Course description

A focused professional learning journey.

CLIL succeeds when subject understanding and language development are planned together. Learners need access to demanding ideas, explicit support for the language of the subject and frequent opportunities to think aloud, collaborate and produce meaningful communication.

This course combines the 4Cs framework with practical multilingual pedagogy. Participants analyse language demands, adapt authentic materials, design interaction and build assessment that distinguishes developing language from subject misunderstanding.

Who is this course for?

Primary, secondary and vocational teachers teaching content through an additional language.

Education settingsSchool, VET, adult and non-formal learning Prior experienceNo specialist expertise unless stated RecommendedBring a laptop or tablet where possible

Course objectives

Plan integrated content and language outcomes
Identify vocabulary, language functions and discourse demands
Scaffold input without simplifying subject thinking
Use home languages as cognitive and identity resources
Create interaction that develops language and understanding
Assess content fairly while supporting language growth

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Write balanced content and language objectives
Create a language-demand analysis for a lesson
Adapt a subject resource with layered scaffolds
Design purposeful multilingual interaction
Build formative and summative assessment criteria
Deliver and refine a CLIL lesson sequence

Detailed 5-day programme

Fifteen connected modules, from understanding to confident application.

Day 1

CLIL Foundations and the Multilingual Lens

Module 01

Content, Communication, Cognition and Culture

Use the 4Cs to analyse a lesson and avoid two common extremes: subject teaching with no language support, or language practice with little subject depth.

Module 02

Multilingualism as a Learning Resource

Explore strategic use of home languages for planning, comparison, concept building and identity while maintaining purposeful additional-language development.

Module 03 · Applied workshop

Language-Demand Analysis Lab

Unpack the vocabulary, grammar, text structures and interaction required by a subject task and distinguish conceptual difficulty from avoidable language barriers.

Practical outcome: CLIL lesson diagnostic and learner-language map

Day 2

The Language of Learning

Module 04

Vocabulary, Functions and Discourse

Identify not only key words but also the language learners need to compare, hypothesise, justify, classify and construct subject-specific explanations.

Module 05

Scaffolding Comprehensible Input

Use visuals, modelling, graphic organisers, examples, chunking and teacher talk to make demanding content navigable.

Module 06 · Applied workshop

Multimodal Input Redesign Workshop

Adapt an authentic subject resource with visuals, modelling, glossaries and comprehension support while preserving disciplinary accuracy and challenge.

Practical outcome: Language-demand analysis and scaffold set

Day 3

Interaction, Cognition and Learner Output

Module 07

Designing Talk That Builds Understanding

Create information gaps, structured pair work, collaborative reasoning and sentence support that give every learner a reason and a route to speak.

Module 08

Moving From Supported to Independent Production

Sequence rehearsal, joint construction, feedback and independent response while gradually removing language scaffolds.

Module 09 · Applied workshop

Scaffolded Interaction Micro-Teaching

Facilitate a short task using structured talk, wait time, sentence support and purposeful grouping, then evaluate who produced meaningful language.

Practical outcome: Interaction and learner-output sequence

Day 4

Materials, Culture and Fair Assessment

Module 10

Adapting Authentic Subject Resources

Modify density, layout, task and support rather than removing the valuable content. Include culturally varied examples and perspectives.

Module 11

Assessing Content and Language Transparently

Clarify what is being assessed, use multiple evidence sources and give feedback that separates subject understanding from language development.

Module 12 · Applied workshop

Fair Multilingual Assessment Clinic

Design criteria and evidence routes that distinguish content understanding from language proficiency and make strategic space for learners’ full linguistic repertoire.

Practical outcome: Adapted resource and balanced assessment tool

Day 5

CLIL Micro-Teaching Studio

Module 13

Assembling the Dual-Focused Lesson

Connect objectives, input, cognitive challenge, interaction, scaffolding and assessment in one coherent sequence.

Module 14

Teach, Observe and Improve

Deliver a short segment, collect observation evidence about learner thinking and language opportunity, then revise the design.

Module 15 · Applied workshop

CLIL Learning Sequence Studio

Create, teach and peer-review an integrated sequence with aligned content and language goals, scaffolds, interaction and formative assessment.

Practical outcome: Complete CLIL lesson sequence

The sequence and examples may be fine-tuned after the pre-course needs analysis. The published learning outcomes and 30 teaching hours remain unchanged.

Teaching and learning methods

The course uses active professional learning. Short conceptual inputs are followed by investigation, creation, testing, feedback and reflection connected to each participant’s own educational context.

Language-demand analysisMaterial adaptationScaffold stationsInteraction rehearsalMultilingual task designCLIL micro-teaching

Your course product

A complete CLIL lesson sequence with dual objectives, language analysis, scaffolded materials, interaction tasks and balanced assessment.

European relevance

The course translates European priorities and competence frameworks into practical educational and institutional action.

Erasmus+ priorities

Inclusion and diversityTreating linguistic diversity as a learning resource and reducing language-related barriers to subject participation.
Participation in democratic lifeSupporting intercultural dialogue, plurilingual identity and confident communication across languages and communities.
Support for education staffDeveloping teachers’ ability to plan integrated content and language learning and assess multilingual learners fairly.
Quality and innovation in educationCombining subject depth, language development, cognition and culture in coherent learning design.

EU competence frameworks and reference instruments

Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languagesPromoting language awareness, multilingual competence and effective language learning across education.
Key Competences for Lifelong LearningRecognising multilingual competence and its relationship with literacy, citizenship, cultural awareness and learning to learn.
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)Providing a widely used European reference for language use, mediation, interaction and plurilingual competence.
European Language LabelEncouraging innovative, inclusive and transferable practice in language teaching and learning.
LifeCompSupporting collaboration, empathy, communication and reflective learning in linguistically diverse groups.

Assessment, validation and follow-up

Learning is evidenced through active participation, daily practical outcomes, peer and trainer feedback, the final course product and an individual transfer commitment. Participants receive a Certificate of Attendance. Learning Agreement and Europass Mobility support is available when required.

CLIL and Multilingual Classrooms