1. Support strategies for assessment
Raquel Zazo Serrano
Yasmina Ruiz Pacheco

2. Assessment in CLIL
The goal of the CLIL curriculum is effective competence in a
second language (Mackenzie 2008)
Assessment in CLIL is a complex area for a number of
reasons:
1. Dual focus: LANGUAGE and SUBJECT which means there
are 2 assessment processes involved.
It is necessary to know the extent to which language and
subject assessment are integrated (through the same tasks
and activities… or not?)

3. Assessment in CLIL
For example, if a child in a primary school assessment task in
geography performs poorly, is it because of her limited
understanding of the geography concepts or details, because she
has not understood the question or because she cannot express
her understanding clearly?
2. The purpose of assessment: a learning purpose which focuses
on understanding and supporting learning of the CLIL policy and
implementation.
3. Complex set of practical issues: tests, activities, standards,
criteria and the teacher´s skills in bringing all these together in
the classroom.

4. Assessment in CLIL
How do we make a judgment about achievements in learning
(language and subject)?
If the results are not satisfactory, are they because students do not
understand the language or is it because of the content?
We will focus on the assessment for learning: practices as
integrated into teaching, and oriented, not towards a statement
of level, but towards enhanced learning.
Assessment is viewed as an integral part of the process of
teaching and the development of learning opportunities.
Formative Assessment : the focus is on the role of the student
and on interaction.

5. Assessment for learning is…
 Activities undertaken by students and teachers to assess
themselves.
 The provided information to be used as feedback to modify the
teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.
Teachers need to:
 Make decisions about lesson content, sequencing, materials,
learning tasks, etc.
 Know the strengths and weaknesses of students.
 Observe the progress of each student, how they do activities,
how they perform different tasks and DRAW CONCLUSIONS
about it.

6. Why support strategies are important for CLIL
students?

Support strategies facilitate the acquisition, understanding or
later transfer of new knowledge and skills.” (Weinstein,
Husman and Dierking, 2000)

To respond to learners´ needs
They need to know how they are being assessed and what are
the expected learning results

Therefore, teachers should:
Consider how and when they are to support students during
their learning and throughout their assessment.
The timing is important in order to make changes if necessary.
SPECIALLY IMPORTANT DURING THE FIRST STAGES OF A CLIL
PROGRAME

7. EXAMPLES
Difficulty
Support strategy
The language used in texts or
problems is too difficult.
Before assessment
Use synonyms
Add visuals or diagrams
During assessment
Paraphrase orally
Allow the use of a bilingual
dictionary.

8. Difficulty:
Support strategy
Learners are slow at
writing.
Before assessment
Change the task to
multiple choice,
yes/no or closed
responses
During assessment
Provide extra time
Give time targets

9. INFORMAL EVALUATION



To start up, we can make
questions and observe our
students.
In a CLIL context we must
support students before and
after evaluation.
We have to encourage our
students to express what
they know in the L2.
ACCOMMODATION
To get familiar with
content and L2, teachers
should support students
to express themselves
orally or writing.

10. STUDENTS´INDIVIDUAL NEEDS

Teachers have to be
aware of the individual
needs of each student.

We can use task
differentiation to support
our students.

Teacher´s support will last
accordingly to the student
´s specific needs.

11. Examples
SUBJECT
Economics
Geography
EXAMPLE OF
ASSESSMENT
PROBLEM
How a company might
deal with clients from
remote parts of the
world and overcome
any potencial
problems?
The language used
in the instructions is
difficult
Water will eventually
The explanation is
be drawn from the
long and has no
river to the north on
map or diagram.
the border of
Namibia....Describe the
route of the river.

12. Teachers should be aware that students are
able to work on their own (by
themselves)and so with the appropriate
support strategies and assesment they will
be able to achieve the expected learning
outcomes.

13. Activity Time
Some of the learning outcomes we want students to
achieve through the following activities are:




To get students involved with one another and work
as part of a team.
To build support strategies
To learn different ways to work in class such as role
playing.
To be able and identify situations when support is
needed in the class.

14. Exercise
1.
Split the class into 3
groups
Answer the questions
and put it in common
with the rest of the
class.
2.
The group which
guesses more answers
right, will do a role
playing for the class.

15. ACTIVITY
1. You have a student in the 2. Maths´ vocabulary can
class who can´t see clearly
sometimes be difficult for
what you write on the
students. What would you
blackboard. What shall you
do to help them?
do?
a) Place the student closer to a) Use diagrams.
the blackboard.
b) Call someone else for help.
b) Nothing
c) Change the subject
c) Buy a bigger blackboard.

16. 3. The task is too long so
you…
a)Break it down in parts.
5. Your student don´t
understand English. What
can you do?
b)Give learners a break.
a) Use a dictionary.
c)Nothing
b) Use Spanish words (at
times) to help
4. If you are teaching history,
understanding.
what would help your
students more?
c) Use pictures while
explaining so the student
a) Using synomyms.
can find out the meaning of
b) Explaining slowly.
the English words.
c)Using diagrams.

17. Activity
Role playing

18. LEARNING OUTCOMES
To support students before and during
the evaluation.

To let students know what they are
expected to achieve.
 To take into account students´individual
differences and needs.
 To understand teachers´evaluation as a
way to improve our educational work.
