After listening with great interest to the discussions about Content Language Integrated Learning at the Professional Development conference last Saturday, I had my own first experience of CLIL teaching this week. I was asked, at very short notice, to step in and give a 2 1/2 day presentations skills seminar at a local university. Sure, no problem! I said. I currently run an in-company "Presenting in English" workshop. Adapting the material for this assignment should be no problem.
What I discovered was that my Presenting in English material was, pretty much, directly useable for straight presenting skills. Good to know that my English learners are benefitting from a strong emphasis on this essential skill. For me personally, the refreshing aspect was being able to focus solely on the presenting skills. Taking the emphasis off language issues was great!
Naturally, when the job is to focus more on the language than the specific presentation skills, I give my all to do that. What I discovered in the CLIL situation was how refreshing it was to pull back and monitor the overall effect the presenter had on the audience. The English teacher in me did hear the minor linguistic errors, occasional mis-pronunciations etc., but I could let them go and concentrate on the most interesting aspects: body language, voice power, presenter interaction, visual aids useage, power point impact and overall effect on the audience.
The students found it considerably more difficult using English to do something a number of them already felt confident doing. We agreed up front that our focus was not on their English skills - nor would they be marked down for any language-related mistakes. This took a certain amount of pressure off them! They also acknowledged the benefit of making the extra effort to work in English; most expected to have to present in English in the near future in order to get internship places or jobs.
It turned out to be a very positive few days for both myself and the students. They said they had enjoyed the hands-on practise and personal feedback on their presenting styles. I experienced first hand how CLIL works and the advantages having a teaching English background can have when working in an international environment such as a European business school. Most especially, I enjoyed doing what I do with a different emphasis - it felt a little like a holiday, to not focus solely on English! Integrating content and language seems like a logical and sensible step forward to me. I will certainly be doing more of it!
