Exploring Critical Thinking Techniques in CLIL

In this presentation, the speaker will engage the audience in a choral discussion about what CLIL is and how it promotes critical thinking. Then, the presenter will dive into some techniques that educators can use to promote critical thinking among their students in a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) environment. The first technique discussed will be Lotus Blossom, a brainstorming tool that helps students develop and organize their ideas. The second technique is mind maps, which are similar to the Lotus Blossom approach but often use visuals, such as illustrations or images, to depict the relationships between ideas. The third technique is SCAMPER, which stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to Another Use, Eliminate, and Reverse. This technique involves encouraging students to think creatively by using these keywords to generate new ideas based on existing content. Finally, questioning is an essential technique in CLIL that involves asking students a series of open-ended questions to help them analyze and evaluate the content they’re learning.

By incorporating techniques such as Lotus Blossom, mind maps, SCAMPER, and questioning, educators can foster critical thinking skills in their CLIL classrooms and create a more dynamic learning environment.