CLIL

Content and Language Integrated Learning

What is CLIL?

CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning, i.e. teaching academic content in a foreign language (more specifically, in English) at the same time as integrating aspects of language teaching.

The CLIL methodology is fully supported by the UMONS authorities. As such, the UMONS teaching staff are strongly encouraged to teach in English and are armed with pedagogical support. The CLIL team trains and supports content teachers using several aspects of the CLIL methodology, which covers developing teaching activities, editing teaching material, and assessing students’ progress in English.

The CLIL methodology is based on a ​dual approach:

In a CLIL class, content and language are equally important. This does not mean that the teacher is a language expert, but they use the language of instruction to facilitate students’ learning. This is made possible by working with language teachers and pedagogical advisers. Collaborations can take multiple forms, for example, vocabulary building, classroom language input, communicative competences ranging from presenting, to describing a graph, and academic writing.

The CLIL approach is extremely conducive to active learning.