Students’ content learning in Science in CLIL vs non-CLIL classes in Greece

Abstract

The recent introduction of CLIL instruction in some Greek state schools has given rise to concerns voiced by parents – and sometimes educators as well – regarding students’ ability to learn content in or through an L2. The fear is that students’ low proficiency in L2 will inhibit full understanding of the content and eventually will impact negatively on subject competence. Although there are several studies in the impact of various types of bilingual education programs on students’ L2 development, research in their impact on content learning is scarce (see Murphy et al., 2020). Our study aims to contribute to this research by examining 3rd grade students’ performance in Science when this is taught through English as L2. The main objective is to assess if students learning Science through the L2 (English) will outperform their peers studying the same content in Greek (L1) as regards content acquision. The participants of this study are 90 pupils in grade 3 – 46 CLIL students and 44 non CLIL students. Two Science tests are used to assess students’ performance and the two cohorts are compared on the basis of their scores in those tests. The main finding is quite encouraging for parents and educators alike, as the two cohorts’ performance is very similar in both tests; this indicates that CLIL instruction does not impact negatively on students’ content acquisition and that CLIL programs can support not only L2 instruction but also content knowledge.