An investigation of learning efficacy, management difficulties and improvements in tertiary CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) programmes in Taiwan: A survey of stakeholder perspectives

Abstract

In 2011, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education conducted a national-scale appraisal of 92CLIL programmes. However, we lack an effective model for examining by preciselyhow much improvement in the quality of the CLIL programmes will rise asa consequence of the increased language proficiency and the acquisition of disciplinaryknowledge. To gain greater insight into the relationship between theexecution and appraisal results of CLIL and the facilitation of content and foreignlanguage acquisition, we researched the stakeholders’ perceptions of and attitudestowards CLIL in order to create a reference for the national appraisal results.Our aim was to collect both quantitative and qualitative data on the programmemanagers, teachers and learners in 12 CLIL programmes nationwide by way of aquestionnaire survey and interviews. We assessed these data to answer our mainresearch questions regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of employing CLIL educationin higher education in Taiwan. In total, 53 undergraduates and postgraduateCLIL students completed a self-designed questionnaire survey, investigatingtheir perceptions of and attitudes towards CLIL education. In addition, interviewswith CLIL programme managers and student focus-groups were also conductedto further probe their opinions on CLIL. The findings mainly revealed that the learners’satisfaction with the CLIL approach is greatly affected by their level of languageproficiency. Our findings can significantly advance our understanding ofthe current situation of CLIL education and the likely effects of changing the curriculaand directions of delivering content and foreign language courses at thetertiary level in Taiwan.

doi:10.5294/laclil.2016.9.1.4