Using Children’s Literature to Teach the 4Cs of CLIL: A Systematic Review of EFL Studies

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2020.13.2.2

Keywords:

children’s books, second language instruction, primary education, secondary education, curriculum.

Abstract

Uso de la literatura infantil para enseñar las 4 C de AICLE: una revisión sistemática de los estudios de inglés como lengua extranjera

Uso da literatura infantil no ensino das 4 C de CLIL: uma revisão sistemática dos estudos de inglês como língua estrangeira

This systematic review examines whether the use of children’s literature in EFL classrooms supports the 4Cs of CLIL—content, communication, cognition, and culture. Previous research has shown many benefits for using children’s literature in English-dominant classroom settings, but it seems little attention has been given to its use in EFL contexts and no attention in CLIL. This study utilizes a systematic search strategy to collect and synthesize current research on children’s literature use in EFL settings in order to better understand how children’s literature may impact EFL student learning and, specifically, examine whether its use can meet the 4Cs of CLIL. Records from four databases were screened for studies using children’s literature in EFL settings, resulting in the inclusion of 15 articles. The analysis of the articles reveals that current research shows evidence that the use of children’s literature can help facilitate student learning in content, communication, cognition, and culture. However, despite this clear connection to the goals of CLIL, investigations on children’s literature remain absent from CLIL research. We believe this research lends support for the use of children’s literature in the CLIL classroom and calls for more attention, both by practitioners and researchers, toward the use of children’s literature in CLIL classrooms.

To reference this article (APA) / Para citar este artículo (APA) / Para citar este artigo (APA)

Graham, K. M., Mathews, S. D., & Eslami, Z. R. (2020). Using children’s literature to teach the 4Cs of CLIL: A systematic review of EFL studies. Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 13(2), 163–189. https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2020.13.2.2

Recibido: 19/10/2019

Aceptado: 21/03/2020

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Keith M. Graham, National Taiwan Normal University

Keith M. Graham is a Ph.D. student in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture at Texas A&M University. His research interests include Content and Language Integrated Learning, English Medium Instruction, and literacy.

References

Abdelhalim, S. M. (2015). Children literature based program for developing EFL primary pupils’ life skills and language learning strategies. English Language Teaching, 8(2), 178–195. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n2p178

Al Darwish, S. (2015). Literacy and children’s literature: Evidence from actual classroom practice. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(1), 78–83. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1054888.pdf

Albaladejo Albaladejo, S., Coyle, Y., & de Larios, J. R. (2018). Songs, stories, and vocabulary acquisition in preschool learners of English as a foreign language. System, 76, 116–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.05.002

Birketveit, A., & Rimmereide, H. E. (2017). Using authentic picture books and illustrated books to improve L2 writing among 11-year-olds. Language Learning Journal, 45(1), 100–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2013.833280

Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 6(3), ix–xi. https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-Windows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf

Boland, A., Cherry, M. G., & Dickson, R. (2014). Carrying out a systematic review as a master’s thesis. In A. Boland, M. G. Cherry, & R. Dickson (Eds.), Doing a systematic review: A student’s guide. Sage Publications Ltd.

Brinton, D. M., & Snow, M. A. (2017). The evolving architecture of CBI. In M. A. Snow & D. M. Brinton (Eds.), The content-based classroom

(pp. 2–20). University of Michigan Press. https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472036455-chp1.pdf

Cammarata, L. (2010). Foreign language teachers’ struggle to learn content-based instruction. L2 Journal, 2(1), 89–118. https://doi.org/10.5070/l2219063

Campbell Collaboration. (2017). What is a systematic review? https://www.campbellcollaboration.org/research-resources/writing-a-campbell-systematic-review/systemic-review.html

Colston, H. L., & Kuiper, M. S. (2002). Figurative language development research and popular children’s literature: Why we should know, “where the wild things are”. Metaphor and Symbol, 17(1), 27–43. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms1701_3

Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge University Press.

Dearden, J. (2015). English as a medium of instruction —a growing global phenomenon. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4f72cdf8-b2eb-4d41-a785-4a

bf6caaa

Ellison, M. (2019). CLIL in the primary school context. In S. Garton & F. Copland (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of teaching English to young learners (pp. 247–268). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623672-17

Fitton, L., McIlraith, A. L., & Wood, C. L. (2018). Shared book reading interventions with English learners: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 88(5), 712–751. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318790909

Freire, N., & Filho, M. (2015). Body, education and children’s literature: An experience with a group of 6th grade students of English as a foreign language. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 1146–1150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.730

Furner, J. M. (2018). Using children’s literature to teach mathematics: An effective vehicle in a STEM world. European Journal of STEM Education, 3(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/3874

Graham, K. M., Choi, Y., Davoodi, A., Razmeh, S., & Dixon, L. Q. (2018). Language and content outcomes of CLIL and EMI: A systematic review. Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 11(1), 19–37. https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2018.11.1.2

Graham, K. M., & Eslami, Z. R. (2019). Attitudes toward EMI in East Asia and the Gulf: A systematic review. Language Problems and Language Planning, 43(1), 8–31. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.00030.gra

Hayik, R. (2011). Critical visual analysis of multicultural sketches. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 10(1), 95–118.

Hayik, R. (2015a). Addressing religious diversity through children’s literature: An “English as a foreign language” classroom in Israel. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 17(2), 92–116. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v17i2.911

Hayik, R. (2015b). Diverging from traditional paths: Reconstructing fairy tales in the EFL classroom. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 9(4), 221–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2015.1044084

Hayik, R. (2016). What does this story say about females? Challenging gender‐biased texts in the English‐language classroom. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(4), 409–419. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.468

Hodges, T. S., McTigue, E., Wright, K. L., Franks, A. D., & Matthews, S. D. (2018). Transacting with characters: Teaching children perspective taking with authentic literature. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(3), 343–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2018.1464529

Isbell, R., Sobol, J., & Lindauer, L. (2004). The effects of storytelling and story reading on the oral language complexity and story comprehension of young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:ecej.0000048967.94189.a3

Kirkland, L. D., & Patterson, J. (2005). Developing oral language in primary classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(6), 391–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-005-0009-3

Larragueta, M., & Ceballos-Viro, I. (2018). What kind of book? Selecting picture books for vocabulary acquisition. Reading Teacher, 72(1), 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1681

Lee, Y. J. (2016). Letting the story out: Drawing on children’s life stories and identities to help them read beyond and enhance their comprehension. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 15(6), 389–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2016.1239537

Lightbown, P. M. (2014). Focus on content-based language teaching. Oxford.

Lin, L.-C. (2014). Learning word meanings from teachers’ repeated story read-aloud in EFL primary classrooms. English Language Teaching, 7(7), 68–81. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v7n7p68

Lo, Y. Y. (2017). Development of the beliefs and language awareness of content subject teachers in CLIL: Does professional development help? International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1318821

Lugossy, R. (2012). Constructing meaning in interaction through picture books. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 2(3), 97–117. https://cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/349

Martínez-Roldán, C. M., & Newcomer, S. (2011). Reading between the pictures: Immigrant students’ interpretations of “The Arrival”. Language Arts, 88(3), 188–197. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41804250

McAndrew, E. M., Morris, W. L., & Fennell, F. (2017). Geometry-related children’s literature improves the geometry achievement and attitudes of second-grade students. School Science and Mathematics, 117(1-2), 34–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12202

McLean, K., Jones, M., & Schaper, C. (2015). Children’s literature as an invitation to science inquiry in early childhood education. ­Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(4), 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/

Mol, S. E., & Bus, A. G. (2011). To read or not to read: A meta-analysis of print exposure from infancy to early adulthood. Psychological Bulletin, 137(2), 267–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021890

Möller, K. J. (2012). Developing understandings of social justice: Critical thinking in action in a literature discussion group. Journal of Children’s Literature, 38(2), 23–36.

Montag, J. L., & MacDonald, M. C. (2015). Text exposure predicts spoken production of complex sentences in 8- and 12-year-old children and adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 144(2), 447–468. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000054

Newstreet, C., Sarker, A., & Shearer, R. (2019). Teaching empathy: Exploring multiple perspectives to address islamophobia through children’s literature. The Reading Teacher, 72(5), 559–568. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1764

Ouzzani, M., Hammady, H., Fedorowicz, Z., & Elmagarmid, A. (2016). Rayyan—a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 5(1), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4

Pantaleo, S. (2017). Critical thinking and young children’s exploration of picturebook artwork. Language and Education, 31(2), 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2016.1242599

Rass, R. A., & Holzman, S. (2010). Children’s literature in traditional Arab schools for teaching English as a foreign language. English Language Teaching, 3(1), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v3n1p64

Schwanenflugel, P. J., Westmoreland, M. R., & Benjamin, R. G. (2015). Reading fluency skill and the prosodic marking of linguistic focus. Reading and Writing, 28(1), 9–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-013-9456-1

Slattery, P. (2012). Curriculum development in the postmodern era: Teaching and learning in an age of accountability (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Smolkin, L. B., McTigue, E. M., Donovan, C. A., & Coleman, J. M. (2009). Explanation in science trade books recommended for use with elementary students. Science Education, 93(4), 587–610. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20313

Tunnell, M. O., & Jacobs, J. S. (2013). The origins and history of American children’s literature. The Reading Teacher, 67(2), 80–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1201

Wasik, B. A., Hindman, A. H., & Snell, E. K. (2016). Book reading and vocabulary development: A systematic review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 37, 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.04.003

White, J. (2016). Using children’s literature to teach problem solving in math: Addressing the standards for mathematical practice in K–5 (2nd ed.). ­Routledge.

Yeom, E. Y. (2018). How visual thinking strategies using picture book images can improve Korean Secondary EFL students’ L2 writing. English Teaching, 73(1), 23–48. http://journal.kate.or.kr/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/v73_1_02.pdf

Downloads

Published

2021-01-14

How to Cite

Graham, K. M., Matthews, S. D., & Eslami, Z. R. (2021). Using Children’s Literature to Teach the 4Cs of CLIL: A Systematic Review of EFL Studies. Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 13(2), 163–189. https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2020.13.2.2

Issue

Section

Articles