Effective CLIL Strategies: Anchoring Knowledge and HOTS

Anchoring to Previous Knowledge

Anchoring to previous knowledge is important because learners' prior knowledge is the starting point for building new learning. Existing knowledge consists of content, language, attitudes, opinions, and experiences related to the topic under study.

The relational links are the glue that fixes learning in memory. The CLIL teacher can intensify the learners' brain connections by promoting the activation of the knowledge that the learners already possess.

Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

The acronym HOTS stands for Higher-Order Thinking Skills. Teachers who ask "higher-order" questions promote learning; these questions require students to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information, rather than simply recalling facts.

Through HOTS, students can:

• Manipulate information and ideas.
• Combine facts and ideas to synthesize, explain, or arrive at a conclusion.
• Solve problems and discover new meanings.
• Become producers of knowledge.
• Develop creative and critical thinking.

How Teachers Can Promote HOTS

Teachers can foster these skills by:

• Creating activities or environments that allow students opportunities to engage in higher-order thinking.
• Using a taxonomy as a checklist.
• Using specific lists of verbs to create activities with that objective: associating, classifying, combining, comparing, condensing, converting, defining, describing, etc.

School-Wide CLIL Implementation and Ikastola

CLIL programs need to be embraced and promoted by the whole school, and not only by individual teachers. They need to be supported by didactic materials that can meet the needs of the students involved.

They must emphasize teacher training, since teaching through a foreign language is much more than simply changing the language of instruction. Results of such programs need to be evaluated to measure whether objectives are met and if the learning benefits are worth the invested energy and resources.

The Importance of Project Work in CLIL Programs

• Integrate language and skills.
• Involve the use of functional language, which is dictated by the topic being investigated or studied.
• Shift away from the "language-driven" approach by presenting and working with English in a natural, realistic context.
• Give children the opportunity to use English beyond the realms of the language class.