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Article published In: Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education: Online-First Articles

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‘How much is Irish and how much is PE?’

Successes and challenges of integrating language and content when teaching Physical Education through a minority language

ORCiD logo with link | Dublin City University
ORCiD logo with link | Dublin City University
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Dublin City University.

Published online: 25 April 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.23020.nid
Abstract
This paper presents primary teachers’ and university-based teacher educators’ experiences of integrating language and content when teaching physical education (PE) through Irish. Two teacher educators, a language specialist and a content specialist collaborated in professional development (PD) with primary teachers in English-medium (n = 2) and Irish-medium immersion schools (n = 2) to teach two units of PE. A design-based research methodology was adopted in two six-week cycles. Qualitative data were collected from: individual interviews and a focus group interview with teachers, teacher educators’ reflective diaries and observation of PE lessons. Successes of the approach were children’s enjoyment and language development supported by the pre-teaching of language. Balancing language and content was found to be challenging for teachers in both linguistic contexts. This study suggests that dual-focused collaborative PD and tailor-made resources are necessary to support generalist teachers in navigating the complexity of integrating language and content in CLIL and immersion contexts.
Achoimre
Déantar cur síos sa pháipéar seo ar an taithí a bhí ag múinteoirí bunscoile agus ag oideoirí múinteoirí a bhí lonnaithe in ollscoil agus iad ag comhtháthú na teanga agus an ábhair i dteagasc an chorpoideachais trí Ghaeilge. Chomhoibrigh beirt oideoirí múinteoirí, duine a bhí ina saineolaí teanga agus duine a bhí ina saineolaí ábhair i dtionscadal forbartha gairmiúla (FG) le múinteoirí bunscoile i scoileanna a mhúin trí mheán an Bhéarla (n = 2) agus i scoileanna tumoideachais lán-Ghaeilge (n = 2), le dhá aonad chorpoideachais a theagasc. Cuireadh modheolaíocht taighde dearadh bhunaithe i bhfeidhm i ndá thimthriall de sé seachtaine. Bailíodh eolas cáilíochtúil ó agallaimh aonaracha agus ó ghrúpa fócais le múinteoirí, ó dhialanna machnaimh na n-oideoirí múinteoirí agus ó bhreathnóireacht ar cheachtanna corpoideachais. Buanna a bhain leis an gcur chuige ná taitneamh agus forbairt teanga na bpáistí mar thoradh ar réamhtheagasc na teanga. Léiríonn na torthaí gur bhain dúshlán le cothromaíocht a bhaint amach idir teagasc na teanga agus teagasc an ábhair trí Ghaeilge sa dá chomhthéacs. Molann an páipéar seo FG dhéfhócasaithe chomhoibríoch, chomh maith le háiseanna atá saindeartha chun tacú le múinteoirí dul i ngleic leis an gcastacht a bhaineann le comhtháthú ábhar agus teanga i suíomhanna FCÁT agus i suíomhanna an tumoideachais.
Article outline
  • National context
  • Teacher preparation: Irish and PE
  • Literature review
    • Teacher knowledge for integrating language and content
    • Integrating language and content — International and Irish research
    • Professional development for integrating language and content
  • Methodology
    • Research design
    • Participants
    • Data collection and analysis
    • Ethical considerations
  • Findings
    • Successes
    • Challenges
    • Supports
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgment
  • References
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