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Article published In: Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education
Vol. 7:1 (2019) ► pp.30–60

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Cognitive Discourse Functions meet historical competences

Towards an integrated pedagogy in CLIL history education

 | University of Vienna
 | University of Vienna
Published online: 28 February 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.17017.dal
Abstract
This paper combines the perspectives of applied linguistics and history education in order to explore the viability of a genuinely non-binary pedagogy for content and language integration. Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs) are mapped against the model of historical competences underlying the current Austrian secondary history curriculum. The theoretical analysis shows the performance of CDFs as central to the constitution of historical competences. For the empirical part of the study, two complete didactic units on the topic of the Industrial Revolution were recorded, and oral and written utterances by students were analysed both in terms of CDF use and historical competences. The results confirm a significant connection between competences and CDFs. We argue that some explicit attention to CDFs and the linguistic resources necessary for their competent verbalization could significantly enhance the subject literacy level of Austrian CLIL history learners in both oral and written production.
Zusammenfassung
Diese Studie verbindet Perspektiven der angewandten Linguistik und der Geschichtsdidaktik um die Funktionsfähigkeit einer non-binären Pädagogik für die Integration von Fach- und Sprachlernen näher zu beleuchten. Zu diesem Zweck wird das Kompetenzmodel des österreichischen Geschichtsunterrichts einem Konstrukt kognitiver Diskursfunktionen (CDFs) gegenübergestellt. Die theoretische Analyse zeigt, dass die Ausführung kognitiver Diskursfunktionen einen zentralen Aspekt der historischen Kompetenzen darstellt. Für den empirischen Teil der Studie wurden jeweils vier Unterrichtseinheiten einer Unter- und einer Oberstufenklasse zum Thema der industriellen Revolution aufgenommen. Alle mündlichen sowie schriftlichen Äußerungen wurden in Bezug auf Gebrauch von CDFs sowie historischer Kompetenzen analysiert. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung deuten darauf hin, dass eine explizite Bezugnahme auf CDFs sowie den damit verbundenen sprachlichen Erfordernissen die mündlichen und sprachlichen Fachsprachenkompetenzen von österreichischen CLIL-Geschichte Lernenden bedeutend verbessern könnte.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical and conceptual framework
    • 2.1Cognitive Discourse Functions
    • 2.2The competency model for historical awareness
    • 2.3Congruence of historical competences (FUER-model) and CDF- Construct
  • 3.Design of the empirical study
    • 3.1Research context
    • 3.2Research process and data analysis
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1Overall CDF distribution
    • 4.2A mapping of FUER competences and CDFs
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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