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People learn in so many different ways. No theory can comprehensively explain which processes take place and which factors determine learning occurrence.

Much research has been done within the field of cognitive Psychology in order to understand these processes and factors. Although the original approach of authors like Piaget was not intended to have an impact on education, their findings have proved to be remarkably useful to the subject.

From the original work of Piaget, I would particularly pinpoint three concepts. And they are: assimilation, accomodation and schema. In a very simplistic way, schemas are the “models of the world” that we build in our minds by interacting with objects, people and ideas. Assimilation happens when a new concept is added to current schema. Finally, when we need to internalize a new concept but it does not fit our current schema, we rebuild it and accomodate pre-existent structures. Once again, this is an oversimplification of the original theory and I am sure Piaget would not be pleased with it but I am going to state it anyway: we learn by recycling and updating schemas.

By providing students with sessions to run extensive reading experiences, we enable them to assimilate and accomodate new concepts within their “models of the world”. My hypothesis is as follows: When the acquisition of these new models is conducted by means of an abstract instrument such as printed language, the process becomes more effective and expedient. Ideally, the instrument (language) works as an articulation device that modulates and adjusts the internalization of those new concepts. This is particularly relevant to language teaching.

Now, it is true that printed language alone, may be a boring or daunting task for some students. In fact, there’s always a degree of discrepancy between the amount of content that we give to our students and the amount of content that they actually internalize. This is the difference between input and intake. Our aim as teachers is to reduce that discrepancy and in order to accomplish this, input must be relvant, purposeful and contextualized.

In the late 90’s a distinctive approach to learning a second language, known as a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), emerged. This CLIL approach aims at having students work on a “big idea” by addressing it from different fields of human knowledge. The assumption is that language will be aquired by using it purposefully. This holistic immersion to academic language will:
• promote the acquisition and development of new vocabulary and grammar.
• create necessary intake for subsequent oral production.
• broaden academic knowledge towards certifications and tests.

Now, the question is: what kind of material will help me, as a teacher, to reach and tackle all these? Good news is: we’ve got books like Subject Link, Big Questions and More School Subject.

In my workshops I share with you some ideas and tips on how to implement a CLIL approach in your classroom.

These are some cool webistes to learn more.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

CLIL – teachers’ TL competence

Difference between ‘Intake’ and ‘Input’ in L2 (Second Language) learning