CLIL practices in higher education: Exploring translanguaging phenomena in the content classroom

Abstract

The internationalisation process of higher education institutions has prompted the implementation of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach, where instruction occurs in a language other than students’ mother tongue (Coyle, Hood & Marsh, 2010). Previous research on CLIL focused on learners’ outcomes as a final product (Lahuerta, 2020). Nonetheless, current research delves into the learning process itself (Nikula & Moore, 2016). The aim of this study is to examine translanguaging functions in CLIL seminars delivered in History and Nursing degrees at a Spanish university. These practices have been audio-recorded and transcribed for the purpose of this study. As for the participants, there bilingual and multilingual strategies are expected in the learning environment. Results have been interpreted qualitatively to describe participants’ discourse in detail. The analysis of this corpus shows some similarities and differences in terms of interaction and production. Teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction is determined by participants’ command of the target language. These findings may be useful for scholars and educators concerned with the design of effective CLIL programmes in higher education.