CLIL or EMI: What is more effective for elementary education English learners? A case study in a bilingual school in Panama

Abstract

Bilingual schools with a principles-based program are most likely to succeed in helping students become bilingual and biliterate. This case study presents the investigation conducted at Morgan Bilingual School (MBS)* to understand the content and language learning failure of many students who have been attending the program for a number of years. The investigation contextualizes the problem by presenting an overview of the school and carries out the implementation proposal of a unit of study designed using Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in order to see the effectiveness of these student-centered approaches for instruction compared to the school’s current teacher-centered approaches for instruction. The methodology employed qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. The first set of findings revealed that the school’s language and content learning failure results from the lack of an assessment and accountability system, an integrated curriculum, a well-trained staff, a structured program, and appropriate and sufficient resources. The second set of findings revealed that the implementation of student-centered instructional approaches such as CLIL and TBLT are more effective for teaching and learning content and language compared to the teacher-centered instructional approaches used at Morgan Bilingual School. The implementation of a principles-based program that incorporates CLIL and TBLT may offer a solution to the school’s current content and language learning failure.