Cross-Curricular Integration of English and Sociology using a CLIL Approach: The Topic of the European Union

V šoli se znanje predaja preko razdrobljenega predmetnika, ki velikokrat preprečuje učenje na povezan in celosten način. Medpredmetno povezovanje spodbuja združevanje znanj različnih predmetov v šoli in stremi k bolj integriranemu načinu poučevanja. V pričujočem delu raziskujem možnosti medpredmetne povezave angleščine in sociologije po pristopu CLIL na primeru učne teme Evropska unija. CLIL (ang. Content and Language Integrated Learning) oziroma vsebinsko in jezikovno integrirano učenje omogoča povezavo jezikovnega in nejezikovnega pouka. Pri CLIL-u ne gre le za poučevanje določenega predmeta v tujem jeziku, ampak za hkratno usvajanje tako vsebinskega kot jezikovnega znanja. Medpredmetno povezovanje angleščine in sociologije po pristopu CLIL sem dokazovala z oblikovanjem medpredmetnega modula o Evropski uniji, ki sem ga tudi izvedla v praksi. V teoretičnem delu predstavljam CLIL v odnosu do podobnih pristopov poučevanja in raziskujem njegovo prisotnost v slovenskem šolskem prostoru, možnosti medpredmetnega povezovanja angleščine in sociologije pa preučujem glede na učna načrta za oba predmeta. Predstavljam tudi oris politične participacije mladih na državni in evropski ravni, pregled prisotnosti učne teme Evropska unija v šolskem kurikulu ter dodatna gradiva in izobraževalne dejavnosti o Evropski uniji. V empiričnem delu prikazujem rezultate ankete srednješolskih učiteljev angleščine in sociologije, kjer sem raziskovala, v kolikšni meri ter ob kakšnih temah se ti učitelji med seboj povezujejo. V nadaljevanju sledijo rezultati opravljene ankete dijakov o znanju in odnosu do Evropske unije ter prikaz zasnove, izvedbe in evalvacije medpredmetnega modula po pristopu CLIL o Evropski uniji.In schools, learning in a holistic and coherent manner is largely prevented by a fragmented curriculum. Cross-curricular integration connects knowledge of different subjects and enables a more integrated teaching approach. In this thesis, I explore the possibilities of cross-curricular integration of English and Sociology using a CLIL approach, exemplified by the topic of the European Union. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), is an appropriate approach to combine the teaching of a foreign language with a non-language subject. CLIL does not mean teaching a subject in a foreign language. The emphasis lies equally on content and on language learning. I have been testing cross-curricular teaching of English and Sociology with creating a cross-curricular module about the European Union and putting it into practice. In the theoretical part of the paper, I present CLIL in relation to other similar approaches to teaching, explore its presence in the Slovenian school context, and examine the possibilities of cross-curricular integration of English and Sociology based on the subjects’ syllabuses. Additionally, I present an overview of youth political participation on both Slovenian and European level, an analysis of the presence of the topic of the European Union in the school curriculum, and additional materials and educational activities related to the EU. In the empirical part of the paper, I present, firstly, the results of a survey for secondary school teachers of English and Sociology, in which I have researched how much and around which topics they cooperate, secondly, the results of a survey for secondary school students about their knowledge and attitudes towards the EU, and thirdly, the design, performance and evaluation of the cross-curricular CLIL module on the EU