A cross-sectional analysis of oral narratives by children with CLIL and non-CLIL instruction

The study presented investigates the English language learning outcomes of 44 German-speaking children in year 3 of secondary school, of whom 22 are in CLIL strands, while the other group follow standard curricula. This investigation focuses on the acquisition of oral narrative competence, using a picture story related by each pupil in German and English as data base. Aspects of language competence investigated include degrees of narrative competence (e.g. mentioning of plot elements, shifting perspectives), morphological/syntactic language regularities (e.g. tense forms) and the use of communicative strategies (i.e. coping with lexical gaps). The results point towards improved oral narrative abilities of CLIL pupils. There are, however, differences in the various competence aspects investigated, indicating that CLIL instruction most markedly affects more complex elements.