just above their current skills and knowledge
level, which motivates them to excel beyond their current skills level" (Jaramillo, 1996, p. 138). Students
are guided and supported through learning activities that serve as interactive bridges to get them to the
next level. Thus the learner develops or constructs new understandings by elaborating on their prior
knowledge through the support provided by more capable others (Raymond, 2000). Studies have actually
shown that in the absence of guided learning experiences and social interaction, learning and development
are hindered (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 2000).
Modern research continues to find that scaffolding is an effective teaching strategy. Two recent studies
regarding the use of inscriptions for teaching scientific inquiry and experimentation (external
representations - graphs, tables, etc.) found that the use of external representations, representational
scaffolds, can serve as an effective strategy for teaching these scientific skills. In one study the
instructional goal was to teach fourth graders valid experimentation skills. During the first part of the study
a teacher-specified table of variables was the scaffold provided. Students had to select the appropriate
variable related to their experiment. The results of this part of the study led to the conclusion that the "...
use of the pre-developed table representation may have helped students abstract the overall structure of
the experiment and thus aided their understanding of the design..." (Toth, Results and Discussion section,
para. 1). The teacher designed table helped focus the learners' thinking on only those items that were
important for the task. Additionally through the use of the table it became obvious to the students if they
had omitted an important variable from their experiment. This helped the students learn what things must
be considered when designing an experiment (Toth, n.d.).
In the second study, "... the effects of two different external representations (evidence mapping vs. prose
writing)..." were evaluated in research with ninth grade students (Toth, n.d., Representational scaffolding
while coordinating data with theories section, para. 1). Students used either a software tool or prose
writing to record their thinking during a problem-based-learning activity in which they had to find a solution
to a scientific challenge.

The software tool provided epistemological categories linked with unique

shapes. The students that used the software had to categorize the information they were evaluating by
selecting the appropriate shape and entering the information into the shape. The students in the prose
writing group just documented their thinking by writing. One finding of the study was that the students who
used the software tool correctly categorized more of the information as hypothesis and data than those
students in the prose writing groups. The correct categorization of information was attributed to "...the
effect of the mapping representation that scaffolded students' categorization efforts" (Toth, n.d., Results
and Discussion section, para. 1). Eva Toth concluded from the research that the use of , "...teacherdeveloped table representations was found to scaffold students' progress of inquiry by making the
variables of an experiment salient and by perceptually constraining the students' attention to abstract the
characteristics of correct experimentation" (Toth, n.d. Conclusion and Educational Significance section,
para. 1). She also concluded that the evidence mapping, which used the software tool that scaffolded
students' thinking and categorization efforts, was a "...successful instructional methodology to teach how to
categorize and label scientific information and to teach students how to evaluate hypotheses based on
empirical data." (Toth, n.d., Conclusions and Educational Significance section, para. 2). The study also
found that the use of explicit rubrics supported the scaffolding effect.
Kuo-En Chang, Yao-Ting Sung, and Ine-Dai Chen conducted a study to test the learning effects of three
concept-mapping methods on students' text comprehension and summarization abilities and "...to determine
how students can most effectively learn from concept mapping" (Chang, Chen, & Sung, 2002, p. 8). For
the study three concept-mapping methods were designed "...with varying degrees of scaffolding support,
namely, map construction by correction (with constant and highest degree of scaffolding), by scaffold
fading (with gradually removed scaffolding), and by generation (with the least scaffolding)" (Chang, Chen,
& Sung, 2002, p. 19). The 7 week study was conducted with 126 fifth grade students that were randomly
assigned to 4 groups, one for each concept mapping method and a control group. Both pre- and post- text
comprehension and summarization tests were administered to evaluate the students' abilities. Each group
received the same reading materials and training on concept mapping. The map correction group was
given a partially revised expert generated concept map that included some incorrect information. The
students had to read the provided materials before correcting the errors in the map. The instruction for the
scaffold-fading group consisted of the following: "...(a) read an expert concept map, (b) fill in the blanks of
the expert concept map (with whole structure), (c) complete the partial expert concept map (with partial
structure), (d) construct the concept map using the given concepts and relation links, and (e) determine the
key concepts and relation links from the text to construct the concept map" (Chang, Chen, & Sung, 2002,
p.10). Only the reading materials were provided to the students in the map generation group.
The study results showed that the map-correction group performed better on the text comprehension and
text summarization posttests than did the scaffold-fading or other groups. It also found that the scaffoldfading group performed much better than the map-generation and control groups on the text summarization
posttest but showed no significant difference on the text comprehension posttest (Chang, Chen, & Sung,
2002). The authors explain that the students in the map-correction group performed better because the
map-correction scaffolding provided a content framework for and a reminder of the content in the text. The
authors go on to explain that the finding regarding the scaffold fading group was not consistent with the
findings of "...Day and Cordon (1993) and Kao (1996) that the scaffolding instruction method had better
direct and transferring effects than general teaching methods..."(Chang, Chen, & Sung, 2002, p. 20). They
cite two factors that may have affected the outcome of their study and generated the inconsistent findings.
First, they state that, "... the operations performed after the scaffolding was removed may still have been
too difficult for elementary school students" and secondly there "...may have been the lack of sufficient time
for training" (Chang, Chen, & Sung, 2002, p. 20).
They conclude that the scaffolds provided by the map-correct method (framework and partial information)
seem "...to be a more suitable way for conducting concept mapping for elementary students" (Chang,
Chen, & Sung, 2002, p. 19) than the other methods, scaffold-fading or map generation. However any form
of concept mapping (scaffolding) "...may serve as a useful graphic strategy for improving text learning"
(Chang, Chen, & Sung, 2002, p. 21).
Scaffolding instruction guides the learner to independent and self-regulated competence of skills. This
occurs when the learner's inner speech occurs on an automatic, unconscious level (Ellis, Larkin,
Worthington, n.d.).
In addition to improving learners' cognitive abilities, scaffolding instruction in the
context of classroom learning and student research:
1. Delivers efficiency - Since the work is structured, focused, and glitches have been reduced or
eliminated prior to initiation, time on task is increased and efficiency in completing the activity is
increased.

2. Creates momentum - Through the structure provided by scaffolding, students spend less time
searching and more time on learning and discovering, resulting in quicker learning (McKenzie, 1999).

III. Advantages and Disadvantages of Scaffolding

One of the primary benefits of scaffolding instruction is that it engages the learner. The learner does not
passively listen to information presented instead through teacher prompting the learner builds on prior
knowledge and forms new knowledge. In working with students who have low self-esteem and learning
disabilities, it provides an opportunity to give positive feedback to the students by saying things like "...look
what you have just figured out!" This gives them more of a can do versus a "this is too hard" attitude. This
leads into another advantage of scaffolding in that if done properly, scaffolding instruction motivates the
student so that they want to learn.
Another benefit of this type of instruction is that it can minimize the level of frustration of the learner. This is
extremely important with many special needs students, who can become frustrated very easily then shut
down and refuse to participate in further learning during that particular setting.
Scaffold instruction is individualized so it can benefit each learner. However, this is also the biggest
disadvantage for the teacher since developing the supports and scaffolded lessons to meet the needs of
each individual would be extremely time-consuming. Implementation of individualized scaffolds in a
classroom with a large number of students would be challenging. Another disadvantage is that unless
properly trained, a teacher may not properly implement scaffolding instruction and therefore not see the full
effect. Scaffolding also requires that the teacher give up some of the control and allow the students to
make errors. This may be difficult for teachers to do. Finally the teachers' manuals and curriculum guides
that I have been exposed to do not include examples of scaffolds or outlines of scaffolding methods that
would be appropriate for the specific lesson content. Although there are some drawbacks to the use of
scaffolding as a teaching strategy the positive impact it can have on students' learning and development is
far more important.

References:
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R.

(2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, and Experience &

School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Chang, K., Chen, I., & Sung, Y. (2002). The effect of concept mapping to enhance text comprehension and
summarization. The Journal of Experimental Education 71(1), 5-23.
Ellis, E., Larkin, M ., & Worthington, L. (No date). Executive summary of the research synthesis on
effective teaching principles and the design of quality tools for educators. University of Alabama, AL.

Retrieved November 11, 2002, from http://idea.uoregon.edu/~ncite/documents/techrep/tech06.html

Four-Stage Model of ZPD. (No date). North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved October
12, 2002 from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1zpda.htm
Hartman, H. (2002). Scaffolding & Cooperative Learning. Human Learning and Instruction (pp. 23-69).
New York: City College of City University of New York.
Jaramillo, J. (1996). Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and contributions to the development of constructivist
curricula. Education 117(1), 133-140.
Lev Vygotsky Archive. (No date). Retrieved November 15, 2002, from http://www.marxists.org/archive
/vygotsky/
McKenzie, J. (2000).

Scaffolding for Success. [Electronic version] Beyond Technology, Questioning,

Research and the Information Literate School Community. Retrieved October 12, 2002, from http://fno.org
/dec99/scaffold.html
Ngeow, K.K., &Yoon, S. (2001, October). Learning to learn: preparing teachers and students for
problem-based learning. ERIC Digest. Retrieved October 20, 2002, from http://www.ed.gov/databases
/ERIC_Digests/ed457524.html
Olson, J. and Platt, J. (2000). The Instructional Cycle. Teaching Children and Adolescents with Special
Needs (pp. 170-197). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Raymond, E. (2000). Cognitive Characteristics. Learners with Mild Disabilities (pp. 169-201). Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, A Pearson Education Company.
Social Development Theory. (No date). Retrieved November 3, 2002, from http://tip.psychology.org
/vygotsky.html
Toth, E. E. (no date). Representational scaffolding during scientific inquiry: interpretive and expressive
use of inscriptions in classroom learning. Retrieved October 19, 2002, from http://www.cis.upenn.edu
/~ircs/cogsci2000/PRCDNGS/SPRCDNGS/posters/toth.pdf

4.1 Practice

Situaci

Scaffolding Instruction describes specialized teaching strategies geared to support learning when students are first
introduced to a new subject. Scaffolding gives students a context, motivation, or foundation from which to understand the
new information that will be introduced during the coming lesson.
Scaffolding techniques should be considered fundamental to good, solid teaching for all students, not just those with
learning disabilities or second language learners. In order for learning to progress, scaffolds should be gradually removed
as instruction continues, so that students will eventually be able to demonstrate comprehension independently.
Scaffolding instruction includes a wide variety of strategies, including:
activating prior knowledge
offering a motivational context to pique student interest or curiosity in the subject at hand
breaking a complex task into easier, more "doable" steps to facilitate student achievement
showing students an example of the desired outcome before they complete the task
modeling the thought process for students through "think aloud" talk
offering hints or partial solutions to problems
using verbal cues to prompt student answers
teaching students chants or mnemonic devices to ease memorization of key facts or procedures
facilitating student engagement and participation
displaying a historical timeline to offer a context for learning
using graphic organizers to offer a visual framework for assimilating new information
teaching key vocabulary terms before reading
guiding the students in making predictions for what they expect will occur in a story, experiment, or other course of
action
asking questions while reading to encourage deeper investigation of concepts
suggesting possible strategies for the students to use during independent practice
modeling an activity for the students before they are asked to complete the same or similar activity
asking students to contribute their own experiences that relate to the subject at hand
Scaffolding is an instructional technique, associated with the zone of proximal development, in which a teacher provides
individualized support by incrementally improving a learners ability to build on prior knowledge. Scaffolding can be used in
a variety of content areas and across age and grade levels.

Scaffolding in the classroom

When using scaffolding as an instructional technique, the teacher provides tasks that enable the learner to build on prior
knowledge and internalize new concepts. According to Judy Olson and Jennifer Platt, the teacher must provide assisted
activities that are just one level beyond that of what the learner can do in order to assist the learner through the zone of
proximal development. Once learners demonstrate task mastery, the support is decreased and learners gain responsibility
for their own growth.
In order to provide young learners with an understanding of how to link old information or familiar situations with new
knowledge, the instructor must guide learners through verbal and nonverbal communication and model behaviors.
Research on the practice of using scaffolding in early childhood development shows that parents and teachers can
facilitate this advancement through the zone of proximal development by providing activities and tasks that:

Motivate or enlist the childs interest related to the task.

Simplify the task to make it more manageable and achievable for a child.
Provide some direction in order to help the child focus on achieving the goal.
Clearly indicate differences between the childs work and the standard or desired solution.
Reduce frustration and risk.
Model and clearly define the expectations of the activity to be performed.
In the educational setting, scaffolds may include models, cues, prompts, hints, partial solutions, think-aloud modeling, and
direct instruction.

Eight characteristics of scaffolding

Jamie McKenzie suggests that there are eight characteristics of scaffolding instruction. In order to engage in scaffolding
effectively, teachers:
Provide clear direction and reduce students confusion. Prior to assigning instruction that involves scaffolding, a
teacher must try to anticipate any problems that might arise and write step-by-step instructions for how learners must
complete tasks.
Clarify purpose. Scaffolding does not leave the learner wondering why they are engaging in activities. The teacher
explains the purpose of the lesson and why this is important. This type of guided instruction allows learners to
understand how they are building on prior knowledge.
Keep students on task. Students are aware of the direction in which the lesson is heading, and they can make choices
about how to proceed with the learning process.
Offer assessment to clarify expectations. Teachers who create scaffolded lessons set forth clear expectations from the
beginning of the activity using exemplars, rubrics.
Point students to worthy sources. Teachers supply resources for research and learning to decrease confusion,
frustration, and wasted time.
Reduce uncertainty, surprise, and disappointment. A well-prepared activity or lesson is tested or evaluated completely
before implementation to reduce problems and maximize learning potential.
Deliver efficiency. Little time is wasted in the scaffolded lesson, and all learning goals are achieved efficiently.
Create momentum. The goal of scaffolding is to inspire learners to want to learn more and increase their knowledge
and understanding.
Martha Larkin suggests that there are eight guidelines that teachers most commonly follow when developing scaffolded
lessons. According to research in the area of scaffolding, teachers often:
Focus on curriculum goals to develop appropriate tasks.
Define a shared goal for all students to achieve through engagement in specific tasks.
Identify individual student needs and monitor growth based on those abilities.
Provide instruction that is modified or adapted to each students ability.
Encourage students to remain focused throughout the tasks and activities.
Provide clear feedback in order for students to monitor their own progress.
Create an environment where students feel safe taking risks.
Promote responsibility for independent learning.

4.2 Example

Key features of Scaffolding

5. Jim Cummins' common underlying linguistic competence

In this article Professor James Cummins laid out the foundations of all his theories on bilingualism and
bilingual or plurilingual education. Before reading his theories on this topic we recommend reading this
article through and then proceed to the reading of his theories as a form of summary or compendium.
Article
Summary of James Cummins theories: Summary

5.1 Practice

Common Underlying Proficiency

Cummins believes that in the course of learning one language a child acquires a set of skills and implicit
metalinguistic knowledge that can be drawn upon when working in another language. This common
underlying proficiency (CUP), as he calls these skills and knowledge, is illustrated in the diagram below. It
can be seen that the CUP provides the base for the development of both the first language (L1) and the
second language (L2). It follows that any expansion of CUP that takes place in one language will have a
beneficial effect on the other language(s). This theory also serves to explain why it becomes easier and
easier to learn additional languages.

Implications for mainstream teachers

It is very important that students be encouraged to continue their native language development. When
parents ask about the best ways they can help their child at home, you can reply that the child should have
the opportunity to read extensively in her own language. You could suggest that parents make some time
every evening to discuss with their child, in their native language, what she has done in school that day:
ask her to talk about the science experiment she did, question her about her understanding of primary and
secondary sources of historical information, have her explain how she has solved a math problem etc.
As Cummins (2000) states: "Conceptual knowledge developed in one language helps to make input in the
other language comprehensible." If a child already understands the concepts of "justice" or "honesty" in her
own language, all she has to do is acquire the label for these terms in English. She has a far more difficult
task, however, if she has to acquire both the label and the concept in her second language.

Task Difficulty
Cummins has devised a model whereby the different tasks we expect our students to engage in can be
categorized. In the diagram below tasks range in difficulty along one continuum from cognitively
undemanding to cognitively demanding; and along the other continuum from context-embedded to contextreduced. A context-embedded task is one in which the student has access to a range of additional visual
and oral cues; for example he can look at illustrations of what is being talked about or ask questions to
confirm understanding. A context-reduced task is one such as listening to a lecture or reading dense text,
where there are no other sources of help than the language itself. Clearly, a D quadrant task, which is both
cognitively demanding and context- reduced, is likely to be the most difficult for students, particularly for
non-native speakers in their first years of learning English. However, it is essential that ESL students
develop the ability to accomplish such tasks, since academic success is impossible without it.

Application:
Cummins invented vocabulary to describe this. Basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) is
achieved first. Cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) comes later. But how much later?
It takes two years or less to develop BICS. It takes five to seven years to develop CALP. While the child is
learning English, their native English-speaking peers are learning through English. If an ESL child is in an
immersion setting (in an English-speaking classroom), he will remain behind the native speakers for many
years. By the time he attains CALP, those native speakers have already learned more than he has. So he
has to catch up. In large scale studies, it took an average of seven years to catch up. We all know what an
average means, right? A lot of the kids took longer than seven years.
Stopping ESL support when the child gains BICS in English is dangerous. It might seriously harm the
child's academic development, especially if the child is in a very "square D" classroom.
Now, what makes a difference in the rate of second language acquisition?
-Quantity of language exposure (length of time, how much the child is paying attention)
-Quality of language exposure
-Child's age
-Cognitive abilities
-L1 literacy (literacy skills in the first language)
-Personality
-Personal confidence (are they willing to put themselves out there and be brave, trying to communicate in
the second language?)
-Motivation
We must never forget when applying CLIL to students that which we poited out at the beginning, that is,
Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains (Knowledge > Comprehension > Application > Analysis >
Synthesis). This provides a useful way of determining whether a task is demanding or undemanding. So
activities which fall within the category of Knowledge - such as collecting, naming, showing etc. - will
clearly be less demanding than Analysis activities such as comparing, explaining and inferring.
The degree to which a task is context-embedded depends on the number of channels of information
available to the student. So a student who listens to a news report on the radio has only one channel of
information - this is a context-reduced learning experience. Compare this with the student who reads a
report about the same event in a newspaper article which contains photographs and diagrams. The

student can read at her own speed and has access to a dictionary. If she can also ask another student or
her parents to explain parts of the text, then she has many channels of information available to her. This is
clearly a context-embedded activity and as a result is much more manageable.
It is difficult to see the value of any tasks that are cognitively undemanding and context-reduced. Copying a
list of the kings and queens of England from a textbook to an exercise book is an example of such an
activity. It is sometimes called busy work.

6. Learning vs acquisition: Stephen Krashen

Introduction
Stephen Krashen (University of Southern California) is an expert in the field of
linguistics, specializing in theories of language acquisition and development. Much of his
recent research has involved the study of non-English and bilingual language
acquisition. During the past 20 years, he has published well over 100 books and articles
and has been invited to deliver over 300 lectures at universities throughout the United
States and Canada.
This is a brief description of Krashen's widely known and well accepted theory of
second language acquisition, which has had a large impact in all areas of second
language research and teaching since the 1980s.
Description of Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition
Krashen's theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses:

the Acquisition-Learning hypothesis,

the Monitor hypothesis,
the Natural Order hypothesis,

the Input hypothesis,

and the Affective Filter hypothesis.

The Acquisition-Learning distinction is the most fundamental of all the

hypotheses in Krashen's theory and the most widely known among linguists and
language practitioners.
According to Krashen there are two independent systems of second language
performance: 'the acquired system' and 'the learned system'. The 'acquired system' or
'acquisition' is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process
children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful
interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are
concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act.
The 'learned system' or 'learning' is the product of formal instruction and it
comprises a conscious process, which results in conscious knowledge 'about' the
language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. According to Krashen 'learning'

is less important than 'acquisition'.

The Monitor hypothesis explains the relationship between acquisition and learning
and defines the influence of the latter on the former. The monitoring function is the
practical result of the learned grammar. According to Krashen, the acquisition
system is the utterance initiator, while the learning system performs the role of the
'monitor' or the 'editor'. The 'monitor' acts in a planning, editing and correcting
function when three specific conditions are met: that is, the second language learner
has sufficient time at his/her disposal, he/she focuses on form or thinks about
correctness, and he/she knows the rule.
It appears that the role of conscious learning is somewhat limited in second language
performance. According to Krashen, the role of the monitor is - or should be minor, being used only to correct deviations from 'normal' speech and to give speech
a more 'polished' appearance.
Krashen also suggests that there is individual variation among language learners with
regard to 'monitor' use. He distinguishes those learners that use the 'monitor' all the
time (over-users); those learners who have not learned or who prefer not to use their
conscious knowledge (under-users); and those learners that use the 'monitor'
appropriately (optimal users). An evaluation of the person's psychological profile
can help to determine to what group they belong. Usually extroverts are under-users,
while introverts and perfectionists are over-users. Lack of self-confidence is
frequently related to the over-use of the 'monitor'.
The Natural Order hypothesis is based on research findings (Dulay & Burt, 1974;
Fathman, 1975; Makino, 1980 cited in Krashen, 1987) which suggested that the
acquisition of grammatical structures follows a 'natural order' which is predictable. For a
given language, some grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late.
This order seemed to be independent of the learners' age, L1 background, conditions of
exposure, and although the agreement between individual acquirers was not always
100% in the studies, there were statistically significant similarities that reinforced the
existence of a Natural Order of language acquisition. Krashen however points out that
the implication of the natural order hypothesis is not that a language program syllabus
should be based on the order found in the studies. In fact, he rejects grammatical
sequencing when the goal is language acquisition.
The Input hypothesis is Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a
second language. In other words, this hypothesis is Krashen's explanation of how second
language acquisition takes place. So, the Input hypothesis is only concerned with
'acquisition', not 'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and
progresses along the 'natural order' when he/she receives second language 'input' that is
one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner
is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible
Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'. Since not all of the learners can be at the same level of
linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural communicative

input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will
receive some 'i + 1' input that is appropriate for his/her current stage of linguistic
competence.
Finally, the fifth hypothesis, the Affective Filter hypothesis, embodies Krashen's
view that a number of 'affective variables' play a facilitative, but non-causal, role in
second language acquisition. These variables include: motivation, self-confidence and
anxiety. Krashen claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good
self-image, and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for success in second
language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem, and debilitating anxiety can
combine to 'raise' the affective filter and form a 'mental block' that prevents
comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other words, when the filter is
'up' it impedes language acquisition. On the other hand, positive affect is necessary, but
not sufficient on its own, for acquisition to take place.

6.1 Practice
Read this pdf document to see how Krashen's theories can be brought into the language classroom. Click
here

6.2 Task
Think of a communicative task where students are asked to put into practice something they have learned
by watching, listening or reading others do it. This task requires some human interaction to move from
"learning about something" to "acquiring knowledge through practice". Below, you have an example of a
task where students are asked to enact different situations using the language provided. You can use the
empty template from the link provided below and complete it with your own ideas.
Example of telephone conversations
Empty template

7. Advantages of plurilingualism

On the importance of CLIL in the context of the debate on

plurilingual education in the European Union

Dieter Wolff
Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has existed as a pedagogical concept
in European school systems for more than thirty years now. It can be traced back to
similar approaches in international and European schools. Common to all approaches is
the fact that a language other than the one most widely spoken is used to teach a fairly
restricted number of content subjects (geography, history, politics, social sciences etc.).
It should be noted that in almost all the countries in which CLIL exists it is seen not
simply as an approach to foreign language teaching but as an integrated form of teaching
content and language. Not only does the content subject provide content for the
language learning process; moreover, the fact that content is analysed from different
cultural perspectives offers opportunities for intercultural learning and thus gives a new
quality to classroom work. The experience available shows that both linguistic and
content subject competence can be promoted within this integrated concept more
effectively than when content and language are taught in isolation.
In the White Paper of 1995 the European Union has set itself an ambitious political goal,
i.e. to maintain and to promote plurilingualism among the citizens of its
member states. In order to reach this goal, the education systems in Europe have to
look for new and better ways to secure and to improve the quality of foreign language
teaching and learning. The political goal of promoting plurilingualism cannot be attained
if member states still reduce language programmes in their school systems, for example
with respect to the number of languages or lessons per week. Although the European
year of languages has led to a new interest of the general public in questions of language
policy, it has neither changed the quality of foreign language teaching in the member
states nor the number of languages on offer.
The

concept

of

CLIL

is

highly

relevant

for

the

promotion

of

plurilingualism and thus also for European language policy. The most important
reason is that it is a realistic and economic concept which could be implemented fairly

quickly in all member states. There can be no doubt that a teacher who is expected to
teach in a CLIL class needs a specific kind of training which goes beyond the training of
a foreign language or content subject teacher.
Training programmes adapted to the needs of such teachers have already been
developed, however, and could quickly be implemented. And the European Union
could, in the context of the European mobility programmes, ensure that native speakers
of a specific language who have studied a content subject could teach this content
subject in another country in their own language.
Moreover, CLIL is a concept which opens new opportunities to restructure foreign
language programmes in school: the fact that content subjects are taught in a
foreign language would reduce the number of weekly hours necessary for
the teaching of the language used in a content subject. These hours can be used to
introduce more languages in the curriculum.
Most content subjects are not taught over the whole school cycle, which contributes to
reflecting more on the possibilities of reducing the teaching of a foreign language to a
smaller number of years. Better than traditional foreign language teaching programmes,
CLIL can contribute to offering a larger choice of languages in our schools
and thus enhance plurilingualism on a broader scale.
Another political reason for introducing CLIL in the mainstream school system should
be mentioned here. It is related to the European dimension in education. Working with
content in another language necessarily leads to considering this content from different
perspectives.
The history of Germany and France, for example, will be presented in a CLIL classroom
both from a German and a French angle, and this contributes to the development of at
least a bidimensional perspective. In dealing with the political systems of the European
Union in politics a multiperspectival approach will be chosen, and through contrastive
analysis new insights will be gained in how these systems function. Thus through CLIL
learning results are obtained which go far beyond the mere promotion of linguistic
abilities and have a genuine effect on the development of understanding for our joint
European culture.
At this point the question arises how we can define the pedagogical potential of CLIL
with respect to improving the quality of foreign language learning. Empirical research
has shown that it is superior to traditional foreign language teaching and learning, but
also that this superiority has nothing to do with criteria of selection. CLIL is not an
elitist approach to language learning; it functions in all learning contexts and with all
learners.
In most empirical research the superiority of CLIL is attributed to the greater length of
exposure to the foreign language. The more and the longer students use the foreign
language, the better they learn it. Undoubtedly the time factor plays an important role in
learning a foreign language; it is, however, not the only reason for the CLIL learners
greater success. The pedagogical potential of CLIL is not restricted to the time factor,
but includes other factors which are equally important.

The predominant among these factors is that CLIL provides a learning environment
which makes it possible to realise modern learning theoretical and methodological
concepts in an optimal way:
(1) The concept of authenticity relates both to content and interaction. In contrast to
traditional language teaching, learners in a CLIL classroom work with the authentic
contents of the content subject; in contrast to the traditional classroom, learners interact
in the foreign language about the real world around them. This authentic use of the
foreign language promotes the language learning process much more than talking about
the pseudoreal and fictitious contents of the traditional language classroom.
(2) Methodologically, CLIL is strongly geared towards learning strategies and
techniques: in the history or geography classroom, for example, techniques like
analyzing tables, maps or diagrams, or reading historical sources are applied and thus
learned.
These strategies are highly important for language learning as well and can lead the
learner to a certain degree of independence. Learner autonomy as the highest goal in all
education is based to a large extent on the mastery of learning strategies and study skills.
(3) The topics relevant in the content and language classroom help learners understand
the relevance of forms of collaboration which are unknown in the traditional classroom,
for example group work or project work. These forms of social learning are regarded as
being highly successful in language learning as well.
On the whole, then, CLIL creates a learning environment which corresponds much
better to modern pedagogical principles than do traditional learning environments. The
classroom is seen as a learning laboratory, a place in which learners and teachers jointly
work in projects, a place in which the different subjects are not divided arbitrarily and
taught in isolation, but are seen as a complex whole, a place of autonomous learning in
which the learners deal independently with the learning content. This classroom, about
which modern pedagogues only dream at present, becomes more realistic within a CLIL
environment. The true pedagogical potential of CLIL does not lie in the promotion of
foreign language learning alone but in the power it exerts to change our encrusted
educational structures.
Within such a learning environment it will also be possible to reach the goal which is
defined in the 1995 White Paper and which many people still regard as utopian:
trilingualism for all citizens of the European Union. The classroom as a learning
laboratory a pedagogical concept incorporated in the CLIL approach is far better
suited than mainstream pedagogical concepts to provide for the learners different
aptitudes. If CLIL were implemented in our educational systems, the idea of languages
and language learning as something reserved only for an elite could quickly be
abandoned.
(Extracted from "CLIL / EMILE THE EUROPEAN
http://ec.europa.eu/languages/documents/clilmarsh_en.pdf)

DIMENSION"

at

7.1 Practice
Take a look at the following classroom projects using several languages form the EU: CLICK HERE

Advantages of CLIL in a plurilingual curriculum

8. Questions

PROGRESS TEST
In order to move on to the next unit you will have to take a progress test made up of 10 questions on the
above topics. You need to get 80% or more of correct answers so that the next unit lights up. In the case
that you score under 80%, you can try again with a new set of questions. You can attempt the "progress
test" as many times as you wish.