CLIL: SOME THOUGHTS ON ITS PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PRINCIPLES

This paper aims to reflect on the psycholinguistic principles of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). T o do this it looks at four essential components of second language acquisition: exposure to input, the processing of meaning, the processing of form, and language production. Through these, this study analyses the adequacy of the traditional model of language teaching and the immersion model (or semi-immersion, in content-based teaching) from the point of view of language acquisition. With respect to traditional language teaching, this paper highlights important weaknesses in relation to limitations of input, quantitative as well as qualitative, the lack of motivation to process meaning and form and the scarce language production of learners. Teaching through content or through immersion also presents some limitations due, in particular, to the lack of focus on form. Finally, this paper presents CLIL as an alternative that could overcome the deficiencies of the previous models.