Using CLIL to Design Elective University Courses

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has become increasingly popular worldwide over the last few decades.It is generally described as teaching content in a language not native to the learners.In this paper, I provide a report on how I used the principles of CLIL to design two university elective courses.Using contentrelated vocabulary and a combination of authentic and original materials, the courses were designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore content while speaking, writing, reading, and listening to English.Activities were designed to support students with low-level English proficiency commonly found in these mixed-level classes as well as provide students of all English proficiency levels interesting and meaningful interactions with the course theme, lesson topics, and other students.First, I briefly explain some of the CLIL-related theories on which I based many of my course design and classroom interaction decisions.Then, I outline the syllabus and lesson plans for the two courses.I conclude the report with some informal classroom observations and recommendations for incorporating CLIL into university elective courses.