Welcome to CLIL: CPD for MFL Teachers

CLIL approaches and methodologies offer both MFL teachers and their students an exciting opportunity to explore language learning in a new and exciting way. PPLI offers training and other supports to MFL teachers wishing to upskill in CLIL pedagogy. 

Please note that Training for CLIL 2020 is FULL. Please look out for updates of further training in 2021. 

Why do the training?

This CPD opportunity allows MFL teachers to add additional skills and competencies to their existing teaching and learning repertoire. CLIL can also be a great opportunity to enhance a teacher’s target language competency and also cultural knowledge. The impact of CLIL on students is also well-documented across the world showing that as a result of CLIL approaches students are more engaged in language learning.

Why not watch our short introductory video to CLIL for MFL teachers through PPLI?

Who is the CPD aimed at?

This CPD is aimed at both experienced and novice CLIL practitioners. This training adopts a Community of Practice model throughout meaning that the knowledge, experience and existing skills of those involved in the CPD can contribute to all participants’ learning.

What are the learning outcomes of the CPD?

Having completed this CPD, teachers will:

• have a basic understanding of the theoretical principals underpinning CLIL pedagogy and how to apply these in practice;
• be able to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of CLIL in the classroom;
• be able to plan CLIL learning sequences and individual lessons following an integrated skills approach that combines learning outcomes for content, communication, cognition and culture;
• be able to guide students to develop their language competency in the context of the content for different purposes;
• be able to develop learning sequences from authentic input (e.g. texts) and scaffold that learning appropriately according to linguistic demands;
• be able to use a variety of formative and summative assessment approaches to evaluate student progress in content, language and other ‘soft’ skills;
• contribute to professional discussions surrounding CLIL practice both face-to-face and online

What is the format of the training and how much time will it take?

The training consists of: 2 x 1 hour online webinars; Two face-to-face Saturday sessions in July and December 2 Community of Practice meetings in September and November (optional; location based on participant locations) Ongoing participation in a Virtual Community of Practice via Social Media (optional)

What supports are available to me?

A CLIL Portfolio for all those participating in the training A set of guidelines produced by Ireland-based CLIL teachers for successful implementation in your school. Ongoing personal support from a PPLI Education Officer and PPLI Associate Personal CLIL Competency Self-Evaluation Framework (based on that of the European Centre for Modern Languages) Training resources in the form of webcasts, PowerPoints, key readings Units of learning and resources for 2 CLIL themes (Fair Trade and Well-being) available in all curricular languages to help you deliver CLIL in your schools. Pedagogical Manual of CLIL teaching and learning best practices

Also, why not read our Frequently Asked Questions about CLIL and related CPD

What do I need to do now?

Complete the sign-up form (see below) An important part of the training is that you will need to have a TY class in one of the curricular languages (French, Spanish, Italian or German) that you can teach from September to December to put your CLIL CPD into practice. Speak to your principal/TY coordinator about how you might be able to achieve this. This could either be timetabled at the same time as normal language classes or as a separate class. The option you choose will depend on your school context. If you have any questions, please include them in the application form.

What opportunities are there post-training?

For those that have completed the training, PPLI have produced a support pack for teachers who wish to produce their own units of learning by working with another teacher who is a non-language specialist. Also, we welcome teachers who have participated in the training previously to join our Communities of Practice.