WHAT'S CLIL?

The former, CLIL is the acronym of Content  and language integrated learning”. This means that  CLIL is a methodology about learning of content using a foreign language. It has two important aims:
 On the one hand Learning of content and on the other hand simultaneous learning of a foreign language.

This tool is used in the learning of a non-language subjects as Music, arts, maths, etc. Furthermore this tool is promoting the minority languages. 
For example, in our county called Comunitat Valenciana, there is an specific kind of Content and Language integrated learning and it’s called “Immersió Llingüística”. It’s an specific planning for to increase the use of Valencian in our community, because this is a minority language. This have been happened with English too, the curriculum needs to be changed in many aspects, specifity in integrated languages in non-languages subjects, but luckily there are grounds for believing this is happening, because the use of CLIL is incrising on the schools. In my experience I am doing practices in a school this year wich Arts subject is teached with English language.

In my view I think CLIL should be applied as fast as possible in our schools, because It’s a fact that students are not ready using a foreign language properly after study this language in a way of learning just grammar or structures contents rather than using the foreign language with speaking and listening such a useful tool for communicate with people.

If you were not limited by the demands of the national/regional curriculum, what would you say is the most important thing you would teach your students about your subject (in a CLIL context)? How would you assess their learning?

In any education system, some planning and rules are needed it to can carry out a good educational task.  But this plans and rules must change often, because it should be adapted at any time. But, most teachers have dreamed of working without curriculum.

In my case, I finished my degree the last year, and I’m not working in a school, but now I’m working by myself giving private lessons to children from 6 to 13 years old, and I’m not working following the curriculum. In the one hand I help them in the school homework, but In the other hand, when we have finished the school tasks, I teach them new things using their own environment, that is to say, for example I’m trying to teach English, but I don’t want to work with school books or something like that, I just prepare exercises and games about their personal life. If I want to teach the family, the pupil and I have to draw a family tree writing the name of the members of their family. When it finished we write together the name of the family in English. That’s easier for them to understanding the new vocabulary.

Finally, I have to assess their learning. I don’t do tests for them, although I prepare a different kind of assessment, because I don’t have to deliver any report to the administration of education, I just have to worry that the child has really learned. How I do it? This depends on the each child, but in most cases, I ask them to explain to me as if I were a student, and if they explain it well -the way they prefer- then I know they have understood. Besides, the most effective way to acquire learning is teaching, because following the CLIL Enduring understanding, we learn 95% of what we teach someone else.

Using ELP in the primary school: Advantages and disadvantages

 

Talking about The European Language Portfolio and its application in primary schools, first of all we need to know what is it, and then analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using this language tool in our groups, on the primary school in my personal case.

European Language Portfolio (ELP) is a personal document of a learner. In this document learners of all ages can record their language learning and cultural experiences at school or outside school. There are a lot of different kinds of these portfolios.

It allows learners to collect together certificates, attestations and good pieces of work to document and inform others about their learning achievements. Learners can also use a portfolio to describe, reflect on and plan their learning process, and then they can improve their learning strategies.

There are a lot of advantages using ELP especially in primary education, because this tool allows to record what you can do in languages, including your mother tongue and what you have learnt well and what you need to study more, also it’s available to understand what you need to learn so that you can join in all the classes and activities in your school and you can to organize your work so that you can use it to remind yourself about what you have already learnt. The only disadvantage there, the ELP might be a little difficult to apply in some groups where the teacher doesn’t know well this tool.

And that’s not all, furthermore the ELP has advantages for Teachers and parents, the students know what they should learn the English that they need for other school subjects and the teacher and the parents could know what they are able to do in English or in any language. And this could help the teacher for planning what students need to learn and the parents could know how they’re progressing in learning languages.

In conclusion, the millions of young people who live in those countries share many experiences and interests, but also have different languages, cultures and histories.

The ELP is designed to help you learn new languages and understand new aims to help you to understand and respect other people and the things that make them different.

MY FAVOURITE TEACHER

MY FAVOURITE TEACHER

When I was a kid I had loved my primary teacher in sixth year, but thinking about it, my favourite teacher was not only one but it has been a set of best features of each. And then, the union of these features have created my favourite teaching

There are many people who have guided me in the right direction since childhood, and it is right to talk about the qualities of each one of them and not just one person. Because each of them have made the best of myself.

From the beginning, as me as a pupil, I thought my ideal teacher who taught us was that we had fun and that was the first quality that for me was a good teacher, but with time and my experience, these qualities have been created new ones in my mind, and in my view, nowadays this ideal teacher is someone aware of everything going on in the classroom, teaches discover learning for oneself, however, does not transmit information about something you do not know directly, but helps to know the unknown in an easy, simple, pleasant and above all close to the students themselves.

Finally, the teacher has a fundamental role in the education of students, and that students will be heirs to what the teacher taught and transmitted, and therefore, the teacher, with parents going to be two essential pillars that will mark a child's development and all of them have been creating my favourite teaching.

In conclusion, if a teacher has a vocation and is happy doing what he does will be cheerful and happy, and therefore he shall transmit joy and happiness to their students, that after all I think the most important thing in life is to be happy and this may be the best way to teach.