MASARYKOVA
U N I V E R Z I T A
F I L O Z O F I C K Á F A K U L T A
CLIL at Czech Schools: The
Teachers' Perspective
Magisterská diplomová práce
BC. ALŽBĚTA INDROVÁ
Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Jitka Sedláčková, Ph.D.
Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky
Program Učitelství anglického jazyka a literatury pro
střední školy
Brno 2024
MUNI
ARTS
C L I L AT C Z E C H S C H O O L S : T H E T E A C H E R S ' PERSPECTIVE
Bibliografický záznam
Autor:
Název práce:
Studijní program:
Vedoucí práce:
Rok:
Počet stran:
Klíčová slova:
Bc. Alžběta Indrová
Filozofická fakulta
Masarykova univerzita
Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky
CLIL at Czech Schools: The Teachers' Perspective
Učitelství anglického jazyka a literatury pro střední školy
Mgr. Jitka Sedláčková, Ph.D.
2024
117
CLIL, vyučovací metody, základní vzdělávání, středoškolské
vzdělávání, cizojazyčné vzdělávání, mnohojazyčnost, učení
zaměřené na studenta, polostrukturovaný rozhovor
2
C L I L AT C Z E C H S C H O O L S : T H E T E A C H E R S ' PERSPECTIVE
Bibliographic record
Author:
Title of Thesis:
Be. Alžběta Indrová
Faculty of Arts
Masaryk University
Department of English and American Studies
CLIL at Czech schools: The Teachers' perspective
Degree Programme: Upper Secondary School Teacher Education in English
Language and Literature
Supervisor:
Year:
Number of Pages:
Keywords:
Mgr. Jitka Sedláčková, Ph.D.
2024
117
CLIL, teaching methods, primary education, secondary
education, foreign language education, multilingualism,
student-centred learning semi-structured interview
3
C L I L AT C Z E C H S C H O O L S : T H E T E A C H E R S ' PERSPECTIVE
Anotace
Tato diplomová práce se zaměřuje na učitele, kteří využívají metodu CLIL ve výuce, a
prostřednictvím kvalitativní analýzy dat zjišťuje jejich pohled na zavádění této metody
do školní praxe. Cílem výzkumu je odhalit silné stránky i výzvy spojené s vyučováním
metodou CLIL a navrhnout možnosti, jak její implementaci v České republice dále
zlepšit. Data získána během rozhovorů podlehla analýze s ohledem na zkušenosti
respondentů s vyučováním prostřednictvím metody CLIL. Závěrečná část práce
porovnává výsledky výzkumu s poznatky z podobných studií a přináší nové podněty
pro rozvoj metody CLIL v rámci českého vzdělávacího systému.
4
C L I L AT C Z E C H S C H O O L S : T H E T E A C H E R S ' PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
This diploma thesis focuses on teachers who use the CLIL method in their lessons and
inquires into their perspectives on implementing the method at their school through
qualitative data analysis. The research aims to reveal the positive as well as challenging
aspects of CLIL and present suggestions to improve CLIL implementation in the Czech
Republic. The data was collected using a semi-structured interview, subsequently
analysing the respondents' experiences with using the CLIL method. Lastly, the results
of the research are compared to the findings of similar studies and analysed in the
context of the theoretical background of the CLIL method.
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C L I L AT C Z E C H S C H O O L S : T H E T E A C H E R S ' PERSPECTIVE
Declaration
I hereby declare that the thesis titled CLIL at Czech Schools: The Teachers' Perspective
that I have submitted for assessment is entirely my original work, and that no part of it
has been taken from the work of others unless explicitly cited and acknowledged within the
text of my thesis.
Brno November 28, 2024
Be. Alžběta Indrová
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C L I L AT C Z E C H S C H O O L S : T H E T E A C H E R S ' PERSPECTIVE
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I want to thank my wonderful supervisor, Mgr. Jitka Sedláčková, Ph. D., for
valuable advice and support, when it was needed, which was most of the time. I want
to thank the participants of this research, the amazing teachers, who are fostering a
love of learning in their students. Last but definitely not least I want to thank my family
and friends for supporting me, especially my grandparents, my parents and my
siblings. Thank you for your love and encouragement, you are all amazing people I love
you dearly and I would not be able to finish this thesis without you!
Šablona DP 3.4.2-ARTS-dipl-program-anglicky (2022-11-28) © 2014, 2016, 2018-2021 Masarykova univerzita 9
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
List of Figures 13
List of Tables 14
1 Introduction 15
2 Theoretical part 18
2.1 What isCLIL 18
2.1.1 History of CLIL 20
2.2 Principles of CLIL 23
2.2.1 Underlying theories 27
2.3 CLIL in the Czech Republic 31
2.3.1 Primary schools 35
2.3.2 Secondary schools 38
2.4 Existing research 41
3 Practical part 51
3.1 Methodology 51
3.2 Interview 54
3.3 Participants 58
2.4 Data analysis 60
3.5 Findings 63
3.5.1 Positive aspects of CLIL education 63
3.5.2 Challenging aspects of CLIL education 71
3.5.3 Suggestions for improvement of CLIL implementation 85
3.6 Discussion 92
4 Conclusion 106
Bibliography 109
Appendix A 114
Appendix B 115
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LIST OF FIGURES
List of Figures
Figure 1: Statistic showing the percentage of people who know a foreign language
31
Figure 2: Example of interview transcriptions in the qualitative data analysis software
60
Figure 3: Themes and categories organization in the qualitative data analysis software
61
Figure 4: Word cloud displaying the categories included in the positive aspects of CLIL
theme 63
Figure 5: Word cloud displaying the categories included in the challenges of CLIL
theme 71
Figure 6: Word cloud displaying the categories included in the suggestions to improve
CLIL theme 85
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LIST OF T A B L E S
List of Tables
Table 1: Sociodemographic information of the participants 59
14
INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction
There is a popular Czech proverb that may be loosely translated as: Learn a new
language and get a new soul. The opportunities that today's globalized world offers to
European students are abundant, provided that the new generation is equipped with
adequate skills. Learning a foreign language is a process that helps us create a new
perspective to look at life and also expand our knowledge of the world, whether
intentionally or without intention.
These two aims of language and content are combined in the educational approach
which is the main subject of this thesis. The Content and Language Integrated Learning
(CLIL) educational approach is unique in developing students' content subject
knowledge, anywhere from history to geography or biology and at the same supporting
them in learning a foreign language. A primary school teacher who has been practising
CLIL for 15 years now, describes the method as "meaningful use of language in school,
with students applying the language in real-life contexts".
However, according to Eurostat statistics, the Czech Republic is displaying a fairly low
percentage of people with proficiency in more than one language (Eurostat, 2024).
Similarly, bilingual schools or schools practising CLIL, are scarce in the Czech Republic,
despite multilingualism being one of the main aims of primary, secondary and higher
education as stated by the Council of the European Union (2014).
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INTRODUCTION
As Content and Language Integrated Learning presents an efficient way to promote
multilingualism at schools, the implementation of CLIL has become a prominent topic
of research, especially in the European context. There are many challenges that school
management and particular teachers using CLIL face and need to overcome in order to
achieve successful implementation of the method.
This thesis attempts to inquire into the teachers' experience, as CLIL teachers play a
crucial role in bridging theoretical frameworks with practical application in the
classroom. In order to analyse the teachers' perspective, six CLIL teachers were
interviewed and their testimonies were subjected to qualitative analysis.
This thesis consists of two main parts. The theoretical part of this research defines
basic concepts and principles related to Content and Language Integrated Learning,
and at the same time aims to describe the state of CLIL education in the Czech Republic
and the necessary conditions for successful integration based on relevant literature.
Additionally, it presents existing research on CLIL teachers' experiences with CLIL
education in the European context and attempts to compare the findings from these
studies.
The practical part of this thesis presents the research itself and defines the
methodology employed for the purpose of qualitative analysis and the research tools
used and describes the process of data analysis in detail. Furthermore, the practical
part of this thesis presents the findings obtained through the process of analysis.
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INTRODUCTION
Ultimately, the discussion attempts to interpret and contextualize the findings of this
research and contrast them with the conclusions of similar studies.
The present research focused on CLIL teachers' experience aims to answer two main
and two subordinate research questions, which are the following:
1. What is the teachers' experience teaching with the CLIL method?
• What are the positive aspects of teaching with the CLIL method?
• What are the challenging aspects of teaching with the CLIL method?
2. What are any suggestions for improvement of the teachers' experience and
implementation of the CLIL method?
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THEORETICAL PART
2 Theoretical part
The theoretical part of this thesis provides the theoretical background and history related
to the CLIL method. Additionally, the present situation regarding the implementation
of the method in the Czech Republic is outlined and existing studies focused on
CLIL teachers are presented.
2.1 What is CLIL
CLIL is an abbreviation for Content and Language Integrated Learning a dual-focused
educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and
teaching of both content and language (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 1).
It is important to define the crucial terms for better clarity of this thesis. Firstly, mother
tongue is a term that is used ambiguously. Depending on the context, it may mean
either language learnt from the mother, the first language learnt, regardless from
whom, the stronger language at any point of life, the "mother tongue" of a particular
geographical area, the language most used by a particular person or the language that
a person has the most positive attitude towards (Baker & Jones, 1998, p. 704). Because
of the ambiguousness and various connotations of the term "mother tongue", it will not
be utilized in this thesis.
Similarly, the term first language is used in different, overlapping ways and can be used
in various contexts. To be specific, it can mean either the first language learnt, the
stronger language, the "mother tongue" or the language most used (Baker & Jones,
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THEORETICAL PART
1998, p. 705). In this thesis, the terms "first language" or LI will be used meaning the
language most used since for many students in Czech schools, the Czech language is
not the first language learnt or stronger language. When mentioning the first language
or LI in this thesis, the author means the language that Czech students and Czech
teachers usually use in the school environment.
Second language is a term used to mean a weaker language, the second language learnt
chronologically a language that is not the mother tongue or a less used language (Baker
& Jones, 1998, p. 705). Additionally, it may be used to refer to a language widely spoken
in the country of the learner. To avoid confusion, this term will not be utilized in this
thesis.
The term foreign language describes "a language taught in school, which is not
normally used as a means of instruction in schools or as a language of communication
within the country, in the community or in bureaucracy (Baker & Jones, 1998, p. 701)".
Therefore, the term foreign language will be used in this thesis to refer to the language
of instruction in CLIL education and referred to as L2.
CLIL is a teaching approach in which the content of the subject is taught through a
foreign language, or L2, as opposed to being taught through the first language, or LI.
The CLIL approach gained great popularity in recent decades, despite the concept
being around for thousands of years. It is based on the principles of constructivism,
language immersion and holistic learning (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 2). These
principles will be further defined and discussed in the following chapters.
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THEORETICAL PART
The age of globalization is one of the driving forces for increased interest in the CLIL
method. As the world becomes more interconnected it is beneficial and sometimes
necessary to acquire other languages apart from the mother tongue. In the past, CLIL
represented a method only available to the privileged, whereas today it is being
implemented in general public education curricula throughout Europe (Coyle, Hood, &
Marsh, 2010, p. 2).
Learning about various topics and using L2 as a tool for gaining knowledge about
history, geography or physics can be a tempting prospect for students who do not
usually enjoy grammar or language lessons in general. It is an opportunity to put the
language to practical use.
2.1.1 History of CLIL
While the CLIL approach might sound like a concept created only recently, the truth is
that it reaches far back into the past. The so-called "pre-CLIL" dates back to ancient
times - the first CLIL-type program is recorded to have taken place in ancient
Mesopotamia some 5000 years ago. The Akkadians took it upon themselves to learn
the Sumerian language and thus used Sumerian as a language of instruction when
learning subjects such as theology, botany or zoology ( (Frigols, Marsh, & Mehisto,
2008, p. 9).
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THEORETICAL PART
Rather than learning the language for language's sake, the ancient Akkadians found it
more efficient to acquire the language through a subject. Although a lot of time has
passed, educators and students still find this method successful in many ways.
In recent decades CLIL has been gaining great popularity which is in big part the
consequence of the direction the European Union is taking. The term CLIL comes from
the European context - it was first proposed at the Finnish University of Jyvaskyla and
the European platform for Dutch Education (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 50).
In 1958 the European Economic Community made an important decision in making
several languages of the member states the official languages, thus choosing to become
a multilingual institution. Since then, the need for greater levels of multilingualism has
been one of the most crucial aims of the educational systems within the union.
In 1976, the European Education Council specified the language learning aims of the
member states and strongly encouraged learning through more than one language,
creating a major incentive for the development of CLIL (Bai'dak, Minguez, & Oberheidt,
2006, p. 8).
Simultaneously, there have been experiments with language immersion ongoing in
Canada. English-speaking parents in Quebec expressed the desire to enrol their
children into schools with subjects taught in French, due to French being the only
official language of the Quebec province. Consequently, programmes were designed to
enable English-speaking students to learn content subjects in French using the
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THEORETICAL PART
language immersion method. These programmes have proved to be highly successful,
with support from the government and spread throughout Canada and further
(Frigols, Marsh, & Mehisto, 2008, p. 10).
Similar projects worked as a catalyst for the research aimed at immersive language
teaching methods evolving in Europe. CLIL as a clearly defined language approach
emerged in the 90s and has been one of the most popular and researched teaching
methods since then (Bai'dak, Minguez, & Oberheidt, 2006, p. 7).
Another key moment for the exploration of foreign language education was the
establishment of the Barcelona objectives, adopted by the European Council in 2002,
according to which every European student should have the opportunity to acquire
their mother tongue plus two other languages, better known as the "mother tongue +2
policy" (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 50).
In 2014 the European Council issued Council Conclusions on Multilingualism and the
Development of Language Competences, inviting the member states to improve
provisions promoting multilingualism. According to this document, the main sources
of motivation for implementing multilingualism are mobility, employability and
personal development of European citizens (Council of the European Union, 2014, p.
2).
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THEORETICAL PART
2.2 Principles of CLIL
For a more thorough understanding of the CLIL approach, one needs to be aware of the
key principles that it is built on. The authors Mehisto, Marsh and Frigols (2008)
introduce six main principles of CLIL, which teachers should keep in mind when
planning a lesson.
Multiple focus
In order to effectively integrate the L2 and content subject it is necessary to use new
methodical approaches such as cross-curricular relations, project-based teaching and
new forms of work based on both subject and language methodology (Smidova,
Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 17).
In spite of CLIL having two main aims - the acquisition of L2 and learning of the
content, in reality, there are more than two factors at play. The cross-curricular nature
of CLIL also favours a more holistic approach to learning.
The 4Cs framework integrates four important building blocks of CLIL: Content,
communication, cognition and culture. According to Coyle, when planning a CLIL
lesson the teacher should focus on these four aspects which will lead to developing the
students' understanding of the content, language knowledge and skills, cognitive
processing and intercultural awareness (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 41).
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THEORETICAL PART
In addition, it is important to support the reflection on the learning process to give the
students the role of active participants in the process of learning. Useful tools for
ongoing reflection are self-evaluation, peer evaluation or group evaluation. According
to Smidova (2012, p. 45), each lesson should end with a reflection on the content
subject topic and individual activities, which will help the students solidify their
knowledge and help the teacher get feedback.
Safe and enriching learning environment
Creating a creative classroom atmosphere where students are encouraged to make
mistakes in order to learn from them is an integral part of the CLIL approach. Useful
tools for achieving this environment are cooperative activities, differentiation, and
supporting autonomous student learning (Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p.
17). By encouraging experimenting with the language, the teacher is helping build the
students' confidence to overcome the challenge of learning the content through L2.
Another important aspect is displaying the content and language throughout the
classroom, using various posters, signs or boards, which can lead to additional support
of enriching atmosphere. It is also important to use routine activities which can help
the students feel more comfortable and at ease while having an idea of what to expect,
such as starting the lesson with motivating activities and finishing it with reflection
activities (Frigols, Marsh, & Mehisto, 2008, p. 29).
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THEORETICAL PART
Authenticity
The topics discussed should be meaningful and related to everyday life experience as
much as possible. The content should be based on the interest of the students and their
existing knowledge and skills. The authenticity of the language should be ensured by
using authentic language material and authentic sources providing this material, such
as carefully selected internet materials, materials created by the experts on the topic
or native speakers of the language (Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 17).
According to Frigols, Mehisto and Marsh (2008, p. 29), one of the best ways to
guarantee authenticity is by fully aligning with students' interests and consistently
linking learning to their personal experiences, while using current materials from the
media and similar authentic sources.
Active learning
Students should take an active role in content creation, with their contribution to
classroom communication surpassing that of the teacher. The structure of lessons
should prioritize group or pair activities, encouraging students to engage in selfassessment,
reflect on their learning strategies, and evaluate the methods they use
(Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 17).
They should feel confident in experimenting and proposing original solutions while
working towards the set goals and outcomes through inquiry. The teacher's role
should mainly be that of a facilitator and guide, supporting students in drawing their
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THEORETICAL PART
conclusions through thoughtful questions and constructive feedback (Smidova,
Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 17).
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is a way of providing students with adequate support, in order to help them
overcome the challenges of learning while progressing and improving their skills. The
integral role of scaffolding in CLIL is to support critical thinking, engage with learning
and meet the curriculum expectations (Mehisto & Ting 2017, p. 121).
Additionally, scaffolding allows the students to build a growth mindset, which
subsequently helps them develop their self-scaffolding skills and become autonomous
learners (Mehisto &Ting 2017, p. 182). In other words, the goal of scaffolding is not to
present the student with instructions to find the solution but rather to facilitate the
student's path to solving the task, which is why project-based learning and problembased
learning are methods which coincide with the CLIL approach.
Co-operation
The final principle emphasizes not so much the teaching itself, but the broader context
that significantly impacts it. A collaborative learning environment should be fostered
at the school level, not only in individual classrooms. CLIL teachers should take an
active role in contributing to a positive and dynamic work atmosphere (Frigols, Marsh,
& Mehisto, 2008, p. 30).
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THEORETICAL PART
Effective CLIL instruction requires strong collaboration among all teachers, proactive
support from school leadership, and engagement from parents. It is essential that both
students and parents understand the reasons behind using CLIL in the classroom,.
They should be actively involved in decision-making and consulted on any innovations
or changes. Raising awareness within the local community and schools is also crucial
(Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 17).
2.2.1 Underlying theories and methods
The CLIL method exists due to the evolution of foreign language learning and education
in general. Therefore it is important to define the fundamental theories and methods
related to CLIL education. These key concepts will be recurrent throughout the
following chapters of this thesis.
Social-constructivist approach to learning
The transmissive model of teaching views the student as a blank page and the teacher
as the transmitter of knowledge. In simple terms, the teacher is the expert who controls
and leads the process of learning (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 28).
In contrast, the social-constructivist approach emphasises the active participation of
students and employs the process of discovery and scaffolding. Constructivism strives
to ensure that students not only have formal knowledge but are also able to apply the
knowledge and see the knowledge in a larger context. Thus the learning process
27
THEORETICAL PART
becomes student-centred instead of teacher-centred (Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova,
2012, p. 23).
The constructivist teachers also have a different approach to errors. Instead of seeing
mistakes as failures, they perceive them as an opportunity to learn. In this approach,
the teacher lets the students construct their knowledge using their cognitive and
metacognitive skills, rather than only transmitting information (Smidova, Tejkalova, &
Vojtkova, 2012, p. 30).
This however does not mean the role of the teachers is less important, as they are
expected to cultivate a balance between providing cognitive challenges for students
and offering suitable, gradually reducing support as they advance (Coyle, Hood, &
Marsh, 2010, p. 29).
Bloom's taxonomy, high order thinking
The taxonomy of educational goals as defined by Benjamin Bloom et al. (1956) serves
as a useful tool for teachers when planning and delivering lessons: each category not
only signifies a cognitive challenge but also corresponds to specific lexical or
grammatical areas that students need to grasp to meet the goals of that category.
The verbs associated with each category provide valuable guidance for CLIL teachers.
By organizing the verbs in each category based on linguistic complexity, teachers can
design a variety of activities that accommodate students with varying language skills.
This allows the teacher to maintain the same cognitive challenge while expecting
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THEORETICAL PART
different outputs from students depending on their language proficiency (Smidova,
Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 27).
If the teacher chooses the verb to analyse as the objective, students can demonstrate
understanding by either differentiating organizing, or attributing. For instance, to
reach this objective in a CLIL lesson in secondary school social science class on the
topic of political systems, the students could create mind maps for each political
system, form associations and differentiate between each one.
Bloom also divides the cognitive process into lower-order and higher-order
processing the latter of which constitutes analysing evaluating and creating. Higherorder
thinking skills are integral to CLIL for students to be able to use their acquired
skills critically and apply them in real life and Coyle relates this concept to CLIL
education: "They (students) need to be skilled in problem-solving and higher-order,
creative thinking in order to construct a framework through which to interpret
meaning and understanding (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 30)".
In addition, the revised version of Bloom's taxonomy of educational goals by Anderson
et al. (2000) not only defines the cognitive process dimension but also the knowledge
dimension which emphasises the importance of students acquiring conceptual,
procedural and metacognitive knowledge as well as factual knowledge. This creates a
new obj ective for the students to learn how to learn and work with the knowledge they
have acquired (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 30).
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THEORETICAL PART
Project-based and problem-based learning
PBL or project-based learning as defined by Zormanova (2012, p. 96) is a teaching
approach in which students are guided to independently work on projects, typically
involving complex tasks or real-world problems. For this method to be successful, the
students have to either solve a problem or create a product of some sort. It emphasizes
active collaboration and student-centred as well as autonomous learning which
corresponds with ideas the CLIL approach is based on.
Similarly, the problem-based learning approach prevents students from passively
absorbing information or relying on a simple, pre-defined solution. Instead, it
promotes a holistic process that begins with identifying the problem situation and
defining or clarifying the specific issues at hand. CLIL aims to support authentic
communication by presenting students with real-world problems to solve, creating an
ideal environment for interaction (Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 25).
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THEORETICAL PART
2.3 CLIL in the Czech Republic
Looking at a statistic from 2022 displaying the percentage of people who reported
knowing one or more foreign languages, the Czech Republic finds its place in the lower
half of the spectrum of all EU member states, with 77,9% of the population answering
yes. It is worth noticing that several countries of the former Eastern bloc, with similar
historical backgrounds as the Czech Republic, such as Estonia, Slovenia or even the
closest neighbour, Slovakia, display a much higher presence of multilingualism
(Eurostat, 2024).
Figure 1: Statistic showing the percentage of people who know aforeign language
In spite of CLIL emerging as a fully defined educational approach in 1994,
implementation in the Czech Republic did not begin before 2009. Before November
1989, the compulsory foreign language taught at primary and secondary schools was
Russian.
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THEORETICAL PART
After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, the trend changed completely. With the
possibility of travelling and working abroad, students at primary and secondary
schools as well as adults start learning English. It is important to emphasize the
noticeable shortage of English teachers in the 90s, with the situation improving
progressively in the upcoming years (Najvar, 2010, p. 7).
At the beginning of the Millennium, several supporting projects developing foreign
language acquisition were implemented by the Ministry of Education. To meet the
bilingual criteria of the European Commission, after the Czech Republic joined the
European Union, projects concerning CLIL and early foreign language acquisition were
launched (Najvar, 2010, p. 60). However, according to the research conducted by
Najvar, "early foreign language teaching in the Czech Republic suffers - among other
things - from poor continuity between individual stages (pre-primary, primary,
secondary) (Najvar, 2010, p. 122)".
Bilingual education and CLIL were introduced to the Czech educational system after
the issue of the EU document Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity:
An Action Plan (European Commission: Directorate-General for Education, Youth,
Sport and Culture, 2004).
Bilingual education in the Czech Republic was implemented in primary schools based
on the Instruction of the Minister of Education, of Youth and Physical Education from
2008 (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, 2008), permitting the teaching of
certain subjects in a foreign language. In the years 2009-2015, the first bilingual
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THEORETICAL PART
grammar schools were opened operating with curricula defined in the new Framework
Educational Program for Bilingual Grammar Schools (Pedagogical Research Institute
in Prague, 2007), which takes into account the specifics of these schools (Smidova,
Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 10).
In 2009 the Ministry of Education issued a document (2009) created by
the Pedagogical Research Institute defining CLIL, versions of it, and suggestions for
implementing it in the Czech context. It defines CLIL as "a significant trend in current
European education which is one of several strategies for bilingual education (2009)".
Regarding the positive aspects of the method, the authors list authentic learning and
the immediate verification of the newly acquired language skills. This way, the
students strengthen their self-confidence for further foreign language study.
When addressing the implementation of CLIL in Czech schools, the authors advise
gradual integration into the curriculum. "In the beginning the students should have
separate foreign language lessons and a maximum of one CLIL lesson per week.
(2009)" This is also a recommended strategy for implementing CLIL at the Primary
school level. Later, when the students become more familiar with L2, there may be
more CLIL lessons integrated. Regarding secondary schools, the authors recommend a
schedule with one non-CLIL English lesson focused on language and three CLIL lessons
per week (2009).
The document states the conditions under which CLIL may be integrated. The school
management has to include CLIL education in the school curriculum (SVP). The
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THEORETICAL PART
students have to meet the expectations determined by the National Curriculum
Framework (RVP) in both the language and the content subjects. In the case of a lack
of qualified teachers, it is possible to teach the CLIL lessons in tandem, with both the
content teacher and the foreign language teacher present. It is also worth mentioning
that there is no official requirement for the level of language proficiency of the CLIL
teacher (2009).
This document closes off with somewhat of a lament, reading that the Czech Republic
lacks qualified language teachers in contrast to Western or Northern Europe.
Consequently, the authors predict a slow and gradual implementation of CLIL in Czech
curricula which will present a difficult task to accomplish (2009).
Research concerning the implementation of CLIL in Czech schools conducted in 2011
claims that in the year 2008, only 6 % of Czech primary and secondary schools
practised CLIL, while in 2011 integrated learning of L2 and a content subject was
practised at 30 % of Czech primary and secondary schools, according to the
headmistresses and headmasters (Výzkum implementace metody CLIL v České
republice 2011, 2011, p. 7). This research was conducted in order to verify the success
of the project Obsahově a jazykově integrované vyučování na 2. Stupni ZŠ a nižším
stupni víceletých gymnázií, which attempted to make school management and
teachers of both primary and secondary Czech schools aware of the CLIL approach and
support them during the implementation (2011).
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THEORETICAL PART
The findings of this research revealed that at the beginning of CLIL integration, the
content subjects which applied the CLIL method most often were Czech language,
mathematics and social studies. The most common reasons for not using CLIL were the
lack of language proficiency on the teachers' or students' part, lack of time in the
lessons or lack of teachers' motivation to implement it. Out of the schools, where CLIL
was implemented in 2008, the most popular languages to use for CLIL were
consecutively English (93,3%), German (27,8%) and French (5,6%) (Výzkum
implementace metody CLIL v České republice 2011, 2011, p. 10).
2.3.1 Primary schools
RVP ZV or National Curriculum Framework for Primary Schools is a document created
by the Ministry of Education which defines the requirements that each primary school
has to fulfil. This document was first created in 2004 and has undergone several
modifications over time with the most recent version issued in 2023 (Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sport, 2023).
In regards to foreign language acquisition, the most important section of RVP ZV is the
chapter on Language and communication which states the recommended competence
for students of lower primary and higher primary schools. The students should achieve
level A2 proficiency in a foreign language in accordance with the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (2023, p. 17) (Council of Europe, 2020).
35
THEORETICAL PART
However, apart from reaching a certain level of proficiency and being able to introduce
themselves in a foreign language, students are expected to develop key competences
during their primary education, such as digital competence or social competence.
These can be developed in a variety of content subjects with foreign language or CLIL
lessons being one of the options (2023, p. 10).
Another important concept the RVP introduces is six cross-curricular subjects, one of
them being Education towards thinking in European and global contexts, which sets
the goal of supporting and "educating the students on traditional European values such
as humanism, human free will, morality and personal responsibility along with rational
reasoning critical thinking and creativity (2023, p. 130)". To reach these demanding
goals, schools may use foreign language education as a useful tool.
RVP ZV states that "foreign languages are of practical importance for civic, educational
and work mobility (2023, p. 130)". Furthermore, the authors introduce foreign
language education as a convenient opportunity for working with authentic material,
which is an integral part of CLIL methodology.
CLIL also significantly coincides with the idea of a globalized worldview and embraces
cross-curricular learning. One of the many positive aspects of CLIL is its ability to
expand the students' intercultural competence while working with authentic materials
and therefore developing the students' critical thinking which are all education goals
related to the idea of education towards thinking in European and global contexts
(Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 11).
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THEORETICAL PART
It is also worth mentioning other cross-curricular subjects such as media education,
multicultural education, or social education. These areas of education are also closely
related to foreign language learning. They can be particularly effectively developed
using the CLIL methodology, which supports and integrates critical thinking
globalized worldview as well as group work and project-based learning (Smidova,
Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 11).
The most significant difference between RVP ZV and previous state curricula is the
content being optional. Consequently, the individual headmistresses and headmasters
have more freedom to choose the covered topics and methods, which are described in
the SVP - School Curriculum Framework. As a result, any Czech primary school can
include bilingual education, such as CLIL, in their education programme.
Despite this possibility, the implementation of CLIL in primary schools is rare. One of
the reasons is the need for effective tools to support the teachers, primarily at the
beginning of their CLIL journey.
Without adequate support and resources, the implementation of CLIL can be
challenging and may not yield the desired outcomes. Therefore, it is essential to
have a strong leadership team that is committed to the successful integration of
CLIL into the educational system. (Valkova, 2023, p. 78)
Experts agree that the new education and assessment methods which are being
adopted by schools, such as project-based learning, or formative assessment have
37
THEORETICAL PART
great potential to replace the traditional transmissive way of learning and summative
assessment. This can however only happen successfully with sufficient support from
the school management, active cooperation of teachers within the school as well as
between individual schools and a satisfactory amount of adequate learning materials
(Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 12).
2.3.2 Secondary schools
Section 13 of the Czech Education Act (Ministry of Education, 2023) states that the
language of instruction at Czech schools is the Czech language. However, it also
articulates that "the ministry may authorise the teaching of certain subjects in a foreign
language", at grammar schools and secondary vocational schools as well (Ministry of
Education, 2023).
When it comes to the school-leaving exams, the Maturita exam, the purpose of which
is to verify whether the students have achieved the educational goals set by the
Framework for Secondary Education, paragraph 81 of the Educational Act states the
following:
Education carried out under educational programmes in selected classes of
eight-year or six-year secondary general schools where some subjects are
taught in a foreign language, or at schools established under an international
agreement or with the consent of the Ministry, also in other educational
branches, may be completed in a different manner (2023).
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THEORETICAL PART
This is why some schools, such as bilingual grammar schools, can hold Maturita exams
in a foreign language.
As far as the key competences and cross-curricular subjects are concerned, the same
logic that was described in Primary schools can be applied in Secondary schools, with
the difference being the language proficiency and cognitive demands on the students.
For instance, according to RVP G, the framework for grammar schools, students should
achieve the B2 level of the foreign language and the B l level of the second foreign
language (2007, p. 13).
Nevertheless, the key competences and cross-curricular subjects are virtually the same
as in RVP ZV and should be developed further using methods that correspond well with
CLIL methodology, such as problem-based learning learning with authentic materials
or project-based learning.
There are two main types of Secondary school curricula in the Czech Republic, one of
them being RVP G for grammar school education and the other one RVP SOV for
vocational school education. Both of these list a similar set of key competences and
cross-curricular subjects. Both of these emphasise the importance of communicative
and social competence or media education and critical thinking. Therefore it should
not be rare to find not only grammar schools but vocational schools as well, that
integrate alternative and holistic methods such as CLIL in their curriculum (Ministry
of Education, Youth and Sport, 2007), (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, 2023).
39
THEORETICAL PART
However, this is not the case as bilingual grammar schools or grammar schools with
CLIL in their curriculum, let alone vocational schools with bilingual programmes are
rare in the Czech Republic. These programmes are far from common despite the RVP
emphasising that "foreign languages are of practical importance for civic, educational
and work mobility", as stated earlier (2023, p. 130).
The authors Mehisto, Marsh and Frigols (2008, p. 71) introduce an example of a weeklong
lesson plan for vocational school students. They recognize the challenge of
teaching students who are less academically oriented and address this in the chapter.
"Vocational students tend to be more focused on the practical benefits to be gained
from the programme (Frigols, Marsh, & Mehisto, 2008, p. 71)." Therefore, the authors
suggest presenting the long-term benefits to the students, possibly introducing
somebody from their field who uses foreign language in their practice or introducing
an employer who can explain the benefits of knowing a foreign language in the
students' particular field.
Vocational students may be more easily discouraged, so the teacher has to be prepared
to empower them and provide ongoing feedback and support. The example used in the
book is of a Spanish teacher leading CLIL lessons on the topic of how to prevent
occupational risks (Frigols, Marsh, & Mehisto, 2008, p. 71).
Smidova et al. (2012, p. 6) support the idea of CLIL in vocational schools and state that
the targeted integration of the foreign language in subjects chosen by students due to
their professional interest becomes not only a driving force for employment in the
40
THEORETICAL PART
labour market abroad but also increases their competitiveness in the Czech Republic
and creates a basis for lifelong learning.
2.4 Existing research
In order to put the situation with CLIL education and foreign language education in
general into perspective, it is necessary to look at other European countries and
analyse how they have handled the situation. As mentioned earlier, CLIL is a popular
educational approach in the European context and is significantly supported by the
European Union, amongst other innovative teaching methods. The aim of this section
the theoretical part of the thesis is to describe and compare three studies focused on
CLIL education, conducted in three different European countries.
Research that heavily inspired this thesis, titled A Study on CLIL Secondary School
Teachers in Spain (2021) was conducted by the Spanish author Immaculada SenraSilva
in an attempt to uncover some of the needs of CLIL teachers. Because the
researcher looked at CLIL in practice critically, the results revealed weak points of the
method which need improving and require extra attention. The conclusion of this
research is entirely based on the CLIL teachers' experience.
The respondents were 86 Spanish secondary school teachers who use the CLIL
approach in their lessons. The data was gathered via an anonymous online
questionnaire and split into two parts: the first set of questions focused on
demographic information, description of schools the teachers work at or the content
41
THEORETICAL PART
subjects they teach. The second set consisted of opinion and value questions, to inquire
into the feelings the teachers have about the particular bilingual program at their
school, about organization and support (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 51).
In contrast to the Czech Republic, bilingual programmes in Spain started a few years
earlier, for instance, a bilingual program in Madrid in the 2004-2005 academic year in
26 public primary schools. Later in 2008-2009 the program reached semi-public
primary schools as well and a year later it started at public secondary schools. In 2016
the bilingual program was also implemented at vocational schools (Senra-Silva, 2021,
p. 50).
Another difference is the fact that in Spain, apart from a teaching qualification, teachers
of CLIL or any bilingual programmes are required to hold a language proficiency
certificate, usually CEFR B2, proving thorough knowledge of the L2, which is not an
obligation for Czech teachers, as mentioned earlier (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 52).
The researchers highlight the importance of hearing the voices of the "CLIL
stakeholders": teachers, members of the school board, parents, students and bilingual
programme coordinators in order to design new and innovative bilingual programmes
(Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 51). This is a useful term to address all the people involved in the
CLIL programme, which will be used throughout this thesis.
Results of the research reveal that an equal number of Spanish CLIL teachers hold a B2
or CI proficiency certificate in the L2, with a smaller number of those with C2
42
THEORETICAL PART
proficiency. More than half of the teachers have been practicing CLIL for 1-10 years
with a significant number of teachers who have not been teaching for more than a year.
Despite the high language proficiency and usually years of experience, nearly half of
the participants admitted they do not feel comfortable teaching in a foreign language.
For some of the teachers, the cause is their "poor command of and fluency in the
English language" or a lack of educational materials with some participants describing
CLIL as extra work without any reward (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 53).
In regards to the communication inside the institutions, the results were a bit more
positive. More than half of the teachers reported there was communication between
CLIL stakeholders in their school. Those who answered this question negatively added
that their timetables did not leave space for coordination meetings (Senra-Silva, 2021,
p. 54).
In some parts of Spain, it is legally required to appoint a qualified person as the
bilingual coordinator responsible for the smooth implementation of CLIL and to
coordinate activities and meetings amongst CLIL stakeholders. The research revealed
that over 60 % of the participants can confirm communication between the
programme coordinator and CLIL teachers (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 55). Similarly to the
previously mentioned language proficiency, there is no official requirement for Czech
schools with a CLIL programme to appoint a CLIL coordinator.
The last aspect of communication examined was the communication between CLIL
teachers and the English department. According to the data, almost 60 % of
43
THEORETICAL PART
participants reported that there is no communication between these stakeholders in
spite of them finding the support from English teachers helpful. The participants
revealed the lack of communication is often caused by overloading the teachers with
bureaucratic tasks, that do not allow them to have time for any additional meetings
(Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 55).
In the conclusion of this research, several points are mentioned, one of them being a
lack of support and training for young teachers. Young and inexperienced teachers
"should receive support from their peers and training that might help them improve
their oral performance in the classroom (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 64)".
Teachers taking part in this research report that one of the major challenges they face
is the lack of time to create CLIL materials and apply for European initiatives such as
Erasmus+. They view Erasmus+ programs as opportunities to foster mobility and
international exchanges for both educators and students. However, participating in
these programs demands significant time, effort, and dedication, which is why it is
often managed by teachers without family commitments. This is due to the absence of
schedule adjustments to accommodate project preparation. Any extra time for
teachers could also be used for creating CLIL materials (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 64).
There is one more difference between Czech and Spanish CLIL teachers, and that is the
language assistant, who is often present at Spanish schools with CLIL programmes.
Their role is to help the CLIL teacher create materials, assist in the lessons as well as
bring the culture of English-speaking countries closer to students, as they usually are
44
THEORETICAL PART
native speakers. Interestingly, according to this research, many teachers believe the
role of the language assistant should be revised in order to be more effective. Some
teachers reported, that they prefer not to work with language teachers in the class
because they are often unprepared, do not possess the necessary skills and do not have
teaching experience (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 64).
It is important to highlight that the authors of the research in question believe that the
challenges must be tackled primarily by the educational authorities and headteachers
and these stakeholders should be held accountable. The researchers believe that "it is
mandatory to listen to professionals working in bilingual programmes to get insights
into and knowledge of how CLIL is functioning daily to find ways to improve it (SenraSilva,
2021, p. 51)", which is also the aim of the present research.
There is a lot of existing research concerning students' needs and their views on CLIL.
However, in this research, the authors emphasise that teachers' views and beliefs are
not yet one of the major research targets. A level of concern about implementing CLIL
as well as bilingual learning in a more general sense at public schools is present not
only in Spain but all over Europe.
Another research was conducted in 19 Polish secondary schools in 2009 in order to
identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in CLIL education as well as to support
bilingual practices within and across schools. The researchers used classroom
observations and interviews with students, teachers and other members of the school
staff (Czura, Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009).
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THEORETICAL PART
Polish CLIL teachers interviewed in this research showed great eagerness for personal
and professional development, such as specific CLIL training programmes or teacher
work partnerships, where the educators can share their achievements and challenges
(Czura, Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009, p. 174).
The secondary school students participating in the research described CLIL education
as "prestigious, broadening their horizons and giving them an opportunity to study
abroad". However, they also mentioned the disadvantages, such as the problem of the
English final exam, lower standard of content subjects or use of traditional teaching
methods (Czura, Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009, p. 174).
The researchers report a lack of networking between bilingual schools in Poland and
abroad. Based on the teachers' statements, the researchers suggest that a network
used for sharing experiences and materials should be created. The teachers also voiced
a need for greater support from key stakeholders, especially the national educational
administration. A big concern for the teachers at Polish bilingual schools is the fact that
they do not have access to the content of the English version of the final exam, therefore
it is the teachers' obligation to prepare students "intuitively" without any real
knowledge of the form of the exam, which makes the process very difficult (Czura,
Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009, p. 175).
In conclusion, the researchers recommend increasing the support within and across
the schools, enabling the teachers to develop professionally both in L2 and the content
subject and providing teaching resources for all teachers to achieve standardisation.
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THEORETICAL PART
To sum up, for a successful implementation in Polish schools, the most important
recommendation is the ongoing support from significant institutions (Czura, Papaja, &
Urbaniak, 2009, p. 177).
In the same year, a research was conducted, interviewing eleven primary school CLIL
teachers, teaching in various regions of Italy. This research focused on experienced
teachers, as they are an important source of knowledge. The research aimed to analyse
the teachers' experience and through it the strongest and weakest aspects of CLIL and
the influence that CLIL has on the teacher's professional development (Benvenuto,
Infante, & Lastrucci, 2009, p. 156).
In the introduction, the researchers emphasise that CLIL programmes are more
common in northern Italy than in other parts of the country. There is no simple
explanation for this, but it is the same case in many countries, where CLIL is being
implemented only in certain regions, mostly big cities. Ideally, students should have
access to bilingual education, no matter where they come from and the research
attempts to explore the different ways of CLIL implementation (Benvenuto, Infante, &
Lastrucci, 2009, p. 156).
Regarding the strengths of CLIL, the teachers reported that CLIL typically encourages
students to engage with the target language. This is because they perceive the language
they are using as serving a real-life purpose, and they have the opportunity to apply it
in a real, rather than an artificial, context. On the other hand, several teachers
mentioned there is a lack of motivation in some students, as they do not perceive the
47
THEORETICAL PART
benefits of learning a language, other teachers believe that their students do not
perceive the difference between a CLIL lesson and a traditional, transmissive one
(Benvenuto, Infante, & Lastrucci, 2009, p. 161).
The most frequently reported difficulties were the lack of teaching materials, lack of
cooperation and issues with creating a comfortable learning environment in the CLIL
classroom. In spite of these difficulties, the overall perception of the CLIL method was
positive.
Some teachers emphasise the need for ongoing training and support from national and
local institutions. One of the teachers says that CLIL 'has so far been characterized by
a bottom-up push. Now it's time for an institutional top-down push'. The top-down
push could be represented by creating shared platforms for teachers, getting all the
CLIL stakeholders involved in the process of implementation, and providing teacher
training and opportunities for teacher development (Benvenuto, Infante, & Lastrucci,
2009, p. 162).
Conclusion
When comparing the three research papers, there are clear intersections in the
teachers' needs which would make the integration of CLIL easier. All of the studies
mentioned the need for more support, primarily from the school management and
national as well as international education institutions. The teachers themselves are
highly motivated to integrate CLIL and learn new methods but there are not enough
48
THEORETICAL PART
opportunities or there is not sufficient financing for these projects or training (Czura,
Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009, p. 174).
Another common denominator is a lack of cooperation, which teachers report on. In
the research focused on Polish CLIL teachers, issues with cooperation between
bilingual schools and external institutions as well as bilingual schools amongst
themselves were listed as the most common and important (Czura, Papaja, & Urbaniak,
2009, p. 173). On the other hand, the Spanish research focused mostly on cooperation
within the school with the participants articulating that the absence of co-operation
between the CLIL teachers and the L2 teachers was not due to a lack of goodwill but
rather a matter of a lack of time for meetings or consulting in general (Senra-Silva,
2021, p. 55).
Furthermore, insufficient teaching resources are a serious complication which was
mentioned in all three of the research papers. The Italian research suggests the
creation of national and international virtual environments, where teachers could
share experiences and teaching materials in order to make lesson planning less timeconsuming
(Benvenuto, Infante, & Lastrucci, 2009, p. 162). One of the Polish teachers
expressed their frustration with preparing the lesson content: "My feeling is that when
it comes to bilingual classes, there are no rules, no sets of advice available in Poland.
(Czura, Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009, p. 175)" This frustrated comment seems to stem
from lack of support, cooperation and lack of materials as well.
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THEORETICAL PART
Some teachers also report on the difficulty of setting and maintaining a communicative
and cooperative environment, which is one of the principles of CLIL teaching. One of
the teachers reported experiencing many difficulties when trying to create a
cooperative environment due to a lack of experience and also the students not being
used to this method of learning. This is a challenge that the teacher will overcome with
time, however, it is still possible to make this transition from traditional methods to
active, project-based learning easier for teachers using support and training
(Benvenuto, Infante, & Lastrucci, 2009, p. 161).
An overarching and important suggestion resulting from these studies is creating more
time in teachers' timetables to allow them to meet without interfering with their free
time. The participants clearly state that there should be more time to organize things
correctly if needed and some reduction of class hours to organize the CLIL meetings
and prepare teaching materials. More time in the teachers' timetables would help with
all the issues mentioned above (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 55).
There are evident similarities in the challenges associated with the implementation of
the CLIL method across various countries, with the most significant being a lack of
support, lack of cooperation and lack of teaching resources. This might suggest that
comparable difficulties could arise during the implementation of the CLIL approach in
the Czech Republic.
50
PRACTICAL PART
3 Practical part
The practical part describes the aims of the research as well as the research questions,
the methodology used for gathering and analysing the data and lastly, the findings of
the research. Additionally, the practical part attempts to define the data collection
instrument and illustrate the process of the research in its entirely.
3.1 Methodology
This chapter outlines the methodology used in order to answer the research questions.
The following paragraphs state the aims of the research and the research questions,
which the research attempts to answer using qualitative data analysis.
Research aims
The primary aim of this research is to inquire into the Czech context and examine the
present state of CLIL integration in Czech Primary and Secondary schools. Moreover,
the purpose of this research is to look at CLIL integration from the perspective of
educators and to determine the main positive aspects and challenging parts of CLIL
education, as the teachers perceive them. Additionally, this research attempts to
propose solutions to these challenges to make the implementation of CLIL in the Czech
Republic easier and more successful.
In order to reach the aims the qualitative approach was used for its ability to discover
new ways to look at the problem. Quantitative methods may be useful for gathering a
51
PRACTICAL PART
lot of data however they may lack in depth. Additionally, it would be almost impossible
to find a sufficient number of respondents to create a big enough sample for a
quantitative analysis in this particular case.
Research questions
The main research questions were established at the beginning of the research process
to inquire into the teachers' experience teaching with the CLIL approach and
contemplate solutions to any problems the teachers might have to handle.
The initial idea was to only focus on the negative aspects and obstacles in
implementing CLIL, however during the theoretical background research on CLIL, it
became clear that the approach has many positive aspects, that might be worth
inquiring into. Still, the main reason to gather the data about the positive aspects of
CLIL from the teachers' perspective was the enthusiasm of the participants of this
research about the method. The benefits of teaching using CLIL continued to appear in
each research interview and created categories of their own, which are worth
analysing.
Therefore, two main research questions were established to inquire into the teachers'
experience teaching using the CLIL method in general, which were then split into two
subordinate themes - the positive aspects of teaching using the CLIL method and the
challenging aspects of teaching using the CLIL method.
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PRACTICAL PART
The second research question attempts to provide suggestions to support teachers in
dealing with some of the issues. Any findings and the following conclusion of this
research are based on the testimonies of CLIL teachers, who are putting the theory into
practice every day. The research questions are the following:
• RQ1 What is the teachers' experience teaching with the CLIL method?
o What are the positive aspects of teaching with the CLIL method?
o What are the challenging aspects of teaching with the CLIL
method?
• RQ2 What are any suggestions for improvement of the teachers'
experience and implementation of the CLIL method?
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PRACTICAL PART
3.2 Interview
Many different methods may be used to gather data to conduct qualitative research
such as observation, case studies, ethnography or documents. The format of the data
for qualitative analysis varies from recorded speech to photographs or printed text
(Denscombe, 2010, p. 272). This research employs the method of interviewing, to
gather relevant data for analysis. The research tool used for this purpose was a semistructured
interview. The interviewees were teachers, who use the CLIL method in
their daily work.
The teachers' experience is the essential foundation of this research because they are
the facilitators of the CLIL method. Therefore they are the professionals entrusted with
the task of educating the next multilingual generation. Additionally, the teachers can
give the necessary feedback to critically analyse the theory of CLIL implementation, as
described earlier.
Semi-structured interview
This research uses a semi-structured interview in order to explore each point of view,
ask additional questions and therefore thoroughly analyse the individual experiences
of CLIL teachers. In contrast to a structured interview, the interviewer may ask
additional questions and does not need to follow the interview guide as strictly in order
to better understand the individual experience of the interviewee (Denscombe, 2010,
p. 175).
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PRACTICAL PART
The ten questions the interview outlined for this research were open-ended in order
to allow the interviewees as much freedom to express themselves as possible. The first
three questions focused on the general knowledge of CLIL and general information
about the interviewee. The following four questions were focused on the teacher and
their personal experience with teaching using the CLIL method. Some of these
questions had to be adjusted when addressing the native speakers of English. The last
three questions focused on the teachers' view on cooperation within the school and
ideas for the optimization of CLIL education in the Czech Republic.
The questions were assembled with regard to the theoretical research on CLIL
education and previous studies conducted, such as A Study on CLIL Secondary School
Teachers in Spain: Views, Concerns and Needs (Senra-Silva, 2021). Naturally, when
designing the interview, the focus was on exploring the answers to the two main
research questions. The original set of questions in English and Czech can be found in
the Appendices at the end of the thesis.
Two of the interviews were conducted in person and four in online form. With native
Czech speakers, the interview was conducted in in Czech and with native English
speakers in English.
Each interview lasted between 20 minutes and one hour, depending on how much the
participant expanded on their thoughts and how extensive their answers were. Each
participant has a unique way of communicating, therefore some participants were
more open about their experience than others. The researcher's task was to ask
55
PRACTICAL PART
additional open-ended questions and prompts to get as much information as possible.
Thus, even the more reserved participants could elaborate on their ideas.
The interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed with the help of a
transcription service. The transcribed interviews were then edited into an intelligible
and comprehensible format. The interviews conducted in Czech were subsequently
translated into English for better clarity and easier coding and data analysis.
Role of the researcher
A crucial part of data analysis is subjective interpretation, which is not only a process
reserved for the end of the research. Interpretation is a common thread weaving
through the entire process, from interviewing and picking themes to writing a
conclusion (Seidman, 2019, p. 136). It is appropriate for the researcher to "address the
issue of objectivity by demonstrating the extent to which they have approached the
research with an open mind (Denscombe, 2010, p. 304)".
For the sake of a successful qualitative data analysis, the researcher must have a clear
aim and intention before starting the analysis. They should have an open attitude
which corresponds with the fact that qualitative research is based on inductive
reasoning. In other words, it is based on observation and pattern recognition rather
than forming a conclusion based on existing premises. Therefore it is necessary for the
researcher to be aware of their possible bias or prejudice while analysing the data
(Seidman, 2019, p. 126).
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PRACTICAL PART
In the case of this thesis, the author has limited practical experience with CLIL but sees
the method in a positive light, as an authentic way to facilitate language acquisition for
the students. The author is also aware of the potential drawbacks of implementing any
alternative teaching method in a country such as the Czech Republic where
transmissive teaching, such as frontal teaching is still the most used teaching method
and many conservative teachers are sceptical towards alternative methods.
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PRACTICAL PART
3.3 Participants
This research used non-probability, purposive sampling since this thesis is focused on
the experience of a specific group of people, that is CLIL teachers. "With purposive
sampling, the sample is 'hand-picked' for the research on the basis of relevance and
knowledge (Denscombe, 2010, p. 35)." The purposive sampling can emulate a
representative sample, ensuring that a wide cross-section of people is included (2010,
p. 35).
In this research sample, the author worked with limited resources and attempted to
include a variety of genders, ages, and experiences of participants to emulate a
representative sample. Apart from purposive sampling, snowball sampling was used.
This technique is most common in small-scale research when creating a reasonablesized
sample becomes difficult (Denscombe, 2010, p. 37). Some of the interviewed
participants of this research referred the interviewer to another potential participant.
Working with a smaller sample size is typical when using these particular sampling
techniques (Denscombe, 2010, p. 39). The sample for the purpose of this research
consisted of six participants.
The participants were the most important aspect of this research. Using purposive
sampling, they were contacted via their school email or responded to an
announcement in a Facebook group. Their experiences vary, as some are new to CLIL
methodology and some have been teaching for quite a long time.
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PRACTICAL PART
The participants teach at different schools, primary or secondary, in various cities or
towns across the Czech Republic and teach various content subjects such as history,
biology, geography or business studies. In order to protect their identity, participants'
names have been changed.
Table 1: Sociodemographic information of the participants
Teacher Gender Years of experience School
Hana Female 15 years Public primary school
Phil Male 6 years Public grammar school
Richard Male 6 years Public grammar school
Petr Male 3 years Public grammar school
Andy Male 2,5 years Private business academy
Eva Female 1 year Public primary school
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PRACTICAL PART
3.4 Data analysis
For the purpose of coding and data analysis, a computer-assisted qualitative data
analysis software QDA Miner Lite was used. The software helped in organizing the
interviews and creating codes and themes. After transcribing all of the interviews, the
transcriptions were inserted into the software and it was possible to start creating
codes and categories.
The most significant and often reoccurring statements were arranged into twelve
categories. They were marked in the transcript and further analysed, as illustrated by
Figure 2, an image from QDA Miner software.
Figure 2: Example of interview transcriptions in the qualitative data analysis software
DOCUMENTS:
O DOCUMENT
\t Caixi ~ | U ~ SÉ A B V U « . S A S
= = = = fed Ö 9 A - J J íh SS. "9m, -E E= í=
CODE:
" H i ? y * 1«< • •
i , i . i , 2 " i " 3 1
i 1
4 ' ' ' 5 > i ' 6 i i . 7 - i ' 3 1
• "? 1
' 1
10 ' i 1
111
' ' 12' i 1
13 1
' ' 14 • i • 15 1
• • 16' i 1
17 • i ' 18 1
i 1
19 ' i 1
20 1
• • 21 • ' 7
Na začátek bych se tě zeptala, jak vlastně ty osobně definuješ metodu CLIL?
klasika ta Language Learning, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^J. Že
přijde. Že to je skvělá metoda na to, že se s tím dají právě dělat dovednosti lip, než když je to jenom obyčejně v češtině, protože mi přijde
ta angličtina je taková otevřenější k tomu, aby se tam naučil student nejenom informace, ale I něco víc.
Takže to je taková moje jako metoda, kterou používám, ale ta definice je prostě taková, že propojujeme obsah s jazykem.
Jak vlastně dlouho t tady učíš?
Šest let.
A jaký předmět?
Biologie a Zeměpis.
No a jaký jsou jako tvoje osobni zkušenosti stou výukou, nebo třeba ty jsi teda teďka popsal jako ty výhody hlavně, ale třeba i jakoby,
já nevím, z čeho takhle čerpáš, když učíš a tak, jaké máš s tím zkušenosti?
Jo, takže začátku to bylo jako těžký, že vlastně já jsem moc neměl žádný materiály, jenom měl jsem tady tuhle knihu, Clil Activities, H
pochopenej. A vlastně jsem přišel na to, že to je strašně podobně, jak klasické pedagogické nebo didaktické metody, což mě potom
usnadnilo tu práci.
A co se týče materiálu, tak jsem taky dlouho hledal, dokonce jsem si i nějaký tady nakoupil, ale prostě drtivá většina těch materiálů byla
pro základní školy, protože ono se to na středních až tak úplně nepěstuje, na tý základcese to vždycky někde vyzkouší. Takže sena to
] Skills
IT Lack of matenafe
I LacK or cooperation
I Lade of matefä s
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PRACTICAL PART
The significant codes were split into three main themes: Positive aspects of CLIL,
challenges in CLIL and suggestions. Each of the themes had several codes or categories
within, that were assigned to corresponding paragraphs, sentences or word clusters,
as illustrated by Figure 3, an image from the QDA Miner software.
Figure 3: Themes and categories organization in the qualitative data analysis software
CODES M • •
- «b Positive aspects of CLIL
• Authentic learning
• Alternative to frontal teaching
« Skills
• Student-centered learning
Challenges in CLIL
• Lack of cooperation
4 Lack of time
• Lack of mat eria Is
• Different proficiency
B A Suggestions
• Teacher support
4 Sharing materials
• Pair support
• More time
Ethical concerns
Regarding research ethics, it is necessary to obtain informed consent from the
research participants. By reading and signing this document, the interviewees consent
to the data, information and transcription being used for research purposes.
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PRACTICAL PART
The anonymity of respondents should be guaranteed and the researcher should take
the appropriate measures such as concealing the respondent's name, place of
residence, place of employment or any other sensitive information (Denscombe, 2010,
p. 7). All participants of this research consented to be involved in the research and were
explained the nature of the research and their involvement.
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PRACTICAL PART
3.5 Findings
This part of the research presents the findings of the data analysis. The categories that
arose from the data were grouped into three themes: positive aspects of CLIL
education, challenging aspects of CLIL education and suggestions for improvement of
CLIL education.
The four categories falling under the theme of positive aspects of CLIL (see Fig. 4) are
displayed in such a way that their size corresponds to the frequency of occurrence in
the interviews. In the following subchapter, these four categories are further presented
in the context of the participants' testimonies, independently of the order of their
importance.
3.5.1 Positive aspects of CLIL education
Figure 4: Word cloud displaying the categories included in the positive aspects ofCLIL
Student-centered learning
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PRACTICAL PART
A) Authentic learning
In the answer to the first question concerned with the definition of CLIL, many
respondents mentioned authenticity as an integral aspect of CLIL education. One of
them is the primary school teacher and CLIL education mentor Hana:
For me personally, CLIL is the meaningful use of language in school. I don't force
grammar on the students, but we use the language in the context of real
situations on all kinds of topics. The students expand their vocabulary and
phrases and work with sources that are authentic.
Hana emphasizes that it is crucial to build the students' specific vocabulary for a
particular subject. While teaching history using CLIL for many years, she realized that
with students in higher grades, she could always build on the knowledge from previous
years. For instance, if the first-year students learn vocabulary connected to war and
battles, they can use it throughout the four years.
When defining CLIL Hana uses expressions like "real situations" and "authentic
materials" implying that authenticity is the greatest benefit CLIL offers. A teacher at a
lower grammar school, Petr, supports this notion by stating: "CLIL was designed for
the students to get used to the language and to use it more fluently and naturally."
Phil concurs by stating: "In CLIL you're getting the benefit of the language input, doing
something real in the language, as opposed to just learning the theory of the language."
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PRACTICAL PART
Regarding the authentic materials, the respondents noticed that many students find
the biggest motivation for learning English in the desire to understand English media.
Eva reports that due to this fact, it is effortless to motivate students to work with
authentic materials: "English is everywhere. The students want to understand films,
they want to travel, they want to understand their favourite influencers." Eva often
uses authentic materials from internet resources for her primary school geography
lessons, which the students enjoy working with.
Similarly, Phil sees using authentic materials as an important part of his CLIL history
lessons: "We work with a lot of authentic material, as much as possible." He helps the
students work with original historical documents and sometimes he uses films in the
lessons, but just short extracts because of the time aspect.
Phil admits that for first-year students, working with authentic historical documents
is very challenging but he also emphasises that the students progress a lot during the
first year and by the second year, they are much more comfortable working with such
original resources.
B) Alternative to frontal teaching
Eva has received a lot of positive feedback on the small-scale CLIL projects she
organized in her school during the previous school year. "It was the first time the kids
experienced the CLIL method, so I created a questionnaire for them. It turned out great,
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PRACTICAL PART
the kids had fun in the lessons and enjoyed it." Eva reports on using a lot of game-based
learning, project learning and group work.
Richard, who teaches geography at a grammar school, expresses his dislike for frontal
teaching and resorts to using traditional teaching methods very rarely. "Primarily I use
project-based learning and problem-based learning." He gives various examples of
using this method both in geography and biology. For instance, he prepared a projectbased
geography lesson on the Kashmir conflict, during which the students spent the
lesson outside actively working on the solution to the conflict.
Phil believes that learning through the CLIL method is much more motivating:
It's much more motivating for me and hopefully for students to have the focus
of trying to find out more about history, and how things worked in the past
using a different language. They are interested because of the language. So it's
much easier to motivate kids who want to improve their English.
Phil tries to avoid frontal presentation and employs project-based learning, with the
students working in groups researching various topics and presenting their findings.
Additionally, project-based tasks may compensate for a lack of time in the CLIL lessons.
Phil admits, that using the CLIL methodology and the innovative learning methods
where students actively participate, it is not as easy to cover every topic as quickly as
with using frontal teaching and students passively receiving information. Therefore
Phil discovered a solution:
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PRACTICAL PART
I give an overview of a topic and then they choose projects, where they can go
into depth on what they choose to do. So, what they're doing is what they enjoy,
which is a bonus and they remember that very well.
Using the projects, the students focus on their area of interest and are able to present
their findings to their classmates afterwards, which can be also classified as a
cooperative method of learning.
Nevertheless, Eva reports that despite the majority of students enjoying project-based
lessons, some students express dislike for the project-based method:
For example, more introverted children do not enjoy the lesson, if it involves a
group activity. Of course, not every student is comfortable with the innovative
methods. However, I focus on the benefit of using the language in real context.
It is worth mentioning, that Eva is quite new to the CLIL approach, teaching CLIL
systematically since the beginning of this school year.
Andy concludes: "I think it (the CLIL method) is great and enjoyable, education
shouldn't be a punishment. We shouldn't be making these kids cry when they go to
school. We should be laughing and joking with them." When defining the CLIL
approach, the words „real", ..meaningful" or ..authentic" appeared most often in the
interview transcripts.
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PRACTICAL PART
C) Skills development
For several participants of this research, skills development is the paramount benefit
of the CLIL method and they see the L2 as an indispensable medium for developing
students' skills. During the analysis process, skills development was revealed as the
most frequently mentioned positive aspect of CLIL education.
Hana perceives skills development as a way to support the students' autonomous
learning: "When I teach using the problem-based method, working with authentic
resources, students remember this. They learn how to work with the text, how to
approach it, and how to grasp the language. The skills are transferable."
Richard reports: "For me personally, focusing on developing skills is the most
important part of CLIL." Additionally, he sees the L2, English specifically, as a language
that is "more open to learning more than just information."
Richard gives the example of teaching a lesson on blood types. He could present the
topic using frontal teaching but rather chooses to create a project-based lesson during
which the students look for a criminal based on a blood sample. Students can therefore
acquire the skill of testing blood samples by themselves rather than making a few notes
in their notebooks.
The teacher at a private business academy, Andy, calls the CLIL approach a "double
whammy", meaning the students learn the content along with the language. Andy
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PRACTICAL PART
perceives the ability to express opinions as crucial for the students and focuses on
developing the skill of critical thinking.
Andy despises traditional teaching methods based on memorizing and repeating
information and he strives to develop students' skills using conversation, mind
mapping or project-based learning, which is obvious when he describes his teaching
methods:
I try to have a conversation with the students because then I can see where they
have got their ideas from. I always ask them to include their mind mapping.
Then I know for a fact that they understand.
D) Student-centred and autonomous learning
Andy believes that conversation should be a priority in a CLIL classroom and asserts
that "conversation is sometimes better than paper". From his perspective as a native
speaker of English, he criticizes the traditional methods of education. He believes these
methods do not prepare the students for the real use of either content or language
knowledge, and which he says are still prevalent in Czech schools.
Andy often uses discussion methods, splitting the students into small groups with
discussion prompts and monitoring the groups during the lesson. As a native speaker,
he does not have an option of "code-switching", meaning switching to LI, in this case
Czech language, when a student does not understand. He solves this problem using
cooperative learning, letting the students explain the subject matter to each other.
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PRACTICAL PART
A few years ago, Eva started implementing small L2 conversations in her Art lessons.
In her classroom, some students were very eager to practice English, so she started
having English conversations with them and learning content subject-specific
vocabulary, to the great satisfaction of both her and the students.
Eva has very fond memories of the student-centred lessons and recalls them having an
"almost therapeutic character". Naturally, CLIL does not set any therapeutic goals, this
is rather a useful representation of how well a student-centred environment and CLIL
approach go together.
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PRACTICAL PART
3.5.2 Challenging aspects of CLIL education
Figure 5: Word cloud displaying the categories included in the challenges ofCLIL
Lack of materials
Different proficiency_3ck-jfc-j-jf-3.-=:• L a c k of time
The four categories falling under the theme of challenging aspects of CLIL (see Fig.5)
are displayed in such a way that their size corresponds to the frequency of occurrence
in the interviews. In the following subchapter, these four categories are further
presented in the context of the participants' testimonies, independently of the order of
their importance.
A) Lack of cooperation
Some participants expressed frustration with methodology or lesson planning that
could be solved by better cooperation within the school. Petr's most pressing issue is
that he is the only CLIL teacher at his school and he admits that the lack of cooperation
affects his teaching and says:
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PRACTICAL PART
The only thing I am missing is sharing the CLIL experiences amongst each other,
with other CLIL teachers. I am the only CLIL teacher at this school, therefore
there is no dialogue.
The teachers at Petr's school do not use the CLIL method, however, there is a bilingual
programme in the higher grammar school curriculum. Despite this, there are no
meetings, consultations or observations between Petr and the teachers in the bilingual
program.
Another important aspect of cooperation is asking for help. Petr expresses some
degree of hesitance to ask L2 teachers for help when needed, the reason being that he
feels it might be "an annoyance" for them to deal with his problems and additionally, it
is a faster solution to resolve the issue himself. Therefore he usually attempts to find
solutions to any language-related problems on his own. "I believe it's faster, more
efficient for me, and sometimes I think less annoying for others to try to solve the issue
myself."
The majority of the interviewed teachers reported dealing with any language problems
on their own. The participants who are very confident in their grasp of L2 see any
consultation as unnecessary. For instance, Hana is sceptical towards always reaching
out to native speakers for advice:
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PRACTICAL PART
The initial idea of inviting native speakers to Czech schools was to support the
implementation of CLIL. However I don't think it's always fundamentally
beneficial - the native speakers often don't have any pedagogical training, so
the only benefit is that they speak English but not all of them are able to use
standard English.
Hana in particular, admitted she does not discuss CLIL issues with other teachers,
which is partly due to her long experience with CLIL and also her being an English
teacher as well as a content teacher: "Now I actually have a new colleague, who is also
a CLIL teacher, so sometimes we share teaching materials, but there's really nothing to
discuss." Hana concludes, that she prefers planning lessons on her own.
The native speakers interviewed for this research also reported dealing with CLIL
problems on their own. Particularly Andy admits that at his school, any meetings or
observations are perceived as only a formality:
They come in, sit at the back of the classroom, listen to it, get up, say thank you,
and walk out for the legal requirements. But pretty much you're left to your own
accord. The results prove.
On the other hand, Hana, who along with teaching history using the CLIL approach
mentors new CLIL teachers and organizes CLIL training, emphasises the need for
ongoing support for the new CLIL teachers:
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PRACTICAL PART
After the training, they are enthusiastic, they want to start teaching using CLIL,
but then they run out of resources and ideas. And then you do a follow-up, you
do four-day CLIL seminars, and they like the ideas, but then when you come to
watch the classes, you find out that they are struggling.
According to Hana, the seminars are enough to get the teachers excited, but ongoing
support is necessary to sustain a new CLIL program.
Naturally, each school is free to establish its form of support with specifics regarding
the frequency of meetings, observations or consultations. Eva, who is a CLIL
coordinator designing a new CLIL program at her school, perceives cooperation and
collaboration as a significant tool for progress.
In this case, a small town school, such as the one Eva works at, can be an advantage.
Due to the teachers spending a significant portion of their time together in one teacher
cabinet, where it is very instinctive to discuss any issues concerning CLIL lessons and
any L2 questions. "After all, it is very easy to just turn around and ask a colleague,"
concludes Eva. Moreover, CLIL teachers at this primary school will meet quarterly and
share their experiences and materials.
B) Lack of time
The lack of time category may be split into two separate groups, the lack of time for
lesson planning and the lack of time in lessons. Despite these two problems being
seemingly different, they are interrelated.
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PRACTICAL PART
Lack of time for lesson planning
Many participants mentioned the endless hours they spent preparing their lessons
when they first started teaching using CLIL. Initially Richard started with only one
methodological book and great motivation to learn: "The lesson planning was brutal. I
spent up to four hours of planning on one lesson."
Hana seconds this by admitting that in the beginning, it was nothing out of the ordinary
for her to spend four hours preparing a 45-minute lesson. She recalls that the elaborate
lesson planning is the greatest challenge in starting to implement CLIL.
Lack of time in lessons
Eva in particular emphasises how challenging it is to cover all the compulsory topics
using project-based, constructive learning. Interestingly, she admits that the lack of
time even forces her to use frontal teaching and reduce the number of topics.
For example, with the seventh graders in geography, we have to cover Africa,
Asia, Australia, America and Oceania in one year. Even though I would like to, I
can't imagine covering even a third of these topics using the CLIL method.
This is not an isolated case, as revealed by Phil's statement: "We can't cover everything
with CLIL". However, as a history teacher, he has solutions to this problem, such as
letting the students choose projects on specific topics they are interested in or focusing
more on the language aspect and order of events, rather than particular dates.
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PRACTICAL PART
From the perspective of the CLIL mentor Hana, the implementation of constructivist
teaching methods slows down everything. "The moment we start using alternative
methods, CLIL, or even formative assessment, everything slows down and the teacher's
crucial skill is to carefully select the most important topics."
Even though some reduction of topics covered is necessary, Hana also perceives this
as a potential discouragement for the implementation of CLIL:
They don't want to lose the content, which can be a potentially painful thing. For
example, the history CLIL teacher will not be able to cover all of the world
explorers, only two of them, which can be painful for some teachers.
C) Lack of materials
Hana mentions the lack of materials as a number one problem for new CLIL teachers
or even teachers thinking about implementing CLIL. She gives examples of the teachers
after completing her CLIL seminars:
They want to start using the CLIL method, but when they find out that it
subtracts time from their lessons, they start falling behind, and they don't have
time to look for the lesson plans and the resources are non-existent.
She admits there are some materials, such as the primary school students' books she
created with other teachers, however soon these books will be no longer available due
to the "lack of demand".
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PRACTICAL PART
The insufficient number of buyers also presents a reason for no materials being created
and published at the moment. To illustrate this, Hana mentions the fact that she has
offered her work and ideas to three different publishers but was rejected.
Their first question was how many potential customers were there. So that says
it all. They need business. And there's not a huge number of potential customers.
And even if I say, look, I have trained this many people in CLIL education, those
are the potential buyers, it's still not enough for them.
Furthermore, the books on the CLIL approach, describing the methods and offering
activities and methodical tools, are all written in English and have not yet been
translated into Czech, which can pose a great problem for teachers, whose L2
proficiency is B l or B2. Hana concurs:
Neither Phil Ball nor Marsh have been translated into Czech. If the teachers are
not fluent in the language, they have nowhere to look. What's left to do? They
will find some Czech materials that someone has created, which are often of
questionable quality.
She also points out that the overwhelming majority of the materials are only focused
on vocabulary. Hana emphasizes that CLIL is not about vocabulary but rather about
the holistic approach to language.
Some CLIL teachers prefer to dismiss books altogether. For instance, Andy strongly
believes that books are overrated and rather chooses to teach using his materials, AI
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PRACTICAL PART
or other internet resources. „A lot of the stuff I create myself. We've got EduPage. which
is an education software that we use and I upload all the contents there."
Several participants pointed out that there are CLIL materials out there, however,
these are very limited and do not cover the full requirements of the curriculum. Hana
says:
The types of CLIL materials that are available all cover similar topics like the life
cycle of a frog or healthy nutrition, but when you have to cover topics in primary
school like 'the field ecosystem', you really have to go and create the materials.
On the other hand, Richard, coming from the secondary school perspective, reports
that the majority of materials available are for primary school students. He remembers
the beginnings of his CLIL approach journey when he was looking for materials: „There
wasn't much, and out of these few available materials, they usually weren't useful to
me."
However, he adds that it did not exactly bother him, as he was keen on creating his own
materials. In order to understand the methodology, he worked with the book Clil
Activities, which helped him understand CLIL and the idea of scaffolding.
Another secondary school teacher, Phil, has gathered a sufficient amount of materials
over the six years of practising CLIL, which he also shares with the other teachers.
I've got a friend who lives in Spain who is a CLIL teacher and he wrote, or rather
organized some books on geography and history CLIL style. It's for Spanish
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PRACTICAL PART
students, so it's more Spanish history but some things are international and I
use extracts from it as well.
CLIL teachers have to be creative when designing materials and occasionally Phil even
authorizes students to participate in the process. For instance, they plan projects on
various history-related topics, which are later saved on a shared disc, for everyone to
have access to them. Phil also works with a lot of authentic material as well as materials
created by a teacher who was teaching CLIL history before him. He considers himself
to be a 'material scavenger', meaning that he collects materials from various sources
and organizes them all in Google Classroom.
On the other hand, other participants reported great difficulties with finding CLIL
materials and emphasized the need for more cohesive textbooks to be created.
According to Hana, the most important aim in creating CLIL materials is to assist the
teacher in creating a successful CLIL lesson with the help of clear instructions and
scaffolding:
If teachers are to do CLIL at the primary school level, we should at least provide
them with some tools such as a method sheet with a description of what the
teacher does. They see the scaffolding and the vocabulary they will need, and
they have either a worksheet for children or prepared flashcards with pictures.
In other words, the materials should be prepared in such a way, that the teacher can
use them immediately without any additional work.
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PRACTICAL PART
Hana adds: "When I teach my CLIL courses I can't offer the participants other materials
than my own and that makes me quite sad. Sometimes I will show them foreign
language sources instead." That is however not ideal, because a lot of the teachers who
aspire to teach CLIL do not have a high proficiency in English and need materials
created in the Czech language that would support them in the beginning.
Some teachers do not see a very bright future for new CLIL materials, Petr being one
of them: "Most of the creative work is on me and of course, it would be great if some
other resources were published, but I don't think we're going to have that, we have to
work with what we have."
Petr mentions the CLIL history book for primary schools that he has been using:
"Unfortunately, a reprint is no longer available and probably won't be, which again says
something about the situation. Czech schools are not interested, the demand is weak,
and materials are rarely, if ever, available." He designs most materials by himself, using
the tips and advice acquired in CLIL seminars and trainings.
D) Language proficiency
Out of all the issues mentioned in the interviews, insufficient language proficiency
represents a category that continued to surface most frequently. The insufficient
language proficiency of the teacher can hinder the attempts to implement CLIL, and the
same issue can appear when the students' insufficient language proficiency puts them
in discomfort.
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PRACTICAL PART
The most experienced CLIL teacher out of the six participants, Hana, explains that she
has always felt quite comfortable using the CLIL approach since she is an English
teacher as well and feels confident while speaking English. For her, the greatest
challenge during her first years teaching CLIL was the lengthy process of lesson
planning.
Hana highlights that in some countries, such as Finland, it is necessary for CLIL
teachers to hold a C2-level proficiency certificate in L2. However, this condition is
unrealistic for the Czech Republic, she adds.
According to Hana, all teachers who are interested in implementing CLIL in their
lessons should receive support, which will help them with confidence in L2.
If we say that the Czech CLIL teachers have to have a B2 level English, then no
one will be implementing CLIL. So even at the training I say, feel free to have a
lower level, but consult, search, don't blindly trust any materials and, above all,
think. For primary school teachers, if they stick to simple A2 level English, then
the content is not that complicated.
Therefore, the most significant factor is support for the teachers, in order for them to
find their confidence.
The primary school teacher Eva concurs, stating that she feels quite comfortable
teaching in L2, however, she is not satisfied with the level of her English.
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PRACTICAL PART
I used to have B2 level English, but I think my English has been deteriorating
since I finished my university education and only use primary school English.
So I hope to return to school in time to feel more confident in my English.
Lower grammar school teacher Petr emphasizes that the initial CLIL lessons were the
most challenging because of the lack of experience. Currently, he does not feel
uncomfortable using L2 in CLIL lessons however he admits that is due to the lower
proficiency of students: "If I were to imagine that I would teach at a university using
the CLIL method, I would probably have a lot of problems. There would be far more
insecurity."
Naturally, the situation is quite different in secondary schools, where higher
requirements are expected to be fulfilled, both by the teachers and the students. The
secondary school teacher Richard reports on the CLIL lessons being much more
stressful because of L2: "It's more stressful for sure. You have to pay attention to
pronunciation, and you have to sort of grasp the language, and sometimes you're just
not able to master the English, especially when it's something more complicated."
Despite the regular meetings with native speakers, where the teachers discuss their
issues in CLIL, Richard still occasionally feels a lot of stress during the CLIL lessons.
"There are lessons when I don't feel well, especially when I don't have time to prepare
and don't know how to pronounce something correctly." He also reports on the
difficulty of code-switching, which means shifting from LI to L2, as very challenging
and not an automated process.
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PRACTICAL PART
On the other hand, the native speakers, who do not experience issues with L2 on the
same level as Czech teachers, mentioned the stress and lack of confidence of the
students, which pose a great challenge for the teachers, as reported by Phil: "The
beginning of the first year is a challenge because suddenly everything is in English."
And yet, in a short time, students always adapt to the new method and the stress
caused by L2 decreases.
Andy concurs, stating that students as well as parents are afraid of speaking to him as
a native speaker at first. "It's a shortfall of this (CLIL) method. Because people are not
going to speak if they're not confident at all so that is the only nemesis to this approach
to teaching."
Despite the initial students' insecurities, with ongoing support from the teacher, Andy
confirms that the insecurities disappear. He also believes that for a bilingual program,
such as the one at his school, to work, it is necessary to employ native speakers. "I think
when you have the bilingual programme, the Czech teacher is just not good enough."
It is not only the native speakers who perceive the students' reluctance to participate
in CLIL lessons. Eva elaborates on this:
The CLIL lessons are difficult for students who don't like English but might
perform well in other subjects and are generally smart and inquisitive. I'm not
sure if there is a solution and if it's possible for them to enjoy the lessons as
much as I would like them to.
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She also mentions that introverted students or students who are used to transmissive
teaching methods are anxious and stressed during CLIL lessons. It is important to
emphasize that Bloom's taxonomy and scaffolding are tools that might help with
grading the level of language to fit students' proficiency.
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3.5.3 Suggestions for improvement of CLIL education
Figure 6: Word cloud displaying the categories included in the suggestions to improve CLIL
Sharing materials
Teacher supportPair support
In the word cloud above, the four categories falling under the theme of suggestions
for improvement are displayed in such a way that their size corresponds to the
frequency of occurrence in the interviews. In the following subchapter, these four
categories are further presented in the context of the participants' testimonies,
independently of the order of their importance.
A) Teacher support
As the data gathered and analysed in this study suggest, the ultimate tool for easier
implementation of CLIL is ongoing support, in the form of CLIL meetings, peer
observations or teacher training. Petr emphasizes that once the school decides to
implement CLIL, it needs to commit wholeheartedly:
It is necessary for teachers to have the support of the school in all respects,
whether it is an hourly subsidy, whether it is combining hours into two-hour
blocks, and doing it only halfway. When the school commits to CLIL, saving
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money on something like that is useless work It significantly limits the quality
of teaching for students.
Petr also highlights the important role of the Ministry of Education, which according to
him should perceive bilingual education as one of its top priorities. He concludes that
unless the Ministry acknowledges the importance of bilingual education in the Czech
republic, the motivation of schools to invest in bilingual education and CLIL programs
will be low and teaching materials will remain almost non-existent.
In the final question: „What would make your experience teaching CLIL comfortable?",
Phil highlights the cooperation amongst the CLIL teachers at his school. The weekly
meetings inspire him, even though his colleagues teach different subjects: „Our little
CLIL meetings help a lot even though the teachers are teachers of biology, geography
and things like that, doesn't matter, you can get the inspiration for the techniques that
work and don't work as well." To rephrase, the purpose of cooperation via meetings is
not only sharing materials but most importantly sharing techniques which might be
useful.
Hana illustrates the importance of mentor support as well as gradual integration of
CLIL on an example from her mentoring experience:
A teacher I was mentoring was really afraid of the language and her level was
probably A2. We focused on her teaching English vocabulary and giving
instructions in English and everything else was in Czech. She really worked on
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herself and actually, at the end of the year, she managed to lead a CLIL activity
in English for 15 minutes.
Using the example above, Hana demonstrated the incredible power of support from a
more knowledgeable teacher, who can share their techniques, resources and advice
with the less experienced teachers. This not only makes the inexperienced teacher's
work easier but also gives them the confidence they need to teach in L2.
In conclusion, support from the school management is vital for the successful
implementation of CLIL. However, support from all CLIL stakeholders, such as
language teachers, CLIL program coordinators and other CLIL teachers is an important
aspect of maintaining communication about any issues with CLIL lessons and solving
them together.
B) Sharing materials
The majority of the participants share the education materials within the school,
except for those, who are the only CLIL teachers at their school. Therefore, one possible
solution is to issue new CLIL materials which would be accessible to teachers across
various regions, cities and schools. Hana believes there would need to be some
incentive from the Ministry of Education because at the moment, the publishers are
not interested in publishing CLIL materials.
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Hana explains that the teaching materials are a useful tool that has the potential to
make the CILL teacher's work much easier. She illustrates by describing the materials
created by her and published in past years:
If teachers are to do CLIL at primary schools, we will at least provide them with
a tool. In the materials, there is a method sheet and a description of what the
teacher does. There is the scaffolding, the vocabulary and either a worksheet for
children or prepared flashcards with pictures. The teachers don't have to look
for anything everything is provided.
Based on the gathered data, the teachers are used to share the materials within their
school. Eva explains how this works at her school:
We have this overview, where each teacher discloses, which topics they covered
using the CLIL method. We try to share the lesson plans we make with each
other on a shared disk. Our teachers can access this internal database, and get
some inspiration.
Eva adds that this way, over time, the teachers can recycle last year's materials, for
instance. Phil concurs, revealing that sometimes he recycles other teachers' materials
as well: "The teacher before me, had made some slides from the curriculum books and
I just changed some of them. So he actually had that system already." This technique of
recycling materials which have been used with different students saves the teacher's
precious time.
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The other participants Hana and Richard mention sharing materials occasionally
within their schools. Andy and Petr state that they do not share materials with anyone
and they feel very differently about it. Andy does not express any need for sharing
materials and is satisfied with using digital tools and creating his own materials.
On the other hand, Petr expresses a great desire for access to different resources from
various teachers:
I would like a platform where experiences, useful methods, ideas, and ideally
even videos for specific activities would be shared. It would help the teachers
significantly. I think they could more easily avoid those initial hardships, and
that is beneficial for everyone, both students and teachers.
Unfortunately, such a platform offering resources, advice and ideas shared by CLIL
teachers across schools does not exist.
C) Pair support
Several participants have highlighted pair support as a solution to issues such as
demanding and specific vocabulary or insecurity of the CLIL teacher. Petr has
experienced tandem teaching which included a lot of pair support at his previous
school and he would like to teach in tandem again however it is not a possibility at his
school:
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At my previous school, I experienced tandem teaching of the English language,
but it was a kind of project teaching. We created a project with a colleague that
was related to roleplay, so in a way, it was a world that also had its own
terminology, so it was partly a kind of experimentation.
Petr described his experience with tandem teaching and lesson planning in a pair with
another colleague as a very rewarding one:
I would say that teaching in tandem is more creative and even more effective
for the students. Schools should try it if they have the opportunity for the
teachers to experience this and be able to improve even more.
Phil's experience with pair support is different but very positive as well. As a native
speaker teaching history, he finds himself in situations where consultation with
another teacher is necessary: ..Fortunately, I regularly communicate with a Czech
teacher who teaches Czech history. When I don't understand something, we can
discuss what it is and talk through it."
Phil and the mentioned Czech history teacher both teach the same students which
makes it even easier to cooperate and discuss particular issues that appear during the
CLIL lessons. It is also worth mentioning that Phil speaks Czech, so they can
communicate in the Czech teacher's mother tongue. Phil concludes: „It's important to
have a pair, one specific teacher who you constantly communicate with." However, this
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is not a given for many CLIL teachers, despite the benefits of working and solving issues
as a pair.
D) More time
As established in this thesis, innovative methods such as the CLIL approach, require a
lot of patience and time. However, the standard lesson at primary and secondary
schools is 45 minutes long. Richard mentions that longer lessons would help him
integrate project-based and problem-based methods:
It would be great if we had two 45-minute lessons in a row. I could create an
activity that would be theoretical first, and I still have enough time for a projectbased
activity. I spend two hours planning some of the project-based lessons
and then I have 45 minutes for the execution, and it's a complete mess.
Such lessons, which are project-based, and employ the constructive, rather than
transmissive approach to learning, will take longer to execute than only 45 minutes.
Eva concurs, according to her experience, two 45-minute lessons in a row are more
efficient and this model combines well with her geography and history CLIL lessons:
I teach a two-hour geography lesson in the seventh grade. At the moment, we are
trying to do two-hour classes in history. It suits everyone differently, but I have, for
example, one two-hour English class and I'm fine with it. Because you can do much
more with the topic and have time for a warm-up and a reflection.
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3.6 Discussion
In the following chapter, the author attempts to relate the research findings to the
research questions as well as interpret and contextualize the data. Additionally, the
findings will be contrasted with the conclusions of similar aforementioned studies on
the CLIL teachers' perspective.
What are the positive aspects of CLIL education?
In spite of the popularity of the social-constructivist approach to education, the data
from various studies indicate that both primary and secondary school Czech teachers
most often choose traditional education methods, such as frontal teaching and
monologic lectures (Zormanova, 2012, p. 34). Most Czech teachers include socialconstructivist
methods such as project-based learning problem-based learning or
cooperative learning in the lessons only occasionally. For many of them, the lack of
methodological support might be the reason for defending the transmissive methods
(Zormanova, 2012, p. 34).
As mentioned before, the concept of CLIL education is based on social-constructivist
methods, therefore it can be perceived as a new opportunity to include more of these
methods in the lessons with some methodological support. The participants of this
research elaborated on different aspects of CLIL that create a new way of looking at
primary and secondary school education.
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Generally speaking, the respondents perceive the CLIL approach and the innovative
methods as a refreshing alternative to the traditional transmissive methods. All
participants of this research see the methods in a very positive light and even regard
methods such as project-based learning problem-based learning or cooperative
learning as a motivation to proceed with teaching within a CLIL program.
Innovative methods such as project-based learning or problem-based learning also
utilize cross-curricular teaching which corresponds well with the CLIL approach.
Smidova equates project-based learning and problem-based learning and lists these
methods as integral to CLIL education (Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 25).
A vital condition for implementing project-based learning or any other socialconstructive
method in a class that is used for transmissive learning is establishing a
safe and enriching learning environment, which is additionally one of the CLIL
principles. The participants of this research concur, and state that they employ projectbased
learning in their own way and prioritize working and learning in small groups
in contrast to individual work.
In the aforementioned research analysed in the theoretical part, some teachers
expressed frustration with the attempts to implement project-based learning because
the students did not respond well to the method (Benvenuto, Infante, & Lastrucci,
2009, p. 161). The participants of this research also mentioned struggling with the
implementation of new methods, where the reason might be that students prefer to
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work individually, they have not previously encountered the project-based approach
or their language proficiency is insufficient.
This issue has also surfaced in the data, however, according to the participants, this is
an initial problem which disappears after ongoing CLIL lessons and support from the
teacher. Creating a safe and enriching learning environment within the means of the
school is one of the principles of CLIL, as defined by Frigols, Marsh and Mehisto (2008)
and as much as it may be a challenging task, the more experienced CLIL teachers
confirmed that creating such environment is a matter of time and patience.
Another positive aspect of CLIL that continued to surface in the data was skill
development. While traditional transmissive learning develops the students' ability to
receive ready information, authentic and project-based learning develops students'
real-life skills, which makes them all the more motivated to learn. In CLIL education,
students are developing both language skills (reading writing listening and speaking)
as well as skills in the content subject (Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova, 2012, p. 20).
Additionally, students in CLIL programs are developing metacognitive skills, meaning
developing their ability to learn (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 29). This means, that
despite not covering the same amount of topics, the students acquire the ability to
learn and are able to learn autonomously, which they can use not only academically
but also in their daily lives. Therefore, the main task of the teacher is to teach skills
and by the process of careful selection, decide which are the most important content
subject topics to teach in class. According to the participants, the selection process can
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present a difficult task, however, when the students learn how to learn autonomously,
it is not necessary to cover such a wide range of topics in school.
The respondents often mentioned skills in connection to authenticity, which promotes
real-life skills development. For instance, one participant works with authentic
historical documents, which can support students in acquiring the skill of critical
thinking as well as the skill of autonomous learning. Both of these skills are an integral
part of CLIL education (Mehisto & Ting, 2017, p. 29).
Authenticity is one of the main principles of CLIL which grants learning skills
connected to students' everyday life and working with authentic, current materials.
Therefore it is understandable that the overwhelming majority of respondents
mentioned authentic learning and skills development as a significant benefit of CLIL
education.
Another one of the main principles of CLIL is scaffolding which allows the students to
learn autonomously with the right tools and support. It is up to the teacher to create a
sufficiently challenging environment where the students can learn autonomously with
the right support (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 29). According to Smidova,
autonomous learning is an important part of CLIL and it is necessary to be gradually
transferring the responsibility for learning to the students. This may be done by
decreasing teacher talking time, promoting self-evaluation or letting the students
choose the methods of learning that suit them best (Smidova, Tejkalova, & Vojtkova,
2012, p. 44).
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As stated earlier, the most common method of teaching in Czech schools is the
traditional frontal teaching. However, for a successful implementation of the CLIL
method, it is necessary to decrease the teacher talking time and create a studentcentred
classroom. For this purpose, teachers should employ project-based learning
and cooperative learning. Several participants of this research regard the current,
transmissive methods of education used in Czech as outdated and in need of change.
What are the challenging aspects of CLIL education?
Regarding the issues with teaching using CLIL, the findings of this thesis are split into
four categories, which are in many ways interconnected. According to the data, lack of
cooperation, such as peer consultation and CLIL teacher meetings is directly connected
to the lack of materials and ideas for techniques and methods. Additionally, as the
participants stated, both of these issues stem from a lack of time, which is crucial in
implementing innovative methods such as CLIL. Ultimately, all of these issues are only
escalating with the added pressure on sufficient language proficiency of the teacher
and the students.
As the data revealed, lack of cooperation plays a significant role in the implementation
of CLIL at Czech schools. Primarily Petr shared his frustrations with being the only CLIL
teacher at his school and lacking in collaboration. The authors of the literature and
studies on the topic of CLIL agree that the importance of cooperation in CLIL is critical.
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According to Šmídová, establishing a strong system of collaboration, both within the
school and externally, proves highly effective. Without active teacher participation,
support from school management, and adequate resources, implementing CLIL can
become quite challenging (Šmídová, Tejkalová, & Vojtková, 2012, p. 12). Mehisto and
Ting concur, stating that "through cooperation, L2 and LI language and subject
teachers can build richer learning environments and reinforce the learning of both
content and language and encourage intellectual rigour (Mehisto & Ting, 2017, p. 77)."
Highlighting the importance of cooperation, Hanušova challenges the aforementioned
MŠMT CLIL document (Pedagogical Research Institute in Prague, 2009), which
remains the only document on CLIL published by the Ministry, and deems it
insufficient. She emphasises that the document is missing the most important part of
CLIL implementation - the effective cooperation within a teaching team which, she
points out, is not a common practice in Czech schools as well as the maximum support
of CLIL education from the school management, procurement of teaching materials and
consideration of teachers' needs when determining workloads and schedules
(Hanušova, 2012, p. 6).
Researchers in the aforementioned study on Spanish CLIL teachers' experience
establish that despite CLIL models varying across countries and schools, one aspect
remains constant - CLIL promotes team teaching including the content teacher
working with a language teacher. The results of the research also prove that CLIL
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teachers see cooperation with the L2 department as a helpful strategy (Senra-Silva,
2021, p. 55).
Despite this, several participants of this research politely decline the opportunity to
cooperate with an L2 teacher. That is to say, there are CLIL teachers who prefer
individual work and reflection and do not see many benefits in CLIL meetings,
observations or pair work. However, knowing the basic principles of CLIL and the
social-constructivist theory that CLIL is built upon, one may claim that cooperation
and communication among individual teachers are vital for the successful
implementation of a CLIL program.
As the data revealed a lack of cooperation and support is required particularly for
novice CLIL teachers. The initial enthusiasm sparked by CLIL training programmes
quickly disappears if teachers lack ongoing support. This highlights the need for
institutional frameworks that prioritize regular collaboration, observation and
mentorship as a way to facilitate CLIL implementation across schools.
It is important to add, that the cooperation is not exclusive to CLIL teachers - in order
for the CLIL program to work, the ongoing cooperation amongst the stakeholders such
as school management, program coordinators, language teachers, and even parents is
vital.
The demands of CLIL education and in general constructivist methods not only present
a new and student-centred way of conducting lessons; these demands also present a
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great challenge for the CLIL teacher, whose task is to plan complex lessons, usually
with minimal training and very limited time possibilities.
The lack of time is an overarching topic regarding the CLIL challenges, which affects
many aspects of CLIL education and may be split into two categories: lack of time for
lesson planning and lack of time in lessons. While the CLIL teaching methods, such as
project-based learning or cooperative learning have great potential in the Czech
context, it is important to remember that these kinds of methods will always need
more time for planning especially if the teacher only started integrating them recently.
Šímová mentions the "time-consuming and demanding lesson planning" as the main
difficulties the schools may encounter while implementing CLIL in their curriculum
(Šmídová, Tejkalová, & Vojtková, 2012, p. 11).
During the time-consuming lesson planning, the teacher has to focus on dual aims content
and language, develop various skills, both productive and receptive, consider
the different learning styles of students and have filler activities prepared to support
differentiation. The teacher has to prepare strategies which will help students with the
cognitive load, including both language and content cognitive challenges. Each CLIL
lesson should correspond with the ERR framework - evocation, realization of meaning
and reflection. Ideally, it should start with a motivating evocative activity and end with
a reflective activity, considering both the L2 aims and the content subject aims of the
lesson (Šmídová, Tejkalová, & Vojtková, 2012, p. 45).
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As evidenced by the data, CLIL teachers spend up to four hours planning a single 45minute
lesson, containing all the essentials mentioned above. Several participants
request some reduction of class hours to prepare quality education materials.
An idea that the participants all acknowledged was the insufficient time in CLIL lessons
in contrast to the scope of the curricular demands. Despite problem-based
constructivist learning being effective and student-centred, the pace at which a topic
can be covered will be much slower compared to transmissive methods, during which
the teacher simply presents all the information to students.
Additionally, there is the issue of the lack of time for meetings and observations in
teachers' schedules, which is mentioned in most research on the topic of CLIL teachers
such as the research focused on Spanish CLIL teachers where the teachers expressed
that "in order to do a good job in the bilingual programme, they all should have more
time to get together and organize things correctly (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 56)".
However, the participants of this research did not view lack of time as the main reason
for the lack of support, therefore there is not enough evidence to support this claim. In
other words, the participants often reported a lack of support or cooperation but did
not mention time as a significant aspect of this issue.
Virtually all studies on CLIL highlight the absence of educational materials as an issue
of substantial size and this study is not an exception. Generally, the teachers express a
desire for more CLIL resources, so they are not obligated to spend excessive time
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creating them (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 57). The research conducted in Italy lists the lack
of teaching materials as one of the main obstacles to the development of CLIL. The
Italian teachers report on designing all their materials or adapting existing materials
to the primary school level (Benvenuto, Infante, & Lastrucci, 2009, p. 160). Similarly,
the study on Polish CLIL teachers reveals that the lack of resources and materials is the
problem causing confusion among the teachers and makes the CLIL education
somewhat inconsistent and fragmented (Czura, Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009, p. 175).
To compare these findings with this study, all of the above-mentioned issues were also
articulated by the participants. However, some of the participants prefer creating their
own materials or base their lessons primarily around conversation. For instance,
Andy's methods agree well with CLIL, because of them being very student-centred and
focused on the learners constructing the meaning and the teacher reflecting with them
and dealing with any issues. He uses books very rarely and focuses on student
interaction and authentic materials therefore, the lack of CLIL books does not concern
him.
As the data suggest, CLIL books do exist, they are however usually created for a very
specific group of students and usually only written in L2, which not all of the CLIL
teachers are completely proficient in. The participants' quite pessimistic outlook on
new materials being created is directly caused by the lack of CLIL resources and the
reluctance of the publishers to issue reprints of already written CLIL textbooks. As
mentioned by Hana or Petr, the demand is not high enough to incentivise publishers to
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focus their attention on CLIL books. Some of the participants suggest greater
involvement of the Ministry of Education or other educational organisations.
While external factors such as the aforementioned support, time and teaching
materials constitute a major portion of the CLIL challenges, internal factors such as
stress and confidence also appeared frequently in the interviews. This is a fact that
proves to be true across various studies. "The fact that English is not their mother
tongue makes them feel insecure. Some even pointed out that teaching in a foreign
language makes the teaching look 'theatrical and unnatural' because nuances are lost
in the explanation of concepts (Senra-Silva, 2021, p. 53)." According to the teachers,
the insecurities in L2 are caused by insufficient fluency and grasp of the language.
Sepesiova mentions the insufficient language competence of teachers to use L2 for
teaching content subjects as a major risk of implementing the CLIL approach
(Sepesiova, 2012, p. 26). In this research the interview question "Do you feel
comfortable teaching content in English?" attempted to explore the challenges
participants might face while teaching in regards to L2.
For instance, since leaving university, Eva feels that her language proficiency is
worsening. She would appreciate language-focused training in order to be more
confident in L2, which is deteriorating because of the specific use of English in CLIL
lessons at her primary school. However, the issue of language proficiency is even more
pronounced in secondary education where both teachers and students are expected to
meet higher language standards. Amongst others, Richard expressed a level of concern
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about his ability to maintain accurate pronunciation and manage code-switching
between languages.
While native speakers interviewed for this research do not experience the same
challenges with their language use, they notice significant challenges related to
students' confidence in speaking English. This underlines the fact that CLIL education
demands language support provided to both teachers and students.
To overcome the above-mentioned obstacles, it is critical that all the CLIL stakeholders
participate actively in CLIL implementation and create a more supportive environment
for CLIL educators, as will be discussed in the following part of this chapter.
What are the suggestions that could make CLIL education easier?
When answering the last question of the interview, "What would make teaching using
CLIL more comfortable for you?" the participants agreed on many aspects, which
stemmed from the issues they experience.
The most prominent suggestion the teachers mentioned was the need for ongoing
teacher support, which can take many forms. Petr highlighted the importance of peer
support and tandem teaching to ensure the professional development of the teachers
as well as the opportunity to receive peer feedback. Additionally, institutional support
was also mentioned by the participants as a vital need for the successful
implementation of CLIL. This includes support at the school level, support across
schools and support at the national level by the Ministry of Education.
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To compare these findings with other countries, similar data emerged from the
research focused on Polish CLIL teachers: "The need for greater external support from
key stakeholders, namely national and educational administration was voiced by the
interviewees. (Czura, Papaja, & Urbaniak, 2009, p. 175)"
According to the participants, unless these key stakeholders perceive bilingual
education as a top priority and provide the attention it is lacking at the moment, the
motivation of teachers to continue teaching using this method will be low.
Another important point in regards to improving CLIL education in the Czech Republic
is sharing teaching materials, which could be a helpful tool compensating for the lack
of materials being published at the moment. Petr suggested creating a shared platform
for all CLIL teachers to exchange ideas, educational materials and techniques. A similar
option, mentioned in the research aimed at Polish CLIL teachers, would be to provide
teachers with opportunities to participate in meetings, where they could share their
experience, get access to materials or work in curriculum development (Czura, Papaja,
& Urbaniak, 2009, p. 177).
However, as emphasized before, all of the issues are interconnected and in order for
teachers to have time for CLIL meetings in their busy schedules, some reduction of
teaching hours would be ideal.
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Hana also highlights that establishing some sort of national or regional platform for
CLIL resources and materials, which in turn would not only save teachers' valuable
time in lesson planning but also standardize the quality of CLIL teaching across schools.
Finally, a key aspect of improving CLIL education in the Czech Republic is time,
particularly the lack of time. Both Richard and Eva agree, that longer lessons, such as
two-hour blocks, allow more in-depth exploration of content and facilitate the
implementation of skill-based activities. By adopting longer lessons or adjusting the
schedules, so that more project-based learning could be integrated, schools could
enable not only CLIL teachers to experiment with more effective and creative teaching
strategies.
Limitations of the research
The present research operates with a small research sample and therefore presents
only a limited perspective on CLIL teachers' experience. In order to explore and mitigate
the issues connected to CLIL implementation in the Czech Republic, further research
is required.
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CONCLUSION
4 Conclusion
Content and Learning Integrated Learning is a popular method with a twofold aim of
learning L2 and a content subject. This method is recommended by the European
Union to reach the multilingualism goals it sets for the member states. The Czech
Republic, among other European states, started implementing the CLIL method in the
education plans in 2008. Despite the methodology development and research focused
on the CLIL method conducted, it is rare to encounter primary or secondary schools
with CLIL included in their SVP.
This thesis attempts to inquire into the teachers' experience with using the CLIL
method. The research is mainly focused on detecting the positive aspects and
challenging aspects of CLIL and presenting suggestions to improve CLIL
implementation based on teachers' perceptions.
The theoretical part of this thesis provides the theoretical background regarding the
CLIL method and introduces the principles of CLIL and the underlying theories.
Additionally, this part briefly describes the history and implementation of the CLIL
method in the Czech Republic. Lastly, the existing research focused on CLIL teachers is
presented and analysed.
The practical part of this thesis outlines the methodology and the research instrument.
The following chapters consist of the research itself, the data analysis and the results.
The results of the qualitative analysis of the interviews reveal the answers to the
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CONCLUSION
research questions. Regarding the positive aspects of the CLIL method, the
respondents mention authentic learning skills development and student-centred
teaching. Most respondents are enthusiastic about the CLIL method and perceive it as
a refreshing alternative to the conservative, transmissive teaching methods. They also
appreciate the cooperative environment the CLIL method supports, if applied
correctly. The data revealed that many teachers combine their CLIL lessons with the
project-based learning method. Many respondents believe the CLIL method facilitates
foreign language learning in meaningful, real-life contexts.
The challenging aspects of CLIL implementation do not stem from the method itself,
but rather from inadequate language proficiency or teacher support. Several
participants admitted that the support from other CLIL stakeholders, such as the
school management, CLIL coordinators or L2 teachers was insufficient when they first
started implementing CLIL in their lessons. Another ongoing problem expressed by
several teachers was the lack of suitable CLIL teaching materials. Due to the lack of
resources, most CLIL teachers spend their free time creating their own. Some of the
respondents also mentioned insufficient support at the national level, from the
Ministry of Education.
The aim of this research was not only to find issues with CLIL implementation but also
to suggest solutions to deal with them. In the last question of the interview, the
teachers were asked to make suggestions in regards to overcoming the challenging
aspects of CLIL and improving their teaching experience.
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CONCLUSION
The data revealed that the participants would appreciate greater teacher support, such
as pair observations, CLIL teacher meetings or tandem teaching. Another mentioned
aspect of teacher support was sharing CLIL teaching materials, possibly through a
shared online platform. Lastly, the question of additional time for lesson planning and
longer lesson periods was mentioned, which would allow better conditions for projectbased
lessons and student-centred learning.
The CLIL method presents an exciting opportunity to transform the traditional
approach to school education and support students in skill development and
autonomous learning. However, this is only possible under the condition of
strengthening the teachers' support and holding the significant institutions
responsible.
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INTERVIEW IN ENGLISH
Appendix A Interview in English
1. What is your understanding of the CLIL method?
2. How long have you been teaching using the CLIL method?
3. What is the subject you teach with the CLIL method?
4. What is your personal experience teaching this subject with CLIL?
5. What is your theoretical knowledge or previous training on how to teach using
the CLIL method?
6. How would you describe your level of proficiency in English?
7. Do you feel comfortable teaching content in English?
8. What is the cooperation between the school management and the teachers who
teach subjects in the CLIL program at your school like?
9. What is the cooperation between the English department and the teachers who
teach subjects in the CLIL program like?
10. What would make your experience teaching CLIL better and more comfortable?
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Appendix B Interview in Czech
1. Jak definujete metodu CLIL?
2. Jak dlouho vyučujete metodou CLIL?
3. Jaký předmět vyučujete metodou CLIL ?
4. Jaká je Vaše osobní zkušenost s vyučováním metodou CLIL ?
5. Jaká je Vaše teoretická znalost metody CLIL, a jaká školení týkající se výuky
metodou CLIL jste absolvoval/a?
6. Jak byste popsal/a Vaši úroveň angličtiny?
7. Cítíte se při výuce konkrétního předmětu v cizím jazyce komfortně?
8. Jaká je spolupráce mezi vedením školy a učiteli, kteří vyučují předměty metodou
CLIL na Vaší škole?
9. Jaká je spolupráce mezi učiteli angličtiny a učiteli, kteří vyučují předměty metodou
CLIL na Vaší škole?
10. Jak by pro Vás mohl zážitek z výuky metodou CLIL lepší a příjemnější?
115