CLIL in 2nd ESO Physics and Chemistry Classroom: Linguistic Needs

In this post I’m going to talk about the linguistic needs of the students that are studying Physics and Chemistry in 2nd ESO with a CLIL program. It is important to note that this is the first physics and chemistry course for the students, so this course will cover the bases and differences of physics and chemistry and the scientific method, as well as its implications.

The curriculum of this subject divides the content in five blocks:

1. The Scientific Activity
2. The Matter
3. The Changes
4. The Movement and Forces
5. The Electric Energy

The linguistic exchanges that our students need would be:

•  Knowledge of the specific vocabulary for each unit and block: This is an important aspect due to the amount quantity of specific vocabulary in science and in many occasions also would be new vocabulary in their mother language.

• Students should be able to read and understand scientific text, scientist biographies and basic problems.
• Students should be able to describe to the different phenomenon and process, give definitions and write short compositions about them.
• Students should make short oral presentations and communicate with classmates in work groups.

In the link below I have found a good resource to cover this linguistic exchanges. Physics and Chemistry 2nd ESO is a textbook with theory and activities that covers all the content of the subject.

In each unit it gives a lesson summary with the vocabulary and grammar needed and also the content objectives. Furthermore, in the units it gives helpful expressions, vocabulary list, grammar tips and links to improve student´s listening skills.