CLIL or “just good teaching” in Kazakhstan?

Abstract

CLIL is an approach in which an additional language is used to teach non-language subjects in the curriculum. Despite the fact that this approach has been implemented for more than two decades, there is still a dearth of research on CLIL pedagogies. This article reports on results of research into the implementation of CLIL in an elite school in Kazakhstan, which provides instruction to gifted students in three languages. The research examined teachers’ practices of CLIL with the focus on the design of CLIL lessons, the way to integrate language focus, comprehension support as well as strategies for promoting interaction among students. The findings of the study indicate that teachers tended to perceive CLIL as just teaching through an additional language. Even if they implemented CLIL strategies, they did not always realize they were using them or did not attribute those techniques to CLIL. This may suggest that most of the strategies and methods recommended for quality CLIL implementation are common to good teaching practices not necessarily specific to CLIL.