English As A Foreign Language

It is a well-known fact, that due to the rapid expansion of the English language worldwide, developing countries, included Chile have promoted the use of modern English as a foreign language in their classrooms.
Learning and using this new language through subjects such as history, geography or others, is what the CLIL (Content and language integrated learning) Approach intends to do, thus opening doors on languages for a broader range of learners, nurturing self-confidence in young learners and those who have not responded well to formal language instruction in general education, providing exposure to the language without requiring extra time in the curriculum, enhancing the learning of languages and other subjects, and developing in the youngsters a positive ‘can do’ attitude towards themselves as language learners.
However, it is my contention that CLIL provides exposure to language, motivates students to learn and to use it and assess the subject content, not their mastering in ‘’grammar’’, but the educational materials (textbooks/coursebooks) would also reflect this approach so as to perform a consequential class.
Firstly, during the past decades of teaching English as a foreign Language in Chile, the CLIL approach has become of serious interest. Some schools have adopted this approach as a way to teach and learn EFL in a more natural way. This approach gives teachers and learners alike the opportunity either to discuss specific content in the foreign language being studied or to practice the foreign language in a content-rich environment. ‘’… being able to communicate in class and beyond the class. This is because the language is a natural communication tool for the community – the society that the learner lives in.’’ in...

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...’s own attitude toward the students’ backgrounds as well as the materials the teacher designs and the resources he/she uses.

In conclusión, Understanding history and culture in English and being able to communicate critically in both mother tongue and second language should be to the advantage of the each student and a step forward to a future career. The ideas presented in this writing should guide CLIL teachers in the preparation of their lessons and possibly to show them how to adapt new sources of authentic materials and native language websites. Additionally, working towards motivation needs to be conceived as a process with others through which all actors involved contribute to and benefit from. Finally, the last aim of the CLIL Approach points out developing multilingual interests and attitudes which will aid learners in their labour and professional future.