Article published In: (In)equity Issues in CLIL
Edited by Ana Llinares and Russell Cross
[AILA Review 35:2] 2022
► pp. 203–226
A tale of two cities
The ideological debate on equity in bilingual schooling
Published online: 30 June 2023
https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.22019.gra
https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.22019.gra
Abstract
This study analyses the implementation of CLIL in two monolingual regions of Spain: Madrid and Andalusia. As a matter of fact, as these two regions have been mostly governed by political parties with contrasting ideologies, this may have affected the way in which CLIL has been implemented. Firstly, this paper will offer a literature review of the outcomes that the CLIL programme has produced in the two regions according to research. Secondly, the implementation of CLIL in each region will be examined by means of a document analysis of the CLIL regulations introduced in the two contexts, on the basis of the following themes: CLIL introduction and development, pupil selection, teacher training and compensation, and the inclusion of other languages. Finally, the discussion will explore whether the different outcomes of CLIL in the two regions may be the result of the ideologies guiding the implementation of the programme and will establish some sociolinguistic principles required to frame bilingual competence in the wider social debate on inequality. The greatest ideological difference observed is pupil selection, which may lead to language poverty in certain layers of society.
Keywords: CLIL, language planning, language distribution, equity, social justice
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Research context
- CLIL in Madrid
- CLIL in Andalusia
- 3.Research design and methodology
- Research questions
- Methodology
- 4.Results
- CLIL introduction and development
- CLIL introduction and development in Madrid
- CLIL introduction and development in Andalusia
- Pupil selection
- Pupil selection in Madrid
- Pupil selection in Andalusia
- Teacher training and compensation
- Teacher training and compensation in Madrid
- Teacher training and compensation in Andalusia
- Inclusion of other languages
- Inclusion of other languages in Madrid
- Inclusion of other languages in Andalusia
- CLIL introduction and development
- 5.Discussion
- Language continuum
- Language capital
- Language poverty
- Language description
- 6.Conclusion
- Notes
References
References (64)
Agudo, M. T., González, R., Hill, E., Justo, M. A., Kelly, R., Locke, M., Medrando, M. P., & Reilly, T. (2006). Orientaciones para el desarrollo del currículo integrado hispano-británico en educación infantil. Secretaría General de Educación.
Alonso-Belmonte, I., & Fernández-Agüero, M. (2021). Teachers’ narratives of resistance to Madrid’s bilingual programme: An exploratory study in secondary education. Linguistics and Education, 631, 100925.
Anghel, B., Cabrales, A., & Carro, J. M. (2016). Evaluating a bilingual education programme in Spain: The impact beyond foreign language learning. Economic Inquiry, 54(2), 1202–1223.
Barrios, E., & Milla Lara, M. D. (2018). CLIL methodology, materials and resources, and assessment in a monolingual context: An analysis of stakeholders’ perceptions in Andalusia. The Language Learning Journal, 48(1), 60–80.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press
Brindusa, A., Cabrales, A., & Carro, J. (2012). Evaluating a bilingual education programme in Spain: The impact beyond foreign language learning. Economic Inquiry, 54(2), 1202–1223.
Bruton, A. (2011). Is CLIL so beneficial, or just selective? Re-evaluating some of the research. System, 39(4), 523–532.
Cabezuelo Gutiérrez, P., & Fernández Fernández, R. (2014). A case study on teacher training needs in the Madrid bilingual project. Latin American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, 7(2), 50–70.
Cenoz, J. (2009). Towards multilingual education: Basque educational research from an international perspective. Multilingual Matters.
Cummins, J. (1984). Bilingual education and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. College Hill.
(2019). Should schools undermine or sustain multilingualism? An analysis of theory, research, and pedagogical practice. Sustainable Multilingualism, 15(1) 1–26.
Dickens, C. (1859). A tale of two cities. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved on 20 February 2023 from [URL]
Dobson, A., Pérez Murillo, M. D., & Johnstone, R. (2010). Programa de educación bilingüe en España: Informe de la evaluación. British Council & Ministerio de Educación.
Durrant, P., Brenchley, M., & McCallum, L. (2021). Understanding development and proficiency in writing: Quantitative corpus linguistic approaches. Cambridge University Press.
European Commission. (2019). Foreign language skills statistics. Eurostat Statistics Explained. Retrieved on 20 February 2023 from [URL]
Fernández, R., & Halbach, A. (2011). Analysing the situation of teachers in the Madrid bilingual project after four years of implementation. In Y. Ruiz de Zarobe, J. Sierra, & F. Gallardo del Puerto (Eds.), Content and foreign language integrated learning (pp. 241–270). Peter Lang.
Fernández-Agüero, M., & Hidalgo-McCabe, E. (2020). CLIL Students’ affectivity in the transition between education levels: The effect of streaming at the beginning of secondary education. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 21(6), 363–377.
Gerena, L., & Ramírez-Verdugo, M. D. (2014). Analyzing bilingual teaching and learning in Madrid, Spain: A Fulbright Scholar Collaborative Research Project. Gist Education and Learning Research Journal, 81, 118–136.
Granados, A., & Lorenzo, F. (2021). English L2 connectives in academic bilingual discourse: A longitudinal computerised analysis of a learner corpus. Revista Signos, 54(106), 626–644.
Granados, A., López-Jiménez, M. D. & Lorenzo, F. (2022). A longitudinal study of L2 historical writing: lexical richness and writing proficiency in Content and Language Integrated Learning. Ibérica, 431, 129–154.
Granados, A., Lorenzo-Espejo, A., & Lorenzo, F. (2021). Evidence for the interdependence hypothesis: A longitudinal study of biliteracy development in a CLIL/bilingual setting. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(8), 3005–3021.
Granados, A., Lorenzo-Espejo, A. & Lorenzo, F. (2023). A portrait of academic literacy in mid-adolescence: a computational longitudinal account of cognitive academic language proficiency during secondary school. Language and Education, 37(3), 288–307.
Halbach, A., & Iwaniec, J. (2020). Responsible, competent and with a sense of belonging: An explanation for the purported levelling effect of CLIL. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(5), 1609–1623.
Hidalgo-McCabe, E., & Fernández-González, N. (2019). Framing “choice” in language education: The case of freedom in constructing inequality. In L. Martín-Rojo & A. Del Percio (Eds.), Language and Neoliberal Governmentality (pp. 69–90). Routledge.
Hornberger, N. H. (2004). The continua of biliteracy and the bilingual educator: Educational linguistics in practice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 7(2), 155–171.
Hughes, S., & Madrid, D. (2019). The effects of CLIL on content knowledge in monolingual contexts. The Language Learning Journal, 48(1), 48–59.
Llinares, A., & Evnitskaya, N. (2021). Classroom interaction in CLIL programmes: Offering opportunities or fostering inequalities? TESOL Quarterly, 55(2), 366–397.
Lorenzo, F. (2023). Academic language as linguistic capital – A window to social justice: A commentary on “midadolescents’ language learning at school: Toward more just and scientifically rigorous practices in research and education. Language Learning.
Lorenzo, F., Casal, S., & Moore, P. (2010). The effects of content and language integrated learning in European education: Key findings from the Andalusian bilingual sections evaluation project. Applied Linguistics, 31(3), 418–442.
Lorenzo, F., & Granados, A. (2020). One generation after the bilingual turn: Results from a large-scale CLIL teachers’ survey. Estudios de Lingüística Inglesa Aplicada, 201, 77–101.
Lorenzo, F., Granados, A., & Ávila, I. (2019). The development of cognitive academic language proficiency in multilingual education: Evidence of a longitudinal study on the language of history. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 411, 100767.
Lorenzo, F., Granados, A., & Rico, N. (2021). Equity in bilingual education: Socioeconomic status and content and language integrated learning in monolingual Southern Europe. Applied Linguistics, 42(3), 393–413.
Madrid Department of Education. (2010). Los programas de enseñanza bilingüe de la comunidad de Madrid. Un estudio comparado. Madrid: Consejería de Educación.
. (2018). Informe sobre la evaluación del programa de enseñanza bilingüe de la comunidad de Madrid. Consejería de Educación.
. (2022). El programa bilingüe de la comunidad de Madrid. Retrieved on 20 February 2023 from from [URL]
Madrid, D., & Barrios, E. (2018). A comparison of students’ educational achievement across programmes and school types with and without CLIL provision. Porta Linguarum, 291, 29–50.
Madrid, D., & Hughes, S. (2011). Introduction to bilingual and plurilingual education. In Madrid, D. & S. Hughes (Eds.), Studies in bilingual education (pp. 17–50). Peter Lang.
Milla Lara, M. D., & Casas Pedrosa, A. V. (2018). Teacher perspectives on CLIL implementation: A within-group comparison of key variables. Porta Linguarum, 291, 159–180.
Navarro-Pablo, M., & García-Jiménez, E. (2018). Are CLIL Students More Motivated? An Analysis of Affective Factors and their Relation to Language Attainment. Porta Linguarum, 291, 719–90.
Navarro-Pablo, M., & López Gándara, Y. (2019). The effects of CLIL on L1 competence development in monolingual contexts. The Language Learning Journal, 48(1), 18–35.
NIV (1978). The Bible, New International Version. Biblica. Retrieved on 20 February 2023 from [URL]
Pavón, V. (2018). Learning outcomes in CLIL programmes: A comparison of results between urban and rural environments. Porta Linguarum, 291, 9–28.
Pavón, V., Lancaster, N., & Bretones, C. (2019). Keys issues in developing teachers’ competences for CLIL in Andalusia: Training, mobility and coordination. The Language Learning Journal, 48(1), 81–98.
Pérez Cañado, M. L. (2018). The evolution of bilingual education in monolingual contexts: An Andalusian case study. In P. Romanowski & M. Jedynak (Ed.), Current research in bilingualism and bilingual education (pp. 207–241). Springer.
Pérez, A., Lorenzo, F., & Pavón, V. (2016). European bilingual models beyond lingua franca. Key findings from CLIL French programs. Language Policy, 15(4), 485–504.
Ráez-Padilla, J. (2018). Parent perspectives on CLIL implementation: Which variables make a difference? Porta Linguarum, 291, 181–196.
Rascón, D., & Bretones, C. M. (2018). Socioeconomic status and its impact on language and content attainment in CLIL contexts. Porta Linguarum, 291, 115–135.
Rascón, D., & Casas, V. (2021). Characterising representative CLIL practices: An Andalusian case study. In M. L. Pérez Cañado (Ed.), Content and language integrated learning in monolingual settings: New insights from the Spanish context (pp. 9–30). Springer.
Shepherd, E., & Ainsworth, V. (2017). English impact: An evaluation of English language capability. British Council.
Spanish Statistical Office. (2021). Contabilidad regional de España. Revisión estadística 2019. Gabinete de prensa. Retrieved on 20 February 2023 from [URL]
