Hello everyone, I am Hao, an Academic Research Assistant.

In this article, I would like to introduce the content of a paper discussed in our most recent English Literature Seminar along with my personal thoughts.

• Paper Title: ICT in Supporting Content and Language Integrated Learning: Experience from Poland

• Journal: Information Technology for Development

• Volume & Pages: Vol. 21, No. 3, 403–425

• Year of Publication: 2015

• Authors: Kate Roach, Emanuela Tilley, and John Mitchell

The following is an overview of the content described in the paper.

This study presents an example from the Cracow University of Economics (CUE) in Poland regarding information and communication technology (ICT) support for Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). CLIL is an educational method that integrates subject content with foreign language learning. It is considered important in today’s increasingly globalized world as it allows students to improve their foreign language proficiency through their subjects. In Poland, having joined the EU, there is a demand for multilingual education to accommodate interactions with students from other countries and to respond to the labor market; this study addresses such needs.

This research aims to support both students’ language proficiency and specialized knowledge by adopting CLIL using Moodle and providing materials in both Polish and English. Specifically, lectures and workshops are conducted bilingually, designed so that students can learn in the language of their choice. For example, lecture materials and assignments are presented separately in Polish and English to facilitate easier understanding for learners. Moodle functions such as discussion forums are also utilized to improve language skills and intercultural understanding through communication among students and with instructors.

The study employs a research method called Design Research (DR). This method was introduced in engineering by Archer (1984) and Evbuonwan, Sivaloganathan, & Jebb (1996) and has since been applied to other academic fields such as education and social sciences. DR is also known by several other names, including Design Experiments, Developmental Research, Design-Based Research, and Design Science Research.

DR emphasizes the process of proposing solutions or improvements to practical challenges within the research subject, verifying them in practice, and subsequently constructing or refining theory. Consequently, it is drawing attention as an important approach to bridging the gap between research and practice.

DR is widely used in research related to education and e-learning. Designing effective e-learning platforms is particularly important as e-learning becomes more prevalent. Examples include research that designs platforms with interfaces and functions aimed at increasing learner autonomy and motivation, verifying their effectiveness through experimental use (Amiel and Reeves, 2008). Throughout the research process, designers reflect feedback from learners to improve the design, thereby gaining insights for providing the optimal learning environment.

In this study, CLIL classes using Moodle were researched and analyzed through DR.

First, students at CUE learning in a non-native language need to improve their language proficiency simultaneously with their content learning. To address this situation, the design of an educational framework to support CLIL was set as the primary research challenge, and a survey was conducted to grasp students’ linguistic backgrounds, problems during learning, and expectations and needs for the ICT learning environment.

Subsequently, a pilot framework to support CLIL was designed. This framework is characterized by a structure that allows multilingual students to learn efficiently by combining traditional classroom formats with e-learning and preparing bilingual materials on Moodle.

This framework was applied to subjects such as Electronic Data Interchange and programming workshops and trialed over multiple academic years. To improve the framework, an online questionnaire was administered to collect student feedback, investigating their learning styles, learning difficulties, and requests regarding desired teaching materials and interactive resources.

The questionnaire results showed that 98% of students found Moodle easy to operate. Specifically, functions such as submitting assignments, checking feedback, downloading lessons, and taking quizzes and online assignments were highly valued. Furthermore, many students were satisfied with being able to check their own learning progress through quizzes and online assignment tools within Moodle, feeling it was particularly helpful for acquiring vocabulary and concepts.

On the other hand, 77% of students responded that they “want more interactive resources,” and 74% responded that they “want more opportunities for interaction with teachers,” showing that communication in the learning process was highly valued. Furthermore, approximately 75% of students responded that they believe “improving conversation skills is important,” and activities that increase speaking opportunities were desired to improve language proficiency while deepening understanding of lecture content.

Several learning challenges were also pointed out. For example, students responded that they felt the greatest difficulty in understanding the content, particularly content containing many technical terms. To address this, quizzes and peer assessments were provided on Moodle, creating a system where students can proceed with learning while verifying their own level of understanding. Additionally, many expressions of satisfaction were received regarding the educational environment using Moodle, with reports of students using it several times a week or even daily to check feedback, materials, and grades.

Differences in learning styles were also mentioned, with reports that approximately 40% of students prefer a reading/writing learning style, while about 30% emphasize visual learning. Based on this, while materials on Moodle are maintained with consideration for reading/writing-type learners, there is a desire for the addition of visual resources as well. Furthermore, some students expressed that there were too many materials, suggesting that efforts to avoid information overload are necessary, especially when dealing with bilingual materials.

From these results, the CLIL trial at Cracow University of Economics in Poland was shown to be beneficial for improving language skills and intercultural adaptation. At the same time, areas for improvement, such as material management and setting the appropriate difficulty level for learning content, became clear. Future research is planned to verify the effects of CLIL education through the introduction of video and audio materials and to examine its application in other countries.

The following are my personal thoughts.

Since I have used Moodle in the practice of CLIL in China before, I wanted to see a paper on the use of ICT in CLIL. One of the points that resonated most with me is that in Polish CLIL classes, providing materials via Moodle and learning through quiz formats are evaluated as functioning effectively, with consideration for reading and visual learning styles. On the other hand, since traditional lectures are still mainstream in China and the provision of materials tailored to individual learning styles has not yet advanced, I expect efforts to meet more diverse learning needs. Through the cases of CLIL in Poland and China, I feel the influence that different linguistic environments and technological infrastructures have on CLIL implementation, and I believe flexible introduction of CLIL tailored to each country’s educational needs is desirable.