Overseas Teachers’ Course 03 – CLIL

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(Grundtvig Database Reference No. IE-2012-234-001)

Alpha College is an approved training centre for the ACELS/NQAI Certificate in English Language Teaching (CELT) and has a staff of highly qualified, experienced and motivated teacher trainers who train prospective ELT teachers year-round. They are also practising teachers of English, experienced in using up-to-date methods with learners at all levels of language learning. In addition Alpha College has been providing refresher courses for teachers from overseas for the last 12 years.

These courses are registered on the Grundtvig/Comenius database – please visit http://ec.europa.eu/education/trainingdatabase/

Format:

This Overseas Teachers’ Course is a two-week course consisting of 40 contact hours plus an extensive cultural and social programme which is directly linked to the morning sessions.

Objectives:

The primary objectives of the course are to familiarise the participants with key concepts and issues in CLIL and develop their skills in teaching subjects through English. The impact on teaching of recent pedagogical developments including developments in classroom technology will be examined. This is a practical course which focuses on the application of CLIL within the context of the European Profile for Language Teacher Education and the CEFR. The programme further aims to establish contacts between teachers from a variety of European backgrounds and facilitate future networking.

Methodology:

The input sessions are a blend of lecture format and practical activities based on CLIL methodology. These sessions cover a variety of school subjects including geography, history, science and art with a focus on methods of making the subjects accessible to learners through English. Throughout the course, participants are encouraged to reflect on their own practice, consider alternative practices and try out a variety of classroom activities through lesson planning, workshops and presentations. The theoretical principles underpinning CLIL will be examined in such a way that they will be applicable to practice at primary and secondary level. The morning sessions are complemented and reinforced by a series of related afternoon activities where the participants are encouraged to develop their language skills in a more informal environment outside the classroom.

Follow-up:

On the final day of the course, the participants make presentations they have prepared during the course suited to the levels and subjects they teach and engage in a reflection session in which they are encouraged to examine benefits gained from the course and complete a course evaluation form. They are encouraged to keep contact via email and private social networking. Follow-up contact is made with the participants one, three and six months after course completion to gather feedback on the effectiveness of the classroom activities presented. The trainers are available for follow-up advice and support at all times.

Course Dates:

20/08/2012 (or by arrangement for closed groups)

Course Fees:

Programme including materials, excursions and activities €760

Administration:

€65

Host Family Accommodation

single room, half board €340 (October – June) €370 (July and August)

Airport Transfers

(optional) arrival €70; departure€70

Programme

Day one:

  • Induction and introduction to course.
  • Communicative activity to integrate course participants.
  • City orientation and sourcing of authentic materials.

Day two

  • The development of theory and methodology in language learning-the genesis of CLIL.
  • What is CLIL? Key concepts, definitions and types of CLIL. Sample CLIL geography lesson.
  • Visit to an educational bookshop and sourcing of materials.

Day three

  • Lesson planning and CLIL-key features of a CLIL lesson.
  • Sample CLIL Irish history lesson.
  • National Museum. Relating fieldwork to class work and sourcing authentic materials.

Day four

  • Teaching subjects through English-looking at the necessary classroom language.
  • Using reading texts in CLIL-integrating language skills and developing content, communicative, cognitive and cultural skills.
  • Guinness Storehouse-describing industrial processes. Sourcing authentic materials for workshop.

Day five

  • Designing materials using web tools.
  • Workshop: Designing a CLIL science lesson using web tools and collected materials.
  • National Print Museum-planning field trips for projects.

Day six

  • Using listening texts in CLIL-integrating language skills and developing content, communicative, cognitive and cultural skills.
  • Using newspaper reports for CLIL. Reports for content. Language analysis of reports.
  • Dublin Writers’ Museum. Sourcing materials.

Day seven

  • ICT and CLIL-using wikis and blogs.
  • Workshop-designing a CLIL lesson using wikis and blogs.
  • National Gallery. Sourcing materials for developing speaking skills.

Day eight

  • AM: CLIL art lesson-using art to develop speaking skills.
  • Learner autonomy and CLIL. The relevance of CLIL to the development of Learner Autonomy, the CEFR, the European Portfolio for Language Learners.
  • PM: The Irish experience-CLIL and the Irish language.

Day nine

  • AM: Developing the writing skill-project work and process writing in the CLIL context.
  • Film in the classroom-practical applications for CLIL.
  • PM: Visit to educational establishment

Day ten

  • AM: Presentations of participants’ projects.
  • Course review and evaluation. Implications for future practice. Establishment of base and guidelines for future contact and networking.