Anyone who knows me well, will tell you that despite writing a 10,000 word dissertation, passing a teaching qualification and communicating on various levels daily, I am constantly faced with the fear of "spelling & meanings behind language" I don't know what it is, but I have always found it incredibly difficult. So with that in mind you can only but imagine my facial expression when I was told that those involved in the delivery to the Chinese students would have to take a Cambridge English CLIL exam!!
CLIL (content and language integrated learning) in a nut shell is about understanding the approach and delivery of subject content and language to learners whose first language is not English. It involves looking at the core of my practice in a sense of general "slang" and language used whether formal or informal. Before I broke for the summer a selection of us were faced with a week long intense training course, where we went through the entire CLIL module handbook attempting to store in our minds all that we could. When I arrived back from the summer I sat my official CLIL exam (bringing back memories of GCSE's, I am still awaiting the result and will post up my certificate "If and when I receive it".
Despite not having a particular strength in language, I did become really involved in the subject and it has definitely made me realize just how much we as professionals working daily in a specialist sector can take language and content that we understand for granted. I feel that it has improved my confidence and will ultimately enhance my practise for all students who I will be delivering to this new academic year. The delivery level of the course I will be teaching on does ask for critical, reflective and analytical creative language, that students may/ may not know where to begin.
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