‘Definitions did not effectively help my students’: Pre-service teachers’ language modification strategies in Thai language-driven CLIL classrooms

Abstract

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) requires a synthesis of language and content teaching. However, language teachers who are employed to teach CLIL may lack the preparation and knowledge to teach other curriculum subjects. It is therefore necessary to understand how language CLIL teachers make subject-specific language comprehensible to students when they themselves are unfamiliar with subject-specific terms and concepts. However, no research has yet been conducted to explore this in the Thai context. To address this gap, this article presents the findings of a qualitative study exploring pre-service teachers’ use of language modification as negotiation of meaning (NoM) strategies to make accessible subject-specific terms or concepts in the target language to students. Data are drawn from language-driven CLIL classroom video observations and stimulated recall interviews with six pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) at two Thai secondary schools. The findings show that the participants used various language modification strategies, including definitions, elaboration and simplification, recognizing both the affordances and limitations of these strategies. It is concluded that the capacity to flexibly employ a range of strategies, responsive to the content and students’ comprehension is needed for effective language-driven CLIL practice. We offer practical recommendations for language-driven CLIL practice and professional development to enhance teachers’ language awareness and understanding of how language strategies can be used to support NoM in a language-driven CLIL setting.