CLIL

Designing Lessons with CLIL: Learning the French Revolution in English

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is an approach where students learn subject content and a foreign language at the same time. I once designed an English class around the topic of the French Revolution. This practice enhanced both students’ language skills and their historical understanding.

Lesson Flow

1. Introduction: Presenting the basic background of the French Revolution in English.

2. Reading: Using English texts to explore key events and figures.

3. Discussion: In groups, students discussed why the Revolution occurred.

4. Presentation: Each group presented its findings in English.

Outcomes

Improved English reading and speaking skills・

Deeper understanding of historical events

Increased collaboration and peer interaction

Conclusion

CLIL goes beyond language learning by fostering the ability to use knowledge in interdisciplinary ways. I plan to continue integrating CLIL by connecting English lessons with other subjects and themes.

Despite these various advantages, conducting this class several times has revealed certain limitations.

1. Basic knowledge about the French Revolution, which could be covered in about 30 minutes in a lecture-style class, requires 100 minutes total (50 minutes × 2 sessions) when taught using the CLIL method. Furthermore, summative assessment results did not consistently show CLIL to be effective in terms of knowledge retention.

2. Regarding English reading comprehension, while students can grasp the main ideas of English texts, their knowledge of detailed grammar, usage, and vocabulary remains limited.

Considering these points, it cannot be denied that while CLIL may be effective between languages of the same family, it is difficult to assert its effectiveness between languages from different language families, such as Japanese and English.