Content and language integrated learning : perceptions of teachers and students in a Hong Kong secondary school

Abstract

With the implementation of the fine-tuned medium of instruction policy in Hong Kong in September 2010, the era of compulsory mother tongue education has come to an end. Compared with a decade ago, more secondary schools are now teaching content subjects in English, a second language to the majority of students. To ensure that this change can enhance students’ English proficiency without sacrificing their academic achievement, the educational initiative Language Across the Curriculum, or more widely known as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), aiming at simultaneous content and language enrichment has been widely advocated by Education Bureau.

As CLIL is a novel approach in Hong Kong and little is known regarding its implementation, this study was conducted to fill this gap by examining the attitudes and beliefs of the major stakeholders towards CLIL. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a secondary school practising CLIL. Questionnaire survey, classroom observations, focus group interviews with students and semi-structured individual interviews with English and content teachers were conducted to elicit (i) students’ and content teachers’ perceived benefits and challenges of CLIL, and (ii) the measures taken or to be taken to facilitate its execution.

The data revealed that CLIL was perceived to bring such benefits as increasing students’ English exposure and reducing their learning anxiety; yet, factors like students’ and content teachers’ lack of English proficiency and the latter’s self-perceived identity as mere content experts seemed to hinder CLIL implementation. To overcome the hurdles, several measures were identified. A case in point is the facilitation of collaboration between English and content teachers. Drawing on the findings, some implications for schools and teachers were suggested and future research directions discussed.