One of the difficulties with CLIL is how to cope with new subject-matter content,

linguistic content and the application of the macro-skills. I would like you to
discuss how we can give our students support in order to balance (juggle, rather)
all these variables that intervene at the moment of teaching Science, Maths,
Geography, etc. in the Foreign Language Class. This is particularly challenging
when students are not advanced or their knowledge of the world is limited due to
their young age.

As the statement mentioned, CLIL has one difficulty reflected on the subject-
matter content, linguistic content and the application of the macro-skills. Based on it, we
as teachers can have in mind different considerations, which can allow teachers and
learners to balance these variables at the moment to intervene in their learning process.
First, the age and the cognitive stages are the considerations we need to consider as
Piaget refers, the age of seven, “children begin to cope with more complex ideas,
recognizing the creative power of language and its ability to enable them to articulate
their thoughts” (cited in Ball, 2016: page 32). Thus, at this age learners are capable to
integrate language and content building a “conceptual knowledge by means of narrative
and discovery” (cited in Ball, 2016: page 32). Second, the learning strategies used during
a CLIL class should include an ontological or heuristic utility; where ontological refers to
the reality and the heuristic refers to the discovery. Moreover, language should be
presented as a set of categories, that can reflect the use of language in the different
subject areas and this can help learners to understand and use the target language in
the different school syllabus. The target language should be considered to implement
about 1 or 2 hours per week, or in the case that is a bilingual program can be double.
Hence, a CLIL lesson should be transmitted into a foreign language and should combine
some elements in order to be successful, highlighting Coyle (cited in Ball, 2016) these
are:

1. Content - Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to specific

elements of a defined curriculum
2. Communication - Using language to learn whilst learning to use language
3. Cognition - Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and
concrete), understanding and language
4. Culture - Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which
deepen awareness of otherness and self.
These will increase in students their confidence and also enhance their academic
cognitive process which will help them to develop their communicative skills and finally,
to encourage them into a inter-cultural understanding.

References

Ball, P. (2016). Content and Language Integrated Learning, Barcelona: FUNIBER