| dc.description.abstract | We are entering a new era in which it is an undeniable that foreign
language (FL) learning is incredibly important due to globalization. Educational
systems are well aware and are committed to improve students’ FL proficiency.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) appears in this context as an
innovative approach to foster multilingualism around Europe, since it is believed
to help improve FL competence. CLIL entails the integration of a foreign
language in the school curriculum as language of instruction with the dualfocused
educational approach for the learning and teaching of both content and
language. Research has mainly focused on CLIL’s impact on FL competence, but
the number of studies done in multilingual contexts in which more than two
languages coexist is insignificant (Merino & Lasagabaster, 2015). The
coexistence of three languages in the curriculum is something increasingly
common: the majority language coexists with a minority language (whether it is
the vernacular language, in the case of bilingual communities, or as the L1 of
immigrant children), and the foreign language. Throughout this dissertation we
will refer to English as the FL since it is the most popular around Europe, due to
its global importance. The overall aim of this dissertation is to examine the effect
of CLIL on the learning of three languages and the general effect of its
implementation in a bilingual school. Research has shown CLIL’s benefits in FL
competence, but there is little attention paid to students’ other languages. The
conclusions developed in this dissertation state that neither the minority
language (L1) nor the majority (L2) is negatively affected by the implementation
of CLIL and a foreign language (L3), even if students were less exposed to L1 and
L2 in the school setting. It was also of interest to discover the attitudes of
students and teachers in a trilingual school in which CLIL has been
implemented. Thus we also analyze the linguistic attitudes that arise from this
coexistence of languages. | |
