In order to promote the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) program in Tainan, the Office of English as the Second Official Language (OEASOL) of the Tainan City Government teams up with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) to publish Exploring CLIL: A Resource Book. As the world’s first CLIL resource book written for Chinese-speaking communities, the book is expected to serve as a handy guide for teachers interested or involved in promoting bilingual education.  

The book features CLIL theories, teaching techniques and lesson plans developed by scholars and teachers on the frontline, and gives a picture of how the CLIL program is implemented in Tainan. Aside from introducing the knowledge base of CLIL education, which is explained in an approachable way, the book also incorporates practical experience from teachers in different fields, such as Music, Science, Arts, Integrative Activities, PE, and Math. Feasible pedagogies are given in detail demonstrating how to teach content subjects while enhancing students’ English ability at the same time.

The book marks a milestone of the Tainan City Government’s commitment to promoting bilingual education. In 2017, the OEASOL teamed up with NCKU to carry out the CLIL research project by initiating trial CLIL programs in eight of Tainan’s elementary schools. The objectives are twofold. First, it aims to incorporate English learning into content subjects by taking a student-centric approach, which will help students improve their English listening and speaking skills. The second objective is to establish a resource-sharing platform with teaching models collected by the NCKU research team to provide useful reference for schools interested in the CLIL program.

This book is co-authored by the research team led by NCKU, which is composed of scholars and experts from 8 universities in Taiwan. Professor Tsou Wen-li, editor in chief of the CLIL resource book, shares her experience of assisting teachers involved in the CLIL program in Tainan. She notes that in the beginning, many subject teachers were reluctant toward the new program, fearing that they had to teach the class completely in English. However, after training, these teachers came to realize that they could decide the ratio of English used in the class, thus gaining more confident in implementing CLIL education. Parents had similar concerns, too. They worried that children would not be able to understand class English and might lag behind due to the language barrier. But they soon realized that with the help of visual aids and body language, students not only understood the content of subjects but also showed increased interest in English.

The CLIL resource book is scheduled to official presented on the International Conference on Trans Disciplinary Teaching and Translanguaging co-organized by the OEASOL and NCKU on December 9th. The co-authors will be present at the conference to share their experience and resources. Each participant of the conference will be given a free copy of the resource book. The digital version of the book will also be available for free download on the OEASOL website. (https://goo.gl/BZtm4n )