Contrasting CLIL and Traditional Second Language Acquisition Models: a Case Study in Primary Education.

Abstract

Many claims have been made for CLIL to be beneficial for formal mandatory education and particularly for the acquisition of a second language (Coyle, 2008; Eurydice, 2006; Lasagabaster, 2008; Marsh 2000). When this approach is adopted by teachers in order to teach a content area in a foreign language, traditional second language teaching models based on a more linear and formal structure, such as PPP (presentation, practice, production), are left aside. The choice of the teaching model will influence the student´s learning on both content and second language acquisition. This case study will contrast the results of two methodologies, a CLIL project and a traditional linear unit, when applied into two different groups of Year Five Primary Education students at a Spanish bilingual school.