Exploring College English Teachers’ Abilities in CLIL-Based Classrooms in Undeveloped Areas of China

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) aims at the simultaneous teaching of language and content in the classroom, an approach which has gained considerable interest among researchers in China. They argue that college English classrooms offer the ideal environment for implementing CLIL. However, existing studies primarily focus on developed regions or prestigious universities in China, overlooking its potential in undeveloped areas. Recognizing the crucial role of teachers to implement CLIL, this study investigated college English teachers’ abilities under CLIL in undeveloped areas of China. This quantitative study used questionnaires adapted from Liu (2019) to collect data from 277 teachers and 565 students, which were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences 26.0. The findings show that seven dimensions of ability with sub-abilities are required in CLIL-based classrooms for targeted teachers. These are: (1) language teaching ability, (2) content teaching ability, (3) the ability to integrate language teaching and content teaching, (4) the ability to cultivate students’ cognitive skills, (5) the ability to select and use teaching resources, (6) classroom management ability, and (7) evaluation and reflection ability. The findings provide valuable insights for college English teachers in Chinese undeveloped areas into their abilities to achieve successful CLIL and offer a theoretical underpinning for future research on CLIL in China.