Your CLIL

Inside Your CLIL

• Attributing

  Describing attributes and characteristics is a basic critical thinking skill in geography and scientific observation. Here, Keith Kelly arms you with the tools to express the characteristics, features, qualities and elements of a range of phenomena, concepts and objects.

• Cause and effect

  Cause and effect is a function of numerous content subject areas. When we talk about the cause of an event, we are referring to ’why’ or ’how’ something happened. When we talk about the effect which is brought about by the event, we are referring to ’what’ happened. Here, Keith Kelly gives a bird’s eye view of the language of cause and effect for different subject areas.

• Classification

  Being able to classify things is vitally important in the study of geography and science. Both subjects categorize a vast wealth of phenomena whilst drawing relationships and underlining differences between groups. Here, Keith Kelly provides the tools to break down information into accessible and manageable chunks.

• Comparisons

  Comparing is one of the ways language allows us to relate things to each other, whether they are places, people, objects or ideas. In CLIL, we can talk about similarity, we can describe differences and we can say things about equality and inequality. Here, Keith Kelly explores some grammatical patterns and structures, plus some useful verbal phrases and specific prefixes in applying comparisons to different subject areas.

• Compounds

  In both geography and science it is very common to see complex ideas containing several words in a string. These sequences of words are useful because they allow you to express concepts containing many ideas in a short space. Learners are likely to need some help ’unpacking’ these individual meanings in order to understand the complex idea.

• Hypothesis

  Hypothesizing, predicting and talking about conditions offers a rich bank of language resources for the CLIL learner. Here, Keith Kelly explores language related to this practice, which frequently incorporates modal verbs for talking about conditions and expressing certainty, probability and possibility.

• Line graphs

  A line graph is a way to summarize how two pieces of information are related and how they vary depending on one another over a period of time. Here, Keith Kelly explores the language that shapes the data presented in terms of number, quantity, time and growth.

• Measuring

  Measurements of size, shape, distance, time and even quality is a broad area of the content language of geography and science. Here, Keith Kelly looks at the more general academic adverbial, noun and adjectival phrases of this function area in both subjects.

• Process

  Geography and science are full of processes and have plenty of procedures. In both subjects we meet all manner of descriptions, e.g. cycles, movements and reactions in geography and presentations on how things grow and how things change from one state to another in science. These and many other topics carry structural patterns which are useful to point out to students.

• Roots

  There are many technical terms in geography and science which have root forms derived from Latin and Greek. Here, Keith Kelly provides two comprehensive lesson plans, each accompanied by a list of root words to help students develop an awareness of word formation and, at the same time, aid comprehension of technical terminology.

• Change

  In both geography and science, students need to talk about positive and negative growth, and make predictions and expectations about change. Here, Keith Kelly provides two comprehensive lesson plans, each accompanied by a list of words related to change and interaction, to help students build key phrases and, at the same time, aid comprehension of technical terminology.

• Explanations

  It is important to be able to ask and answer questions and give and understand explanations in geography and science as in any curriculum subject. Here, Keith Kelly looks at questions and explanations in their various forms.

• Generalizations

  Making generalizations is a common function of geographical and scientific language. Here, Keith Kelly provides two comprehensive lesson plans, each accompanied by a list of words related to making generalizations, to help students build key phrases and, at the same time, aid comprehension of technical terminology.

• Conclusions and findings

  Recording conclusions and findings is a common feature of geographical and scientific language. Here, Keith Kelly provides two comprehensive lesson plans, each accompanied by a list of words related to conclusions and findings, to help students build key phrases and learn new vocabulary and facts along the way.