Casal, S. 2008. Cooperative learning in clil contexts: ways to improve students’ competences in the foreign language classroom. IAIE CONFERENCE: Cooperative Learning in Multicultural Societies: Critical reflections. Turin (Italy).
CLIL is a pedagogical project implemented in foreign language learning and which has been subject of global approval because of its many advantages for creating a suitable environment for learning. Research has shown, however, that while comprehension skills (reading and listening) are really boosted in a CLIL environment, this may not be the case of productive skills (speaking and writing). Students seem not to have enough chances to speak or initiate a conversation, affecting their speaking and writing outcomes negatively. Cooperative learning may help enhance CLIL contexts, catering not only for the development of comprehension skills and better reasoning, but also for interaction and communication. Students are given chances both for input reception and output production. This paper will address how teachers can improve their students’ competences in the foreign language classroom by implementing cooperative learning structures in content-based environments.
KEY WORDS: cooperative learning, content and language integrated learning, interaction, negotiation, competences, L2.
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