Towards a Cognitive-Linguistic Turn in CLIL: Unfolding Integration

Margit Reitbauer; Ulla Fürstenberg; Petra Kletzenbauer; Karoline Marko

Authors

Margit Reitbauer Author Universityof Graz
Ulla Fürstenberg Author Universityof Graz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5551-3204
Petra Kletzenbauer Author FH Joanneum http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9999-8592
Karoline Marko Author Universityof Graz http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9582-4069

Keywords:

CLIL, integration, knowledge, cognitive load theory, cognitive linguistics

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to unfold the process of integration in CLIL by describing the role of the cognitive processes involved in the construction of knowledge. While there has been extensive research of various aspects of CLIL, the actual process of integration of content and language has largely been neglected. Therefore, this paper argues that the role of language in building knowledge has to be stressed further and made transparent to CLIL practitioners, particularly in “hard” versions of CLIL. Raising teachers’ awareness of the epistemic function of language and drawing their attention to the human cognitive architecture can help them achieve a higher level of understanding of the process of integration of content and language. Using the example of a task taken from a training course for CLIL teachers, this paper describes how a focus on the cognitive architecture of learners can improve the integration of content and language in CLIL.

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Author Biographies

Margit Reitbauer, Universityof Graz

Margit Reitbauer is a university professor at the Department of English Studies in Graz, Austria. Her research interests include reading research, computer-mediated communication, discourse analysis, and cognitive linguistics. In her habilitation treatise she dealt with the linguistic analysis of hypertexts using eye tracking as a means to analyze readers’ reading paths through axial and networked hypertextual structures.

Ulla Fürstenberg, Universityof Graz

Ulla Fürstenberg is a lecturer at the Department of English Studies in Graz, Austria. Her research interests include teacher language awareness, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), CLIL. She is also a member of the ÖNB project “Self-concept and professional well-being of CLIL teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary contexts.”

Petra Kletzenbauer, FH Joanneum

Petra Kletzenbauer is a university lecturer at the FH Joanneum. Her research interests include CLIL and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). She is involved in teacher training for CLIL in the tertiary sector and also a member of the ÖNB project “Self-concept and professional well-being of CLIL teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary contexts.”

Karoline Marko, Universityof Graz

Karoline Marko is a postdoctoral university assistant at the Department of English Studies in Graz, Austria. Her research interests include discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics, and forensic linguistics. She is currently teaching classes in applied linguistics in the teaching degree program and involved in the ÖNB research project “Self-concept and professional well-being of CLIL teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary contexts. “

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