(Re)conceptualizing “Language” in CLIL: Multimodality, translanguaging and trans-semiotizing in CLIL
Abstract
CLIL focuses on the integration of content learning and additional language learning. However, it is increasingly recognized that the re/presentation and communication of discipline-specific content involve not only language, but also other semiotic modes (such as visuals and gestures). This is accelerated by the advancement of digital technologies and multiplicity of communication channels in recent years. This article points out the urgent need to revisit and reconceptualize the roles of “language” in CLIL. It argues that, to prepare students for the multimodal communication landscape in today’s societies and to truly value their linguistic and semiotic diversity in learning, the “language” dimension in CLIL needs to be reconceptualized as a multimodal dimension, and CLIL classroom practices need to adopt an updated pedagogy of multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996) rather than focusing on “mere language” practice. The article reviews the recent development of theories and studies of multimodality and trans-semiotics and discusses their implications for what to teach and how to teach in today’s CLIL classrooms. It proposes the notions of translanguaging and trans-semiotizing to emphasize a dynamic and dialogic process of meaning (co)making process drawing on multiple linguistic and semiotic resources to enable students to both gain access to and critically engage in meaning/knowledge co-making/co-design. Ultimately, it aims at reconceiving CLIL to contribute to a more equitable school and classroom culture.
Keywords:
Publication history
Table of contents
Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has been described as “a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language” (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010, p. 1). Since its emergence in Europe in the 1990s, CLIL has become a rapidly growing area of research and practice in different parts of the world. In recent years, CLIL has been referred to as an umbrella term to cover a range of bilingual education programs and approaches which involve (varying degrees of) integration of content learning and language learning, such as content-based instruction (CBI), English medium instruction (EMI), English for academic purposes (EAP), and English for specific purposes (ESP) (Cenoz, Genesee, & Gorter, 2014; Dalton-Puffer, Llinares, Lorenzo, & Nikula, 2014; Lin, 2016; Lo, 2020).
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