An Eye on CLIL (news, sites, blogs, books, articles)

Cafe CLIL 16 - An Eye on CLIL (news, sites, blogs, books, articles)



Sites, resources, links mentioned:
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY IN SCIENCE EDUCATION
Jerry Wellington and Jonathan Osborne, 2001
Academia has chapter 1 of the book available - https://www.academia.edu/22823911/Language_and_Literacy_In_Science_Education
Sensemaking with Multilingual Learners in Science by Lauren Bartholomae
https://wida.wisc.edu/news/sensemaking-multilingual-learners-science
Grade 6 Science language for growing plants by Priscila J.B.M. Costa
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/priscila-jbm-costa_scenes-of-english-language-development-in-ugcPost-7435905196884606976-egif/?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=android_app&rcm=ACoAAAF8D_QBDq2cK41AxhrKWiM7UYwtdKP-GiE&utm_campaign=copy_link
WIDA Standards https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/standards/eld
Dr Ruslana Westerlund on causality
https://reclaimingthelanguage.blog/2026/03/15/how-causality-unfolds-across-historical-texts-the-domino-effect/
Patrick de Boer https://www.clilmedia.com/

Summary (AI Generated)
Keith and Phil conducted a Cafe CLIL session focused on news, sites, blogs, articles and more in education with relevance to CLIL. They explored resources including Wellington and Osborne's work on science language, WIDA's curriculum language guidelines, and Ruslana Westerlund's research on causality in science and history texts. The conversation covered how different subjects vary in their language demands, with science being more formulaic and accessible for CLIL implementation compared to social sciences. They also discussed the concept of "languaging" and its importance in helping students understand the functional role of language in subject disciplines. The session concluded with plans to potentially invite Ruslana Westerlund to a future discussion and to share relevant resources with colleagues.
Logical Connectives in Science Language
Keith and Phil discussed the importance of logical connectives in science language and academic learning. They explored how connectives like "moreover" and "conversely" can be particularly challenging for learners, especially when used in scientific discourse. Phil shared insights from his coaching work with university teachers about the strategic use of connectives like "however" in lectures to capture students' attention, noting that these words often signal a shift in content that requires prior understanding. The discussion highlighted how CLIL makes complex language structures visible for both teachers and students to practice and understand.
CLIL and Language in Science
Keith and Phil discussed the importance of language in science education and CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), highlighting the WIDA initiative's approach to making language expectations visible across curriculum subjects. They explored how different subjects vary in their language demands, with science being more formulaic and accessible than social sciences.