Enfoques CLIL y Flipped Learning: Una intervención pedagógica en la enseñanza superior

 

CLIL and Flipped Learning approaches: A pedagogical intervention in Higher Education

 

Laura Johanna Velasquez Castellanos1, María Susana Tamayo Arango2 y Daniel Hernando Rojas Rodríguez3

1Universidad El Bosque, ljvelasquez@unbosque.edu.co , https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1617-8807 Colombia

2Universidad El Bosque, mtamayoa@unbosque.edu.co,  https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4763-9043, Colombia

3Daniel Hernando Rojas Rodríguez, dhrojas@unbosque.edu.co, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3661-0287, Colombia

 

 

Información del Artículo

 

RESUMEN

 

 

Trazabilidad:

Recibido 27-01-2025

Revisado 28-03-2025

Aceptado 12-04-2025

 

 

Este artículo discute los resultados de la implementación del Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos Lingüísticos (AICLE) y el Flipped Learning desde la contribución y perspectivas de una profesora de idiomas mediante la reestructuración de las prácticas de enseñanza de la profesora de contenidos. Este estudio de caso se llevó a cabo en una universidad privada de Bogotá, Colombia. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de grupos focales, entrevistas semiestructuradas y observaciones no participantes. Se encontraron ciertas modificaciones en cuanto a la inclusión de secciones de calentamiento, introducción y vocabulario dentro del uso de recursos multimodales. Adicionalmente, el resultado fueron tareas colaborativas que condujeron a un rendimiento comunicativo en el aula de inglés como lengua extranjera (EFL).

 

Palabras Clave:

CLIL

Flipped Learning

Inglés como lengua extranjera

Practicas docentes

Recursos multimodales

 

 

 

Keywords:

CLIL

Flipped Learning

EFL

Teaching practices

Multimodal Resources

 

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the results of implementing Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Flipped Learning from a language teachers’ contribution and perspectives by restructuring the content professor’s teaching practices. This case study was conducted in a private University in Bogota, Colombia. The data were collected through focus group, semi-structured interview, and non-participant observations. Certain modifications were found regarding the inclusion of warm up, lead-in and vocabulary sections within the use of multimodal resources. In addition, collaborative tasks led towards communicative performance in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom.

 

 

 

INTRODUCCIÓN

 

In an increasingly interconnected global landscape, the need of the English language emerges as paramount. English is the cornerstone that unbolts the gates to success across the workplace, education, and personal spheres. As Pandey & Pandey “Learning English in a country where it is not a native language opens a number of opportunities for the individual” (2014, p.94). Bearing in mind the former, English serves as the world's lingua franca, encompassing the principal industries. In this regard, mastering English translates into higher incomes and better living standards. Thus, in Latin America, governments such as the Colombian one intend to enhance their citizens’ living standards through bilingualism. In this country, bilingualism can encompass proficiency in two languages, including the ancestral ones. Nevertheless, in this particular scenario, it refers to having command of English and Spanish (de Mejía, 2011). Additionally, Colombia's pursuit of English language proficiency is marked by the inclusion of policies that promote the acquisition and learning of English as a foreign language (EFL), this last entails learning English in a country where it is not the native language (Guerrero, 2008; Rahimi, 2015). From this perspective, English language proficiency has become imperative for fostering effective communication in the 21st century. Prominent educational institutions, exemplified by the Ministry of Education of Colombia (MEN) and The British Council, have incorporated English language instruction within higher education curricula. This strategic inclusion aims to bolster students' professional growth and enhance their capacity for meaningful interaction. Considering the aforementioned situation, the strategic implementation of pedagogical approaches is crucial for promoting English language proficiency within the context of higher education, thereby providing significant support to students in their professional development. First, the influence of interdisciplinary approaches in learning English as a foreign language is addressed and then how different pedagogical approaches promote communicative performance in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context are discussed.

In the first place, an interdisciplinary approach in the context of learning EFL has garnered both benefits and limitations on educational processes. Sharma (2018) explains that interdisciplinarity is an approach that combines two or more subjects and enhances relationships among them for a better understanding. Whatsmore, some Universities in Colombia have implemented an interdisciplinary approach, for example in arts departments, where there is a combination of disciplines such as music, theater, communications, among others, in the same class (Lawrence, 2010). In this regard, it is possible to take these disciplines as a scenario to cultivate English language learning. On the first hand, interdisciplinary settings allow the implementation of different pedagogical approaches such as Content Language Integrated Language (CLIL) and Flipped Learning. The first, allows the design of more meaningful lesson plans by combining content with language and fostering spaces for interaction; the second allows engaging students through innovative material.  On the other hand, despite the great benefits of these approaches there are also some limitations; for instance, the lack of structure arising from transversality may result in an unintelligible curriculum (Khoo, et al., 2019). In brief, while interdisciplinary approaches offer valuable benefits for learning English as a foreign language, the potential drawbacks, such as the challenges that flexibility poses in lesson planning and the lack of engaging materials, should not be underestimated.

In the second place, in order to curb some of the limitations that interdisciplinary approaches bring to English language learning and communicative performance, CLIL and Flipped learning approaches work as a key to support such a process. First, from a pedagogical perspective, teachers are constantly seeking to provide meaningful lessons full of innovative materials and to promote a proper environment for interaction and learning. Likewise, it is fundamental to show students the value of what they are learning. Brustureanu (2022) states that “When the "manner" of teaching is intelligently controlled, sensitive and appropriate for each student or group, it has value” (p. 297). This value may be achieved through the implementation of CLIL, which according to Porcedda & González-Martínez (2020) is “ a flexible planning tool that enables teachers to develop innovative materials”     (p 52). So, CLIL is a way to promote communicative competence through new academic resources in EFL. Additionally, another approach that works as a key piece in English learning is Flipped learning, which is “a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space” (Bergmann & Sams, 2014, p.34). Thus, Flipped learning is a way to develop material for the EFL context. Due to this switch, students come prepared to the classroom after checking the flipped material and are ready to discuss what they learned at home. CLIL combines content and language and Flipped Learning gives novel materials for students and teachers. To sum up, implementing both CLIL and Flipped learning into English language education offers a promising solution to address the limitations of interdisciplinary methodologies, fostering meaningful interactions and material development.

Accordingly, of the various approaches available for enhancing the learning experience and communicative competence in the realm of English as a foreign language, CLIL and Flipped learning stand out as pivotal. Through their pedagogical underpinnings, these approaches tackle the limitations posed by interdisciplinary methods and offer effective strategies to create engaging and valuable educational environments. In accordance with MEN, the Colombian Institute for the Promotion of Higher Education, with its acronym in Spanish (ICFES), and the National English program "Colombia very well", only 8% of students in higher education manage to reach B2 level or higher (2013, p. 7). This low percentage can be attributed to the lack of structure of the different lesson plans and the few spaces for interaction that teachers propose for classes. This is one of the several aspects that leads to students not being proficient in the second language. For students to succeed academically and be able to effectively communicate in a variety of social contexts, they need to be socially invested (Rojas & Escobar-Almeciga, 2023, p. 381). Thus, CLIL and Flipped Learning grant teachers the opportunities to create communicative spaces where students can interact. Also, these approaches help assist them to develop more meaningful classes, with innovative materials and more structured classes with a communicative approach. Given these points, the research question and main objective are established as follows:

 

·         How does the implementation of CLIL and Flipped Learning approaches influence the pedagogical practices by teachers, thereby enhancing students' communicative performance within an EFL context?

·         To unveil the influence of the implementation of the pedagogical approaches CLIL and Flipped Learning on teachers' pedagogical practices with the aim of seeking to enhance students' communicative performance in an EFL context.

 

Theoretical Framework

New teaching approaches are pertinent to suit the needs of today’s globalized society. Understanding that EFL learning requires innovative pedagogies to achieve success in students' learning process, Flipped Learning and CLIL approaches provide useful ways in terms of: teaching practices, an appropriate selection of material, and communicative performance. As such, we explore how these approaches can enhance instructors' practices to provide meaningful academic experiences and increase student engagement in class time. First Flipped learning to support teaching practices and material selection for higher education and then CLIL and Translanguaging opportunities to foster collaborative learning for communicative performance in EFL.

 

Flipped learning to support teaching practices and material development for higher education:

Higher education (HE) is constantly evolving, and the implementation of new methodologies is essential for enriching academic experiences in EFL contexts. Being in a scenario where English is not the native language, some barriers may arise. For example, there might not be enough innovative material designs, a lack of sociocultural interventions and low willingness to communicate (Dariyemez, 2023). Language Teachers are required to constantly design innovative materials by implementing ICTs and responding to pedagogical approaches that seek to engage students in authentic learning experiences (Li, et al., 2021). Delving into meaningful instructional exposures, there are diverse ways to remove barriers in HE teaching, where the goal of instruction becomes empowering students to appropriate and boost their learning (Pletser, 2019). Likewise, from an interactive perspective, it is possible that instructors support their student's learning process providing them with enough scenarios that encourage communication (Hugo et al., 2022). To illustrate the aforementioned, a way to offer enriching experiences is through Flipped Learning (FL), a pedagogical approach that allows teachers to boost their practices in different ways such as creativity, promoting autonomous learning and the creation of engaging materials for the classes. Through the implementation of such  materials students may express more easily facilitating their engagement, since flipped lessons are flexible. Also, instruction centered on the student, facilitates the negotiation of meaning and knowledge construction conducive to meaningful learning (Tomlinson, 2013; Ansori & Nafi, 2018).  In this way, FL is key to transforming teaching practices to promote meaningful learning experiences and the advancement of communicative competences in the foreign language. As such, flipped learning supports the teaching processes for college students, influences material selection and finally fosters communication.

In today's world the Flipped Learning Approach (FLA) emerges as a powerful tool for higher education professors, renovating the way students learn in and out of the classroom in an EFL context. According to Maidin & Shukor (2021) modern teachers should implement diverse tools and techniques to increase students’ success in their educational path. With this in mind, FLA may assist the achievement of learning goals by flipping instruction, assigning the content at home and using ICTs to engage them in an initial appropriation of knowledge. This shift in how content is consumed outside of class allows valuable in-class time to be dedicated to critical discussions and active learning (Bergmann & Sams, 2014). By adopting this approach, educators aim to cultivate proactive, dynamic solution-seeking aptitudes, and critical thinking skills in their students, aligning with the objectives of modern educators (Maidin & Shukor, 2021; Plester, 2019). This can be achieved, due to the guidance provided by teachers, as well as the use of incentives and digital resources that students may be familiar with. Through FL, instructors transform into facilitators and guides rather than traditional authoritative figures (Maidin & Shukor, 2021). Accordingly, FL empowers educators to foster innovative and interactive learning experiences, motivating students and enhancing their classroom participation conducive to knowledge construction (Ansori & Nafi, 2018). In brief, FLA is viewed as a positive contribution to EFL learning in the 21st century, promoting critical thinking, collaboration, and participation among students.

In addition, Flipped Learning stands out as a valuable instrument for developing or the selection of educational materials and fostering communication, particularly in the sphere of higher education, within the EFL context. EFL educators count on more time to develop and select tailored materials that address diverse needs, fostering a personalized learning experience for students. Consequently, within this approach teachers can enhance their creativity in both the material choice and the implementation of the class (Ansori, & Nafi, 2018).  As such, materials are “attractive, flexible and authentic” and have a purpose: “progression of skills, understanding, and developing learning skills and strategies” (Savinykh, 2021, p.7). In this sense, considering that students already studied the material when class begins, they can spend their time working together with educators and other pupils to boost their understanding and thus enhancing communication (Zamar & Segura 2022). Under the Flipped material, the classroom serves as a scenario where students can communicate and collaborate freely with their peers.  By virtue of those scenarios, discussions emerge where it is possible to promote authentic language use among students. To sum up, through Flipped Learning, students not only gain access to a wealth of multimedia resources but also develop essential communication skills as they actively participate in discussions and collaborative activities, preparing them for success in an increasingly interconnected and communicative world.

In summary, the evolving landscape of higher education, particularly in EFL spaces, requires the implementation of Flipped Learning as an innovative methodology to overcome some inherent barriers and in such a case FL is posed as key. In this way, FL not only provides students with optimal learning conditions but also enables teachers to explore diverse ways to deliver instructional material and afford effective teaching. Due to pre-recorded materials such as videos, podcasts, and readings, among others, classrooms can be liberated from the confines of traditional methods, allowing students to have a rich English learning experience and achieve academic goals. This approach provides an active atmosphere where pupils are motivated to discuss and increase their willingness to communicate (Dariyemez, 2023). In EFL spaces, FL holds great potential for enhancing the overall English learning experience full of innovative material, fostering critical discussions, and promoting effective communication among students, thereby contributing to the attainment of their personal and academic goals.

 

CLIL approach through Task-Based strategy to foster collaboration and communication in EFL

In the context of an ever-changing educational environment, incorporating Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) principles accompanied by instructional strategies result in a valuable method to learn a foreign language. Accordingly, the latter is a continuous developmental process that occurs through interaction between social agents (García, 2009). Such a process may be mediated under the interaction among individuals’ cognitive cultural background accompanied by communicative and content matters.  Thus, CLIL promotes a communicative learning environment in which the use of instructional strategies such as Task-Based leads to collaborative work, and towards content language learning.

When CLIL is implemented, students strengthen communication skills by combining language proficiency with subject-specific knowledge (Banegas & del Pozo, 2022). In addition, the use of instructional strategies, which according to Díaz and Hernández (2002), are reflexive and flexible procedures used by the teacher to promote meaningful learning, empower students to employ linguistic codes and semiotic resources that enhance effective communication. As an example, Task-Based learning strategy may aid in collaborative work, which leads to communicative actions, giving rise to practices such as translanguaging, a theory of language and communication which is transformative in language social practice (Hiller, 2021). In such a way, through CLIL and the use of Task-Based strategy, collaborative work emerges to improve language skills and promote meaningful learning scenarios in an EFL context. First, Task-Based strategy promotes collaborative work that eases social interaction. Then, communicative and collaborative activities allow the use of translanguaging, which in itself furthers students' language learning and communicative performance in EFL scenarios.

Instructional strategies facilitate social interaction leading to effective communication and language learning (Han & Nassaji, 2019). Teachers as leaders of communication in a social sphere are in charge of constructing experiences that lead to learning. In this way, they resort to different strategies such as Task-Based to boost learning opportunities. This strategy focuses on including meaningful activities and communication in real-world contexts (Beglar & Hunt, 2002) generating social interactions, building on students’ discussions and eventually granting communicative situations. In that sense, collaboration, group work and Task-Based techniques may facilitate learning as students interact, negotiate and construct their own meaning, to participate in the given activities proposed, resulting in learning and the use of the target language. Similarly, focusing on building an optimal social space, teachers can use Task-Based to further the learning processes, to stimulate active participation, critical thinking and strengthen student-teacher relationships (Feo, 2010). In short, within Task-Based, collaboration and group work may facilitate learning as students interact, negotiate and construct their own meaning to use and learn the foreign language.

 Communicative and collaborative tasks-based activities lead students into translanguaging which facilitate social interaction and language learning. Incorporating task-based language activities into the classroom structure may enhance language learning experiences. “These task-based activities engage students into effective learning” (Hu et al., 2023, p.8).  Task-Based is usually divided into three phases: pre-task, task cycle, and post-task (Anwar, & Arifani, 2016). In the first one, teachers introduce the topic and activate prior knowledge, then students work together discussing in groups and finally they produce (Costa, 2016). For instance, at task cycle, group work discussion activities, allow students to be social agents, to interact and create meaning which may be conducted through translanguaging. “The basic idea of translanguaging is that the one language reinforces the other in order to improve understanding and intensify learners' involvement in class activities in both languages” (Chicherina, & Strelkova, 2023, p. 3). In such a scenario, Task-Based communicative and collaborative work along with translanguaging contribute to students’ social interaction, negotiation of meaning and ease language learning.

On the whole, CLIL makes language and content more accessible. When students work collaboratively under the task-based strategy, they are immersed in an optimal environment where they are able to apply and share what they have learned. In order for this to take place in a more spontaneous way, students make use of translanguaging, a practice that allows them to improve their foreign language repertoire. Consequently, within the CLIL approach and Task-Based foreign language not only occurs but thrives.

 

MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS

 

This is a qualitative case study methodology focused primarily on a university professor responsible for instructing a content-based course to students from 3rd to 6th semesters across various disciplines related to art, creation, and communication. The study aimed to analyze how the implementation of CLIL and Flipped Learning pedagogical approaches influenced the teacher's practices and the implementation of teaching materials (Tomlinson, 2013; Ansori & Nafi, 2018; Banegas & del Pozo, 2022). We also sought to identify the benefits and limitations that this implementation might bring to the process of learning English as a foreign language among students, with a specific focus on enhancing students’ communicative performance in English, since having command of this language is a graduation requirement. These approaches went hand in hand with some academic strategies such as Task-based and group work which fostered a collaborative environment for both students and teachers, allowing them to use other procedures like translanguaging to ensure effective communication and command of the language.

The study was conducted at a private university in Bogotá, Colombia, specifically in the northern part of the city. The study spanned one academic semester, comprising approximately 10 meetings and 5 two-hour class sessions. While the course was virtual, three face to face sessions were organized to enable more effective data collection. The virtual sessions were recorded. Students in this department require a B1 proficiency in English certified by an international exam for their degree, as well as professional development, for their future as art and communication experts.

Before each session, the content professor received guidance on class planning, including the development and selection of flipped learning materials and strategies for effective lesson delivery. For instance, the content professor was expected to be able to provide students with clear explanations, enough activities and pedagogical resources that enable students to be in an optimal learning environment. Emphasis was placed on developing speaking skills and acquiring new vocabulary.

To gather insights from the teacher, semi-structured interviews were conducted at the beginning and at the end of the semester, with each interview lasting approximately one hour. The initial interviews aimed to collect the teacher's prior experiences, while the concluding interviews focused on assessing the impact of the implementation, her feelings and thoughts (Magaldi & Berler, 2020). Classroom observations were carried out to analyze various aspects such as group management, class structure, discussion spaces, and activities. Finally, a focus group involving students was conducted. It provided their opinions on receiving a content-based course in a second language, their experiences with the provided materials, and the conducted activities (Kitzinger, 1994). The Focus Group lasted for about half an hour. Both for the Focus Group and the Interview consent forms were taken into account. Also, participants were photographed and the sessions were recorded. In sum, all the data were curated, resulting in 8,2 minutes for the Focus Group, and one hour between both of the interviews.

 

Data Analysis

The purpose of the analysis of this research was to recognize and understand the way in which the content professor adopted and implemented the suggested pedagogical approaches (CLIL and Flipped Learning) and how they impacted her instructional practices, as well as the influence they had on the development and selection of material for her classes. In addition, how the implementation coupled with the use of instructional strategies had an impact on the students' learning of new vocabulary and communicative performance.

With this in mind, the analysis was carried out by means of triangulation process, data, data collection methods and theory were taken into account. From this process the following codes emerged: Pedagogical Procedures and Multimodal Resources.

 

Table 1: A priori codes that emerged from the triangulation process

 

Code

Explanation

Pedagogical Procedures

Decisions employed by the instructor to generate, clarify and evaluate ideas for teaching and learning processes. (Li ,et al, 2023)

Multimodal Resources

The use of semiotic resources, such as images, music and videos to understand, send messages and create meaning.

(Wang, 2022)

 

After defining the codes, the following analysis category and sub-category were established: First, the importance of an effective lesson planning process within CLIL and Flipped learning approaches and then how multimodal resources support teaching practices and foster both content understanding and communicative performance in students.

 

RESULTADOS Y DISCUSIÓN

 

This chapter delves into the role of lesson planning, emphasizing its significance in pedagogical practices and tools for teaching and learning processes. Enhanced pedagogical procedures result from lesson planning which not only improve the delivery of content, but also positively influence students' academic achievement. Considering the aforementioned, we uncover the potential that arises from the strategic fusion of lesson planning and multimodal resources, ultimately contributing to effective pedagogical practices and students' communicative performance and language learning.

 

Discussing the importance of lesson planning under the frame of communicative approaches to foster the creation of meaningful learning environments

The importance of an efficient lesson planning process opens up teaching to multiple pedagogical practices and tools that allow students to co-construct a learning environment. The lesson plan is an educational framework that incorporates topics, techniques, timing and assessment criteria which assist in the construction of a learning environment considering multiple aspects such as learning objectives, students’ needs, content-material and procedures (Farhang, et al., 2023; Nosirova, 2022). It provides educators with a roadmap to deliver an effective instruction full of tools to foster collaborative work and students’ agency allowing students to be autonomous and in control of their own learning (García-Pinar, 2022). These elements immerse students into an optimal and engaging learning space. Moreover, an interactive Lesson Plan is key for effective teaching and learning and may serve as a route to support students' skills, especially conducive to students’ communicative competence (Sethusha, 2020). Considering the former, teachers are empowered to make assertive decisions, adopt pedagogical procedures and strategies that promote learning opportunities. Regarding the guidance, the professor restructured her teaching practices in terms of lesson planning and the implementation of collaborative learning strategies to boost scenarios that impacted students’ content learning and communicative skills.

To start with, the content professor was afforded assistance in revising her pedagogical practices, with the purpose of reframing the structure for future lesson planning. These pedagogical strategies had an effect on the class design, the learning environment, and notably on students’ performance in both content comprehension and proficiency in the target language. A key element in this context was the implementation of a 'Warm Up' activity which motivates students to become more active and participate efficiently in the lesson (Velandia, 2008). Such a procedure facilitated a pleasing and participatory scenario, enabling students to co-construct an interactive learning environment. Additionally, the content professor highlighted the importance of focusing on specific and relevant terms related to the content addressed, which built the way for the appropriation of concepts, thereby enhancing the learners' vocabulary and the learning experience in the foreign language. With these considerations, both the 'Warm Up' activity and the focus on vocabulary are key components in the reframing of her pedagogical practices.

Furthermore, the implementation of collaborative tasks, such as group discussions, also enriched the class environment, transforming it into an interactive space. These collaborative tasks not only encouraged active participation among students but also cultivated essential skills in teamwork and communication, as a result, facilitating language learning in authentic scenarios. Within a collaborative environment, students have the opportunities to exchange, present and defend ideas, to learn from each other and to be engaged during the lesson (Laal & Kermanshahi, 2012). These learning opportunities were mediated through the use of translanguaging. With this consideration, learning “comes as a result of the communicative possibilities afforded to students in and by a particular communicative environment” (Rojas & Escobar-Almeciga, 2023, p. 380). This implies that tasks centered around communication, based on the CLIL approach, may foster meaningful learning experiences. Such endeavors were also enriched by the flipped materials rendering students to come prepared for class, thereby promoting an environment ripe for discussion, interaction, and the negotiation of meaning. With that being said, the next extract illustrates the value of the changes implemented, taking into account warm up activities, and vocabulary sections in the frame of the CLIL and Flipped learning approaches adopted by the content professor.

 

Table 2: Excerpt 1.  Researcher and Content Professor

  Excerpt 1: Semi-Structured Interview

Researcher: How did the pedagogical intervention and the work under the CLIL and FLipped approaches help or restructure your practices?

Content Professor: In relation to my teaching practices, I would point out the warm-up activities. I found that they contribute a lot in terms of motivation and I will implement them. Also include a section of vocabulary either in English or Spanish... to be able to give definition of specific terms for the global understanding of a topic.

 

Table 3: Excerpt 2.  Researcher and Content Professor

  Excerpt 2: Semi-Structured Interview

Researcher: What type of materials (Lesson Plans, Canva Presentations or Flipped Materials) did you like the most and why? And, How did the application of CLIL and Flipped approaches facilitate students' communication in the target language?

Content Professor: I think the lesson plans and the Flipped material are the most helpful, the structure was very clear and in line. The material also generates an engagement process which is interesting (...)Moreover, the specific activities that were immersed in the lesson plans were very dynamic, they allowed the students to have spaces for reflection, then to share and then to start communicating what they had learned and worked on. CLIL allows both interaction and communication in English among students to be easier (...) it is from CLIL where good communicative processes take place. Flipped becomes interesting and meaningful to students when they are immersed in specific activities such as discussions.

 

In excerpts one and two, the content professor acknowledges the importance of several procedures for her pedagogical practices. First, she highlights the value of initiating her sessions with warm up activities to engage students in an optimal classroom environment and influence their content learning. Also, she asserts that the promotion of vocabulary may assist in the appropriation of content and target language. Finally, this led to the value of collaboration and authentic learning opportunities. With these considerations in mind, the aforementioned strategies contributed to the process of knowledge appropriation and its multiple ways to represent it in the target language. Additionally, the establishment of an interactive and welcoming learning environment not only engages and motivates students in the construction of knowledge, it also empowers them as agents  with the opportunity to make meaningful connections between prior knowledge and the new knowledge in construction (Rodriguez, 2013; Matusov., et al, 2016; Rojas & Escobar-Alméciga, 2023; Yakavets., et al, 2023). In brief, the implementation of strategic procedures in class such as: Warm Ups, vocabulary, and collaborative work enrich and facilitate the learning experience, allowing students to be actively engaged.

In essence, the implementation of CLIL and Flipped Learning approaches, generate a reframing of content professor’s practices in terms of providing a meaningful learning atmosphere to promote content and language learning. This atmosphere thrives on collaboration, offering students authentic opportunities to engage with the content and the target language. In turn, one way in which students acquire content knowledge may be by becoming active agents in the foreign language learning process and honing in on their communication skills. Given the former scenario, as exemplified in the excerpts, the content professor recognized the effectiveness of warm up activities in student motivation and engagement, alongside the importance of integrating vocabulary sections for deeper comprehension. Equally, the acquisition of linguistic competence places students’ agency at the center of the learning process (García-Pinar, 2022, p. 159), allowing students to take ownership of their learning process. The reframing of the practices, not only materialize a welcoming learning environment but also underscore the significance of fostering collaboration among students. Furthermore, the content professor acknowledged the importance of providing students with tasks that foster collaboration. Such collaboration empowers students to interact, negotiate and create meaning. All in all, the integration of the pedagogical approaches combined with collaborative strategies not only facilitates communication in the target language but also fosters the learning and the usage of English itself.

 

The implementation of multimodal resources to support teaching practices and foster both comprehension and communicative performance in students.

Providing students with a meaningful learning environment may require educators to frequently reassess and restructure their pedagogical practices. This often demands the integration of novel elements into lesson plans, such as sections dedicated to fostering collaboration among students, while simultaneously facilitating the learning of both content knowledge and language proficiency. So, in the search for learning environments that carry a great weight, flipped material and the use of multimodal resources become key elements when creating meaningful learning scenarios where students are at the center and the professor becomes the facilitator. The use of multimodal resources ministers to crafting meaningful learning environments and students’ content comprehension. First, a meaningful learning environment is provided through the integration of multimodal resources conducive to students’ comprehension, content learning and then, towards collaboration where language learning emerges.

In this case, the implementation of multimodal resources served to support the professor’s explanations and the presentation of the information, facilitating comprehension of the class content. As stated by Norris (2004), the integration of textual, visual, auditory, and interactive elements exerts a significant influence on comprehension processes, as the combination of diverse sensory modalities facilitate understanding and information retention. With this in mind, students were enabled to make complex terms more accessible. The multimodal resources employed by the professor during her lesson planning were given in advance and included videos, interviews, podcasts among others for independent consumption by students outside of class. Moreover, face to face sessions incorporated visual aids to enhance the efficacy of the teacher's interventions. This, coupled with pre-consumed materials, enabled students to understand concepts more easily, recall prior knowledge, engage in communication, and participate using the target language, given that information was represented in diverse formats. Consequently, such resources were crucial in facilitating the execution of interactive and engaging lessons by the professor. Thus, the following extract refers to the importance of multimodal resources in enhancing the learning experience.

 

Table 4: Excerpt 4.  Researcher, Lina and Claudia

  Excerpt 4: Focus Group

Researcher: In what ways does incorporating visual aids, such as images or diagrams, contribute to a more effective learning experience?”

Lina:  It well to get a more effective learning experience. I consider that visuals can help a lot through simplifying complex information, capturing students attention throughout the memory recall that it has a strong impact and find promoting critical thinking and creativity.

Claudia: Well, I consider that the incorporation of visual aids in this case, such as images, help a lot to understand the new vocabulary, since these are words than one doesn’t know. So it is much easier to have a visual aid that helps you understand what that word means than simply listening to or seeing it. I also consider that diagrams are a good one to explain class topics, so not everyone has the same level of listening, and a visual aid like this makes it more difficult to miss the topic that is being titled about.

 

The implementation of multimodal resources go hand in hand with pedagogical practices, students’ comprehension and content and language learning. In the search for meaningful learning environments, the professor decided to include multimodal resources in her lesson planning process and class delivery conducive to content assimilation. Taking into account Lina’s comments, visuals assist in simplifying and understanding content and in catching students’ attention. Secondly, through visuals content can later be categorized and assimilated. Furthermore, Claudia underscores that visual representations of concepts, such as diagrams or images representing vocabulary, enhance understanding of both conceptual content and target language. Regarding her comments and noticing that participants had different proficiency levels of English, visuals played an important role by complementing their listening comprehension benefiting all students’ language learning regardless of their target language level. In this sense, when students are provided with opportunities and diverse means to understand information more easily; engagement, active participation, and responsive contributions within the classroom may arise, cultivating an enriched learning environment characterized by higher opportunities for both content mastery and language use, all within the frame of a significant instructional atmosphere (Gibbons, 2002; Norris, 2004; Simpson & Du, 2004; Coyle, 2007; Czekanski & Wolf, 2013; Arnó-Macià & Mancho-Barés, 2015). In sum, incorporating multimodal resources not only enhances engagement and facilitates learning of both, content and language, it also fosters a meaningful learning environment, boosting engagement, and contributing towards knowledge construction.

In simple words, the restructuring of the Professor’s pedagogical practices under the influence of pedagogical approaches incided into a meaningful classroom atmosphere. With this in mind, lesson plans that integrate novel stages such as warm up, lead-in and vocabulary accompanied by multimodal resources may increase students’ comprehension and content learning. The multimodal resources integrated smooth the Professor’s lesson planning and delivery, yet also assisted students in their learning process. This led pupils towards engaging situations where collaboration resulted as a key to negotiate and create meaning facilitating learning opportunities. The incorporation of such resources within pedagogical practices serves as a catalyst for enhanced student engagement, active participation, and knowledge construction, fostering an enriched environment characterized by heightened opportunities for both content mastery and language development.  As a result, the integration of multimodal tools alongside pedagogical approaches fosters environments where comprehension is facilitated, complex concepts are more readily understood allowing students to grasp the content more effectively, and thereby promoting language learning.

 

CONCLUSIÓN

 

This case study has revealed the bearings upon restructuring the practices of a university professor who instructs an interdisciplinary course under the framework of CLIL and Flipped Learning pedagogical approaches within an EFL context. The findings demonstrate that the  restructuring of teaching practices promotes optimal learning environments where multimodal resources and collaborative work support students' content learning and communicative performance. On the first hand, the integration of new elements within the class such as warm up, lead-in, and new vocabulary fosters a more engaging learning atmosphere where students actively participate promoting a better learning climate. This in turn, surged from the reframing of the professor’s teaching practices. Such reformation may emerge from the acceptance of the pedagogical approaches, CLIL and Flipped Learning, by the students, (Du et. al, 2023). As students gradually accepted and appropriated these approaches, the teaching restructuration took place. On the second hand, the use of multimodal resources leads to a better student's attention, simplifying complex information and then content assimilation. At the same time, the visual tools along with the promotion of collaborative work allow students to resort to different individual resources (e.g. language, graphic design) to facilitate learning (Li & Pham, 2022). Such learning may be related to both content and language. That is, the findings demonstrate that the acceptance of the approaches implemented by the professor together with the putting into practice of new class sections, collaborative work and multimodal resources resulted in content and language learning and lastly in communication.

In addition, this research underscores the importance of CLIL and Flipped learning pedagogical approaches within the EFL academic field to support teaching practices. For educators, these results suggest a reevaluation of pedagogical practices, promoting a shift towards incorporating CLIL and Flipped Learning approaches to adopt novel lesson delivery by including warm up, lead-in and vocabulary sections. By doing so, instructors can enhance student engagement, promote collaborative work, co construction of meaning and ultimately foster communicative performance in the EFL classroom. Furthermore, the integration of multimodal resources and collaborative tasks not only aid the professor to be innovative during the lesson planning and delivery but also support students' content learning and target language proficiency. For the educational field, the findings stress that a potential reframing of pedagogical practices under the framework of CLIL and Flipped Learning approaches facilitate and promote both engagement and learning of content and target language.

The pedagogical implications of this case study emphasize the need to enhance the class experience through the implementation of communicative approaches, drawing on interactional tasks. The study suggests that restructuring teaching practices, such as integrating warm-ups, lead-ins, vocabulary sections, and multimodal resources, fosters a friendly, engaging and communicative learning environment where students are actively immersed. As educators consider these findings, there is a reevaluation of traditional teaching methods, suggesting  a shift towards incorporating a communicative approach including the content aspect. By doing so, instructors not only enrich student engagement but also promote collaborative work, co-construction of meaning, and ultimately, foster communicative performance in the EFL classroom. Not only, the professor’s restructuring of teaching practices reinforced class content but also led towards target language learning.  Consequently, this research calls for a request to apply pedagogical practices that emphasize meaningful learning situations.

Although the results seem promising, it is crucial to discuss the limitations of this study, including challenges such as time constraints for lesson planning and limited interaction due to virtual settings. To start, time was the most evident limitation for the professor, the planning time schedules are reduced, and this may inhibit class structuring, impeding the implementation of both innovative activities and significant strategies due to the teacher's numerous tasks and responsibilities (Boyle, 2023). Another limitation was the virtual learning environment which restrained the application of the pedagogical practice.  The exchange of ideas during the collaborative discussion activities, for example, was more restricted due to the virtual modality. For further research: first “language educators need to design activities that promote interaction among participants. The second recommendation for language tutors is to make sure that all students participate, even though they have technical difficulties” (Lopera Medina, 2021, p. 216). Also, future researchers should consider giving one to one tutorials to students to aid students in the content learning, with particular emphasis on vocabulary. So, supplementary research may be conducted to see how those tutorials may influence language learning outcomes. That is, even though time constraints affect the lesson planning, professors should find tools to implement dynamic classes where students actively participate and acquire both content and language learning.

In conclusion, English as the lingua franca of the 21st century calls for the implementation of pioneering teaching practices within EFL contexts. Thus, CLIL and Flipped Learning are key approaches for today’s classroom. This coupled with the joining of content professors and language teachers, who provide strategies for the EFL classroom, such as warm ups, lead-ins and vocabulary sections, enables students’ content learning, language proficiency and communication to flourish. As a result, collaborative and multimodal strategies emerged to create a dynamic learning environment where students actively engaged in co-constructing meaning and enhancing significant learning experiences.

 

AGRADECIMIENTOS

 

We sincerely thank our tutor, Daniel Rojas. His contributions and support were invaluable for this project. We would also like to thank the department of Creation & Communication at El Bosque University for their warm welcome and for providing all the means necessary to carry out this research.

 

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