ASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTENT AND
LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING
VOLUME 2. MARCH 2024

ISSUED BY J-CLIL ISSN 2758-2477
J-CLILAsian Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning (Asian CLIL) Vol. 2
ISSN (electronic): 2758-2477
Editors: The Editorial Board of Asian CLIL
Keiko Tsuchiya (editor in chief)
Ikuko Uneno (vice editor in chief)Mark de Boer (vice editor in chief)
Barry Kavanagh
Thomas Lockley
Andy Roomy
Kana Seki
Saki Suemori
Keisuke Tanino
Reviewers:
Brian Birdsell, Magdalena Custodio Espinar, Melody Elliot, Natalia Evnitskaya, Hongtao
Jing, Barry Kavanagh, Yoshimi Kawabata, Satsuki Kojima, Irina Kuznetcova, Thomas
Lockley, Laura MacGregor, Stephen McNamara, Hazuki Nakata, Takayuki Shishido, María
Dolores Pérez Murillo, Andy Roomy, Keisuke Tanino, Hiromi Tsuda, Reiko Yamashita
Publisher: The Japan CLIL Pedagogy Association (J-CLIL)
The J-CLIL Office c/o Makoto Ikeda
Sophia University, 7-1 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-8554, Japan
Cover design: Mark Kavanagh
Publication Frequency: Annually
Publication Medium: Electronic only
Publication Website: The J-CLIL Website (https://www.j-clil.com)
Published Date: March, 2024
All articles in this Journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor
screening and anonymized refereeing by two anonymous referees.
© 2024 Asian CLIL

Contents
Editorial
Asian CLIL Editorial Team__________________________________________________ ii
Practical Report
A Case Study on CLIL with Art and English in a Japanese Public School to Second Grade
Students: An Example of “Printmaking”
Akio Abe, Yoshihiro Nigo, Christin Cook _____________________________________ 1
Templish: The Possibilities of Temples to Teach Japanese Culture through the CLIL Approach
Hideyuki Kashimoto ______________________________________________________17
Research Articles
CDFs Across Contexts: Analyzing a Learners’ Written Corpus for CLIL Classrooms
Chizuko Aiba, Junji Izumi ________________________________________________ 31
Analyzing Authorized Textbooks: Potentials and Problems to Develop CLIL Lessons inJapanese High Schools
Yukina Odate ___________________________________________________________50
Does Soft CLIL Work in Kosen? -A Comparative Study of Students’ Self-Assessment between
Kosen and a Private Secondary School
Tatsuma Shirai __________________________________________________________67

iEditorial
Teachers have many roles, whether they are language teachers or subject teachers (or both),and among them, the most important one could be a designer, who consistently makes
decisions on what should be learned/taught and how. In other words, teachers, together with
their students, colleagues, parents, educational boards, and other stakeholders, decide whether
they accept or reject existing norms of learning and teaching to develop a new one in theirindividual local context (although they may not be fully aware of it).
Assume you find the sentence below in your teaching material; for instance, how do you design
learning with this text?
(a) To be, or not to be, that is the question. (Hamlet, Act III)A language teacher might draw students’ attention to its syntactic form and explain: the firstphrase contains two to-infinitive forms, which is left-dislocation. The subject of the mainclause “that” refers to the pre-clause slot, which is followed by a be-verb (copula) and a nounphrase consisting of an indefinite article and a noun. Another teacher might focus on pragmaticfunctions. The phrase placed before the main clause functions as reinforcement to mark theitem as a theme (Quirk et al., 1985, pp.1416-1417, also cited in Carter & McCarthy, 1995).
You can see the effect of the thematisation when compared with the sentences below.
(b) To be, or not to be, is the question.
(c) The question is to be, or not to be.
Sentences (b) and (c) are grammatical canon, but they lost the tension, dynamism and eleganceof the words, and audience would not feel the agony of Hamlet as they do when hearing theformer. Sentence (a) would be incorrect based on the norm of written English grammar, but
not spoken one and often observed in the genre of narrative (Carter & McCarthy, 1995).
With the same text, subject specialists might appreciate the content of the play, the writer, thecharacter, and the scene, investigating the historical and socio-cultural context. The other way
to explore the text could be to compare several versions and translations of the play. Somemight also discuss gender issues with the play, drawing on its film adaptations from Ophelia’s
point of view or illuminating the fact that women were not allowed to act in theatres at thattime, as seen in Kabuki plays in Japan. Others might look at it from philosophical, ethical andontological aspects, exploiting the plots and rhetoric in the play (Wilson, 2018).
How students learn the text is another issue: what teaching materials (e.g., a written text, videos
or the physical space of a theatre) should be provided? How tasks should be organised (e.g., a
research project or a drama performance), applying CLIL (content and language integrated
learning) with 4Cs (content, communication, cognition, and culture/context) (Coyle, 2007)
or 4Ts (text, task, talk, and teamwork)(Ikeda et al., 2021)?
In terms of the language medium, learning could be practised with a target language and/or a
local language(s) shared between teacher (s) and students (cf. translanguaging in Garcia &Li Wei, 2014). During a task, how to attend grammatical “mistakes” is another issue
teachers might consider. Should it be corrected based on the norm of “native” speakers or
taken as plurilinguals’ creative and pragmatic use of language? cf. the notion of ELF(English as a Lingua Franca) (Widdowson, 2003). The choice is yours.
iiBy so doing, teachers collaboratively maintain or change classroom norms at multiple levels.
Three stages are involved in the process: production, distribution, and consumption (adaptedfrom Fairclough, 1992). The first concerns content and concepts chosen for learning, thesecond materials (media) and tasks for learning, and the last classroom practice teachers andstudents are actually engaged in. Before CLIL emerged, in the Japanese context, at least, manyteachers might have refrained from contributing to the first. The “norm” has changed. CLIL
provides teachers more freedom to choose, crossing existing domains and different disciplines.
It is exciting but could be challenging.
To design learning and teaching, teachers might seek some guidance. The recently publishedvolume, the Routledge Handbook of Content and Language Integrated Learning, (Banegas &Zappa-Hollman, 2023) serves well for the purpose (also see the Handbook of CLIL in Preprimary Education, Otto & Cortina-Perez, 2023, if your field is in primary or pre-primaryeducation). So does Asian CLIL.
The second volume of Asian CLIL showcases two practical reports and three research
articles. The first practical report by Abe, Nigo and Cook presents the results andeducational implications of a CLIL class using printmaking as the subject matter of an artsand crafts class for lower-grade students and found that their students enjoyed the activity
and did not see negative aspects to studying arts and crafts in English. In the second practicalreport, Kashimoto gives an account of an English language program called ‘Templish.’ Thisis a monthly program for elementary school children held at Chokyu-Ji Temple in Nara.
In the program, children learn about Japanese tea ceremony, making mochi and nagashi
somen in English. Kashimoto concludes that based on his analysis, that temples havetremendous potential for experiential learning using a CLIL approach.
In reference to the corpus based research on language in CLIL classrooms at Autonomous
University of Madrid (Llinares et al., 2012) and the framework of CDFs (cognitive discourse
functions) (Dalton-Puffer, 2013), both of which are based on SFL (systemic functional
linguistics) (Halliday, 2004), Aiba and Izumi compared lexicogrammatical features in
written texts students with different levels of proficiency produced in CLIL lessons atuniversities in Japan. To help teachers to prepare and implement CLIL effectively in English
classrooms in Japan, Odate analysed the potentials and problems of authorised English
textbooks in high school. The study showed suggestions how teachers can implement CLIL
with these textbooks. The research article written by Shirai investigates the effectiveness of aSoft CLIL approach in Kosen (National Institute of Technology in Japan) by comparing
students’ self-assessment of learning outcomes with those of students in a private secondary
school. The study’s novelty lies in its comparative analysis of Soft CLIL’s efficacy in two
different educational settings, focusing on non-engineering topics. The findings suggest that
Soft CLIL can be more effective in Kosen than in private high schools, possibly due todifferences in students’ assumptions about reading skills and the influence of entrance
examinations on their learning. This research provides valuable insights into the feasibility andbenefits of implementing Soft CLIL in various educational contexts in Japan.
By reading the articles, readers could relive the experience, the struggle, and the achievementof the authors, which induces reflection on your own teaching. With knowledge, teachers as
designers can reflect on their decisions in teaching while evaluating and flexibly adjusting theirplans by monitoring students’ learning practice and negotiating constraints in a curriculum.
Knowing matters, and reflecting is essential to act. Asian CLIL is at your service, mediating
readers and contributors to the journal.

iii

Asian CLIL Editorial Team
Keiko Tsuchiya
Mark de Boer
Ikuko Ueno
Barry Kavanagh
Thomas Lockley
Andy Roomy
Kana Seki
Saki Suemori
Keisuke Tanino
References
Banegas, D. L., & Zappa-Hollman, S. (Eds.). (2023). The Routledge handbook of content andlanguage integrated learning. Routledge.
Carter, R., & McCarthy, M. (1995). Grammar and the Spoken Language. Applied Linguistics,
16(2), 141–158.
Coyle, D. (2007). Content and language Integrated learning: Towards a connected research
agenda for CLIL pedagogies. International Journal of Bilingual Educaiton and
Bilingualism, 10(5), 543–562.
Dalton-Puffer, C. (2013). A construct of cognitive discourse functions for conceptualisingcontent-language integration in CLIL and multilingual education. European Journal ofApplied Linguistics, 1(2), 216–253.
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and Social Change. Polity Press.
Garcia, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging. Palgrave Macmillan.
Halliday, M. A. K. (2004). An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 3rd edition. Arnold.
Ikeda, M., Izumi, S., Watanabe, Y., Pinner, R., & Davis, M. (2021). Soft CLIL and English
language teaching: Understanding Japanese policy, practice and implications.
Routledge.
Llinares, A., Morton, T., & Whittaker, R. (2012). The Role of Language in CLIL. Cambridge
University Press.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the
English Language. Longman.
Shakespeare, W. (1604-5/1940). Hamlet: Second Quarto 1604-5. Oxford University Press.
Widdowson, H. (2003). Defining Issues in English Language Teaching. Oxford University
Press.
Wilson, J. R. (2018). “To be, or not to be”: Shakespeare Against Philosophy. Shakespeare,14(4), 341–359.

iv

A Case Study on CLIL with Art and English in a Japanese Public School
to Second Grade Students: An Example of “Printmaking”
Akio Abe
Omoto Elementary School
Yoshihiro Nigo
Yamaguchi Gakugei University
Christin Cook
Omoto Elementary School
Abstract
This practical report presents the results and educational implications of a CLIL class using
printmaking as the subject matter of an arts and crafts class for lower grade students (2ndgraders) at a public elementary school in January 2022. The practical study consisted of six
hours of teaching, including arts and crafts (four hours total) and a foreign language activity(two hours total). In all units, students watched two videos (about 5 minutes) made by ALTson the content of the lessons. One was to introduce colors in English while showing paints (lessthan 2 minutes), and the other was to give an overview of the content of the activities in theunit (about 3 minutes). During the second part of the unit, we conducted a one-hour lesson
focusing on how to say colors in English and cultural differences. Let’s Try!, a Japanese-madeEnglish language textbook aimed at third and fourth grade, was used for the second part of theunit. The questionnaire and reflections of the 29 students in the class for analysis showed that
all the students enjoyed the activity and did not see negative aspects to studying arts and crafts
in English. Furthermore, in a performance test using the language material (What color do you
like? I like…), which was designed to connect with Let’s Try! 1 (What color do you like? I
like…), 26 students were able to communicate in English showing appropriate retention of thelesson material. This suggests that it is possible to conduct classes that familiarize students
with foreign languages while achieving the arts and crafts course goals, even in the lower
elementary school grades.
Keywords: CLIL, elementary school, performance assessment, young learners, arts and crafts
1. Introduction
Since 2020, foreign language activities have commenced from the middle grades of elementary
schools in Japan, marking a trend toward the early initiation of English language learning. In
Japan, where English is a foreign language, many students have limited opportunities to use
English outside the classroom. Consequently, Content and Language Integrated Learning(CLIL) has garnered attention as an effective method for foreign language acquisition.
However, reports on the practical implementation of CLIL, especially in subjects like arts andcrafts, are scarce (see Fujii and Azuma, 2017).
In this practical study, 6 classes total were conducted with second-grade students at a public
elementary school in Okayama City. In the school, there were no foreign language activities orlessons for lower-grade elementary students, and during the 2021 academic year, they only had
the opportunity for one English lesson with an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT). To deepen
the learning from this limited interaction and to foster motivation for English learning in higher
grades, we focused on CLIL by integrating foreign languages with other subjects. Therefore,
for these students, their first experience of an English lesson in elementary school was through1

a CLIL-based approach.
In light of this background, the following two points were emphasized in implementing thispractical study:(1) To create an overarching practice-oriented atmosphere where students were given thetime and space to achieve the objectives of other subjects (such as arts and crafts) whilelearning a foreign language through the use of CLIL.
(2) To develop lesson activities that would motivate students for foreign language activities
in the higher grades (from 3rd grade).
2. Theoretical Background and Previous Studies
The most referenced definition of CLIL in Japan is arguably that of Coyle et al. (2010).
According to them, CLIL is a “dual-focused educational approach,” with its focus being “notonly on content” and not only on “language,” indicating its diverse nature (p. 1). While CLIL
can vary depending on the emphasis placed on content or language, Nigo and Tomioka (2020)
propose three models based on examples of CLIL in physical education. Applying these to ourteaching practice, arts and crafts CLIL can be categorized into three types: the first type (Figure1) balances arts and crafts content and language equally at 50% each; the second type (Figure2) uses arts and crafts lessons as the core, incorporating English around this core; and the third
type (Figure 3) centers on English lessons while integrating some elements of arts and crafts.
In countries like Italy and Finland, CLIL lessons often follow the first model, while in Japan,
there is a tendency to perceive CLIL within the framework of English education. Hence, thethird model can be widely observed in Japan. However, our teaching practice was designed
according to the second model of arts and crafts core with English on the periphery, which isless explored in Japan.
Figure 1. Equal model

Art

English

CLIL
Figure 2. Art core - English peripheral model
EnglishArt

2

Figure 3. English core - Art peripheral model
Art
EnglishIn Japan, the concept of 4Cs is often highlighted as a key component of CLIL, as noted by
Watanabe et al. (2011). These 4Cs stand for Content, Communication, Cognition, andCommunity. In CLIL lessons, it is crucial to include these 4Cs, meaning that students engage
in authentic content from other subjects, enrich their learning through interactions with peers
and teachers, deepen their thinking on themes closely related to each specific subject, such as“production area” in social studies and “environment” in science, and conduct these language
and cognitive activities through student-led cooperative learning. However, recently, the“Community” aspect is frequently replaced with “Culture”, and in this paper, the fourth C isdefined as Culture1.
Another theoretical underpinning of CLIL is its close connection to Gardner’s (1993; 2006)
Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory. For instance, Dale and Tanner (2012) assert that “goodCLIL provides a spectrum of multiple intelligences” (p. 13). According to Dale and Tanner,
CLIL learners are diverse in their intelligences, and recognizing these individual differences is
crucial when learning other languages. Of Gardner’s eight intelligences, bodily-kinesthetic andvisual-spatial intelligences are particularly relevant to arts and crafts. This implies thatincorporating arts and crafts content can be effective in foreign language learning for students
who are adept at using their bodies or visual information. In this sense, utilizing multiple
intelligences not only offers opportunities for personalized learning in CLIL but also serves asscaffolding to facilitate understanding of the content.
With this theoretical background of CLIL in mind, the paper next examines prior research andpractical examples of CLIL in Japan. Although CLIL began to permeate European countries in
the 1990s, it was not until the studies of Watanabe et al. (2011), Sasajima (2011), and Izumi etal. (2012) that CLIL was gradually introduced in Japan. Over the past decade, the number ofstudies and applications of CLIL has been increasing, but most are at the elementary schoollevel and have included subjects like social studies and science, with few practical subjects.
Among these, Yamano (2013) introduced elementary school CLIL that comprehensively
utilizes content from arts and crafts, science, and social studies. Current implementations of
CLIL can be seen in elementary schools located in Kumamoto and Yamanashi Prefectures in
the form of arts and crafts and home economics lessons both incorporating foreign language
activities for fifth graders. (Fujii and Azuma, 2017; Ota and Nagase, 2018).
Additionally, Sasajima and Yamano (2019) presented a lesson model for upper elementary
grades titled “Let’s Make Your Favorite Animal,” integrating arts and crafts with color
selection and creative activities. Furthermore, Nigo and Tomioka (2020) conducted a practical
study for third and fourth graders at an affiliated elementary school in Hiroshima Prefecture,
incorporating English into physical education lessons themed around “body-building exercises”
1

In this Japanese variant of the CLIL’s 4C, the fourth “C” can be interpreted as both“Community” or “Culture.”3

based on the CLIL 4C framework. In prior research on elementary schools, there is a lack ofpractical applications of CLIL in hands-on subjects like arts and crafts, and an imbalance in thesubjects covered. However, considering the potential to utilize students’ individual strengths
in intelligence, particularly bodily-kinesthetic and visual-spatial intelligence, and the ease ofusing these as scaffolding in CLIL to understand subject content through English, there isadequate room for conducting CLIL research on practical subjects such as arts and crafts inelementary schools.
The aim of this is to put CLIL into practice in an elementary school environment and observe
its impact on young learners.
3. Unit-Case Study: Arts and Crafts CLIL using the Print “Fill it up” as a Case Study
3.1 Participants
180 second-grade students attending a public elementary school in Okayama City participatedin this study. The 180 students were divided into 5 classes.
In this report, we analyze and report on 29 of the 36 students in one of the classes for which
we were in charge, who participated in the Main Learning Activities as seen in the 3.3.2 Unit
Plan. As previously mentioned, the students in the target grade had not had any foreign
language activities or classes since entering school, and this was the first foreign language classfor them. In addition, 9 of the 29 students were learning English outside of school, such as at
an English conversation school.
For ethical considerations, the school principal’s consent was obtained before conducting thepractice. Since there are five classes in the same grade at the school, CLIL practice wasconducted in the other classes as well to provide equal opportunities for all students.
3.2 Subjects Covered by CLIL
As shown in previous studies, the weight of content and language to be focused on varies within
CLIL. In order to make one hour of foreign language learning with ALTs and Team Teaching(TT) more profound, we decided to adopt a model in which other subjects are used as the coreand English is partially included in those subjects. Since the schedule of the exchange classwith ALTs had already been decided, we selected the appropriate subject for the core of CLIL
in this course from the annual teaching plan.
Table 1 shows teaching plans for the grade in the academic year. The five subjects in the tablewere taught by the classroom teachers, including the author of this study.
After examining the contents of each subject area, we decided to adopt CLIL in arts and crafts
because it can be taught with specific movements and because it is easy to visualize themovements in English. In addition, we thought that arts and crafts would be appropriate fromthe viewpoint of connecting with third and fourth-grade foreign language activities and fromthe viewpoint of being able to handle the colors used in Let’s Try! 12.

2

Let’s Try! is the official teaching textbook used all over Japan to teach foreign language
activities for third and fourth grades.
4

Table 1. Teaching plans for January in the second grade in 2021 at the cooperating school.
Subject
Content
OutlineRelation to CLIL
Traditional folktale,
Read the story
Narrative style
Japanese
Kasako Jizo
Notice JapanesePhonological structure
Language
Read aloudphonemes aloudand pronunciation
Grandma’s story
Play karuta, card game Cultural differences
Learn how the table
Multiplication tableworks.
Mathematics Length exceeding
Length/Number
Learn about the unit of
100 cm; mlength, (m).
LivingReflect on their own
Environment Jump to TomorrowNone
growthStudies
Gesturemovements
PhysicalEnjoy various physicalSpecific movements;
such as flying, running,
Education
movements
jump, run, hop, etc.
and splashing
Arts
and Printmaking with paint Printmaking with paint Specific movements;
Craftscolor, cut, stamp, etc.
Note: The Japanese Academic year commences in the month of April and ends the following
March. Therefore, the study held in January 2022 is a continuation of the 2021 academic year.
3.3 Unit Objectives and Unit Plan
In order to conduct foreign language activities with arts and crafts as the core subject,
objectives and unit plans for both subjects were developed. The objectives and unit plans forthe arts and crafts course were developed concerning the Courses of Study3 as well as teachers’
manuals. The unit was planned for a total of six hours: four hours for arts and crafts and twohours for foreign language, which were converted to classroom activities. The two hours of
foreign language consisted of one hour of color-focused activities with an ALT and one hourof performance tests.
Unit plans were created for each subject area so that both arts and crafts and foreign languages
could be viewed simultaneously. However, since foreign language activities were only a twohour lessons and did not need to be officially recorded, the evaluation of foreign language wasonly recorded as a reference4.
3.3.1 Unit Objectives. Arts and Crafts Department(1) Through the process of copying by lining up and overlapping the plates, the students will
notice the beauty and interest of the shapes and colors of the objects they copy. The students
will try various ways of arranging and stacking the plates and experimenting with thepositions of the copies.
[Knowledge and Skills (KS)](2) Find what you want to express through roller play and stencil prints and think about how
to express it.
[Thinking, Judgment, Expression (TJE)](3) Be interested in the expression of katagami prints and enjoy the activity of representing
them on paper.
[Proactive attitude toward learning (PA)]3

Course of Study is Japan’s official education guidelines, outlining what is taught in schools
from kindergarten to high school. The teacher’s manual is usually attached to the textbook toshow the alignment with Course of Study.
4
The result of the performance test was recorded for two reasons: for this research and to
motivate students to continue learning English in the future.
5Foreign Language(1) To become aware of the variety of ways of thinking, the differences between Japanese andEnglish in terms of sound and rhythm through foreign words, and to become familiar withways of saying colors, expressing preferences, and answering whether one likes somethingor not.
[Knowledge and Skills (KS)](2) Communicate their preferences to each other.
[Thinking, Judgment, Expression (TJE)](3) Introduce their own preferences while trying to communicate them to the other person.
[Proactive attitude toward learning (PA)]3.3.2 Unit Plan (Teaching and Evaluation Plan). The unit plan for the whole lesson is shownin the table below:
Table 2. Unit plan (teaching and evaluation plan).
Evaluation
Main Learning
Perspectives
Unit Part
Activities and Contents
KS TJE PA
Know what to createand have an outlook on
the unit○
Cut out the mold
11
[Video 1 & 2]
Learn expressions suchas cut and stamp, and○colors in English[Video 3]
Know colors andshapes in English

2

1
With
ALT

Know the differences in
the perception of colors
and shapes between
Japan and othercountries○

Notice the different
colors of the rainbow

3

1
2

Notice the differencesin signage
Know how to cut katashapes
Copy the kata by lining
them up or overlappingthem[Video 4]○

Try various ways ofarranging and printing
the plates○

6

Evaluation Criteria andMethods
Become interested in katagami
or pattern paper and express
themselves in prints(Reflection and observation of
students)
Become familiar with foreign
language expressions(Performance test later)
No evaluation at this timeThrough foreign words,
become aware of thedifferences between Japaneseand English, and become
familiar with ways of saying
colors, expressing preferences,
and asking and answering
whether they like something or
not(Observation, Worksheet)

Try various ways of arranging
and stacking the plates, as well
as experimenting with thepositions in which they copied
the images (Students’ works
and observations)
Communicate their preferences
to each other(Interaction with ALT)

Receive the color you
want from the ALT in
English, “Red, please”

4

1

Watch a video of theartist creating a work ofart by developing animage from a version
created by ALT[Video 4]
Expand the imaginationfrom the work, color it
in with colored pencils
In front of a set ofpaints, tell each otherabout your favorite
color“What color do you
like?”○

Find what they want to express
through printmaking and think
about how to express it(students’ works andobservations)No evaluation at this time○

Interested in the expression of
katagami or pattern paper
prints and enjoy the activity of○
expressing themselves in prints(Reflection and observation of
5
1students)
Communicate their preferences○ to each other.
(Performance Test)
Note: For the description of evaluation, the upper row is for arts and crafts and the lower row
is for foreign language activities.
3.3.3 CLIL's Relationship to the 4Cs. The following 4Cs, which are considered important in
CLIL class practice, were taken into consideration in the class unit (Table 3).
Table 3. Relationship to the 4Cs of CLIL in this unit.
Content
The course focused on printmaking in arts and crafts, does not
exclusively emphasize language. Instead, it encourages a natural use ofEnglish in the context of artistic expression.
Communication During the arts and crafts lessons, students engaged in foreign language
communication by using English to request the paints they wanted fromthe ALT. Furthermore, at the end of the art class, a language activity
was incorporated. Students used expressions like “What color do you
like?” and “I like….”
Cognition
To foster the development of critical thinking skills, we referred to the
Course of Study for Arts and Crafts and Zuga Kousaku 1 and 2
Teaching Manual (2020) published by Kairyudo. Specifically, we
aimed to cultivate thinking skills through the process of deciding how tolayer the prints created by the students and what colors to use. The
objective was to encourage students to bring their artwork closer to theirown vision by experimenting with different colors and layering
techniques. This process of thought aligns with the 'Create' level in
Bloom’s Taxonomy, as it involves generating new ideas, products, orways of viewing things.
CultureBy watching videos of an ALT creating artwork, students areencouraged to focus on the differences in how shapes and colors of7

objects are perceived. This activity aims to cultivate a broad acceptanceof diversity, not only through the works of people who have physicallyspent time abroad but also through noticing the differences in the works
of friends who have spent time in the same place.
Furthermore, as an activity focusing on cross-cultural understanding ofcolors and shapes, we conducted an exercise using signs and rainbows
as subjects in the second part. This activity explored the differences incolor perception. Students learned that the shape of signs and theperception of rainbow colors can vary from country to country, thereby
experiencing the diverse ways familiar objects can be perceived.
3.4 Creation of Teaching Materials
For this unit, in addition to the four videos (an example is seen in Figure 4 and descriptions ofall videos are in Table 4), a worksheet (Figure 5) and presentations focusing on color and crosscultural understanding, which will be covered in the second unit, were created in cooperation
with ALTs and grade-level teachers.
Figure 4. Image of video.

Figure 5. The worksheet for the second unit.

8

Table 4. Video overview.
Type
Summary
Video 1 Pen the shape.
Video 2 Cut the shape with scissors.
Video 3 Introduce various colors of paints.

Main English
draw, penscissors, cut
red, blue,

Situations
primary
primary
Hourly andobi activities5
Video 4 Combine the shape and color (paint) toplane, train
Tertiary andcomplete the work.
Quaternary*Train refers to the movement of rolling the ink roller away from you, while plane refers tolifting the roller away from the paper.
The videos were created in English only and ranged in length from 30 seconds to 1 minute.
The videos were viewed every hour at the beginning of class to get an overview of the activities
and to familiarize the students with color expressions in English. Although we did not ask thestudents to repeat the video, they spontaneously repeated what the ALT had said.
In addition, we told them to imagine the movement of “train and plane” when they print, sothat the pattern would not stick to the roller. During the actual printmaking, some students
mumbled “train, plane” as they worked.
Figure 6. Slides Used in Second Unit.

In the second unit, ALTs and TTs conducted activities focusing on foreign languages,
according to a textbook, Let’s try! 1, Unit 4 “I like Blue”, using the slide seen in Figure 6. In
addition, in order to provide an opportunity for cross-cultural understanding, whichcorresponds to Culture in CLIL, we used traffic signs and rainbows, which are sometimes
perceived and displayed differently in Japan than in other countries, as the subject materials.
4. Results
4.1 Methods
To verify the results of the unit, three surveys were conducted: a questionnaire for the students,
an analysis of the free description that served as a reflection, and a performance test. A fourpoint Likert scale questionnaire was administered via Google Forms as a way to assess students’reactions and attitudes toward the unit. The free description analysis was a paper-based freewriting exercise administered before the questionnaire and after the second unit (see 3.3.2 Unitplan). Lastly, the performance test was administered during unit 5 and was done as a face-to5

Obi activity is the term used in Japanese education settings, which means activities in thesame time slot.
9

face peer interaction between the students and teacher.
4.2 Survey Results
Based on the work of Nigo and Tomioka (2020) a four-point Likert scale questionnaire wasadministered after the completion of the entire unit and given to students. There were elevenstatements that addressed the four axes of CLIL: “Content,” “Communication (listening,speaking, and reading),” “Cognition”, and “Culture”, as well as the effects of both the English
and arts and crafts aspects. Students were asked to respond to the statements by selecting‘Strongly Agree’ (SA), ‘Agree’ (A), ‘Slightly Disagree’ (SD) and ‘Disagree’ (D).
Table 5. Survey results (N = 29).
Question Type
Question
SA
Attitude
1. Did you enjoy the arts and crafts class?
23
Listening
2. Did you understand the ALT's English?
15
3. Did you understand the English your friends
Listeningspoke?
19
Speaking
4. Were you able to speak in English during class?
17
4C:
5. Did you understand how to say the colors andCommunication shapes in English?
27
6. Did you understand how to make a kata, form in
4C: Content
English, and create a hanga?
28
7. Were you able to create a composition with
4C: Cognition
creative use of color and layering?
21
8. Did you notice that the color of the rainbow and
4C: Culture
the shape of the road sign are different in Japan andother countries?
19
Attitude:
9. Did this lesson help you learn English?
Foreign
Language
24
Attitude: Arts 10. Did this lesson help you with arts and crafts?
and Crafts
24
11. Would you like to use English in your arts andAttitude: CLIL
crafts class?
22

A SD
5
0
11
3

D
1
0

6
8

2
2

2
2

1

1

0

1

0

0

4

3

1

7

2

1

3

0

2

4

1

0

4

2

1

The results of the questionnaire are summarized in Table 5. All of the questions received many
positive responses, and the actual classroom situation showed that the students enjoyed theactivities. For reference, a bar graph of all the responses is shown in Figure 7 below.
Table 6. Descriptive statistics of survey results (N = 29)
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Q6
Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Q11

Av

3.72

3.41

3.45

3.38

3.90

3.97

3.55

3.48

3.69

3.79

3.59

SD

0.65

0.68

0.91

0.90

0.41

0.19

0.83

0.87

0.81

0.49

0.87

Min

1.00

2.00

1.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

2.00

1.00

Max

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

4.00

In the descriptive statistics (Table 6), the mean values were all above 3.0, and the standard
deviation was less than 1.0, indicating that there were many positive responses to the CLIL
classes as a whole.
10In response to questions such as “Did you understand the ALT’s English?” and “Were you able
to speak English during class?”, a majority of the responses leaned towards “Agree”, though it
was evident from the data that affirmative answers (“Strongly Agree” and “Agree”) werepredominant. In lessons focusing on colors and cultural differences conducted with the ALT,
only English was used. It is speculated that the decrease in the number of students choosing“Strongly Agree” might be because the communication was not limited to concrete items likein a video. Furthermore, in this unit, there were not many instances where the students wererequired to speak in English.
Figure 7. Results of the four-scale questionnaire.

11For the question, “Did you understand how to say the colors and shapes in English?” all but
one student answered affirmatively. For the question “Did you understand how to make a shape
to make a hanga?” all students answered affirmatively. For the question “Did you understandhow to make a hanga by making a shape?” all students answered affirmatively indicating
students understood the instructions given to them in English.
4.3 Contents of Free Description of Students
In the second class in which the ALT and the teacher had a TT session, a free description
section was included as a wrap-up activity. The free description section allowed students tofreely express their thoughts and experiences regarding the lesson in their native language as away to assess their overall experience. In the descriptions, 23 students wrote that they enjoyed
the activity, 5 students wrote about other linguistic contents such as the difference inpronunciation and their awareness of different cultures; contents that were not the main focusof the unit were still touched upon (Table 7).
Table 7. Summary of students’ post-class reflections.
Enjoyed learning English, activities, and working with ALTs (23)-I enjoyed speaking English. (6)-I want to study English again. (3)-The quiz and bingo were fun. (10)-I enjoyed my first class with an ALT teacher. I would like to study with her again. (3)-I realized that English is important.
How to say colors in English (5)-I could remember how to say the color in English. (2)-I'm glad to know that I could learn English, because I usually do not learn colors in English
in arts and crafts. (1)-I enjoyed the class because I was able to say more and more colors in English. (1)-I found out that “papuru” in Japanese comes from the English “purple”. (1)Cultural differences between Japan and other countries (3)-The colors of the rainbow are completely different in Japanese and English. (1)-I found out that the number of colors of the rainbow differs between Japan and othercountries. (1)-It was nice to study the colors of the English language using the rainbow. (1)Note: This is a summary of the free writing of 29 students. Numbers in ( ) indicate the numberof students.
4.4 Performance Test Results
The performance test was given to the students in the form of a practice test to assess theirreadiness for the third grade. The practice test was given in English, and for all of the students,
this was their first time responding in English.
The flow of the 45-minute class is as follows (Table 8);
Table 8. Performance test flow.
1. Show Let's Try! 1, Unit 4 “I like Blue.”
2. Re-watch the ALT video.
3. Show the rubric for the performance test.
The model conversation: Q. What color do you like? – A. I like XXX.
4. Take a performance test. (in the hallway)

12

The only question the students were asked was “What color do you like?” to which they wereasked to reply, “I like XXX”. Some of the students greeted each other with “Hello” on theirown accord.
The rubric below was also presented during the performance test (Table 9). Although this was
the first time many of the students had seen a foreign language rubric, they understood thecontents as it followed a similar pattern to the rubric presented in their other classes at school.
The rubric was created based on the assumption that “English” corresponds to knowledge andskills “Interaction” corresponds to thinking, judgment, and expression.
Table 9. Rubric.
Self-Evaluation◎(A)

English (language)
Sentence Level

Interaction
Tell us your favorite color with agood attitude.
Word level
Tell us your favorite color.
○(B)
No speaking (pointing his finger) Unable to tell favorite color.
△ (C)Note: Presented to the students. However, ABC is not presented to students.
The results of the performance test showed that all students received a B or better on theinteraction. In English, 14 students were able to respond at the sentence level, while 12
responded at the word level. Three students responded by pointing. Some students were able
to respond with English sentences even though they had not studied English outside of school,
and all were able to tell what their favorite color was in the form of pointing to the paint infront of them (an example is seen in Figure 8).
Figure 8. Performance test.

5. Discussion
In addition to the two perspectives presented at the beginning of this unit, we would like todiscuss the limitations of this study about (or concerning) the 4Cs of CLIL.
5.1 Were you able to achieve your goals in arts and crafts and learn a foreign language?
13

As shown in the questionnaire, all the students answered positively to the question, “Did you
understand how to make a “kata” and create a “hanga”?” As indicated by the positive responses
to this question, there was no negative impact of the CLIL practice methodology on theactivities of the arts and crafts class. Although it is a single case study, the insights were sharedwith all other teachers who conducted the same lesson during the same year, which can bepresented in different studies. In fact, when we looked at the students’ activities and the work
they created, they were able to enjoy arts and crafts as they normally do, and each enjoyedcreating their own works of art. Furthermore, when using paints, many of the students used
English, saying things like “I want red”.
In addition, when we shared with teachers in other classes who had implemented the same
CLIL practices, we did not find a lack of understanding from the students. Considering thoseteachers are not specialized in English teaching, there should be room to implement CLIL
practice in more elementary schools in Japan, where a single classroom teacher is in charge ofteaching multiple subjects.
From the above points, it can be considered that in this unit the goals of the arts and crafts
course were achieved, and in addition, foreign language learning activities were conducted.
5.2 Did it Motivate Students to Engage in Foreign Language Activities in the Middle Grades
and Beyond?
Looking at the students' free description, many of them (23 students) wrote that they enjoyed
the activities, and 3 students wrote that they wanted to study with the ALTs again. After the
performance test, some of the students felt confident that they had learned the content of thethird grade ahead of the third grade and came to us to tell us that they wanted to learn more
foreign languages. In the results of the questionnaire, 27 students answered that this CLIL
program was good for their English study.
In terms of foreign language skills, all the students were able to tell what color they liked in
response to the question “What color do you like?” 26 students responded in English, which isthought to have provided an impetus for learning a foreign language in the third grade.
5.3 What Limitations Emerged about the 4Cs of CLIL?
In the foreign language-focused lessons conducted with ALTs and TTs, some issues were
found in terms of cross-cultural understanding, which was assumed to be the fourth of the 4Csof CLIL. One of the most significant issues was an activity in which the number of colors in
the rainbow was shown to be different in some countries than in Japan. Although the activity
was set up with the idea that there is “fun” in the fact that the number of colors in a rainbow is
considered to be five or six in other countries, as opposed to the seven colors commonly usedin Japan, the second graders did not feel that there was much difference, and seemed to havethe impression that there were “many colors” or “about the same number of colors”.
If the cross-cultural materials could be set up in consideration of the students’ developmental
stage, the activities would have been more exciting, and the students’ understanding would
have been deeper.
6. Summary and Future Prospects
Through this course unit, we believe that it is possible to implement CLIL in public elementary
schools, even in the lower grades (2nd grade), if the subject matter is carefully selected. When
implementing CLIL, it is preferable that the subject matter includes concrete items such as toys

14and school materials. that students can enjoy while learning through hands-on experience.
The subject matter dealing with cultural differences in CLIL should be something that attracts
interest, and in the lower grades, it is considered more likely to attract students’ interest if thedifferences are large enough that they can be seen and experienced with their own eyes.
Through this unit, we could see that the students got more excited about the foreign language
activities from the 3rd grade. It will be interesting to see how much they remember the colors
in English when they actually learn them in Let’s Try! In addition, although we do not officiallyevaluate students’ English in this unit, under authentic CLIL practice, both subjects (Arts andCrafts and English) should be assessed. Thus, there is still room to discuss how two subjects
should be evaluated in one class. In order to further enhance the practice of CLIL in the future,
it is believed that more research needs to be accumulated, such as by referring to practices inother countries.
References
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Cambridge University Press.
Dale, L., & Tanner, R. (2012). CLIL activities: A resource for subject and language teachers.
Cambridge University Press.
藤井康子・東奈美子. (2017). 小学校図画工作科と外国語活動による協働学習の実践的研究Ⅱ: 英語を使って鑑賞及び表現活動を行う授業の一考察. 大分大学高等教育
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国立教育政策研究所. (2019). 『指導と評価の一体化』のための学習評価に関する参考資料.
文部科学省. (2016). 小学校学習指導要領解説 外国語編.
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二五義博・冨岡宏健. (2020). 小学校における体育 CLIL のあり方について―中学年の体つくり運動を事例として―. JASTEC Journal, 39, 191-207.
日本造形教育協会. (2020). 図画工作学習指導書 1・2 下 指導案編. 開隆堂.
太田圭・長瀬慶來. (2018). Partial CLIL と小学校外国語活動－小学校 5 年生の家庭科
実践の分析から－. 教育実践学研究, No. 23, 283-294.
笹島茂. (2011). CLIL 新しい発想の授業―理科や歴史を外国語で教える！？. 三修社．
笹島茂・山野有紀 (2019). 学びをつなぐ小学校外国語教育の CLIL 実践. 三修社．
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15kyodogakushu no jissentekikenkyuⅡ：eigo wo tsukatte kansho oyobi hyogenkatsudo wo
okonau jugyo no ichikosatsu. [A practical study of collaborative learning through art
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Research and Practice, Oita University, 9, 85-100.
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education at Sophia University, Volume 2: Practices and applications.] Sophia University
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shido yoryo kaisetsu gaikokugo hen. [Explanation of the elementary school teachingguideline: Foreign languages.]
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shido yoryo kaisetsu zugakosaku hen. [Explanation of the elementary school teachingguideline: Arts and crafts.]
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CLIL in elementary schools: A case study of physical fitness activities in the middle
grades.] JASTEC Journal, 39, 191-207.
Ohta, K., & Nagase, K. (2018). Parchial CLIL to shogakkogaikokugokatsudo - shogakko 5
nenseino kateika jissen no bunsekikara. [Partial CLIL and foreign language activities inelementary schools: An analysis of home economics practice for 5th graders.] Journal of
Educational Practice Research, 23, 283-294.
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[CLIL: A new approach to teaching -Teaching science and history in a foreign language!?]
Sanshusha.
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jissen. [Connecting learning in elementary school foreign language education through
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gakugaikokugokyoiku no aratanaru chosen daiikkan genri to hoho. [CLIL: Content andlanguage integrated learning - New challenges in foreign language education at Sophia
University, Volume 1: Principles and methodologies.] Sophia University Press.
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foreign language activities. JES Journal, 13, 20-35.

16

Templish: The possibilities of Temples to teach Japanese culture throughthe CLIL approach
Hideyuki Kashimoto
Osaka Seikei College
Abstract
This paper introduces and considers the benefits of using existing resources around us, with an
example of the English language program called “Templish”. Templish is a monthly program
held at Chokyu-Ji Temple in Nara, Japan, which focuses on content and language integrated
learning (CLIL) types of activities offered to EFL elementary school children. In this program,the activities fall under the theme of Japanese culture, such as Doing Tea Ceremony, Making
Mochi, Doing Nagashi Somen (Noodle Water Slide), and so on. The entire program is basicallyconducted in English, and all lessons include hands-on activities in which students use tools tomove their bodies and make things. Japanese language is provided depending on the situation
if it is judged necessary based on the level of understanding. The teaching methods in the
Templish program have been developed and refined through repeated improvements over the
past 10 years. Although this program was not originally designed as a CLIL class, it contains
many elements commonly found in CLIL. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the methods
and approaches used in Templish and find where those methods fit into the CLIL framework.
Based on this analysis, I propose the potential of temples as a place for experiential learning
using a CLIL approach, where students learn about Japanese culture through English.
Keywords: CLIL, curriculum design, Japanese culture, experiential learning, 4Cs
1. Introduction
The Japanese Course of Study (MEXT, 2017) for elementary and secondary education suggeststhat understanding Japanese traditional culture through foreign language activities is an
expected educational outcome. Furthermore, it is recommended to deepen understanding
foreign language and culture through experience, and by doing so, students can develop aninterest in a language, rather than understanding only knowledge of the language. In the current
MEXT-approved textbooks, many of them feature at least one topic of Japanese culture. For
example, the textbook Crown Jr. 5 (2019) has a “Welcome to Japan” section, encouraging
readers to think about favorite places in Japan and introduce them to other people. New Horizon
Elementary English Course 5 (2020) assigns two units (Units 7 and 8) for introducing weather
in Japan and Japanese traditional culture and describing it to their English teacher in the formof a guidebook or speech.
However, these textbook activities still tend to be limited to investigative learning. In theelementary school curriculum, in many cases it is difficult to implement classes that focus onan “experience” due to several reasons. First, activities that involve hands-on experiencegenerally take time, so it may be difficult to incorporate them into school education due tocurriculum constraints. Another reason is that schools lack props and other material resources.
Doing an experiential cultural activity as a class often requires a certain amount of space andtools, so it is difficult to conduct in a school classroom. There is also an issue of human resource.
Depending on the theme of Japanese culture, there are cases when the class needs a guest
instructor with expertise in the theme.
Under the circumstances, CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) can become an17effective method of designing a class to learn Japanese culture with experience in English.
CLIL is “a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for thelearning and teaching of both content and language” (Coyle et al., 2010, p. 1). When learning
the topic of Japanese culture in the deeper level (and introducing it to others), it will be strongly
related to one of CLIL’s 4C’s framework, “Culture”, which aims to develop “intercultural
understanding and global citizenship” (Coyle et al., 2010, p. 41). Interest in CLIL has beensteadily increasing year by year. It has been adapted as a teaching approach in many different
academic contexts such as secondary schools and universities in Japan.
Efforts are being made to introduce CLIL classes into elementary schools. Nakata (2021)
designed a CLIL class using ICT to introduce Japanese rice cuisine in English, and not only
introduced the cuisine but also considered social issues related to rice production andconsumption in the world. Kashiwagi and Ito (2020) argue that introducing CLIL intoelementary school education should be fun because it is the first time for students to come into
contact with English, presenting the class designing suggestions and examples of classes atelementary schools with photos. However, as Yamano (2013) states there are still few practicalexamples of CLIL in foreign language activities in elementary schools. In particular, there arealmost no practical examples yet when it comes to “experiencing” Japanese culture in English(Amishima & Yamashita, 2019).
In this paper, I focus on the program called “Templish”. This program primarily introduces
Japanese culture in English to elementary school students through hands-on activities that aim
to help them gain a deeper understanding of it. The program’s immediate objective is to offer
opportunities for local children to learn and experience Japanese culture in English at a temple.
The broader and long-term goal is to cultivate the ability to proficiently convey knowledge of
one’s own culture and its unique values to people from other countries.
During the development of the Templish program, I found that these goals and the part ofaforementioned philosophy of CLIL overlap in many ways. Since Templish was not originallydesigned with reference to CLIL, I decided to clarify the similarities and differences as a firststep. By doing so, I can identify the shared aspects with CLIL and the Templish program, andconversely identify areas that are lacking and require improvement. In this report, by
introducing Templish, I aim to present the role and potential that temples can play as a place
for CLIL-style classes to understand Japanese culture in English experientially.
2. Templish Program
Before delving into the main topic, providing an overview of the program is essential. Templish
is a monthly volunteer program hosted at Chokyu-Ji Temple, situated in Ikoma city, Nara,
Japan. This program allows elementary school students to experience their home country’s
culture through English. As emphasized by Ito (2018, p. 11), “it is important for children torecognize the importance of culture and the arts in developing pride in their cultural heritage”;
a principle that Templish also underscores.
The program's initiation can be traced back to the vision of Chokyu-Ji Temple’s chief priest,
Yuryo Ikeo. Founded in 1927 and deeply rooted in community service, the temple had alongstanding commitment to the welfare of the local community. In 2012, the current Chief
Priest Ikeo aspired to gather local children for English language activities at the temple. In
consultation with me, an English teacher, the concept for the Templish program took shape.
What initially began as a simple idea to teach English to children gradually transformed into a
more comprehensive concept. The program aimed to go beyond language instruction, aspiring

18

to immerse participants in their own cultural heritage and foster an interest in sharing Japaneseculture and its values with others. As our discussions unfolded at the temple, Ikeo and I
conceived the idea of “introducing Japanese culture in English” to the children. It was during
this collaborative process that we coined the name for the program, “Templish,” combining thewords “temple” and “English.”Templish’s management team comprises of four essential members. Chief Priest Yuryo Ikeo,
the program’s founder, leads the whole team. I, the author of this paper, stand in front of thestudents as an instructor during the actual lessons. The remaining two members are dedicatedstaff who support with various operational tasks. The team regularly discusses and shapes
monthly learning themes and lesson details. Additionally, immediately after each monthly
lesson, the team holds a meeting to review lessons and identify areas for improvement in the
future lesson plans.
The decision to center the program content on Japanese culture was inspired by the recognition
that temples themselves serve as genuine “treasure troves” of the richness of Japanese culture.
Upon close observation, I realized that the temple was surrounded by carefully designed
traditional Japanese gardens that display the splendor of each season. Other small temples andJizo statues are on the premises, giving it a cultural atmosphere. Also, in contrast to the hustle
and bustle of the city, the environment is always quiet. Chokyu-ji Temple in particular is
blessed with a rice field within its grounds, giving it a typical Japanese rural landscape.
This unique blend of natural and cultural elements makes this temple an ideal environment to
explore and spread Japanese culture to children. The temple has tatami flooring, which can bepartitioned into several smaller rooms using sliding doors known as fusuma. This design
facilitates the organization of workshops, such as tea ceremonies or calligraphy, allowing forthe creation of intimate spaces for small group activities. The fusuma doors can be removed totransform the space into one large hall, suitable for opening and closing sessions for a wholeclass.
In terms of equipment and tools, temples frequently house a variety of items relevant to thesecultural activities in general. Such tools may include brushes, paperweights, tea bowls, whisks,and even a red carpet specifically designated for tea ceremonies. This well-equippedenvironment within the temple enhances the feasibility and richness of cultural experiences forthe participants in the program.
The Templish program changes its activity theme every month. Various themes are offeredthroughout the year, as shown in Table 1 below. Because there is farmland on the premises, inaddition to activities related to Japanese culture, there are also months when the theme is field
work, such as planting and harvesting potatoes, depending on the season. This holistic approachallows for a balanced and diverse experience, leading to a well-rounded and enriching learning
experience for the program.

19

Table 1. A model of monthly activity themes in templish
January
February
March
April
Making
Mochi

Doing Tea
Ceremony

Planting
Potatoes

Making Carp
Streamers

July
Doing
Nagashi
Somen

AugustSeptember

October

SummerBreak

BakingSweet
Potatoes

Doing
MarbleDyeing(noodle waterslide)May
HikingChokyu-Ji
Trail
November

June
Harvesting
Potatoes

Doing
Calligraphy

MakingKites

DecemberEach activity takes approximately 2 hours and the average class size is 20-25 elementary school
students, ranging in age from first grade to fifth grade. Additionally, the number of participants
is not fixed, as participants are determined based on the order of applications received eachmonth, so the program is open to an unspecified number of elementary school students from awide range of age groups. Given this variability in participants, the program faces the challenge
of devising methods for each session to ensure equal engagement in both content and language
learning for everyone. This aspect of the program is both demanding and fulfilling. In thesubsequent section, I will contextualize the Templish program within CLIL framework.
3. CLIL Variations in Templish
When the Templish program was initiated in 2013, the team, including myself, was not evenaware of CLIL. However, the notion presented by Coyle et al. that CLIL is an “innovative
fusion of both language teaching and subject teaching” (2010, p. 1) resonates with a key aspectof the Templish program which is teaching Japanese culture in English. Taking that into
consideration, by applying the ideas and lesson designs that have been utilized in the past
Templish activities to the CLIL framework, I may be able to observe the aims and effects ofeach activity more precisely, and it can lead to further improvement of the program. In addition
to that, it would clarify what is lacking in the Templish program and the direction the program
should take in the future.
To obtain a comprehensive perspective, the initial step involves applying the Templish
program to the variations of CLIL as delineated by Watanabe et al. (2011, p.10).
Figure 1. CLIL variation (based on Watanabe et al., 2011, p.10).
SOFT CLIL
HARD CLIL
PurposeEnglish education
Subject education
LIGHT CLIL
One-off / A few times
PARTIAL CLIL
Part of the class
BILINGUAL CLIL
English and JapaneseFrequency / Number of
Times
Ratio

Language Used

20

HEAVY CLIL
Regularly / Many times
TOTAL CLIL
All of the class
MONOLINGUAL CLIL
EnglishConcerning the first category, “Purpose,” the primary objective of Templish predominantly
centers on the content of the activity. Although there are instances where flashcards of target
vocabulary and actions are employed to illustrate the word order of English sentences, there isno specific emphasis on explaining English grammar. Instead, they are used to memorize words
and actions through physical activities. In this regard, Templish aligns more closely with thecharacteristics of ‘hard CLIL’.
Regarding the second category, “Frequency / Number of Times”, the Templish program is held
“regularly” but not “many times”. According to Watanabe and colleagues, low frequency is
described as “several times per semester or school year” (2011, p.10) and high frequency as “afull-scale CLIL curriculum” (2010, p.10). In this context, the term “frequency” is not rigidly
defined in terms of a specific number of occurrences, which allows more flexible interpretation.
Templish is held regularly, but does not meet the criteria for being labeled as a curriculum.
Therefore, Templish can be categorized as leaning towards ‘light CLIL’. Considering thatpractical reports on short-term curriculum are still very limited (Omori & Kuroda, 2022), it
would be beneficial to introduce activities and ideas employed in Templish as a series of onetime classes.
The third category involves the “Ratio” of CLIL tasks employed in classes, and this dimension
holds significant weight in the evaluation and future development planning of the Templish
program. Originally not designed based on CLIL principles, any CLIL-like elements in
Templish may be considered coincidental. Consequently, it becomes crucial to retrospectively
examine these methods through a CLIL perspective, evaluating the effectiveness of past efforts
and identifying areas for future enhancement. As will be discussed in a subsequent section, thecurrent Templish program aligns with the characteristics of ‘partial CLIL’.
Concerning the fourth category, “Language Used,” both Japanese and English are employed in
Templish activities. As Izumi (2016) points out, while it is preferable for lessons to be primarily
conducted in English, it is also important to be flexible and use Japanese when it is beneficial
to facilitate understanding of the students. Templish program follows this approach to using
both the L1 and L2 for class activities. As mentioned earlier, in Templish, the grades and age
groups of the participating students vary each time, leading to a flexible adjustment of the
proportion of English language instruction based on the specific needs of the students. For
example, it is often seen in Templish where the teacher says a sentence such as “Do you think
matcha is nigai (“bitter”)?” There are also frequent CS situations where the teacher says asentence in English, and repeats the same sentence in Japanese as necessary. This type of CS
is described as one of the several types of CS (Murahata, 2021). On the other hand, there aretimes when a student tries to say something in the mix of two languages, such as “I put chasen(whisker) next to chawan (bowl)”. These kinds of utterances produced by the students whose
exposure to English is still limited, is closer to translanguaging (TS). As Sasajima (2020) stated,
this is the natural phenomena, and should be taken positively in the class. In such a case, theteacher may model the sentence by saying, “Right, you put the whisker next to the cup.” butdoes not ask the student to rephrase it. It is important to “communicate in English as much as
possible even if only partially” (Sasajima et al., 2020, p. 7).
4. Outline of the Lesson
Next, as a specific example of a Templish Tea Ceremony lesson plan is presented below. Thistea ceremony themed activity has been employed every year since the start of the program. In
other words, it is the lesson plan that has been used most frequently in the Templish program.
Therefore, it is reasonable to use this themed lesson plan as an example to illustrate how the21Templish program utilizes a CLIL approach to develop the students’ knowledge of Japaneseculture and English communication skills. The lesson plan is shown in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Lesson plan for the templish “tea ceremony” themed activity
No
Topic
Content
1
Opening – AttendanceStudents do simple tasks such as saying “I’m
Forming Groups
here” and raising their hand when their name
Icebreaker Games
is called or using color-coded stickers to findgroup members.
2

Observation
See how the tea master makes tea

3

Review Target Vocabulary
The teacher shows the key vocabulary andLearn about a part of the Tea phrases for the tea-making process, along with
Ceremony
flash cards.

4

Say it out loud and try “making tea” Practice the process of tea-making several
times out loud in English using action cards.
Tea Ceremony Card Puzzle
Play a game of sorting action cards in the rightorder.

5
6

Students gather around the tea master andobserve the tea ceremony as a model. During
the ceremony, the tea master explains themeaning of each process in Japanese.

Closing – Say it out loud with Review the learning activity.
everyone again

The aim of this lesson is to introduce children to the tea ceremony and to help them understandthe general meaning of the tea ceremony and its part of etiquette by practicing a process ofmaking tea. However, it is not practical to understand the entire concept of tea ceremony andacquire the processes in a single, two-hour lesson. Therefore, Templish employ different
strategies to have children enjoy the tea ceremony in English, within a limited time.
5. 4Cs of the Lesson
5.1 Content
In this section, I aim to analyze the lesson from the perspective of the 4Cs of CLIL. In termsof “content,” Ito (2018) emphasizes that “learning about and experiencing traditional culture
and crafts is effective for both elementary and junior high school students” (p. 118), and theTemplish lesson naturally aligns with a similar principle. Since Templish lessons are designed
for elementary school students, the lesson focuses on developing learners’ appreciation andbasic understanding of the tea ceremony through experiential activities, rather than focusing
on different tea ceremony schools or other complex information. Consequently, at the
beginning of the class, I provide an overview of the origins of the tea ceremony and thenexplore key principles of the ceremony, such as “being considerate to others” and “taking goodcare of things.” For instance, children learn the reason behind rotating the tea cup during thetea-making process (to show the most beautiful part of the cup to the guest) through hands-on
experiential learning.

22

To encourage students to speak the target language, a wide range of action cards are used asaids to assist children in remembering and verbalizing target vocabulary with actions in the
Templish lesson. The activities using those cards are designed based on TPR (Total PhysicalResponse) approach. TPR is the teaching method developed by the American psychologist
James Asher (1965), which includes various physical activities, mainly commands, with plentyof listening and understanding. It also focuses on making learning enjoyable and engaging.
Butler Goto (2015) mentions the importance of providing quality input as much as possible inways that interest children. In Templish, action cards with drawings and the Shoji Board areused to attract children’s interest. Shoji is a sliding door with white paper on a lattice frame,
used in traditional Japanese architecture. The advantage of using shoji as a board is that there
is no need for a large whiteboard in the room because you are simply using the existing door.
The teacher positions these cards on a shoji grid, prompting children to be mindful of word
order, and encourages them to articulate the words sequentially while pointing to the cards one
by one. Initially, both the teacher and children pronounce the words together. Each card has adrawing of an action that corresponds to the content, and the teacher and the students performthe action while saying the word. After a few repetitions, the teacher transitions to pointing to
the cards (without pronouncing words) while the children independently say the correspondingwords with actions such as “pick up the cup”, “look at the design”, “rotate the cup”, “Whisk
the tea in the cup” and so on.
Figure 2. Shoji board and action cards samples

After memorizing the individual actions, the sequence of actions for the tea-making process
are presented. On the Shoji Board, the teacher shows the cards in the right order to the students
and the students move their bodies while saying the action out loud. As a wrap-up activity there
is a game of re-ordering the tea-making process action cards. The teacher randomly scattersaction cards on tatami floor and the group of students rearrange them in the correct order as
quickly as possible. It will be addressed in the later section.
Figure 3. The sequence of the tea-making process cards and action words

Whisk the Tea

Take the Cup

Rotate theCup

Put the Cup
on Your
Hand

Put the Cup
in Front

Bow

This Shoji Board instruction contributes greatly to students’ listening and speaking skills. As
Allen Tamai (2010) points out, TPR can reduce the mental burden of learners by moving theirbodies and energizes classes with fun activities. Lazar (2017) mentions the positive effect ofusing TPR in CLIL classes, where learning is facilitated by a sense of success and reduced
23

anxiety and language learning is more effective when it is fun. What should be emphasized
here is that this repetitive, memorizing activity, which resembles drilling, does not have any
forced atmosphere for the students, such as “I have to memorize this.” The students simply
enjoy repeating it. This is similar situation to what Shirai (2017) describes where the students
find joy in performing the movements themselves, creating a positive cycle in which they listenbecause they have fun, and they have fun because they listen. In fact, there have been no
students so far who disliked or refused to do this TPR approach activity using the Shoji Board,
so this approach is suitable for elementary school students. However, according to Kurokawa(2020), TPR research in Japan is mainly aimed at secondary and high school students.
5.2 Communication
Coyle and colleagues (2010) developed The Language Triptych as a conceptual tool to help
educators understand language necessary for a CLIL course. First, language of learning (LoL)
is related to understanding the content subject (e.g., tea ceremony). Second, language forlearning (LfL) is the functional language allowing one to perform the tasks in the lesson.
Finally, language through learning (LtL) is new or incidental language learned throughperforming the task and arises based on learner needs during the lesson. Table 3 shows
examples of this triptych as applied to the tea ceremony lesson.
Table 3. Language types of the lesson in templish
Language of Learning
Key Vocabulary:tea cup, whisker, right, left, hand, hold, put, rotate,clockwise, counter-clockwise, bow
Language for Learning

Asking students to follow the teacher’s actions:
Can you do this? / Look at me / Hold the cup… / Put thewhisker on the floor… / Rotate the cup twice…
Instruction to play games:
Remember these cards… / Put them in order /Language through Learning

Words learned accidentally during activities

The entire process of the tea ceremony is very complex and requires a lot of vocabulary,
therefore the teacher will only introduce some of them. Specifically, from the whole teamaking process, the part of “making tea and offering it to customers” is extracted. It is very
important to learn the minimum vocabulary as LoL that will appear in these manners at the
beginning of the class. LfL includes “classroom English” that gives students simple
instructions, so sometimes comprehension progresses smoothly when combined withvocabulary learned in LoL. Regarding LtL, sometimes a student with a high level of English
proficiency might want to do an activity again and say “one more time!”, and a student with alow level of proficiency hears that and starts imitating it. It occasionally occurs in Templish
because the program consists students of various age groups and different English levels. As
Sasajima (2020) indicates, these three are related to each other, and it may be difficult todistinguish between them, but it is important for instructors to understand this when
considering lesson content.
5.3 Cognition
In CLIL, Bloom’s Taxonomy, a widely recognized framework is applied in designing the24learning activities: LOTS, which are lower-order thinking skills, and HOTS, which are higherorder thinking skills (Coyle et al. 2010: 30-31, 58) as summarized below.
Table 4. Bloom’s taxonomy, (Watanabe, Ikeda, & Izumi, 2011).
HOTS (Higher-order Processing)
Analyzing
Evaluating
Creating
LOTS (Lower-order Processing)

Remembering
Understanding
Applying
The simplest example of LOTS in the lesson is the memorization of key vocabulary introduced
at the beginning of the lesson. Activities such as the tea ceremony tend to have a relatively
larger number of words than other lessons, so it always should be determined whether theworkload is appropriate or not, especially because Templish is a gathering of different age
groups. The use of flashcards to build vocabulary facilitates the active involvement of younger
children. Key vocabulary in this lesson includes nouns such as “tea cup,” “whisker,” “right,”“left,” “hand,” and verbs like “hold,” “put,” “rotate,” “bow,” and so on.
Another example of LOTS is directly linked to the primary objective of this lesson. Throughout
the lesson, the children repeatedly observe and engage in the tea-making process. Throughthese movements, they acquire an understanding of the significance of respecting others andhandling tools with care. While the impact of these values may not be immediately observableor measurable in the classroom, they represent fundamental messages that the program aims to
impart to the children.
In terms of HOTS (Higher order Thinking Skills), it is difficult to identify particular skills
within the lesson. Given the constraints of a one-time, 2-hour lesson, there appears to belimitations in integrating activities equivalent to HOTS. This will be discussed in the later
section “Findings”.
5.4 Culture
The fourth C, originally referred to as “Community”, has been increasingly described as“Culture” in recent years, especially as it envisions interaction with people from diverse
backgrounds, as observed in Europe. It may be challenging to replicate such a situation in Japan(Watanabe et al., 2011), Templish has been engaged in a specific initiative for approximately
four years. This initiative appears to create a situation that can be labeled as “Culture”, so I
intentionally use “Culture” instead of “Community” in this context.
Over the past four years, Templish has been inviting volunteer international students from anearby university to participate in these classes. These students express a desire to engage withlocal communities while pursuing research in Japan as international students. The exact
number of international students participating in each lesson may vary, but since this program
started, there has consistently been three to five students participating in the lessons. Thesestudents are from various countries, from Southeast Asian countries to European countries.
Thus, Templish provides an international environment for the Japanese students, fostering
constant interaction with diverse individuals from around the world.
Prior to the lesson, I conduct a meeting with the international students to outline the specificgoals of the day’s lesson and the roles I anticipate them playing. These roles typically involve25

sitting at the reception desk as children arrive at the temple. The international students ask
children their names, have the students write their own names on a sticker, and so on.
Furthermore, during group activities, each international student is assigned to a group andprovides support to children who require assistance and facilitates communication in simple
and accessible English. In the tea ceremony lesson, as it was described as No. 5 in Table 2,
there is an activity where groups of 4 to 5 children arrange laminated cards depicting the teamaking process in the correct order. International students can help children finish this game,asking questions like “Can you do it?” or “I think this one comes here”, and so on.
Figure 4. Re-ordering cards with international students

6. Findings
Up to this point, I have applied the existing Templish programs to the CLIL framework,
analyzing both their shared features and distinctions. Through this examination, I haveidentified certain aspects that Templish currently lacks. This section will concentrate on themost pivotal of these discoveries.
6.1 Cognitive / Thinking Skills
The significance of cognitive and thinking skills in CLIL is evident, and upon reevaluating
Templish against the fundamental principles of CLIL, it becomes apparent that the program
does not include enough activities specifically designed to cultivate these thinking skills,
especially Higherorder Thinking Skills (HOTS).
As mentioned in the preceding section, Templish incorporates various types of LOTS
(Lowerorder Thinking Skills) activities. At the program’s initiation, core vocabulary is
introduced, and participants practice pronunciation with the help of the Shoji Board.
Additionally, children will learn actions through using the vocabulary and performing the
movement using the action cards. This type of scaffolding has been established based on
experience and has achieved certain effects. After the lesson, it is common to observe children
spontaneously uttering the words they learned that day with corresponding movements orpromptly conveying the acquired vocabulary to their parents during pick-up.
However, even with these positive outcomes, these activities fall within the realm of LOTS
among the thinking skills defined in CLIL. A substantial challenge lies in how to evolve these
activities into HOTS (Higher order Thinking Skills) activities. There probably remains debate
about the feasibility of incorporating HOTS activities into a once-a-month, two-hour programwith variable participants, and whether it is necessary at all. As emphasized by Watanabe etal., the flexibility of CLIL, which permits diverse variations based on the class situation, is an
inherent characteristic, and “it does not necessarily mean that everything must be realized”(2011, p.9). In the later section, I will introduce ideas for HOTS activities that can be integrated
into Templish.

26

6.2 Evaluation
Given the program premise of Templish, it is not considered necessary to include an academic
evaluation. For the target age group (6-to-12-year-olds in elementary school), I focus on
eliminating resistance to learning content in English and fostering confidence in verbalizing
English. However, Coyle et al. (2010, p. 20) also clearly state the following:“It is necessary to recognise that the confidence-building objective is often
difficult to evaluate, other than anecdotally, because it relates to the affective
dimension of learning.”
If it is difficult to evaluate the degree of confidence-building, it is important to evaluate theprogram itself. As Ikeda et al. define several types of evaluation (2010, p.79), partial
incorporation of “program evaluation” would be effective. It is important to evaluate the tools
used within the program and verify whether the operations are effectively designed. It would
also be effective to investigate the children’s behavior and speech at home after the program
through questionnaires. The aforementioned “confidence-building” anecdotes may also be
discovered in those questionnaires..
7. Future Improvements
As emphasized in the earlier section, the primary focus for improvement is on integrating
HOTS-related activities into existing lessons. Here are some ideas in this regard. Considering
time constraints, the most straightforward approach is to alter the way questions are posed. For
example, in addition to the current simple questions used for memorizing vocabulary, such as
pointing to a card on the Shoji Board, I can consider introducing questions like the following:“What do you think a chasen is used for?” or “Why is matcha green?”
Another idea is to enhance interaction with international students. While international students
have supported children’s group work and participated as game players so far, there have been
limited opportunities for children to actively engage with international students. For example,
groups could formulate questions related to the theme and pose them to an international student.
Concerning the shift from LOTS to HOTS, Naganuma (2013) proposes that interjecting
questions during LOTS activities facilitates a seamless transition to HOTS activities. For
instance, while engaging in a task such as rotating a tea bowl, asking the question, “Why do
we rotate the bowl?” presents an opportunity to delve into the distinctive Japanese value of“showing the most beautiful part of the bowl to the customer”. This approach exemplifies the
progression from basic to more complex cognitive processes.
Introducing this kind of new activity allows for the incorporation of both LOTS and HOTS
activities throughout the program. When designing a program, consulting the table provided
by Watanabe et al. (2011. p. 26) can assist in assessing the overall balance of activities within
the program.

27

Table 5. Matrix for devising CLIL tasks (Watanabe et al., 2011).
Individual

Group

Class

LOTS (Lower order Thinking Skills)
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Memorize core
vocabulary
related to thetea-making
process
Understand themeaning of eachmovement in theprocess / Card
Sorting GameHOTS (Higher order Thinking Skills)
Analyzing
Evaluating
Creating

Practice the tea
making processusing
actioncards

Askthoughtprovoking
questions

Come
up
with
one
questionabout
tea
ceremonies
andask
international
students

8. Conclusion
In this report, by introducing the Templish program, I examined the purpose of considering
whether temples could be a place for CLIL-type lessons to learn English through experiencing
Japanese culture, and the following three results were obtained.
(1) There were more similarities than expected between CLIL’s educational philosophy andwhat Templish was independently aiming for. Templish is not a program that only conveys
knowledge of grammar and language, but is a program that focuses on “experience”. The goalsof deepening understanding of Japanese culture through experiences and interacting withinternational students have many similarities with CLIL’s basic philosophy. In addition, there
are still few cases of introducing content that deals with Japanese culture with experiences intoelementary school education, and there is still room for continued trial and error in the future.
(2) By organizing the information, I was able to confirm the validity of the current teaching
methods employed in Templish. This was also very useful for creating future lesson plans. In
fact, changes are already seen in the classes after conducting this analysis. Instructors havecome to realize that what they have been doing intuitively or with some hesitation is not a
mistake, and they are able to use the current teaching method with confidence as it is backed
by theory. For example, code switching (or translanguaging) does not have to be taken
negatively in CLIL class; rather, they can be taken as a byproduct of efforts to speak.
(3) On the other hand, issues were also discovered. When observing programs from theperspective of 4C’s “cognition”, many of the activities are centered on LOTS-type activities
that remain in the realm of memorization and understanding of meaning, such as vocabulary
input through the TPR approach and action cards. There is a room for improvement in the
program. The development of these activities into HOTS-type activities can be considered in
the future. For instance, the students talk to each other about the taste of matcha, taste
preferences, or having students teach some of the tea etiquette and its meaning to international
students can be the possible developmental activities.
Using temples as locations for CLIL-style classes that teach Japanese culture experientially has
28

great potential to create values different from those from English classes in school classrooms.
Such initiatives may play a role in supplementing the current situation in elementary school
education in Japan, where it is difficult to devote time to experiential learning in foreign
languages due to the long-term constraints of completing the curriculum. I aim to actively
utilize the insights gained from this study to improve future research and enhance the Templish
program.
Acknowledgements
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the J-CLIL (Japan CLIL Pedagogy Association)
KANSAI, for providing me with the opportunity to conduct the workshop “Templish: The
Possibilities of Temples” which served as the inspiration for writing this practical report.
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30

CDFs Across Contexts: Analyzing a Learners’ Written Corpus for CLIL
Classrooms6
Chizuko Aiba
University of Shizuoka
Junji Izumi
Saitama Prefectural University
Abstract
In the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) framework, Cognitive Discourse
Functions (CDFs) have been proposed as a construct to verbalize cognitive processes in the coconstruction of knowledge (Dalton-Puffer, 2013, 2016). Conceptually grounded in botheducation and linguistics, CDFs are categorized into seven types: classify, define, describe,
explain, evaluate, explore, and report. The aim of this study is to better understand students’cognitive processes in their writing and clarify how students use the CDFs explain and evaluate
in writing, thereby improving teaching practices and student learning in a Japanese university
Soft-CLIL context. The research questions were developed based on the authors’ pedagogicaland linguistic interests: 1) Does student proficiency affect the use of the CDFs explain andevaluate in writing? 2) Does the topic influence the use of the CDF explain in writing? 3) Whatlexicogrammatical choices do students make for causal explanation and evaluation? Using the
UAM CorpusTool (O’Donnel, 2022), a small learner corpus was created from student writingcollected from six classes at two Japanese universities, and the CDFs and Systemic Functional
Linguistics (SFL) process types were annotated. The statistical tests of their occurrences
revealed: 1) the use of both the CDF explain and the CDF evaluate differed by proficiency
level; 2) the use of CDF explain differed by topic when the lesson content was topical; and 3)
material process was the most common process type. The results led to unexpected conclusions,such as the tendency of students at higher proficiency levels to make judgments about people,
use more reporting verbs, and express causality with conjunctions and subordinate clauses thanstudents at lower proficiency levels. The findings suggest that it may be beneficial for students
at lower proficiency levels if instructors provide them with nouns that are indicative of various
causes, as well as process verbs, and have them think about the possible effects in classroom
activities.
Keywords: CLIL, CDF, learners’ written corpus, cognitive process, SFL
1. Introduction
CLIL’s integration of content and language has evolved into the Pluriliteracies approach to
CLIL (Coyle & Meyer, 2021) which, as they point out, fosters deeper learning in twocomplexly connected domains: One is knowledge building through the internalization andtransfer of conceptual knowledge, and the other is the development of subject-specificliteracies. What plays a dual role in these two domains are CDFs, as they focus on how
academic discourse functions express cognitive processes.
Drawing on an extensive literature review of such functions primarily in European educational
6

Part of this paper was orally presented at the 57th RELC International Conference (Virtual, Singapore) on March 13,2023 and the 5th J-CLIL conference (Tokyo) on October 7, 2023.

31

contexts, the concept of the CDF construct, which consists of seven types, classify, define,describe, explain, evaluate, explore, and report, was proposed (Dalton-Puffer, 2013, 2016).
CDFs are also rooted in linguistics conceptually, but they do not readily align with smaller
cognitive linguistic patterns or larger genres in SFL (Dalton-Puffer, 2013). In other words,
CDFs serve as an intermediate-scale bridge between cognitive linguistics patterns and genres.
This makes CDFs more relevant to communication in classrooms than other linguistic patterns
and genres. The concept of the CDF construct was validated with empirical data that werecollected from oral interactions in Austrian secondary CLIL lessons, where subjects likehistory, physics, biology, as well as business and economics were taught in English. (DaltonPuffer et al., 2018). Furthermore, CDF-based teaching has spread to other contexts, such as
secondary science CLIL in Spain (Gerns, 2023), or history EMI classrooms in the same country(Doiz & Lasagabaster, 2021).
The appropriate scale of CDFs is cited as one reason why CDFs play a central role in the
Pluriliteracies approach to CLIL (Meyer & Coyle, 2017). Other reasons include the benefits
that CDFs can provide to both teachers and learners when they are used appropriately inclassroom activities. Teachers can use CDFs to adjust cognitive patterns as well as linguistic
complexity while adapting the conceptual complexity of content. Learners can use CDFs as atool for initiating specific linguistic function and thus, contribute to knowledge construction.
When a CLIL lesson is focused on output, such as speaking and writing, CLIL teachers should
pay closer attention to the benefits that students may gain from the use of CDFs.
In the next section, the idea of using CDFs for output, especially for writing, will be supported
by reviewing a project in a specific context of how students use CDFs in writing tasks in various
subjects.
2. UAM-CLIL Research Group: The TransCLIL Project
A research group conducted extensive research on language and CLIL at the Autonomous
University of Madrid in Spain (Llinares & Morton, 2017; Llinares et al., 2012) and developed
a new research study (The TransCLIL Project7) on bilingual CLIL in primary and secondary
schools in the Madrid region, where CDFs intersect with content, language, and literacy(Morton, 2020).
The researchers conducted longitudinal studies in which they followed the same students from
grade 6 to grade 8 at state primary and secondary schools. The students were asked on multiple
occasions to produce both written and oral texts in the subjects of history, science, and art,
which were blog entries and interviews on a radio show. Their analyses focused on thestudents’ defining, categorizing, and evaluating in these subject areas.
The corpus analysis of the CDF evaluate was conducted using an analytical scheme of threetiers: affect, judgement, and appreciation. The results showed that appreciation tier was the
predominant type of evaluation used by students across all three subjects, while judgment tier
was frequently used in history but rarely in art and ecology. These types of evaluation were
often followed by justification clauses, indicating that students possess the ability to evaluate
information using logic rather than solely relying on their personal feelings (Whittaker &McCabe, 2023). The researchers also employed the SFL transitivity scheme (Halliday &Matthiessen, 2014) to analyze the text. The analysis revealed that nearly half of the verbal
7

For further details on the project, please visit the group’s website: https://uamclil.org/projects/.
32

activities identified as categorization in the students’ texts were represented by the relational
process (Evnitskaya & Dalton-Puffer, 2023).
As reviewed in this section, the Spanish group’s empirical study demonstrated the longitudinaldevelopment of students’ academic language and the varied use of CDFs. By analyzing
students’ written and spoken production as a systemic choice activity, the study also illustrated
the effective use of CDFs as both pedagogical and research tools. However, only three out ofseven CDFs – define, evaluate, categorize – were examined in the corpus-driven study, while
the remaining four CDFs – describe, explain, explore, and report – were excluded.
3. Aims of the Study and Research Questions
With the objective of analyzing the function of CDFs in students’ written production within
the specific educational context of the authors, this study adapts the methodology used by the
Spanish group to examine the CDFs evaluate and explain. In fact, the context of the current
study, which involves tertiary EFL students in Japan, differs significantly from that of the
Spanish group, which concerns a primary and secondary bilingual education context. In thecontext of this study, teaching practices in mandatory English courses incorporate Soft-CLIL
elements (Ikeda et al., 2021). The following is a description of the classroom instruction basedon the CLIL 4Cs (Content, Communication, Cognition, and Community/Culture) framework(Coyle et al., 2010).
Students are taught by language teachers in language classrooms, so Communication is a focusof their learning. However, as a dual-focused CLIL lesson, the instruction also maintains afocus on topics as Content. The main Content is based on textbooks, often adapted from news
videos and articles, and the rest is from online videos. In some cases, materials are selectedwith the students’ majors in mind. Students participate in numerous pair or group work tasks
to develop critical thinking skills, or Cognition, and through these activities, form Communities(See Appendix A for oral discussion tasks).
The teachers, whose native language is Japanese, do not refrain from using Japanese, andincorporate pedagogical translanguaging (Cenoz & Gorter, 2021) as scaffolding to aid English
comprehension and foster discussion among students. These descriptions of language
classrooms tend to emphasize the differences across contexts or the uniqueness of the Japaneseenvironment. This means that the descriptions somewhat reflect the view that CLIL is a“context for learning a foreign language” rather than an “approach” (Tsuchiya et al., 2023, p.2).
What if the side of CLIL as an “approach” rather than a “context” is focused on, implemented
in classrooms, and researched? The use of CDFs is part of an attempt to transfer the teaching
and research methodology across contexts.
The present study focuses on the student writing as a product of teaching practices in classes
conducted by the two authors of this paper who function as teacher-researchers. This approachallows for self-reflection on their everyday teaching practices and the ability to shape newlessons accordingly (Ryan, 2005). Teaching language to students of varying majors and levelsof proficiency can be challenging, particularly when using diverse textbooks on different topics.
This prompted the authors to develop the first and second research questions. Comparing
writing topics could be parallel to the comparison between subjects in the Spanish study. The
third question complements the previous inquiries from the perspective of SFL. The topics
primarily focus on the field metafunction in SFL, with a profound influence from the unit
themes of the textbooks.

33

Research question 1: Does student proficiency affect the use of the CDFs explain and evaluate
in writing?
Research question 2: Does the topic influence the use of the CDF explain in writing?
Research question 3: What lexicogrammatical choices do students make for causal explanationand evaluation?
4. Methods
4.1 Participants and Datasets
This study collected writing data at two public universities in Japan. Two nursing classes atuniversity 1 are at different proficiency levels and others are mixed-proficiency classes (Table
1). Classes in universities 1 and 2 are taught by the authors of this article, teachers 1 and 2. A
preliminary study confirmed the feasibility of analyzing student writing with a corpus-driven
approach under well-controlled data collection conditions. Datasets 1 and 2 were created fromthe writing data collected from university 1. Dataset 1 (n=53) contains data from the nursingclasses graded by proficiency level, i.e., classes 1 and 2 with average TOEIC IP scores of 338
and 623 respectively. Dataset 2 (n=40) contains data from the mixed-ability classes, i.e., classes
3 and 4, where lower-and higher-proficient students learn together; however, the students indataset 2 are individually labeled proficiency level “low” and proficiency level “high” (withaverage TOEIC IP scores of 336 and 560 respectively) for the analysis. Dataset 3 (n=49) wascompiled from the writing data collected from university 2. Classes 5 and 6 in dataset 3 werefrom two departments and were graded in each department. However, their proficiency levels
were not considered in the analysis.
Table 1. Participants and datasets
University

Class

n

Proficiency

DatasetUniversity 1

Class 126

Low

Dataset 1

Class 227

HighClass 320

Mixed

Class 420

Mixed

Class 525

Mixed

Class 624

Mixed

University 2

Dataset 2
Dataset 3

4.2 Procedures and Data Collection
Data were collected from students using Learning Management Systems (LMS) followingclassroom sessions throughout semester-long courses. The writing tasks varied depending on
the course, but all were intended for the evaluation of students’ writing skills at the end of thesemester. The writing prompts employed in the present study were created originally for thefollowing three datasets.
Nursing students in dataset 1 were presented with a TED speech on hospital reform (Onie,
2012) during a class session. They were then asked to watch the speech at home and provide
both the CDF explain, and the CDF evaluate responses. The prompt was carefully written toencourage objectivity and logical structuring of their responses.
[Prompt] Explain the changes the presenter made in the field of healthcare. Why and how did
she change the healthcare system? Then, evaluate her activities from your own perspective andsupport your evaluation with specific reasons and facts from the video. Write 150 words or
more.

34

Students in dataset 2 studied two units in an ELT textbook (Shishido et al., 2017) and received
a concise explanation about cause-and-effect writing in class using supplementary materials.
These in-class handouts were compiled from other ELT writing textbooks (e.g. Folse et al.,2015) and the links to EAP online resources (e.g. Smith, 2013) were given as references (SeeAppendix B for instruction). The topics for both units related to healthcare and aimed to inspire
orthopedic therapy and laboratory science majors, respectively. The first unit explored the
dieting of fashion models and the effect of plus-size fashion on society, while the second
investigated the application of virtual reality in medicine. As a homework assignment, they
were instructed to write a paragraph using cause-and-effect writing principles. This procedure
was repeated twice for two textbook sections. The prompts were intended to elicit the CDF
explain responses.
[Prompt] Explain the effects of plus-size fashion on society. Write a single cause-effectparagraph with 150 words or more.
[Prompt] There are many applications of virtual reality in the field of healthcare. Choose asingle application and explain what consequences it will have on specific groups of people,
including patients and healthcare professionals.
Students in dataset 3 studied two units from a different ELT textbook (Ward & Gramer, 2019)in class. The textbook provided instructions on how to write a paragraph in English, and the
supplementary in-class handouts for cause-and-effect writing used in dataset 2 were delivered
to students. Students also learned about a causal chain from online materials that were provided
as supplementary exercises for the textbook and were assigned as homework (See Appendix C
for the materials). Following each unit, students completed homework assignments thatinvolved writing a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding
sentence, in which they responded to prompts designed to elicit the CDF explain responses.
[Prompt] Why have many companies started online job interviews?
[Prompt] What causes manufacturers to develop driverless cars?
Lexical details for datasets 1, 2, and 3 were recorded, including the segments, tokens, and word
count (Table 2). The data were compared across proficiency levels and across topics within thesets rather than between the datasets. This means that the comparison within datasets was thefocus of this study, as different instructors in different settings taught the students. Instead, thisstudy analyzed data across proficiency levels and fields within each dataset.
Table 2. Segments and token in datasets
Number of segments
Tokens in segments
Words in segments

Dataset 1
53
11052
9977

Dataset 2
80
15396
13787

Dataset 3
96
17742
15515

Note. The dataset in question contains the same number of segments as the amount of writing
submissions from students. However, two segments that did not adhere to the writing prompts were
excluded from dataset 3.

4.3 Analysis through corpus software
Two analytical schemes were developed for the study: one for the CDF evaluate and one for
the CDF explain. The CDF evaluate scheme employed in the Spanish research was slightly
modified for this study. Following the appraisal theory (Martin, 2000), a new level was added35

to each system (Figure 1). The CDF explain scheme was created by the authors as there were
no pre-existing models that were suitable for the data. Two options were considered: aframework based on scientific writing (Polias, 2011) and one based on historical discourse(Coffin, 2009). The latter was selected because of its better fit with the data and was further
refined through data interaction into the final version (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Analytical scheme for the CDF evaluate (Adapted from: Whittaker & McCabe, 2023,
p.31).

Note. The scheme differs from Whittaker and McCabe (2023) in that the attitude system does notinclude ‘justification’ features. Instead, new features at a depth of three (un/happiness, in/security, ...)
have been introduced. This is due to the fact that the ‘justification’ features are taken into account during
the analysis of the CDF explain as a ‘causal conjunction plus dependent clause’ (Figure 2.) The system
diagram was drawn by using Systemic Network Editor 4.0 (O’Donnell, n.d.)Figure 2. Analytical scheme for CDF explain (Based on Coffin, 2009, p.131).

Note. The systems and features adhere to the table ‘Causal categories and key lexicogrammar resources’in Coffin (2009, p.131), except for the inclusion of the new ‘internal causal conjunction’ feature. Thisfeature is based on deductive reasoning, e.g., John loved her, because he came back, (Sweetser, 1990,
p.77).

The UAM Corpus Tool 6.2e (O’Donnell, 2022) was utilized to construct a small-scale corpus
for learners. This was achieved by importing all the students’ texts into three separate projects
and then annotating the text using analytical schemes. The same text was manually marked up
using two distinct CDF analytical schemes and automatically marked with an SFL transitivity
36scheme built into the corpus (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Analytical scheme for SFL transitivity (Built in: O’Donnell, 2022).

Note. The mental system comprises two simultaneous systems: One is to choose a mental process type(‘cognition,’ ‘perception,’ and ‘reaction’) and the other is to determine voice (‘mental-active’ and‘mental-passive’). The verbal system also comprises two simultaneous systems: whether oriented toaddressee or not and the choice of voice.

The proportions of system choices were statistically analyzed using the Chi-square methodwith two groups. Table data in the following section display statistical significance denoted bysymbols, where “+++” indicates significance at the 98% level, “++” at the 95% level, and “+”at the 90% level (“χ2”: chi-square test statistic; “P”: p-value; ES: effect size). Systems
exhibiting no difference have been excluded due to space limitations. It should be noted thatany variation detected by the corpus software was interpreted as indicative of linguistic
differences in the use of CDFs. To further understand these variations, the students’ sentenceswere searched within the corpus software.
5. Results
5.1 Comparison across Proficiency Levels
For the first research question, the CDF evaluate, and the CDF explain schemes (Figures 1 and
2) assist in examining the data. According to the CDF evaluate analysis, individuals with lower
proficiency tend to be reluctant to make judgments about people (Table 3, ATTITUDE). In
dataset 1, individuals with higher proficiency composed:... she is a person of great activity .... (‘judgement’ – ‘tenacity’)... she sincerely wanted to help families (‘judgement’ – ‘propriety’)
Another statistically detected difference involved ‘appreciation’, or the recognition ofsomething (Table 3, ATTITUDE). In dataset 1, students with lower proficiency were more37

prone to providing reactions (Table 3, APPRECIATION), such as:
I thought it was wonderful to reuse the place and time (‘appreciation’ – ‘reaction’)
Table 3. Frequency distribution of the CDF evaluate across proficiency level in dataset 1
Lower
HigherComparison
ATTITUDE
N
%
N
%
χ2
P
SignifES
affect
4
8.2 4
9.1
0.02
0.87340.033
judgement
0
0 6
13.6
7.14
0.0075+++0.756
appreciation
45 91.8 34
77.3
3.85
0.0499++0.414
TOTAL:
49
100 4497.8
Lower
HigherComparison
2
APPRECIATION N
%
N
%
χ
P
Signif Effect Size
reaction
32 65.3 13
28.9
12.47
0.0004+++0.747
composition
1
2 0
0
0.93
0.33530.287
valuation
12 24.5 21
46.7
5.06
0.0244++
0.469
TOTAL:
45 91.8 34
75.6Note. The ‘appreciation’ system is divided into three distinct features (‘reaction,’ ‘composition,’ and‘valuation’) outlined in the lower table. It is important to note that this paper only presents systems that
display statistical differences. The percentages reflect the proportion of segments with the specificfeature compared to all segments analyzed using the analytical scheme.

Using the CDF explain as an analytical scheme, Dataset 1 indicates that students with a higher
level of proficiency tend to use a greater number of ‘causal conjunction plus dependent clause’(Table 4). The interpretation of this feature is varied as follows:
Rebecca Onie changed the healthcare system because she had realized the thing that... (cause)… to connect many patients and their families to the existing landscape. (purpose)... so that patients can be provided basic resources. (purpose)... if patients don’t eat a satisfactory diet, they will ... (condition)... by prescribing basic resources. (manner)

38

Table 4. Frequency distribution of the CDF explain across proficiency level in dataset 1
Lower
HigherComparison
CAUSAL SEMANTIC
2
CATEGORIES
N
%
N
%
χ
P
SignifESenabling and determining
72.
0.128
causation
104
2 108
80
2.31
6
0.183
0.151
abstract causation
14 9.7
7 5.2
2.06
2
0.175
deducing
historical
14.
14.
0.903
significance
21
6 19
1
0.01
4
0.015
- appraising causation
5 3.5
1 0.7
2.47 0.116
0.203
TOTAL:
144 100 135 100
ENABLING AND
Lower
HigherComparison
DETERMINING
CAUSATION
N
%
N
%
χ2
P
SignifES
causal conjunction plus
63.
dependent clause
72
50 86
7
5.33 0.021
++
0.278
0.179
circumstance of cause
6 4.2
2 1.5
1.8
3
0.167
external
conjunctive
10.
0.666
adjunct15
4 12 8.9
0.19
2
0.052
0.570
external causal process
11 7.6
8 5.9
0.32
3
0.068
72.
80.
TOTAL:
104
2 108
0
The analysis of dataset 2 by the CDF explain scheme shows that higher proficiency students
use more verbs to express more ‘external causal processes.’ The causal processes express
enabling and determining processes, which are equivalent to necessary and sufficientconditions (Coffin, 2009, p.122). The examples in this dataset include:… allowing people who were not given the opportunity to work in the past to do so. (enabling)… this kind of thing will lead to the spread of pulp fashion. (determining)
However, there were a limited number of verbs used to express enabling and determining
processes in dataset 2, as listed below:
enabling: influence, aid, help, enable, allow
determining: cause, lead to, force, make, means that, shows that39

Table 5. Frequency distribution of the CDF explain across proficiency level indataset 2
Lower
HigherComparison
CAUSAL SEMANTIC
CATEGORIES
N
%
N
%
χ2
P
Signifenabling and determining
62.
0.105
causation
199
4 193 68.7
2.62
6
19.
0.457
abstract causation
624
48 17.1
0.55
1
deducing
historical
0.618
significance
31 9.724 8.50.25
10.189
appraising causation
27 8.516 5.7
1.72
3
TOTAL:
319 100 281 100
ENABLING AND
Lower
HigherComparison
DETERMINING
CAUSATION
N
%
N
%
χ2
P
Signifcausal conjunction plus
20.
0.936
dependent clause
65
4
58 20.6
0.01
2
11.
0.720
circumstance of cause
37
630 10.7
0.13
3external
conjunctive
0.397
adjunct
30 9.421 7.50.72
30.012
external causal process
67
21
84 29.9
6.27
3
+++
62.
TOTAL:
199
4 193 68.7

ES
0.133
0.061
0.041
0.109

ES
0.007
0.029
0.07
0.205

Note. Dataset 2 comprises writing data from students of varying proficiency levels, who are taught inmixed-level classes by the same instructor.

5.2 Comparison across Topics
Research question 2 aims to examine writing topic data. While dataset 2 suggests no variations
among topics, dataset 3 presents significant differences (over 98%) in two features (Table 6,
ENABLING AND DETERMINING CAUSATION). With the ‘circumstance of cause,’
containing adverbial groups that convey causal relationships, students who wrote about online
interviews utilized this feature more frequently than those who wrote about driverless cars.
Examples are:
In recent years, people have avoided contact due to the spread of covid-19 [sic]. (cause)
But in the case of online job interviews, you don't have to get out of the house. (condition).
The external causal process is another statistically detected feature. The students who wrote
about driverless cars employed this feature with greater frequency. The number of verbs used
to express the process are limited, as noted in the previous section. Two common examples
include:... some restrictions make it difficult to put them into practical use. (determining)... car accidents are caused by human error. (determining)
Only two verbs were identified that were not included in dataset 1:

40

Driverless cars enable hands free driving. (enabling)
97% of traffic fatalities are attributed to driver violations. (determining)
To put it more simply, in dataset 3, the topic “online job interview” evoked more ‘circumstanceof cause’ clauses and the topic “self-driving car” evoked more ‘external causal process’ clauses.
This means that whether students used circumstance or process clauses to connect two eventsof external worlds depended on the events themselves, not on students' inherent tendency tochoose one over the other because the same students wrote about these two topics. The example
sentences give us a clue to think about this issue. “covid-19” is a circumstance and “accident”
is a result of a process. Meanwhile, in dataset 2, the topic “pulp-size fashion” and “virtual
reality” did not evoke an external event strong enough to elicit either of circumstance clauses
or process clauses. Therefore, the different proportions of circumstance and events acrosstopics are due to the different events of the external words associated with the topics.
Another reason the results differ between datasets 2 and 3 could be due to the selection of
topics and the students’ majors. In dataset 2, the two topics “pulp-size fashion” and “virtual
reality” were loosely related to general healthcare, so students’ language could be at the very
early stage in the development of the subject language, or English for healthcare. In dataset 3,
there was no common ground between the two topics, “online job interview” and “driverlesscar,” so the lesson content and students’ language could remain topical. However, this
explanation is speculative and should be investigated in further studies.
Table 6. Frequency distribution of the CDF explain across topics in dataset 3
OnlineDriverlessinterviewcarComparison
CAUSAL SEMANTIC
2
CATEGORIES
N
%
N
%
χ
P
Signifenabling
anddetermining causation
273
68.1 278 65.3
0.74 0.3898
abstract causation
75
18.7
88 20.7
0.47 0.4802
deducing
historicalsignificance47
11.7
51 12.0
0.01 0.9111
appraising causation
6
1.5
9
2.1
0.43 0.5097
TOTAL:
401
100 426
100
OnlineDriverless
ENABLING AND
interviewcarComparison
DETERMINING
2
CAUSATION
N
%
N
%
χ
P
Signifcausal conjunction plus
dependent clause121
30.2 110 25.8
2 0.157
circumstance of cause
55
13.7
34
8
7.13 0.0076+++
external
conjunctive
adjunct
71
17.7
51 11.9
5.40 0.0201++
external causal process26
6.5
83 19.4 30.36
0+++
TOTAL:
273
68.1 278 65.1

ES
0.060
0.049
0.009
0.046

ES
0.098
0.187
0.163
0.398

5.3 Comparison using SFL Transitivity Scheme
The built-in SFL transitivity scheme was used to examine differences between proficiency
levels and fields for research questions 3. As reviewed in the previous section of this paper, theSpanish data for the CDF categorize contains the highest proportion of relational process type,followed by material, existential, and mental process types (Evnitskaya & Dalton-Puffer,41

2023). However, datasets 1-3, which commonly included the CDF explain, have the highest
occurrence of material process types followed by mental or relational process types (Table
7&8).
Overall, there were no statistically detectable differences in process types across proficiency
levels. However, at a deeper level, dataset 1 highlights variances in one of the verbal process
types expressed by active verbs (Table 7), while dataset 2 does not show any variances. These
active verbs include:… she insists on providing medical care .... (verbal-active)
She stated that she would use the waiting room time as a place to connect patients to resources
to stay healthy. (verbal-active)
Table 7. Frequency distribution of process across proficiency level in dataset 1
Lower
HigherComparison
2
CONFIGURATION N
%
N
%
χ
P
Signifmaterial
407 12.5376
12.2
0.06 0.799
mental
152
4.7
128
4.2
0.88 0.3495
verbal
15
0.5
26
0.8
3.7 0.0544+
relational
73
2.2
75
2.4
0.3 0.5829
modal
0
0
0
0
0
1
existential
14
0.4
7
0.2
1.93 0.1651
TOTAL:
661 20.2
612
19.9
lower
higherComparison
2
VERBAL 2
N
%
N
%
χ
P
Signifverbal-active
14
0.4
25
0.8
3.85 0.0497++
verbal-passive
10
1
00 0.9649
TOTAL:
15
0.5
26
0.8

ES
0.006
0.024
0.049
0.014
0.035

ES
0.05
0.001

As for the SFL transitivity across topics, there are quite similar trends between dataset 2 anddataset 3. Dataset 2 indicates that texts related to the plus-size fashion topic include a greaternumber of ‘relational’ processes (Table 8, CONFIGURATION), which are typically expressed
through the use of the verbs be and have. The students composed as follows (feature names in
the parentheses are shown in Figure 3):... many fashion models who are too thin ... (‘relational’ – ‘attributive’)... anorexia can be cause [sic] of death. (‘relational’ – ‘identifying’)… being thin means having a good style. (‘relational’ – ‘possessive’)
Dataset 2 also includes further ‘existential’ processes that are conventionally conveyed throughthe “there + be” structure.
There are many people who are not confident ... (‘existential’)
However, there is another issue ... (‘existential’)The same dataset also displays variations at a deeper level based on the use of ‘intransitive’and ‘monotransitive’ verbs within the material process (Table 8, MATERIAL).

42

And the number of healthy people will increase (‘material’ – ‘intransitive’)
Today, VR is used to support people’s health. (‘material’ – ‘monotransitive’)
Table 8. Frequency distribution of process across topics in dataset 2
Plus-size
VirtualfashionrealityComparison
2
CONFIGURATION
N
%
N
%
χ
P
Signif48
material
4 11.5484 12.6
2.48
0.115
11
mental
5
2.7
92
2.4
0.86
0.353
verbal
14
0.3
16
0.4
0.39
0.530715
relational
7
3.7
106
2.8
5.84
0.0156
+++
modal
0
0
0
0
0
1
existential
38
0.9
15
0.4
7.99
0.0047+++80 0.19
0.18
TOTAL:
8
2713
6
Plus-size
VirtualfashionrealityComparison
2
MATERIAL
N
%
N
%
χ
P
Signif12
intransitive
5
3
67
1.7
12.78
0.0003+++29
monotransitive
6
7
350
9.1
12.09
0.0005+++ergative
56
1.3
54
1.4
0.1
0.7569ditransitive
7
0.2
13
0.3
2.43
0.119348 0.11
0.12
TOTAL:
4
5
484
6

ES
0.035
0.021
0.014
0.054
0.065

ES
0.081
0.078
0.007
0.035

Similarly, dataset 3 displays differences in ‘relational’ processes at the process type level. The
largest factor in this process is the possessive type.
Online job interviews have the great advantage... (‘relational’ – ‘possessive’)
We have a lot of opportunities of having online interview… (‘relational’ – ‘possessive’)
At a deeper level within the same dataset, variations in the material process are evident incertain features. Notably, a diverse range of monotransitive verbs are utilized.
... driverless cars can avoid such car accidents. (‘material’ – ‘monotransitive’)
Automated vehicles have become necessary to solve the labor shortage (‘material’ –‘monotransitive’)
6. Discussion
6.1 Summary of Findings
Regarding research question 1, there are variations in the use of both the CDF explain and the
CDF evaluate among different language proficiency levels. Advanced-level students are more43

comfortable with making judgements about individuals and tend to use dependent clauses todemonstrate causality between events. Conversely, novice-level students tend to react more
often to the speaker’s actions and ideas.
Regarding research question 2, the use of the CDF explain varies depending on the topic, ormore specifically, the event expressed by a noun or noun phrase that students can easily comeup with. For instance, the noun ‘COVID-19’ is often used with an adverbial group to indicate
the circumstance of the cause.
Regarding research question 3, our analysis revealed that the material process was the mostcommonly occurring process type, in contrast to previous studies. This finding may be
attributed to the design of the prompts. Notably, external - physical and social - changes wereexpressed using transitive material process verbs. For instance, the phrase ‘human error’ wasoften accompanied by the material process verb ‘cause.’ Additionally, advanced students
employed reporting verbs more frequently, which relates to verbal process.
6.2 Pedagogical Implications
Each of the points listed above has potential pedagogical implications. However, for the
purposes of illustration, consider an example that is related to the CDF explain and proficiency
levels. Given that teachers may encounter diverse levels of student proficiency in their classes,
they must tailor their instruction to meet the needs of their students. When dealing with mixedlevel classes, teachers must exercise flexibility and adapt their teaching methods accordingly.
For beginner students, teachers may assign tasks focused on easily shareable nouns. A prompt
such as “What effects did COVID-19 have on...” with specific action verbs like“cause/change/transform/increase/...” can be provided. At an advanced level, apparent factors
may be concealed, allowing students to look deeper into the underlying causes of superficial
phenomena. Whenever sources are provided, students can utilize reporting verbs to cite themappropriately.
In this study, writing was assigned at the culmination of each unit, following group or paired
discussion as a component of the CLIL 4Cs framework. At this stage, students are urged tofocus on the substance of what they intend to write as well as their mode of expression in thetarget language, in order to encourage better writing habits. Using the translanguaging policy
to utilize the mother tongue as a scaffold for learning would effectively integrate
Communication and Cognition components of the framework in the target language, enabling
further learning. The method of teaching writing, particularly when employing CDFs, is not a
separate entity, but rather a combination of all the other factors of CLIL, supported by credible
evidence from the classroom.
6.3 Limitations
Two limitations of the corpus analysis are related to the ‘interpersonal’ metafunction in SFL.
The first limitation is that the CDF evaluate could benefit from further examination by utilizing
the engagement in the appraisal system (Martin, 2000). The engagement is expressed byphrases such as ‘I agree’ (engagement with another speaker in and out of the text) or the more
problematic phrase ‘I think’ (engagement with readers, for proclaiming or often for hedging).
The UAM CorpusTool built-in scheme supports manual coding of the engagement system. The
second limitation is that our analytical schema focuses on historical causation, examining past
events. However, it’s worth noting that causation could include future events as well. The CDF
explore, in particular, would be interesting to science CLIL teacher communities as it allows
exploration, prediction, estimation, or hypothesizing. The corpus built-in the SFL mood system

44

could automatically identify specific data or even conditionals to complement the analysis of
the CDF.
The data collection also had its limitations. Bilingual data collection in the two settings of thecurrent study, as was done by the Spanish group, was beyond the scope of this study.
Furthermore, the Soft-CLIL approach employed by language teachers does not prioritize output
in the mother language, Japanese. However, the corpus can still be fused for a bilingual analysis
comparing output in both languages.
Finally, classroom practices can be enhanced by making better use of CDFs. In the Spanish
study, the prompts were longer, more complex, and more situated than in this study. A sample
example prompt in a secondary history class (Whittaker & McCabe, 2023) contained 178
words and asked students to mix all of the CDFs in a single blog article directly (e.g., “Define
patricians and plebeians”) or indirectly (e.g., “What would Europe be like, if the Roman Empire
hadn’t been so powerful and successful?”). The concrete context was given to the writing task(e.g., “Imagine that you arrive in Ancient Rome...”, “Imagine that you can stop at either (A)the Colosseum to watch a gladiator fight...”). In contrast, the prompts in the current study
contained at most 45 words and asked students to respond using one or two CDFs. These
simplified prompts reflect classroom practices, where students’ written production remains a
response to individual CDFs; students write only about what they are asked. If CDFs were
better used in the lesson planning stage, their attitude toward writing might change.
7. Conclusion
By analyzing CDFs in their learners’ corpus, the Spanish UAM-CLIL research group
discovered that children’s academic language developed differently across subjects in abilingual CLIL program at a Spanish primary and secondary school. The authors’ current study
attempted to transfer the Spanish group’s methodology into Japanese Soft-CLIL classrooms at
two universities in order to better understand students’ cognitive processes in their writing andclarify how the CDFs explain and evaluate are used in students' writing. In fact, the differencesin contexts necessitated various minor adjustments to the methodology, including the minimum
length set for paragraph writing. Also, the CDF explain, which is critical in describing thecause-and-effect relationship between physical and social events, was added to the corpus
analysis because this CDF was not covered in the Spanish studies. Another adjustment wasthat, although the Spanish group studied subject-specific language, the authors looked at how
topics are related to writing. A more fundamental difference is in the positioning of theresearchers. This study was conducted by the teachers as researchers, so a pedagogical goal
was for the teachers to reflect on and improve their teaching practice and, for students to learn
more effectively. This is why one of the three research questions arose from the authors’
everyday classroom concerns: dealing with mixed-ability classes.
The corpus analysis of CDFs conducted by the teachers as researchers in this study provides
suggestions for writing teachers who teach different levels of students. The results of researchquestions 1-3 were as follows: 1) the use of both the CDFs explain and evaluate varied
according to proficiency level; 2) the use of CDF explain varied according to topic when thelesson content was topical; and 3) material process was the most common process type. A
synthesis of the findings for research questions 1-3 yielded the following conclusions which
the authors did not expect at the beginning of the research project: (a) higher-proficient students
tend to make judgments about people, use more reporting verbs, and express causality withconjunctions and subordinate clauses, whereas lower-proficient students react directly toevents; (b) the use of the CDF explain depends on writing topics because topics are closely45related to cause and result events, the relationships of which are expressed by material process
verbs. The authors’ findings have pedagogical implications, one of which is that instructors
may assign a cause noun and possible verbs that can be used for material processes to students
at lower proficiency level in class and ask them to consider probable outcomes. The findings
and their implications are expected to serve bottom-up scaffolding informed by empirical data.
This research focused on the use of individual CDFs in traditional paragraph writing. One of
the authors’ immediate tasks is to have students combine multiple CDFs in a more complex
writing task. Another is to develop students’ language into subject-specific language by using
CDFs in the lesson planning phase. Finally, by incorporating CDF-based tasks, teachers’
responsibilities can be extended beyond their own classroom to school- or university-widesyllabus and curriculum design, and overarching approaches.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the University of Shizuoka Research Grant in 2022. We thank theanonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and their constructive
comments. Their suggestions have helped us to produce a more cohesive piece of research.
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47

Appendix A.
Two oral discussion questions used in class are excerpted below. Both are related to Dataset 2.
In class, students were encouraged to express and support their opinions and make acontribution to the discussion started by students 1 and 2 in their own words. A one-page sheetthat contains useful phrases for discussion was provided for reference.
1. Do you think the media and the food industry share responsibility for the rise of extreme
dieting?
Student 1: Yes, I believe that the media and the food industry share responsibility for therise of extreme dieting. The media often portrays thinness as the ideal standard of beauty,
and the food industry promotes unhealthy foods that are high in sugar and fat. This cancreate a confusing and contradictory messages for people, and can lead them to engage inunhealthy behaviors in order to achieve the ideal body.
Student 2: I don’t think that the media and the food industry share responsibility for therise of extreme dieting. People make their own choices about what to eat and how much toeat, and they should be held accountable for their own actions.
2. What are the potential benefits of virtual reality (VR) being used in healthcare?
Student 1: VR has the potential to revolutionize healthcare in many ways. For example, it
can be used to provide patients with more immersive and engaging educational experiences
about their conditions and treatments.
Student 2: VR has the potential to be a valuable tool for healthcare professionals in many
ways. For example, it can be used to train surgeons and other medical professionals on newprocedures and techniques.
Appendix B
Activities and materials for cause-effect paragraphs are described below. 1-3 are in-classactivities and 4 is an excerpt from online materials that students can refer to at home.
In class:
1. The teachers explain key features of cause-effect paragraphs.
reasons (or causes) of an action or event (focus-on-causes method)results (or effects) of an action or event (focus-on-effects method)
2. Students read a sample paragraph about dropping out of school based on Folse et al. (2021,
pp.78-79) and answer post-reading questions on topic sentences, supporting sentences,concluding sentences, and key features of cause-effect paragraphs, such as:
What feature of a cause-effect paragraph do you see in this paragraph?
3. The teachers present connectors and transitions showing cause-effect (False et al., 2015,
p.145) and have students underline some of them used in the sample paragraph.
Within a sentence:
because of + noun / because + Subject + Verb / another (cause /effect / reason) / owing to +noun / due to + noun / Subject + Verb, so Subject + Verb / Subject + Verb so (that) Subject +
Verb

48

Between sentences:
As a result / Therefore / Because of this, Subject + Verb
4. Students are given a link to online materials that present more sentences with cause-effecttransition signals (Smith, 2013). Some of these sentences are not presented in class:
As a result of the increased use of cars, pollution levels in cities are worsening.
The effect of the increased use of cars is a worsening of pollution levels in cities.
Cars are used increasingly for urban transport. As a consequence, pollution levels in cities areworsening.
Increased use of cars for urban transport adversely affects pollution levels in cities.
Increased use of cars for urban transport is one of the causes of worsening pollution levels incities.
Appendix C
1. At university 2, students first watch a supplementary video for the textbook. An excerpt froma video script explaining how to identify causal chain is as follows:“... A time order event represents a sequence of events in the order the events happen, such as
what happens first, second, and third, ... In a cause-effect relationship, there is also a sequenceof events, but each event is the cause of the next event. ...” (Ward & Gramer, 2019, Online
Practice, Unit 1 Critical Thinking video, 2:19-2:56)
2. Students then answer a series of questions that follow the video, one of which is:
Question 6. Which is an example of a cause-effect chain?
( ) When you meet your friend, she asks you how you are. First, tell her that you don’t feel thatwell. Then you ask her if she has any headache medicine. She says that she doesn’t. Finally,
you tell her that you need to go to the doctor’s office.
( ) When you meet your friend, she asks you how you are. You tell her you have a headache,so she asks if she can help. Since she asked if you needed help, you feel a little better becausethat makes you think your friend is a good person. (Ward & Gramer, 2019, Online Practice,
Unit 1 Critical Thinking)49

Analyzing Authorized Textbooks: Potentials and Problems to Develop
CLIL Lessons in Japanese High Schools
Yukina Odate
Den-en Chofu Gakuen Junior and Senior High School
Abstract
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a teaching approach that aims to enhancelearners’ content and language knowledge through the integration of content, communication,
cognition, and culture (Coyle et al., 2010). There are various studies examining the potentials
and practices of CLIL, and its effect has been widely acknowledged. While CLIL is gaining
attention in Japan as well (Brown, 2015; Sasajima, 2011; Watanabe et al., 2011; Yamano,2013), its successful implementation in language classrooms has been a major challenge forteachers. Since English teaching in Japan still tends to focus more on acquiring accurate
linguistic knowledge rather than skill improvement or content learning, implementing this new
approach in usual English classes can be difficult for teachers although they recognize thepositive effect that CLIL can provide. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how to prepare
and implement CLIL effectively in English classrooms in Japan. In order to implement CLIL,
this study proposes utilizing MEXT authorized textbooks, which teachers in Japan are required
to use in conducting their classes in principle. In particular, this study will focus on high school
English classes and specifically analyze the potentials and problems of authorized English
textbooks with a view to ultimately make suggestions for how CLIL can be conducted in
English classes by analyzing six authorized textbooks. Findings from the study revealed thatthe salient potentials of the textbooks are the frequent occurrence of all language skills, lowerorder thinking skills, and global awareness. The salient problems of the textbooks were thatgrammar is isolated from the content, reading sections lack cooperative learning and tasks to
improve students’ reading skill, and integration of higher-order thinking skills. It is hoped that
this study contributes to the further development of CLIL in Japan so that more in-service andfuture practitioners will be able to teach quality, yet feasible CLIL, by using the authorized
textbooks.
Keywords: CLIL, 4Cs Lesson Framework, authorized textbooks, textbook analysis, material
development
1. Introduction
As globalization proceeds, the importance of learning English has become widely recognizedin Japan, and the emphasis on acquiring practical English abilities is becoming stronger(Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006). To adapt to the changing social needs, language education in
Japan has been going through drastic changes as the revised lower secondary school curriculum
was implemented in the academic year 2021, and the revised upper secondary school
curriculum was implemented starting in April 2022 (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology, or MEXT, 2018). According to MEXT, the revised Course of Study,
which are the standards for curriculums in primary and secondary schools in Japan, has placed
particular emphasis on laying a foundation to communicate with others while continuing toplace importance on acquiring the four skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking. It hasorganized the language qualities and abilities while “ensuring that knowledge and skills are
acquired,” “developing students' abilities to think, make decisions and express themselves” and“cultivating the motivation to learn and humanity” (MEXT, 2019, p. 17). To this end, there isan increasing demand for language teachers to conduct language lessons that foster these skills

50effectively.
Due to the implementation of the reform, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
is getting attention in educational scenes nationwide. Previous studies have shown that CLIL
is a promising educational approach that integrates learning content along with a foreign
language (e.g., Coyle et al., 2010; Dalton-Puffer, 2008; Ikeda, 2011; Mehisto et al., 2008), andwhat CLIL can offer and what the new Course of Study aims for overlaps in certain points.
Therefore, implementing CLIL can be seen as a way to fulfill the mandates set by MEXT intheir new Course of Study.
To implement CLIL and to fulfill the mandates of MEXT, I argue to utilize MEXT textbooks,
which primary and secondary teachers in public schools in Japan are required to use in
conducting their classes. In particular, the present study examines the potentials and problemsof adapting MEXT authorized textbooks as CLIL materials
2. Literature Review
2.1 Authorized Textbooks in Japan
Authorized textbooks are textbooks that are published by MEXT, which the vast majority of
in-service teachers are required to use in their classes. They play a central role for teaching
language in compliance with the aims of the Course of Study. Retrospectively, there have been
many critiques regarding the heavy focus on acquiring language knowledge, which is revealed
by previous research on textbook analysis (e.g., Chino & Urabe, 2019; Kawano, 2016; Yasuda,2021). Yasuda (2021) for example, compared IB (International Baccalaureate) English
textbooks used in a course for ESL/EFL students in IB Diploma programs and authorized
textbooks for Japanese secondary schools. The study revealed that in the IB textbooks,
approximately 50% of the reading tasks require critical thinking or creative thinking, whereas
70% of Japanese textbooks require understanding or remembering language knowledge, andless focus on developing communicative skills. In addition, Chino & Urabe (2019) analysed
39 textbooks for secondary schools to examine the impromptu aspects of speaking activities
and found that authorized textbooks do not provide sufficient opportunity to students to speak
without preparation.
In relation to teachers who regularly conduct CLIL, only 34.5% of the teachers conducting
CLIL in their classes answered that authorized textbooks are appropriate for CLIL materials,
and more than 70% of those teachers rely on CLIL textbooks (J-CLIL CLIL Survey Committee,2022). This indicates that authorized textbooks are not preferred to be used for CLIL lessons,which makes it essential to identify the potentials and problems of authorized textbooks to be
used as CLIL materials and to explore how authorized textbooks can be used beneficially inclass.
2.2 English Classes in Japanese High Schools
Language teaching has traditionally been based on a teacher-centered approach and making
learners consciously aware of language patterns. Teachers devote a great deal of class time tomake students gain language knowledge and less time is devoted to critical thinking andcreative thinking (Dummett & Hughes, 2019). Especially in terms of reading, teaching method
could remain language-focused and teacher-centered, which is known as yakudoku, a grammartranslation method that is deeply rooted in English education in Japan (Cook, 2012; Izumi,
2022; Nishino & Watanabe, 2008). Also, although in-service teachers nowadays are becoming
to focus more on content, Izumi (2022) points out that how language is taught is by way of“separated” or “disjointed” approach in Japan. That is learning and using is occurring51

individually, where learners do not get the opportunity to try using the language when theylearn it. However, in order to realize a fruitful language class, integration and connection of
language and content are significant, not separation and isolation of learning and using.
Mehisto et al. (2008, p. 11) also argues that it is crucial that the students “learn as they use, use
as they learn” not “learn first and use later.” Yet, it is not easy to shift to meaning-focused,
content-rich, balanced teaching, because “the change requires a major shift of thinking frompredominantly form-focused, accuracy-oriented teaching that pervades many teachers’ minds”(Izumi, 2022, p. 29). Therefore, it is beneficial to carefully explore how CLIL lessons could bepromoted in language classrooms in Japanese high schools.
2.3 The 4Cs Framework
CLIL is a dual-focused teaching approach that integrates the 4Cs: content (subject matter),communication (language learning and using), cognition (learning and thinking process), andculture or community (developing intercultural and global citizenship) (Coyle et al., 2010).
Ikeda (2016) further refines the principles of 4Cs in eight categories shown in Table 1.
Table 1. The CLIL lesson framework (Ikeda, 2016, p. 17).
Content

Communication

Cognition

CultureDeclarativeknowledge

Languageknowledge

Lower-order
thinking skills(LOTS)

Cooperative
learning

Proceduralknowledge

LanguageskillsHigher-order
thinking skills(HOTS)

Globalawareness

The CLIL Lesson Framework divides each C into two categories. Content is divided into
declarative and procedural knowledge of the subject matter. Declarative knowledge refers to
the knowledge of facts, principles and concepts. In other words, declarative knowledge isfactual knowledge that people can report or describe. Whereas, procedural knowledge involves
knowing how to do something or actively engaging in cognitive activities, such as reasoning,decision making, and problem solving. Communication includes language knowledge such as
vocabulary, grammar, and expression, and language skills such as listening, reading, speaking,and writing. Cognition is divided into two types: higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and lower
order thinking skills (LOTS) (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001). HOTS include such skills as
analyzing, evaluating, and creating, whereas LOTS include skills like remembering,understanding and applying new knowledge. Culture consists of cooperative learning andglobal awareness. Cooperative learning is where learners are encouraged to work cooperatively
through pair and group work, while global awareness is having opportunities to broaden
learners’ perspectives by dealing with global issues. It is argued that when planning andimplementing a CLIL lesson, these elements should be taken into consideration for effective
learning for students.
3. Research Question
The present study investigates the following research question:
RQ: How can authorized textbooks in Japanese high schools be used in a way that adheres to
CLIL principles? What are their potentials and problems?

52

The question examines how authorized textbooks can be utilized as a CLIL material. It
investigates the potentials and problems that the authorized textbooks have by considering the4Cs of the CLIL Lesson Framework. Then, the study explores the use of authorized textbooks
as CLIL materials in a way that makes the most use of the potentials and overcomes problems
found in the research question.
4. Instruments and Methodological Procedure
In order to determine the textbooks to adopt for the study, the most frequent adopted textbook
publishers among metropolitan high schools for English Communication I were chosen(MEXT, 2021). They are Big Dipper (Suken Shuppan), Crown (Sanseido), Element(Keirinkan), Flex (Zoshindo), Landmark (Keirinkan), and Power On (Tokyo Shoseki).
The research question was examined through two steps to analyse the textbooks quantitatively
and qualitatively. First, the researcher classified and counted all the elements that appear in alesson into the CLIL lesson framework: content, communication, cognition, and culture (Ikeda,
2016). However, only checking the elements quantitatively has its limitations. It is likely tooverlook significant tendencies that can be observed such as how 4Cs are integrated, how thelesson flow is constructed, or the quality of questions and tasks provided. Thus, the researcher
took a closer look at the textbooks qualitatively in order to identify the potentials and problems
specifically. Then, a set of guidelines by which to adapt the textbook is explored and clarified.
5. Data Analysis Procedures
5.1 Content
Content includes declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge
was tallied whenever factual knowledge that can be reported or described appeared in thelesson. For example, reading sections, comprehension questions, listening questions, or tasks
that introduced or asked to use the facts were each counted as 1 as declarative knowledge.
Procedural knowledge was counted when the textbooks presented knowledge that relates toreasoning, decision making, and problem solving. For instance, where the textbooks provided
questions or tasks that make students use their knowledge was counted 1 as proceduralknowledge.
5.2 Communication
Communication is divided into language knowledge and language skills. Language knowledge
includes vocabulary, expression, and grammar. Vocabulary and expression were counted
respectively when the textbooks gave a separate list as key words or key expressions forstudents to use. For example, in all six textbooks, a list of vocabulary and expressions areprovided in each reading section. Each list of words and expressions was counted 1 to counthow frequent these elements were represented in each section. In the matter of grammar, it was
tallied 1 whenever there was a focus on the form represented explicitly. Language skills wasmarked for each skill when the textbook explicitly gave instructions to listen, read, speak, or
write.
5.3 Cognition
To identify LOTS and HOTS in Table 1, the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy was applied(Anderson et al., 2001). LOTS contain remembering, understanding, and applying.
Remembering involves bolded vocabulary and expressions or grammar exercises that
repeatedly appear. They were tallied 1 for each set of the exercises. Understanding applies tothe parts where the textbooks have students interpret the meaning of the presented content.
Comprehension questions that help students understand the passage, or exercises and drills

53

used for practicing the target form are examples of understanding. Whenever these types ofquestions or exercises and drills appeared in the section, each was tallied as 1. Applying iswhere students need to select and use previously learned information in a similar situation or a
problem. Retelling is one of the examples for applying in which students need to reproduce
what they have learned. Also, when students are given an example format and then follow thegiven format to produce language, this was also regarded as applying and counted as 1.
HOTS include analysing, evaluating, and creating. Analysing occurs when students are
required to examine in detail so as to identify causes, key factors, or possible results. For
instance, in Crown (p. 69), several dogu pictures are shown to the students and then students
are asked to describe the facial expressions that each dogu has. Students need to examine what
each picture describes, which makes students use their analysing skill and therefore counted as
1. In terms of evaluating, students make judgments of the quality, importance, or value of given
information. Type of questions such as “What can you do if you remember the order ofpriorities (in life)?” (Flex, p. 37) are examples of evaluating. Lastly, creating applies to tasks
that make students think of and create to produce original work such as presentation, speech,
essay, or poster.
5.4 Culture
Culture is divided into cooperative learning and global awareness. Cooperative learning in
culture includes solo, pair, and group work. Where the textbook explicitly states to work inpairs or in groups was counted for cooperative learning respectively. Solo was also counted to
examine how frequent pair and group work appears in the overall lesson flow compared toindividual work although individual work is not cooperative indeed. Whenever students were
given questions, exercises, or tasks without any instruction to work in pairs or groups, each
was counted 1 as solo work.
Global awareness was examined to see if the textbook covers topics that raise global awareness,
not only in the lesson, but also throughout the textbook. Whenever a content including graphs,
data, pictures, passage, questions that was regarded to raise global awareness was each counted
as global awareness. Additionally, in order to examine all the topics in the textbook, the main
topics of each lesson were also counted to include the value as a whole textbook.
6. Results
This section presents the key findings of the study to answer the research question: How canauthorized textbooks in Japanese high schools be used in a way that adheres to CLIL
principles? What are their potentials and problems? To identify the potentials and problems,
this section firstly presents how frequent each C appeared in the six textbooks. Then, based on
the observation, the most salient potentials and problems are identified.
6.1 4Cs in the Textbooks
6.1.1 Content. This section explores what contents were tallied in each textbook. Table
2 shows the total number of knowledge items included in each textbook.

54

Table 2. Frequencies of content tallied in each textbook
Content
Declarative Knowledge

Procedural Knowledge

BIG DIPPER

7

5

CROWN

9

7

ELEMENT

8

4

FLEX

10

3

LANDMARK

103

POWER ON

6

5

TOTAL

50

27

In total, declarative knowledge (50) appeared about two times more frequently compared toprocedural knowledge (27). However, in some textbooks, both declarative and proceduralknowledge were included to a similar degree such as Power On (6-declarative : 5-procedural).
Declarative knowledge appeared in all sections throughout the lesson in all textbooks, while
procedural knowledge appeared in the introduction, comprehension questions that asked forstudents’ opinions, and final tasks.
6.1.2 Communication. This section explores what communications were tallied in eachtextbook. Table 3 shows the total number counted for language knowledge: vocabulary,
expression, and grammar, and language skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
Table 3. Frequencies of communication tallied in each textbook.
Communication
Language Knowledge

Language Skills

Vocabulary

Expression

Grammar

Listening

Reading

Speaking

Writing

BIG DIPPER

5

5

4

5

4

5

6

CROWN

5

7

4

7

6

4

8

ELEMENT

4

6

2

4

4

3

1

FLEX

6

7

6

5

7

7

7

LANDMARK

5

6

3

8

6

4

4

POWER ON

5

5

4

4

5

6

5

TOTAL

30

36

23

33

32

29

31

As shown in Table 3, expression (36) was the most frequently counted element, followed by
vocabulary (30). Grammar was the least frequent that appeared among language knowledge55

(23). Expression frequently appeared throughout the lesson in all sections, while vocabulary
and grammar were mainly focused in the reading section.
In relation to language skills, all four skills of listening (33), reading (32), speaking (29), andwriting (31) were equally included, although how they were presented in a lesson differeddepending on textbooks. For example, some textbooks included all four skills in the reading
section, while others focused on the improvement of each skill respectively in different sections.
6.1.3 Cognition. This section explores what cognitions were tallied in each textbook.
Table 4 displays the total number of lower-order thinking skills (LOTS), including
remembering, understanding, and applying, and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), including
analysing, evaluating, and creating.
Table 4. Frequencies of cognition tallied in each textbook.
Cognition
Lower-Order Thinking Skills (LOTS)

Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

Remembering

Understanding

Applying

Analysing

Evaluating

Creating

BIG DIPPER

5

7

7

1

2

2

CROWN

6

8

8

5

5

2

ELEMENT

4

7

6

4

3

1

FLEX

7

9

8

1

1

2

LANDMARK

5

11

7

1

2

3

POWER ON

4

5

5

1

3

0

TOTAL

31

47

41

13

16

10

A notable difference was observed in cognition between LOTS and HOTS. LOTS wereobserved more than double the number of HOTS. This result is consistent with what has been
described in other previous studies (Dalton-Puffer, 2007; Dummett & Hughes, 2019; Ikeda,
2016; Izumi, 2016; Kawano, 2016; Tomlinson, 2003).
Among the three skills in LOTS, understanding was the most observed (47). Most sections ina lesson consisted of questions to check students’ comprehension, which made understanding
appear frequently. The second commonly used skill was applying (41), where students wererequired to use their content or language knowledge to answer questions, or work on drills,
exercises, or tasks. Remembering (31) was the least observed among LOTS. The textbooks did
not explicitly state to remember, but important key vocabulary or expressions were indicatedin bold type listed separately, which can implicitly indicate that students are expected toremember those items.
The most observed among HOTS was evaluating (16), followed by analysing (13), and creating(10). Questions or tasks that make students use evaluating and analysing skills appear invarious sections where students are expected to give opinions on the content, or discuss issues
raised in the passage. Creating mainly appeared in the final task to give presentations/speeches,or writing paragraphs/essays.

56

6.1.4 Culture. This section explores what cultures were tallied in each textbook. Table
5 shows the total number of cooperative learning, which is solo, pair, and group, and global
awareness.
Table 5. Frequencies of culture tallied in each textbook.
CultureCooperative Learning
Global Awareness

Solo

Pair

Group

BIG DIPPER

7

5

0

7

CROWN

9

6

2

9

ELEMENT

7

2

1

8

FLEX

9

1

1

10

LANDMARK

10

1

2

10

POWER ON

5

5

0

6

TOTAL

47

20

6

50

In cooperative learning, solo work was the most observed (47), followed by pair work (20) andgroup work (6). The overall tendency of cooperative learning was that pair work appeared in
the introduction section where students are expected to brainstorm about the topic, and also
after the reading sections where tasks are presented. Group work was seen in the final task
predominantly. Other than that, there was no instruction that makes students work either inpairs or groups.
6.2 Potential Use of the Textbooks in CLIL Classrooms
6.2.1 Language Skills (Communication). As shown above, all four language skills wererelatively equally included in all textbooks. Tasks were designed for students to use all four
skills while learning content. What was remarkable is that several skills were integrated in the
final task presented at the end of each lesson. One of the examples can be seen in Landmark
Lesson 4 Eco-Tour on Yakushima (p. 75). First, students are to listen to a conversation about
eco-tour (listening). Then, students read a leaflet of eco-tours on Yakushima, and fill in theblanks based on what they heard from the conversation (reading/writing). Lastly, according to
the leaflet, students were to discuss in groups about which tour they want to take part in(speaking). As can be seen from this example, textbooks include tasks that give opportunities
for students to use various language skills in a lesson.
6.2.2 Lower-Order Thinking Skills (Cognition). Many tasks for cognitive skills thatenhance lower-order thinking were included in authorized textbooks. True-or-false questions,multiple-choice questions, description problems, and summarizing by filling in the blanks werecommon types of questions that appeared as understanding. In addition, a retelling activity was
also popular among the textbooks, which was classified as applying. It can be proposed thatquestions that check students’ comprehension are abundantly provided just by using authorized
textbooks.
6.2.3 Global Awareness (Culture). As shown in the quantitative results, topics in the
textbooks incorporated issues around the world. The tendency could be seen not only within57the textbook, but also within a lesson. For instance, Element Lesson 1, students have theopportunity to see the world map and identify the places, match words and pictures fromdifferent places around the world, and discuss places they want to visit in the introduction part(p. 16). In Lesson 4, students are expected to discuss possession of nuclear arms by referring
to a graph that compares 9 countries which hold nuclear arsenals (p. 63). These examples showthat in-service teachers can use the content of the textbook to help raise students’ global
awareness.
6.3 Problems of the Textbooks
6.3.1 Grammar: Language Knowledge (Communication). The results of language
knowledge showed that grammar had the least occurrence among the three. However, theproblem is not with the number of forms focused in the lesson. The problem with grammar isthat whilst there was a focus on a target form in the reading section, the learning of the form
was not integrated with content. One of the examples can be seen in Flex, in reading section
part 1 of Lesson 4 “Malala: Fighting for Women’s Rights” (pp. 61–75). After reading the wholestory, students are expected to write and present using the target form, which is the relative
pronoun, based on the question below shown in Extract 1.
Extract 1. Example on grammar task (FLEX, p. 71)
Use the target grammar (such as “who” or “which”) to write about your favorite
entertainer (TV star, singer, actor, anime character, and so on). Then, give a
presentation about him or her in your group.
Sample answer: My favorite singer is Utada Hikaru. She is a singer who has written
many songs, too. Some of the songs which she wrote became big hits around theworld. Her songs are usually pop music, but she also uses rock and hip-hop style.
A problem can be raised in learning and teaching grammar in this example. That is, the tasks
given to the students do not relate to the content. This tendency could be seen in other textbooks,
too. For example, in Lesson 1 “Intercultural Relationships” in Element, a grammar task is to
use the target form, to-infinitives, to answer the question, “Where did you go last weekend?
Why did you go there and what did you do? Talk about your last weekend with to do,” which
also does not relate to the content (p. 22). In Power On, explanations of the target form andfew exercises are given on the bottom of all reading sections, but still the example sentences
are isolated from the content.
As seen in the examples, authorized textbooks seem not to integrate or connect grammar andcontent. How grammar can be taught with authorized textbooks can be carefully reconsidered.
Since CLIL emphasizes the importance of content and language integration, learning grammar
in authorized textbooks should be revised so that students can try using the target form to
discuss and deepen their understanding of the content.
6.3.2 Reading: Language Skill (Communication). Four language skills are included
about the same amount in authorized textbooks; however, the problem lies in reading sections
for inadequate instructional guidance or support for learning to read. In all six textbooks,
reading sections do not include guideposts that suggest how students can read and improvetheir reading skill in textbooks. Although textbooks give questions to check students’comprehension or to discuss the content, they are so separate and isolated from the main
reading sections that they may not be utilized as much during instruction or reading. This58

observation also illustrates one of the reasons why the frequency of cooperative learning isrelatively low, since the main part of the lesson lacks tasks other than comprehension questions
to understand the content.
6.3.3 Tasks: Higher-Order Thinking Skills (Cognition). All authorized textbooks
include tasks at the end of the lesson, which is the section where HOTS frequently appear. The
framework of the final task noticeably differs among the textbooks, which makes it difficult togeneralize the tendency. However, what needs to be asked is whether the tasks actuallystimulate higher-order thinking.
To illustrate, in Big Dipper, four steps are provided in the final task. In Step 1, students listen
to a passage and fill in the blanks to comprehend the content in Japanese (listening / LOTS:
understanding). In Step 2, students work with partners to discuss what they heard in Japanese(HOTS: analyzing, evaluating). In Step 3, students write their opinion in English using theformat and glossary provided (writing / LOTS: applying, HOTS: evaluating). Lastly in Step 4,
students share opinions with partners (speaking / HOTS: analysing). By going through all thesesteps, it seems to stimulate higher-order thinking skills. However, by students having a format
to write in Step 3, “sharing opinions” can easily fall into just reading out loud what they wrote.
If this happens, the opportunity for students to enhance higher-order thinking skills can betaken away. To take another example in Landmark, two steps are provided in thecommunication task. In Step 1, students listen to a dialogue and fill in the blanks to comprehend
the content in English (listening, writing / LOTS: understanding). In Step 2, students first write
about their opinion using the format provided in the textbook, and then talk about their opinions
in groups (writing, speaking / HOTS: analyzing, evaluating). Similar to the case in the firstexample, students might only read out what they wrote.
From the examples shown above, there is a need to examine whether the textbook stimulates
HOTS. If the textbook does not satisfy what the teacher wants to provide, it would be crucial
for teachers to consider how they can present tasks and avoid students talking in a unilateralway.
6.4 CLIL in Authorized Textbooks
To summarize the most salient potentials and problems of the authorized textbooks, first,
potentials and problems of the authorized textbooks are listed below. Second, how CLIL
elements are included in the authorized textbooks are shown in Figure 5.
Potentials of authorized textbooks:□ All language skills (communication) are included in a lesson.
□ Lower-order thinking skills (cognition) can be enhanced in comprehension questions.
□ All textbooks include contents that have potential in raising students’ global awareness(culture).
Problems of authorized textbooks:□ Grammar (communication) is isolated from the content.
□ How reading (communication) can be taught is not indicated and cooperative learning islacking.
□ Whether tasks enhance higher-order thinking skills (cognition) need to be examined.

59

Figure 5. CLIL in authorized textbooks (adopted and revised from Coyle et al., 2010, p. 56;
Ikeda, 2011, p. 5).

Figure 5 represents CLIL elements included in the authorized textbooks in a diagram based on
the model of Coyle, Hood and Marsh (2010) and Ikeda (2011). The 4Cs are shown in four
sections, each containing circles that show the skills of the CLIL Lesson Framework. The sizeof the circle informally and roughly illustrates the frequency that is observed in the textbooks.
As shown in this figure, declarative knowledge in content, expression in communication,
lower-order thinking skills in cognition, and solo work in communication are focused amongthe 4Cs Framework of CLIL. The outside circle shows global awareness, which connects toand integrates most of the elements of the 4Cs in the authorized textbook. Grammar is shownoutside of the circle of global awareness, since grammar does not connect to or integrate withother elements of the 4Cs. Reading is also unconnected within the area of communication toshow the separation with the other 4Cs such as cooperative learning and higher-order thinking
skills.
7. Discussion
7.1 Potentials of Authorized Textbooks
The results indicated that language skills, lower-order thinking skills, and global awarenessappeared to have been the most salient potentials. It is said that English education in Japantends to focus heavily on acquiring receptive skills, reading and listening; however, thefindings seem to indicate that the tendency of the focus on the receptive skills may not be
textbooks. According to the survey conducted by BERD (2015), the percentage of speaking
and writing instruction peaked in the second year of junior high school and declined thereafter.
It can be inferred that teachers are focusing on the preparation for high school entrance
examinations in the third year of junior high school and for university entrance examinations
in later years. Although the results of this survey were taken before the revision of the Courseof Study, there is a possibility that developing productive skills, speaking and writing, are put
aside and instead reading sections get the heavy focus. However, as the authorized textbooks
include all four language skills relatively equally, it is advisable for teachers to value all theskills and utilize what is provided in the textbooks.
60

The results regarding the frequency of LOTS are in agreement with previous studies (Chino &Urabe, 2019; Dummett & Hughes, 2019; Ikeda, 2016; Izumi, 2016; Kawano, 2016; Yasuda,2021). However, it is important to note that lower-order thinking is necessary for students tobreak down knowledge into its components and determine the relationships of the components
to one another (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). The foundation of LOTS allows students tomove into higher-order thinking, which can be interpreted as a potential to build a basis tocognitively engage with higher-order thinking skills.
The findings for global awareness seem to indicate that the authorized textbooks are shifting
towards change as the new Course of Study is revised. Before the reform of the new Course of
Study, the content of the textbook often dealt with information on English-speaking countries
such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia (Muroi, 1999; Muroi, 2004;
Yamanaka, 2006). However, according to Muroi (2004), the top 10 adopted high school
English textbooks, English Communication I and English Communication II, reported that 40%
of English Communication I in 1999 and 32% of English Communication I in 2004 dealt withlessons related to countries where English is the first language. As shown, the percentage that
focus on inner circle countries where English is used as the primary language has been
decreasing. The present study also shows that the tendency of including various countries is
continuing, which indicates the shift from the dominance of Western culture to the awarenessof multiculturalism.
7.2 Problems of Authorized Textbooks
The isolation of grammar learning from the content, a lack of cooperative learning andinstruction in reading, and insufficient enhancement of higher-order thinking skills wererevealed as problems. In the matter of grammar, MEXT (2019) states that grammar should belearned through repeated exposure in meaningful contextual communication so that learners
can use the language in actual situations (MEXT, 2019). To put it in another way, grammar
should be learned by integrating learning and using, and content and language. In order tosatisfy the requirements, grammar learning needs urgent adaptation because of its isolation andseparation from the content in the authorized textbooks. It is advisable for teachers to pay
strong attention to dealing with grammar teaching when using authorized textbooks.
In terms of reading, although students need to foster reading skills, authorized textbooks
provide students only with comprehension questions to achieve the goal of reading. That isteaching method of reading could still remain traditional in yakudoku style as previous study
shows (Nishino & Watanabe, 2008; Cook, 2012; Izumi, 2022). Therefore, students should begiven more opportunities to foster reading skills, which can better be achieved by having moretasks with cooperative learning integrated.
In the matter of higher-order thinking skills, less time is devoted to critical thinking and creative
thinking than lower-order thinking, which agrees with the findings in previous studies (Chino& Urabe, 2019; Dummett & Hughes, 2019; Ikeda, 2016; Izumi, 2016; Kawano, 2016; Yasuda,2021). As described earlier, higher-order thinking mostly appears in the final task. The
composition varied from one textbook to another, but within a single textbook, the compositionof the final task maintained a relatively similar structure. This implies that students arepresented with the same level of cognitive demand when completing the tasks. It would be
advisable for teachers to have students engage in a wider variety of tasks that offer to enhancehigher-order thinking skills.

61

8. Suggestions
This section introduces suggestions to develop CLIL lessons in consideration of the potentials
and problems found in the research question. Firstly, the teacher’s theory of practice in relation
to past literature and theories are provided. Then, suggestions for planning CLIL lessons arepresented considering the results of the current study.
8.1 Importance of Integration
As pointed out earlier, what is needed to realize content and language enriched language classis the integration and connection, not separation and isolation (Izumi, 2022). In CLIL classes,
integration of different language skills, learning and using, and content and language isinevitably important, as CLIL “is an innovative fusion of both” (Coyle et al., 2010, p. 1).
However, the present study revealed that each element is not always integrated although
integration is the key to practicing CLIL lessons. In particular, the findings show that grammar
and reading are isolated from other components of the 4Cs, where adaptation should be made.
In the next sections, suggestions are offered to develop CLIL lessons from the viewpoint ofintegration.
8.2.1 Integrate Content and Grammar. The isolation or separation of grammar is raised
as a problem, which needs adaptation in all the six textbooks examined. One of the effective
ways for integrating grammar is “Focus on form” (FonF), which is a pedagogical approach tostrategically incorporate language teaching to assist learners’ second language learning (Long,
1991; Long & Robinson, 1998). This approach provides students with opportunities to noticeformal aspects of language in meaningful, communicative contexts where the main focus of
the students has been primarily on meaning (Long & Robinson, 1998). Izumi (2022) also statesthat FonF is highly compatible with CLIL as it integrates learning of form and meaning bydrawing learners’ attention to form in a communicative way.
To be more concrete, when a new form is presented in the text, teachers can paraphrase thesentence to make it more understandable with familiar structures, give more examples using
the new form with visual aids, or have students think about the grammatical pattern instead of
explicitly explaining the structure. For example, in Landmark Lesson 3, the topic is aboutschool uniforms and the focused form is passive voice. In the passage, it says, “Did you careabout school uniforms when you chose your high school? This question was asked to about
2,000 high school students in a survey” (p. 40). In order to give more input, teachers can firstprepare visuals of high school students from different countries in school uniforms. Then, ask
questions such as “Which school uniform is worn in Thailand?”, “Students in America do notseem to have school uniforms. Are they allowed to wear anything?” or “What rules are you
required to follow when you wear a school uniform?”. Providing more input that relates to thecontent of the lesson not only enhances students’ understanding of the use of grammar, but also
helps students understand and deepen their thoughts about the content.
8.2.2 Integrate HOTS. For content learning to be beneficial, students must be
cognitively engaged. To raise students’ cognitive engagement and achievement levels, learners
need to be intellectually challenged to transform information and ideas, solve problems, gain
understanding, and discover new meaning by applying higher-order thinking (Coyle et al.,2010). In the authorized textbooks, although higher-order thinking seems to frequently appear
in the final tasks, not all tasks provide students with opportunities to analyse, evaluate, or create.
In order to integrate HOTS into these final tasks, cognitive tasks of Willis and Willis (2007)
can be adapted. They are listing (brainstorming, fact-finding), ordering and sorting (sequencing,ranking, classifying), comparing (finding similarities and differences), problem-solving (logic
62

puzzles, real-life problems, case studies), sharing personal experiences (anecdotes,
reminiscence, opinions, reactions), projects and creative tasks (survey, research, creative
writing, skits). For example, in the final task of Crown Lesson 3, students discuss the use ofsmartphones by referring to the lists of smartphone habits and recommendations for healthy
usage (pp. 106–107). The task requires students to evaluate the usage of smartphones, but inorder to engage students and enhance cognition, students can act as a child who wants to use
more smartphones and parents who want to stop their child using the phone for a long time. In
this way, creativity can be supplemented in the task, which can be more cognitively demanding
for students.
In addition, in order to stimulate students’ higher-order thinking skills, retelling can also be
adapted. Retelling sections appear in most of the textbooks, where students retell the story
using the pictures presented in the textbooks. The expectation is to reproduce the content andlanguage knowledge students gained from the reading section, but by supplementing HOTS
questions, the retelling section can also move beyond basic comprehension to enhance criticalthinking. For example, in Element Lesson 3 that deals with environmental issues, teachers can
add questions such as “What can be done to reduce plastics at school?” so that students canthink and discuss right after their retelling (p. 41). Moreover, if the questions are given using
the target form of the lesson, students will also be provided with more chances to use and learn
the language.
8.2.3 Integrate Tasks into Reading. In the present study, it was revealed that the reading
section is rather isolated or unconnected to other language skills, cognition, or cooperative
learning, which shows that there is a need for adaptation in this area. To help students read,teachers can adapt and add scaffolding tasks to fit their needs and improve students’ skills.
Walqui (2006) suggests several types of instructional scaffolding to use with English learners,
and one of the effective ways is re-presenting the text.
Re-presenting the text helps students read without just translating the text. Teachers can engage
students in activities that require the transformation of linguistic constructions they foundmodeled in one genre into forms used in another genre. Students will have opportunities torepresent their own understanding of written words through different forms such as scripts or
skits. Other types of genre transformation include representing a poem as a narrative, changing
a third-person historical narrative into an eye-witness account, or expressing scientific text as
a letter to a friend or in a poster. In that way, students will need to go back to the text, reread
it, and discuss the situation, issues and people involved to decide what those people, as
characters in a dialogue, would say to each other. This can also increase cooperative learning,which can also benefit students’ learning.
To take an example, in Lesson 8 Power On (pp. 118–129), the topic deals with the current
situation in which the cod (a type of fish used for fish and chips in Britain) used is decreasing.
The reading is presented in a descriptive text, but in order to have students re-present the text,
students can act as a restaurant owner in Britain and argue that the British food culture is indanger by explaining the current situation that is explained in the reading. By doing so, students
can try interpreting the content of the text by using their higher-order thinking skills as wellsince students are required to identify how the character would act, what the background of thestory is, and how they can recreate the story in a different form.
9. Conclusion
Considering advantages and pitfalls of authorized textbooks, in-service high school teachers
63

should strategically adapt the 4Cs of CLIL by utilizing the potentials and overcoming the
problems to adapt authorized textbooks as CLIL materials. Considerations are suggested forin-service high school teachers in the dos and don’ts list below.
Dos-

Use contents presented in the textbooks
Integrating language and content, especially be aware of the focused form
Use language knowledge and skills presented in the lessons in tasks, but supplement
scaffolding
Integrate cooperative learning in reading
Adapt questions or tasks to enhance higher-order thinking skills

Don’ts- Do not use authorized textbooks without identifying the 4Cs- Do not emphasize learning language knowledge isolated from the content- Do not just translate in the reading sections- Do not put aside productive skills
It is hoped that this study contributes to the further development of CLIL in Japan so that more
in-service and future practitioners will be able to teach quality yet feasible CLIL by using
authorized textbooks. More critically, it is expected that authorized textbooks would adopt to
the new teaching and provide teachers with helpful guidance for fruitful language learning inJapanese classrooms.
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66

Does Soft CLIL work in Kosen? -A comparative study of students’ selfassessment between Kosen and a private secondary schoolTatsuma Shirai
National Institute of Technology, Kurume College
Abstract
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is getting more and more attention in therealm of National Institute of Technology, which is called Kosen in Japan and some Asian
countries, partly because of the cross-over between the concept of CLIL and the educational
objectives of Kosen. However, considering that the main purpose of students in Kosen is tolearn about technology, it should be expected that they show less interest in learning about nontechnological subjects or topics in English than students in an ordinary secondary school. In
order to investigate the effectiveness of a Soft CLIL approach in Kosen, this research analyzes
the self-assessment of learning in Soft CLIL class conducted by students in Kosen and a private
secondary school. The Soft CLIL classes in both schools were planned by the same teacher,the textbooks used in the classes were both government-approved textbooks for high school
students in Japan, and the items in the self-assessment were almost the same, asking students
to assess their learning of content and language on a scale of 1-5. Comparing and analyzing theoutcomes of their self-assessment, students in Kosen report higher self-assessment ratings thanthose in an ordinary private secondary school. This implies that Soft CLIL can work in Kosen
better than in ordinary secondary schools. One of the possible reasons for the differences in theratings of self-assessment might be the effect of entrance examinations to higher education,some of which require high school students to memorize a lot of knowledge which is expected
to be on the exams. Further studies will be necessary on the reason why the Soft CLIL approach
worked well in Kosen.
Keywords: CLIL, Soft CLIL, Government-approved textbook, self-assessment, Kosen
1. Introduction
Japan’s National Institute of Technology (NIT), which is called Kosen in Japanese, issued their
Model Core Curriculum (MCC) in 2023. MCC articulates their educational objectives, one ofwhich is “to educate students to be able to contribute to the well-being of people or society by
utilizing their scientific or technological skills and knowledge” (NIT, 2023, p. 10). In order torealize this educational objective, MCC says students need to develop not only scientific andtechnological skills but also competences, such as communication or cognitive skills. Thisemphasis on competences is compatible with the concept of Content and Language Integrated
Learning (CLIL). Ikeda (2017) stated that CLIL can foster students’ global competencies suchas communication skills, cognitive skills, or global awareness, some of which align with theeducational objectives of MCC. Therefore, it is reasonable to implement CLIL for Kosen
students for the sake of fostering their competences and English proficiencies. Especially, if
the content of the CLIL class focuses on engineering, fruitful learning outcomes can be
expected, considering students’ interest in the target content.
However, there could be some possible arguments against the feasibility of CLIL in Kosen.
First, there may be few English teachers who can teach engineering in English because English
classes are mainly taught by English teachers in Japan, who are not supposed to teach othersubjects. This may be the reason why Soft CLIL, which is more topic-based than content-based,
is more common in Asian countries, including Japan (Ikeda, 2021). If a Soft CLIL class in67

Kosen approaches learning content which is not related to engineering, that could discourage
Kosen students to learn about the content in English, which would possibly diminish thelearning outcomes. Second, due to an increase of students with developmental disorders,
including autism (Kotani, 2017), it might be difficult to have a communicative English class in
Kosen. For such students, CLIL can be a double burden because it requires them tocommunicate with each other in non-native language.
Considering these possible difficulties, this paper tries to analyze the feasibility of Soft CLIL
by comparing Kosen students’ self-assessment of their learning in Soft CLIL class with the one
conducted by students in a private high school in Japan. Both Soft CLIL classes were plannedby the same teacher who had implemented CLIL for five years.
2. Theoretical Perspective
2.1 CLIL
CLIL is defined as “an education approach in which various language-supportive
methodologies are used which lead to dual-focused form of instruction where attention is given
both to the language and the content” (Coyle et al., 2010, p. 3). CLIL builds on what is called
the 4Cs framework (Coyle et al., 2010), or content, communication, cognition and culture.
Coyle et al. (2010) also said as follows.
the need to develop a 21st-century workforce has further stressed the importance ofperceiving competence as an amalgamation of knowledge and skills. Indeed, the 4Cs
principles actively promote both knowledge and skills development and are therefore
suited to differentiated learning outcomes across a range of contexts" (p. 156).
This point is also supported by Ikeda (2021), one of the leading CLIL researchers in Japan,
who notes the significance of this approach (pp. 154-155). Izumi (2016) explained thepossibility of CLIL working as a motivational factor for students by emphasizing theimportance of instructional content, which can greatly motivate students to learn when they areinterested in the content (p. 80).
Ikeda and Pinner defined Soft CLIL as “an alternative version of Content and Language
Integrated Learning in which, although both language and content learning aims are the focus,
the emphasis is primarily on language learning" (2021, p. 1), while Hard CLIL is a“prototypical content-oriented model” (p. 1).
3. Literature Review
3.1 CLIL and Competencies
Kudo (2018) reported that his Soft CLIL class could foster university students’ higher order
thinking skills more successfully than his non-CLIL class. Kudo (2019) also reported thepositive outcome of his Soft CLIL class on fostering his students’ global awareness. These
reports support the theoretical possibility of CLIL fostering students’ competences. Yamazaki,
one of the leading CLIL practitioners in Japan, has been implementing CLIL since 2011
(Yamazaki, 2019) in his high school. He also explained the purpose of CLIL implementation
as follows: "[T]he aim of the lesson for collaborative learning, and also CLIL, should be thatlearners can achieve the competency to apply the content knowledge they learn in classrooms
to their daily lives" (2019, p. 157). One of the target competencies he mentioned is cognitivecompetence. Regarding this, he stated, "Cognition and Language: if cognition and language
learning are not integrated, learners will first think in Japanese and then translate the thoughts
into English." (2019, p. 163). This implies the potential to nurture students’ English proficiency

68

and competencies through CLIL lessons in a Japanese secondary school context, even though
the progress of students’ competencies is not quantified.
Based on conclusions of the papers above, it should be possible to develop students’competencies through CLIL lessons in Kosen, which is aligned with the educational objective
articulated in Kosen MCC. However, as Izumi (2016) mentioned, the learning outcome of Soft
CLIL can be diminished if its target content does not match students’ interest. If so, Soft CLIL
focusing on non-engineering topics may not foster students’ competencies as effectively in
Kosen as in university or public high schools.
3.2 CLIL in Kosen
Many practice reports in Kosen can be found. Ichikawa (2023) reported that she implemented
a Soft CLIL class focusing on gender. Kawabata and Kitou (2022) also implemented Soft CLIL
in Kosen, with a focus on diversity as their target content. They reported their students’successful learning on both content and language in their Soft CLIL class. Hard CLIL was also
implemented in Kosen. Nakamura et al. (2022) implemented a Hard CLIL class in which
chemistry was taught in English. In their report, they mentioned choosing to teach basic
chemistry in English to achieve one of their educational objectives, which is to prepare students
for success on a global scale in the future. Aoyagi et al. (2016) reported that they had createda Hard CLIL textbook focusing on engineering with the collaboration of English teachers andimplemented the Hard CLIL class. This collaborative CLIL implementation can serve as a goodmodel for implementing Hard CLIL with a focus on engineering in Kosen, although it might
require more time for English teachers to prepare for such a CLIL class.
Based on this, it would be feasible to implement both Soft CLIL and Hard CLIL in Kosen.
However, no report was found in which a government-approved textbook was used in Soft
CLIL classes, or that focuses on the comparison of the effectiveness of CLIL between Kosen
and other equivalent educational institutions such as a high school or college. Considering thesignificance of target content in CLIL, as emphasized by Izumi (2016), the comparison,
especially regarding Soft CLIL, should be considered important. This is because students in
Kosen are likely to find Soft CLIL less engaging if the content is not related to engineering.
3.3 CLIL in Secondary Schools
CLIL implementation is reported both by teachers in junior high school and by ones in highschool. Takagi, working for a public high school in Japan, stated that well-designed CLIL
lesson plans could encourage her students to get interested in instructional content, think deeply
about the content, learn cooperatively with peers, and give a presentation in English (2019, p.
31). Uda, a teacher at a public junior high school in Japan, stated that her CLIL lessons could
promote students’ higher order thinking thanks to the integration of the learning components
of 4Cs (2021, pp. 24-25). It is noteworthy that those two teachers utilized a governmentapproved textbook to implement Soft CLIL for their students.
Although it is easier to find Soft CLIL practice reports in the realm of secondary education,
there are some, not many, reports of Hard CLIL implementation in Japan. Kawakami (2022),
working for a private secondary school that has students with high English proficiency,
reported the outcome of his history CLIL class that promoted conceptual understandings of
discrimination and conflict through some historical topics. He conducted this Hard CLIL classby cooperating with a history teacher working for the same school.
Upon reviewing the literature, both Soft and Hard CLIL appear to be feasible in the realm of69

secondary education. Considering the importance of target content in CLIL that Izumi (2016)
mentioned, it might be easier to implement CLIL in those schools than in Kosen, because
students usually have not determined their majors yet and can be interested in any subject or
topic.
4. Research Question, Method, and Settings
4.1 Research Question
Based on the literature review above, it is important to analyze the effectiveness of Soft CLIL
in Kosen whose content is not related to engineering. In order to approach this research purpose,
this paper approaches the following research question:
In which type of school do students self-assess as ‘high’, learning outcomes of a Soft
CLIL class focusing on a non-engineering topic, Kosen or a private high school?
4.2 Research Method
This paper analyzes the self-assessment of students who learned in Soft CLIL class focusing
on non-engineering topics. The lesson plans were developed by the same teacher who had
implemented CLIL for five years. The research settings and the items on which students selfassessed their learning outcomes are shown in the following sections. The self-assessment was
conducted on a five-point scale. The calculation of effect size and t-test on the self-assessment
results was performed using the effect size calculator (Mizumoto, n.d.). As the repetition of at-test on the items in a single questionnaire can lead to false understanding of research data
(Mizumoto & Takeuchi, 2008), the t-test was performed only on the self-assessment item witha statistically significant effect size.
4.3 Research Settings
This paper analyzes the self-assessment of students who studied in Soft CLIL class in two
different schools. One is a private high school, and the students were in the second grade, aged
16-17. The number of the students was 58. The other is a Kosen, and the students were also inthe second grade, aged 16-17. The number of the students was 85. In both schools, agovernment-approved textbook was used. The two schools did not use the same textbook, butboth of them were the most difficult versions published by each company. Utilizing the topics
in the textbooks, the lesson plan of Soft CLIL was developed by the same teacher who had
implemented CLIL for five years, the author of this paper. The Soft CLIL class at the private
school was conducted by the author’s colleague, an English teacher. This was the teacher’s
first time implementing a CLIL class, potentially influencing the students’ self-assessment
results.
The Soft CLIL class at the private school centered on how Steve Jobs made significant
decisions in his life. The reading material in the textbook quoted three important lessons fromhis famous speech: “Connecting the dots,” “Do what you love,” and “Follow your heart andintuition.” Students in the Soft CLIL class watched three videos that are relevant to each of thelessons, and thought about how they want to utilize the advice. The unit of the textbook
concludes with his very important remark, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” So, as the final task,
students were required to give a speech about the following prompt: “If you ‘stay hungry andstay foolish’, how do you want to live in the future?” Therefore, the learning content of this
CLIL class was a life course on how to live a good life. Students gave a variety of speeches,
many of which the teacher who implemented the Soft CLIL assessed as impressive. The
following is the outline of the Soft CLIL class conducted at the private high school.

70

Table 1. Outline of Soft CLIL class in the private high school*LessonActivity
Details
Oral
Teacher did oral introduction to the first part of the reading
Introduction material in the textbook. Students listened to the teacher.
Students read the first part and skimmed a lesson from the reading
Reading1
passage (“Connecting the dots”).
Students watched a TED video in which a girl talked about how
Watchingmusic saved her life, which is relevant to the lesson in the reading
passage.
Students looked back their past experience, and wrote about one
2
Expressing
useful experience that they had in the past.
Oral
Teacher did oral introduction to the second part of the reading
Introduction material in the textbook. Students listened to the teacher.
Students read the second part and skimmed a lesson from theReading3
reading passage (“Do what you love”).
Students watched a TED video in which a boy talked about what
Watching
he achieved by doing what he loved, which is relevant to thelesson in the reading passage.
Students were asked to think whether they were doing what they4
Expressing loved at that time, and also whether what they loved would be
useful in their future. They shared their opinions after that.
Oral
Teacher did oral introduction to the third part of the reading
Introduction material in the textbook. Students listened to the teacher.
Students read the third part and skimmed a lesson from theReading5
reading passage (“Follow your heart and intuition”).
Students watched a TED video in which an elderly woman talked
Watching
about how she followed her heart to establish a school in
Afghanistan despite being in danger of death.
Students were asked to look back at their past experience of not
6
Expression following their intuition, and to share their experience with theirclassmates.
Oral
Teacher did oral introduction to the last part of the reading
Introduction material in the textbook. Students listened to the teacher.
Students read the last part and skimmed a lesson from the reading
Reading7
passage (“Stay hungry, stay foolish”).
Teacher explained the details of the final task, in which students
Explanation
were to give a speech about how they want to live in the future ifof Final Task
they “stay hungry, stay foolish”.
8
Speech Prep Students prepared for the speech.
Students first gave a speech in a group with 4-5 students. After
Speech9that, they chose a group representative, and the representatives
Sessiongave a speech in public to everyone in the classroom.
*Each lesson was 45 minutes
In the Soft CLIL class at Kosen, a Round-based Soft CLIL approach (Izumi, 2022) was
employed. The content of the CLIL class focused on education. The topic was taught inaccordance with the content of the government-approved textbook used in the school. Several
concepts about education were introduced in the class, which were constructivism, social
efficiency ideology, and the concept of skhole. These concepts are so abstract that the teacher

71asked questions that related these concepts to their everyday lives, such as ‘Is your school basedon constructivism?’ or ‘Do you want to attend a school based on the social efficiency
ideology?’. After learning about those concepts, students were required to give a speech on thetheme: ‘What is a good education?’ The teacher that planned and implemented the Soft CLIL,
who is the author of this paper, assessed many of the speeches as impressive, similar to theteacher in the private high school did.
It should be noted that it was the first time for the students in both schools to have a Soft CLIL
class utilizing a government-approved textbook. For the students in Kosen, that was the very
first time to learn in a CLIL class. For the students in the private school, some of them had
prior experience of learning in a CLIL class, which may affect the result of the analysis to someextent.
Table 2. Outline of Soft CLIL class in Kosen*LessonActivity
details
Oral
Teacher did oral introduction to the first part of the reading
Introduction material in the textbook. Students listened to the teacher.
Students read the first part of the English passage. First, theyanswered several comprehension questions. After that, they weretold to find some new words whose definitions were shown in
Reading
Japanese on the screen in the classroom. Then, after teacher
explained very briefly about the target grammar in the reading
passage, students were told to translate the passage into Japanese1with their partners.
On the screen, teacher showed one question that is relevant to thecontent of the reading passage (“Why do you come to school?”).
Talking
Students talked about their idea with their partner. After that theychanged their partner, and talked about the same question with adifferent partner.
Students wrote a short English passage in more than 80 English
Writingwords, and handed in to the teacher.
Oral
Teacher did oral introduction to the second part of the reading
Introduction material in the textbook. Students listened to the teacher.
Students read the first part of the English passage. They got theReadingsame scaffolding as the first lesson.
On the screen, teacher showed one concept that is relevant to the2content of the reading passage (“Skhole”). After explaining theDefining anddefinition in English the teacher showed a question that is
Talking
relevant to the concept (“Do you enjoy going to school?”).
Students talked about their idea with their partner.
Students wrote a short English passage in more than 80 English
Writingwords, and handed in to the teacher.
3, 4Almost the same procedure as the second lesson
Reviewing
Teacher briefly reviewed the three concepts that were taught in
5
and Speech class. After some sorting activities, students began to prepare for
Prep
the final task; speech (The theme: what is a good education?).
Students first gave a speech in a group with 4-5 students. After
Speech6that, they chose a group representative, and the representatives
Sessiongave a speech in public to everyone in the classroom.
*Each lesson was 90 minutes72

5. Results, Analysis, and Limitations
5.1 Results and Analysis
The results of students’ self-assessment are shown in Table 3. The effect size (g) indicates themagnitude of the gap between the average scores for each self-assessment item (Mizumoto &Takeuchi, 2008). The item (5-1) was asked only to the students in the private school, while theitem (5-2) was to the ones in Kosen. Both items pertained to the target content of each Soft
CLIL class; thus, the effect size between these two items was calculated to compare the selfassessment of learning the target content.
Table 3. Results of students’ self-assessment
Items of self-assessment(five-point scale)*gSD

Private High School( n = 58)
Mean Median SD

4

.80

3.8

4

.84

.49

4

.72

3.8

4

.87

.63

5

.62

3.4

3

.93

1.31

4

.78

4.1

4

1.02

.11

4.4

4

.76

Kosen (n = 85)**Mean *Median(1) I could improve my writing
4.2
skills through this CLIL class.
(2) I could improve my speaking
4.3
skills through this CLIL class.
(3) I could improve my reading
4.4
skills through this CLIL class.
(4) I could improve my listening
4.2
skills through this CLIL class.
(5-1) I could think more deeply
than before about how I want tolive in the future.
(5-2) I could think more deeply
4.3
about education than before.
(6) I could learn collaboratively
4.7with my classmates.
(7) I enjoyed learning in CLIL
4.3
class.
**Rounded down to the second decimal place*Rounded down to the third decimal place

.13
5

.73

5

.54

4.5

5

.70

.33

4

.78

4.5

5

.73

.26

Observing the means of (5-1), (5-2), (6), and (7), as they all exceed 4.0, it appears that many
students in both schools perceived they successfully learned about the target content in English
with their classmates and reported enjoying the learning opportunity. This assumption is
supported by the effect sizes of the items, which are all below .49, meaning that the gaps
between the mean are statistically small. This might imply that the unfamiliarity of the private
school teacher conducting CLIL class does not greatly affect the students’ self-assessment. It
should be noted that many of the students in Kosen reported success in collaborative learning,which the author expected could be challenging for some of the students because of therelatively large number of students with autism in Kosen. This implies that, as Ikeda (2021)
stated above, CLIL can be an effective framework to nurture students’ competencies in thecontext of Kosen, meaning that the CLIL approach can be aligned with Kosen’s educational
objectives. However, it is noteworthy that although their effect size is small, the mean of (7) ishigher in the private school than in Kosen, which could imply that the students in Kosen areless interested in learning about a non-engineering topic in English than the students in theprivate school, as predicted above.
Observing the effect sizes of (1), (2), and (3), there seem to be bigger gaps between the two73

research settings, especially in (3). (4) does not have as big a gap as the other three items about
English skills, possibly because students in the private school watched several short videos inwhich the speakers spoke a very fast English. The gaps between the items of (1) and (2) could
be affected by the fact that students in Kosen had more writing and speaking activities.
However, although students in both schools had almost the same reading activities, the gap of
the means of (3) was the biggest, whose effect size is 1.31, meaning that the gap can be regarded
as statistically very big. (3) is the only self-assessment item with an effect size larger than 0.8.
A t-test was conducted on the item (3), revealing that p = .00. This indicates that it is statisticallyappropriate to assert a gap between the means of item (3).
This could be because of the differences in the assumption about the reading skills between thestudents at both schools. It would be easier for students in Kosen to feel that their reading skills
had been improved because they tried to read the same reading passage again and again withthe scaffolding of vocabulary and grammar in the passage. Students in the private school had
similar scaffolding, but they might not have felt the improvement of their reading skills withthe scaffolding because of the entrance examinations to higher education. Given that most
students in the private school pursued higher education after graduation, their learning was
significantly influenced by the format of the English tests in entrance examinations. Of course,
there is no scaffolding in the reading tests, so the students might have felt that they failed tounderstand the reading passage if they couldn’t figure it out without any hints about grammar
or vocabulary. If it is true that students in private schools have such rigorous assumption about
the improvement of reading skills, it might be easier to conduct CLIL class in Kosen than inprivate high schools, because students in Kosen do not have to take an entrance examination
to higher education.
5.2 Limitations
It should be reminded that the English teacher who conducted Soft CLIL class at the private
school did not have any experience of implementing CLIL before, which could have negatively
affected the outcome of the students’ self-assessment. Similarly, the fact that the students in
Kosen had never learned in a CLIL class could have negatively affected the outcome of thestudents’ self-assessment due to their unfamiliarity with CLIL. However, it is also possible toconsider that the unfamiliarity could have boosted their self-assessment due to their excitementwith the new style of learning. Further research focusing on more controlled groups would benecessary.
In addition, this analysis is only based on the result of students’ self-assessment. It would havebeen more desirable to collect further data, such as the improvement of their English
proficiency, or of their competencies, which can be quantified by some assessment tools suchas Ai-GROW (Institution of Global Society, 2023). Also, whilst the Soft CLIL lesson plans
were created by the same teacher, there was an important difference between the two
approaches: the emphasis on the conceptual understanding of the target content. Davis (2022)
emphasized the importance of promoting conceptual understanding in Soft CLIL utilizing agovernment-approved textbook. The Soft CLIL class at Kosen explicitly showed conceptual
knowledge regarding education, while the one in the private school didn’t. This could havesome bearing on the differences in the outcome of self-assessment. Further research on theeffect of Soft CLIL focusing on conceptual knowledge should be conducted.
6. Conclusion
This paper researched the following question:74

In which type of school do students self-assess as ‘high’, learning outcomes of a Soft
CLIL class focusing on a non-engineering topic, Kosen or a private high school?
As stated above, students in Kosen self-assessed the learning as higher on average in almost
all the self-assessment items, except for (7). This could imply that, based on the result of theliterature review, Soft CLIL can be an effective framework to contribute to realizing Kosen’s
educational objective of nurturing students’ competencies. However, looking at the effect sizesof the means of each self-assessment item, and considering the result of the t-test, the selfassessment item on the improvement of English reading skills is the only one that can bestatistically regarded as indicating a difference. This could be affected by the format of theentrance examinations to higher education, which requires students to read accurately without
any hints about the reading passage. It should also be noted that students in both schools selfassessed their content learning, collaborative learning, and the enjoyment of the learning as
high, which implies the feasibility of the Soft CLIL approach utilizing a government-approved
textbook in both Kosen and private high schools. Having said that, this paper only analyzes
students’ self-assessment of their learning in Soft CLIL, and there were several minor
differences in how each CLIL class was conducted and by whom. The preparation of more
controlled groups and more detailed data collection from these groups should be conducted toprove that students in both schools really succeeded in deepening their thoughts about the target
content in English.
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