Introducing CLIL Modules to Primary School Learners

Abstract

The first steps in bilingual education are often taken in schools by introducing CLIL modules in content subjects. The present study is a longitudinal mixed methods study that explores the perspectives of all relevant stakeholders as well as the learning and teaching perspective at a German primary school that has introduced English CLIL modules. Data was gathered from questionnaires with parents after a year of CLIL instruction (n=120), learner questionnaires (n=240), teacher interviews (n=7), transcribed lessons, as well as parts of a large-scale test that was used for learners at the end of year 4 (n=63), which is the end of primary school in the German context. The data were triangulated in order to make inferences about the perspectives of the different stakeholders in a teaching development process that affects the entire school.