The CLIL approach in German undergraduate studies: possible bridges

Abstract

This paper revisits the author's master's research (GRILLI 2018) and aims to explore the concept of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and its possible applications in Brazilian undergraduate German studies. The first section sums up the history of what we call bilingual education and the main features of the CLIL approach. In the second section the Brazilian reality is outlined, namely the guidelines for bilingual education and for German undergraduate courses in our country. Greater focus is given to the University of São Paulo, scene of an empirical research about the difficulties perceived by graduates throughout the course, described and discussed in this paper. The results of the study make room for the discussion on how to link CLIL theory and the reality of German undergraduate studies in Brazil, by relating the five dimensions of CLIL and Bloom's taxonomy to the curriculum of such courses. Finally, it is argued that a work based on the CLIL approach can give undergraduate students greater autonomy in the use of the German language in all its dimensions, and, consequently, greater autonomy in their future work as teachers.

Keywords:
CLIL; German undergraduate studies; German as additional language; German in a university context