[ELTWeekly Volume 7, Issue 11 | May 4, 2015 | ISSN 0975-3036]
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to report on a Content and Language Integrated Learning module entitled Sport and Competition within the broader field of the Sociology of Sport. In particular, it presents classroom instructional activities developed over a period of 8 months to guide students to notice and manipulate language in context. The rationale based on Second Language Acquisition Theory behind these is then discussed. It is believed that while on-task, focusing on these activities in the classroom, intentional and incidental learning of the target content-specific language (bricks) and general cross-curricular academic language (mortar) occurs (Dutro & Moran, 2003). In addition, CLIL courses can enable students to become more aware of transferrable academic literacy skills desired for academic study in multiple disciplines. This is particularly significant for first year undergraduates embarking on intensive study, which is the context for this paper. One of the implications of this paper is that teachers of like or other disciplines could gain insights for their own classrooms, and even enter into professional dialogue regarding these. Based on these objectives, this paper will present those tasks facilitated for deconstructing academic expository texts (to prepare for writing) in order to carry out written assignments. The skills taught at the lexico-grammatical level were concordancing; mind mapping and concept mapping; and at the discourse level, argument mapping and analysing persuasive appeal. These were facilitated to prepare students for writing academic genres such as summaries, comparison papers and academic persuasive essays. Participants (6 groups of 12 students over 2 semesters) explicitly stated in their end of course feedback that they saw these skills as highly valuable as they became more aware of the possibility of transferring them across disciplines to their other subject learning