From Theory to Practice: Integrating CLIL in the Classroom – December 7 @ 10:00
This event explored the theory and practice of Content and Language Integrated Learning across diverse educational settings. Presenters highlighted their own experiences with CLIL, and demonstrated how it supports students in such concerns as language development, learner engagement, critical thinking, and disciplinary understanding.
- Date: 7 December, 2025 @ 10:00
- Location: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Shimogamo Campus, Building 8 (Inamori Memorial Hall), Room 209
- Languages: English
- Remote option: Not available
- Fee: ¥1,000 (free for all JALT members)
Schedule
subject to change
Abstracts
Implementing CLIL at Kyoto International School (KIS)
Mariz Jean Solano – Kyoto International School
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) provides an ideal framework for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP). At Kyoto International School (KIS), an IB World School in Japan, the English as an Additional Language (EAL) program was redesigned to align with CLIL principles. EAL lessons are no longer taught as standalone units, instead, they are interwoven into the IB PYP curriculum so that both language and conceptual understanding are developed through inquiry-based learning.
Language lessons are taught within meaningful and authentic contexts across the Units of Inquiry (UoI). For example, in a unit on Sharing the Planet, students learn to use singular and plural nouns, verbs, and cause-and-effect conjunctions. By aligning EAL lessons with inquiry themes, EAL teachers provide grade-level appropriate lessons that enhance language relevance and retention. Vocabulary development is deliberately scaffolded across three tiers: everyday words, academic language, and subject-specific terms. These curricular changes improved emergent bilinguals’ conceptual clarity, linguistic agency, and higher-order thinking. Research indicates that such integration strengthens learners’ cognitive engagement, fluency, and cross-curricular transfer of skills (Banegas, 2015; TESOL International Association, 2019). This model demonstrates how inquiry and language learning can enhance both content knowledge and language knowledge.
Mariz Jean Solano is an experienced international educator specializing in multilingual learning, English as an Additional Language (EAL), and inclusive student support. She currently serves as a Primary Years Programme (PYP) Teacher and EAL Coordinator at Kyoto International School, a role she has held since 2021. Before moving to Kyoto, she worked as EAL Coordinator at Xinhua Academy and spent four years at Tokyo YMCA International School as an EAL Specialist and Learning Support Teacher. Her earlier teaching journey includes serving as a Global English Teacher with Peace Boat and as a Language Teacher with Interac Co. Ltd., giving her a strong foundation in diverse instructional settings across Japan and beyond. In addition to her professional roles, Mariz is actively engaged in the wider educational community, serving as a Council Member of the Multilingual Learning Research Center and as the Japan Chapter Coordinator for English Language Learning Specialists in Asia (ELLSA). Her work reflects a deep commitment to fostering equitable, language-inclusive learning environments for students from varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
CLIL in Secondary School English Education: Identifying opportunities, promoting engagement
Gordon Ross Danford – Mie University
CLIL is often discussed in the context of foreign language immersion programmes, bilingual education, and English as Medium of Instruction (EMI). There is a perception that students need a high level of L2 ability in order to make the most of content learning in their second language. This presentation promotes the idea that CLIL concepts can be integrated into English instruction at the junior high school and high school levels in Japan. In addition, it identifies elements in the latest revisions of MEXT-approved English textbooks which offer opportunities to incorporate CLIL style learning activities, providing opportunities for students to use English to meaningfully engage with a range of topics and creating learner agency which in turn increases motivation. Examples from the New Horizon series for junior high schools and Power On series for high school, both published by Tokyo Shoseki, will be discussed, and examples of classroom activities and projects that leverage CLIL methodology will be presented.
Gordon Ross Danford has been working in English language education in Japan for more than twenty years. He has taught at all levels of the Japanese education system, and is currently a member of the English Education Department at the Mie University Faculty of Education.
CLIL in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: An exploration of theoretical and pedagogical synthesis possibilities
Michael Griffiths – Kwansei Gakuin University
Vygotskyan socio-cultural theory has often been viewed as a core theoretical underpinning of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010; Gabillon, 2020). CLIL classrooms and materials seek to foster interaction and utilize scaffolding whilst attending to learners’ zone of proximal development (Mahan, 2023). While teacher-student and student-student dyads typify CLIL interaction, the entrance of artificial intelligence (AI) into education creates new and unique possibilities. One tool garnering heavy interest is AI chatbots, with researchers highlighting how they could contribute to “presenting educational material, stimulating dialogue, [and] providing feedback to students” (Mageira et al., 2022). However, accounts of how they might be incorporated into CLIL settings are lacking, particularly in Japanese higher education settings. Via a socio-cultural lens, this exploratory study begins by conceptualizing how this fusion could be achieved whilst aligning with the theoretical and pedagogical tenets of CLIL. A course from a Japanese undergraduate setting that combines CLIL and an AI chatbot will be described followed by learner interactions with the technology. Observations and insights from these will be viewed from an interaction and scaffolding standpoint. The session will end with a discussion of possibilities and pitfalls when introducing AI chatbots into CLIL settings.
Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). CLIL: Content and language integrated learning. New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024549
Gabillon, Z. (2020). Revisiting CLIL : Background, pedagogy , and theoretical underpinnings. Contextes et Didactiques, 15(April), 88–116. https://doi.org/10.4000/ced.1836
Mageira, K., Pittou, D., Papasalouros, A., Kotis, K., Zangogianni, P., & Daradoumis, A. (2022). Educational AI Chatbots for Content and Language Integrated Learning. Applied Sciences, 12(7), 3239. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12073239
Mahan, K. R. (2023). Instructional scaffolding in CLIL: An overview of theory and research. In A. Llinares & T. Morton (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Content and Language Integrated Learning (pp. 284–298). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003173151-24
Michael has over twenty years’ experience working in language education at schools and universities in Japan and Australia. His roles have included language teaching, course design, program management, and implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). His research interests focus on CLIL in Japanese university settings, with a focus on course and materials design. Michael is currently an Associate Lecturer of English in the School of Policy Studies at Kwansei Gakuin University.
Implementing CLIL in a Medical English Course: Balancing Test Preparation and Language Development
Dr. Dominic G. Edsall – Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
This presentation reports on an intensive Medical English course for 4th year medical students a few months prior to their national CBT and OSCE tests. Students showed large differences in English proficiency and limited medical vocabulary, while needing motivational support. The course was redesigned using a CLIL approach that integrated clinically authentic content, explicit language support, and test-oriented tasks, with the assistance of medical doctors acting as teaching assistants.
Lessons focused on common CBT/OSCE themes such as history-taking, physical examination, diagnostic reasoning, and patient education. Each lesson specified content and language objectives and used adapted case scenarios, doctor–patient dialogues, medical notes, and guideline-based readings. Tasks progressed from comprehension and guided noticing of key lexis and structures to role-plays, and mini-case conferences.
Medical doctor teaching assistants supported disciplinary understanding, clarified clinical reasoning, and served as role models, increasing students’ motivation and engagement. The presentation will show how this CLIL design supported language development, critical thinking, and exam readiness in a mixed-ability cohort, and will outline practical principles for implementing CLIL in high-stakes medical education.
Dr. Dominic G. Edsall is an Assistant Professor at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and an Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow at the UCL Institute of Education. His work spans language, curriculum, assessment design, quality assurance, and institutional accreditation in health professions and higher education. At UCL, his research focuses on applications of artificial intelligence and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to support teacher development and learning. He has designed and taught courses in medical English, clinical communication, and academic skills. His interests include CLIL-informed approaches, mixed-ability support, and innovative technology-enhanced learning in global and multilingual educational contexts.
Location
The Kamigamo Campus (Imamori Memorial Hall) is located south of the Kitayama Station, beyond the Kyoto Concert Hall, behind the Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives building.
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