Speaker
Description
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) offers a way to connect language use with meaningful subject content. This presentation shares approaches used in a university English course that uses narrative as the basis for language and content work. The course asks students to examine stories, reconsider events and outcomes, propose alternative possibilities, and explain the reasons for their choices in English. The presentation introduces several classroom approaches, such as narrative analysis, guided questions, alternative scenarios, group discussion, and tasks that require students to justify their decisions. It also presents sample activities and task sequences from actual classroom practice. These examples show ways to connect narrative interpretation with purposeful language use, critical thought, and interaction. The session aims to share practical approaches that other teachers can adapt to their own courses and classroom contexts.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) integrates language use with engagement in meaningful subject content (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010). Narrative offers one possible context for such engagement because stories invite interpretation, evaluation, and reconsideration of outcomes. When learners reinterpret narratives, they must explain their reasoning, negotiate alternatives, and justify decisions through language. Research on classroom interaction suggests that participation is shaped not only by linguistic competence but also by situational confidence and perceived social risk (Yashima, 2002; Harumi, 2011). Narrative reinterpretation therefore provides a context in which language use, interpretation, and interaction become closely connected.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
This presentation describes a classroom activity in which students reinterpret folktales by rewriting and performing alternative endings. The purpose is to illustrate how narrative reinterpretation can function as a CLIL-oriented task that encourages discussion, interpretation, and collaborative reasoning in English. The session shares practical insights from classroom implementation and highlights how narrative-based tasks can support communication and critical thinking in university language courses.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
The presentation outlines the sequence of activities used in the classroom: collective reading of folktales, group discussion of narrative meaning, collaborative rewriting of endings, and performance through short recorded scenes. Examples from the course illustrate how students negotiated interpretations and explained their decisions through English. Attention is given to task design, group interaction, and the role of performance in making interpretive choices visible.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
Participants will gain ideas for incorporating narrative reinterpretation into CLIL-oriented classroom practice. The session will show how narrative-based tasks can encourage discussion, interpretation, and collaborative decision-making in English. Participants will also see how performance activities can help students articulate reasoning, respond to alternative interpretations, and reflect on narrative outcomes. The presentation aims to offer practical examples that teachers may adapt when designing activities that combine language use with interpretive engagement.
Abstract section 5: References
Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). CLIL: Content and language integrated learning. Cambridge University Press.
Harumi, S. (2011). Classroom silence: Voices from Japanese EFL learners. ELT Journal, 65(3), 260–269.
Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The Modern Language Journal, 86(1), 54–66.
| Title | Instructional Design for Narrative Reinterpretation Using CL |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |