Since the opening of the first CLIL department in the Netherlands in 1989, tweetalig onderwijs (‘bilingual education’) has expanded into a national network of over 130 secondary schools, serving a... Show moreSince the opening of the first CLIL department in the Netherlands in 1989, tweetalig onderwijs (‘bilingual education’) has expanded into a national network of over 130 secondary schools, serving a population of around 37,000 learners. While academic interest in the field has also seen growth and diversification, the pace of practical developments and the lack of a structured research agenda have led to research becoming fragmented and lagging behind practice. This chapter provides an overview of the Dutch CLIL context followed by a critical review of research into organisation, implementation, outcomes and experiences in Dutch bilingual education. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the ways in which future research could support further developments in practice. Show less
This chapter explores issues encountered by beginning CLIL teachers in making sense of and applying guidelines aimed at teachers when designing learning experiences for CLIL. After summarising... Show moreThis chapter explores issues encountered by beginning CLIL teachers in making sense of and applying guidelines aimed at teachers when designing learning experiences for CLIL. After summarising current guidelines, the authors draw on Coyle et al.’s (2010) 4Cs model, an additional C for collaboration and developments conceptualising integration and disciplinary literacy, to reflect on their own experiences as CLIL teacher educators in The Netherlands. They discuss how principles behind CLIL can be made relatable to both content and language teachers. They argue that, in taking a holistic, literacy-based view of subject teaching, teachers from both linguistic and non-linguistic disciplines are positioned as experts in all aspects of their subject, and can enter into collaboration on an equal footing with each other. Challenges remain, including a need for cross-disciplinary collaboration between language specialist and subject specialist teacher educators. Show less
