On board CLIL to outer space: basic Astronomy CLIL lessons in the lower secondary EFL classroom

Konstantina Zavalari, Greece, ID CLIL2016, 703;      In this presentation I am discussing a comprehensive Content and Language Integrated Learning ( CLIL) teaching model I have been trying to develop, which builds on the 4Cs CLIL Framework, but also has a powerful sociolinguistic essence, rooted to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) and Kress and van Leeuwen’s Grammar of Visual Design. The model shares a strong relationship to Llinares, Morton and Whittaker’s CLIL lesson plan, but my focus is mainly visual literacy and its grammatical and social semiotics.

My CLIL teaching model is designed to teach elementary Astronomy to 13-15-year-olds, with a linguistic competence of English from A1+ to B1 in the CEFR scale. It has been developed for the needs of my EFL classes at my school, as an experimental, supplementary teaching tool, but I believe it can be applied to any CLIL class, regardless of the linguistic level of the students or the language taught. As far the content is concerned, the model also seeks the bonds of Mythology and Astronomy, adding a(n) (inter) cultural effect to the approach.

Key words: Systemic Functional Grammar, Grammar of Visual Design, sociocultural theory