Even though most of the teachers were English specialists, this course turned out to be quite an experience with Alito Rodgers. 

The main ideas extracted from  face to face sessions were compiled in a wiki, as part of the on-line work in moodle.

 

 

Sessions with Alito Rodgers at CEP Manacor. February 2008


"Language acquisition is like snowboard."

THE BRAIN AND LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE:

1. Unconcious uncompetence: when you try to communicate in a sudden way, just like babies do.

2. Concious uncompetence: when you cannot mutter a word and keep thinking all the time you can't do it.

3. Unconcious competence: when you start talking in a natural way without thinking about how you are going to say it. The message flows.There is no matter about grammar or pronunciation mistakes. The important here is the will to communicate. In this point the output begins thanks to the input the person has experienced before.

4. Concious competence: when I use English as a second language and I am careful about making mistakes.


In face to face learning:
7% are words
38% is about the quality of the voice
55% is visual

"Speaking" more doesn't make you speak better, " Understanding and listening" makes you speak better.The input is very important to learn a foreign language because we acquire via input, what we read and hear , and not via output,actual talking and writing. That's the main problem in the nowadays teaching. We learn a second language the other way round. First of all we read and write. The last thing we do is talking and we just listen occasionally. That situation ends in a problem to communicate ourselves.That's why I think that CLIL is so important.It gives the students the opportunity to listen and use the language they're learning. With CLIL the number of hours they work with the foreign language increases reasonably.

"Understanding more makes you speak more". There has to be lots of input but what is important is not the quantity but the quality of it. Although the quantity is important too. We mustn't forget that when we learn our first language we don't just listen to one person speaking. All around us use the same language to communicate. So we have to create a similar environment in the class where the language of communication has to be English.

"All CLIL programs should be capable of offering at least eight hours of input in English per week. I would go even further, the more hours we can give our students of input, the better linguistic competence in English they will have." Being a Science and Maths teacher, I think that these subjects should be given in English as well, but with a coordination with Primary School and Secondary.

Sometimes I think our work is to give them tools better than actually 'teaching the language' and provide an adequate environment to experience with the new 'materials'.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes". (Marcel Proust)

- Some students do not really know how to learn English, specially older students. So, maybe we can try to show our students four basic steps in order to help them to organize their ideas:

Free Language Lessons

Learning English In Four Easy Steps

By:Travis Waack

So, you want to learn to speak English. That is great. There are a ton of great resources out there that can help including over 49,000 ESL websites.

Now if you are like most other ESL students reading this article then you already have a fairly good notion of the English language. You most likely are looking for a place to practice and enhance your English skills. So, here are four easy steps to do just that.

Step Number One: Preparation

Since you already have a fairly good notion of English you don't need to start all over with the ABC's and the verb "to be". Take stock of your current skills and find out where you are weak. Once you know what you need to learn...all you have to do is learn it. I feel now I'm able to prepare every class checking the proper vocabulary and try to get the most out of it. This way I'm going to get feedback for what I need for my next lessons.

So, pick out something from your list of things that you know you need/want to learn. Take a few minutes to analyze why you want learn this information, and make sure you focus on that particular point while studying. It is super easy to get side-tracked onto other topics.

If you do see something of interest while you are on your search for information...make sure to take note of it so you can come back at a later time. But for now...FOCUS on the task at hand!

Step Number Two: Practice

Now that you know what you know what you want to learn, jump over to Google or Yahoo and do a quick search on your chosen topic of interest. From there you should be able to find sites that will provide you with tools and resources such as audio files, video files, exercises, and tests to practice what you want to learn.

Step Number three: Use

Alright! You are rip, raring, and ready-to-go! You studied what it was you wanted to learn, and now you need to put it into use in real life situations. Use what you just learned on your friends and acquaintances. Hit the forums and try out what you now know. Try to use it at least thirty times to really assimilate it well and make it a part of you.

Step Number four: Evaluate

Once you are done for the day, sit down for a few minutes and evaluate how you did. Did you learn everything that is required? Are you still weak in certain areas of this topic?

Take note of these things, and use them in your planning time tomorrow as you restart the cycle. Make sure to do these four steps everyday, and you will steadily see your skills progressing. So now...just go do it!

Travis Waack
http://official-education-reosources.com

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How does CLIL work?
The basis of CLIL is that content subjects are taught and learnt in a language which is not the mother tongue of the learners.

  • Knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content
  • Language is integrated into the broad curriculum
  • Learning is improved through increased motivation and the study of natural language seen in context. When learners are interested in a topic they are motivated to acquire language to communicate
  • CLIL is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning
  • Language is seen in real-life situations in which students can acquire the language. This is natural language development which builds on other forms of learning
  • CLIL is long-term learning. Students become academically proficient in English after 5-7 years in a good bilingual programme
  • Fluency is more important than accuracy and errors are a natural part of language learning. Learners develop fluency in English by using English to communicate for a variety of purposes.

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Classroom principles

Some of the basic principles of CLIL that are in the CLIL classroom:

-Language is used to learn as well as to communicate.

-It is the subject matter which determines the language needed to learn.

A CLIL lesson is therefore not a language lesson but a subject lesson transmitted in a foreign language. According to the 4Cs curriculum (Coyle 1999), a successful CLIL lesson should combine the following elements:

Are we normaly working in a real bilingual school sistem beeing a bilingual community? Have a lot of questions about this after reading the art. 'enseñar nuevas lenguas en la escula:L1,L2,L3..NL' from F. Trujillo.

·         Content - Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to specific elements of a defined curriculum.

·         Communication - Using language to learn whilst learning to use language.

·         Cognition - Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract and concrete), understanding and language.

·         Culture - Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which deepen awareness of otherness and self.

In a CLIL lesson, all four language skills should be combined:

·         Listening is a normal input activity, vital for language learning.

·         Reading, using meaningful material, it is the major source of input.

·         Speaking focuses on fluency. Accuracy is seen as subordinate.

·         Writing is a series of lexical activities through which grammar is recycled.

 

The advantages of CLIL
CLIL helps to:

·         Introduce the wider cultural context.

·         Prepare for internationalisation.

·         Access International Certification and enhance the school profile.

·         Improve overall and specific language competence.

·         Prepare for future studies and / or working life.

·         Develop multilingual interests and attitudes.

·         Diversify methods & forms of classroom teaching and learning.

·         Increase learner motivation.

 

Headline ideas: cooperative learning and interlanguage. A pitty we couldn't experience any of it in practice, although there where opportunities. Who is the author of "Second Language Adquisition? We have chapter III in our papers.