Technology in Content and Language Integrated Learning

Technology is by now inescapable in language teaching even in CLIL contexts. Although CLIL focuses neither on content nor language –both are interwoven –and is clearly different from EAL and content-based teaching, it expands on traditional language learning techniques, it is flexible, amenable to different learning contexts, and it involves a wide range of models suitable to different geographies and schools. The non-language subject is not merely taught in a foreign language but with and through a foreign language. We concentrate here on the guiding principles and deriving activities pertaining to students’ after-school CLIL work. Technology is useful both in the school and at home. In order to maximise the learner active use of English, group and individual activities based on Moodle are described which – evolving from a classroom CLIL experience – should consolidate the same pedagogical principles at home. After a minimal recap of CLIL principles, various tools are described from the Moodle platform in general and several ‘home’ activities are discussed specifically to cater for a CLIL-like after-school experience, based on our teaching experience at Bologna university with courses riddled with three contradictory problems: big attendance numbers, non-compulsory attendance and high numbers of non-attending students (working students).