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Content and Language Integrated Learning, Professional English, and the Future of ELT

Once upon a time - and readers reaching retirement age will remember this - car tyres were flimsy things that used to puncture quite a lot. Aided by advances in technology, the tyre industry went on to create robust products that lasted much longer, so that people rarely had to replace burst tyres. In doing so, they nearly went bankrupt, because they obviously sold a lot fewer tyres. The analogy might be a bit forced, but what would happen if the English teaching profession were more successful? If most school-leavers around the world already spoke English, would there be any need for the ELT industry as we know it? There are good reasons to doubt it.

Until quite recently, in many countries, English was taught at secondary school as a foreign language. Unlike the 'ELF' approach - which conceives of English as a lingua franca to be used among non-native speakers, rather than for communication with native speakers, 'EFL' is about learning a foreign language. So with EFL the learner is by definition an outsider, a foreigner trying to imitate native speaker-like pronunciation, and often learning about the culture and literature and the society of native speakers. Consequently - and inevitably - EFL produces high levels of failure, and the traditional private sector young adult EFL market basically exists to rectify some of these failings.

However, today fewer young people are failing to learn English at school. English is increasingly being seen as a generic learning skill, alongside basic literacy, maths and IT, rather than a foreign language. Various 'expanding circle' countries - those without any colonial links with anglophone countries - including Columbia, Chile and Mongolia, have announced plans to become 'fully bilingual' within a generation. University degree courses in many European countries, especially at the Master's level - are increasingly being taught in English, so learners need a high level of English - ideally IELTS level 6.0 or 6.5 - in order to enter university. In the past, most European university students didn't even exit at that level. This was because 6 years of secondary school English (600-700 contact hours) generally led to IELTS level 4.0 at best.

The coming of CLIL

There are two ways to achieve higher levels of proficiency in English at school. One is to introduce English language learning at an early age, preferably around 6, which is already happening in many European countries. But even if the language is introduced at primary level, there is insufficient space for English in the secondary school timetable to enable learners to reach a level that would enable them to study at university in English. Another solution is to teach other subjects in English. This practice has come to be known as 'Content and Language Integrated Learning' or CLIL, in which one or more curriculum subjects are taught and learnt through the medium of a language which is still being learned. Or to put it another way, English is learned through the study of a specialist subject. Either subject teachers teach entirely in English, or English teachers add content to their classes.

CLIL has numerous advantages: it is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning; learners may be more motivated if the focus is on natural language and inherently interesting content that is relevant to their other studies, rather than the language itself (grammar, functions, structures); learners are learning as they use the language, and using it as they learn, rather than learning now to use later or learning now to pass an exam. Some learners who struggle with grammar-focused exercises flourish when using CLIL materials. There is a focus on fluency and accuracy is seen as subordinate as errors are a natural part of language learning. Learners are expected to develop fluency in English by using it to communicate for a variety of purposes, and to become proficient in English after 5-7 years in a good bilingual programme

The disappearing English teacher

So far, so good. But there is a major issue for English teachers. CLIL either requires the language teacher to become the subject teacher too, or requires bilingual subject teachers who have been trained to develop language skills. For the sake of the language teaching profession, it is to be hoped that the former occurs widely, because if English teaching begins to focus on content subjects, the only general secondary school English teachers left will be working with pupils struggling with the language. David Graddol has warned that "The 'steady state' that will emerge - perhaps as soon as 15 years' time - is one in which beginning and intermediate English is being taught only to younger students who, by the time they reach secondary education, will be needing more advanced, subject-specific language development. The need for specialist English teachers will decline rapidly - from university level downwards." [1]

Other commentators are less optimistic about CLIL, suggesting that in the case of many learners, it is likely to lead to language problems, as not everyone will be able to master a subject simply by reading about it in English. CLIL could also be the cause of educational failure, as learners are denied entry to BA or MA programmes because of their level of English. Time, as ever, will tell whether CLIL revolutionises language teaching and learning.

English for specific purposes

But if secondary school English teachers will perhaps become an endangered species, what about people teaching English for business and other specific purposes? Their future is surely brighter. For one thing, there are likely to be a lot of learners who will still need professional English: the English of finance, accounting, marketing, engineering, medicine, law, etc. is unlikely to be part of the school curriculum. And secondly 'ESP' teachers are already, by definition, integrating content with language learning. They also know that material used in the classroom is still only a 'vehicle' for the language, and the teacher doesn't need to know everything about the subject. Teachers can learn as they teach, and students can sometimes teach the teacher. Learners may be able to explain things about a topic while the teacher helps them with the English needed to talk about these ideas. In the acknowledgements to one my books I wrote "I have to thank my students in Lausanne ... from whom I learnt quite a lot about business." [2] And I meant it!

'Hybrid' materials: language and content

Fortunately for language teachers, there are "hybrid" teaching materials which, while focusing on professional subject matter, practise the relevant language. For example, Cambridge University Press has the Professional English in Use series, including volumes on Finance, Marketing, Medicine, Law, and ICT (Information and Communication Technology). While 'pure' CLIL is a shift in focus from language to content, the Professional English in Use series focuses on both content and language. As with all the In Use books, the left-hand page introduces content, and the right-hand page consists of comprehension and vocabulary exercises practising the language and concepts (rather than grammar) presented on the left. There is also an Over to you section allowing learners to relate the concepts, words and expressions to their own professional situation, studies and opinions.

Cambridge University Press has also just published my English for the Financial Sector, which mixes financial content (reading and listening material about banking, accounting, trade finance, foreign exchange, stocks, bonds, derivatives, asset management, mergers and acquisitions, and financial regulation) with work on various language functions, and units on business communication skills (telephoning, socialising, writing emails, letters and reports, meetings, negotiations and presentations). The Teacher's Book includes 'Background briefings' designed to provide further information about finance, but teachers are still likely to find that some in-service learners will know more than they do about their speciality. Which is as it should be: unlike schoolchildren, university students and practising professionals are expected to know something about their chosen subject before they enter the classroom. Teaching ESP - or English for business, or English for the financial sector, or professional English in use - is a special form of CLIL in which the learners, just as much as the course material, can be considered as a resource. ESP teachers probably have a happier future in front of them than secondary school English teachers who until now have not been used to teaching other subjects at the same time.