Teaching arts through English

1. Introduction
-

What is art?
What is art in Infant Education
How to teach arts in Infant Education
Art in the Aragonese Curriculum
What is English?
English in the Aragonese Curriculum
What is CLIL? Arts + English as a language

2. Considerations when planning a CLIL Arts lesson

3. Why to use arts to teach English?
4. Conclusion
5. References

1. What is art:
The expression or application of human creative shill and
imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or

sculpture, producing works to be appreciate primarly for their

beauty or emotional power. (Oxford Dictionary, 2014)
Art, philosophy of, the study of the nature of art, including such
concepts as interpretation, representation and expression,
and form. It is closely related toaesthetics, the philosophical study
of beauty and taste. (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2014)
2. What is Art in Infant Education:
Its the way in which children start to communicate and representate
their own feelings or opinions that uses different techniques and
plastic materials that favor and enrich the creative process (free
expression). It progresses in the motive, cognitive, affective and social
development.
3. Arts in the Aragonese Curriculum:
The Aragonese curriculum is constituted by three areas but where the
plastic expression is located it is in the area of Communication and
Representation. The aims and contents that are related with are:
1. To appropriate progressively of the different languages to express
his needs, preferences, feelings, experiences and representations of
the reality.
2. To experiment and to express using the body languages, plastically,
musically and technologically, to represent situations, experiences,
needs and elements of the environment and to provoke aesthetic
effects, showing interest and enjoyment.

4. How to teach Arts in Infant Education?

a. By using corners
b. By using Workshop
c. By usingLittle projects

5. What is English?

The language of England, now widely used in

many varieties throughout the world. (Oxford Dictionary, 2014)
English language, West Germanic language of the IndoEuropean language family that is closely related
to Frisian, German, and Dutch languages. English originated in
England and is now widely spoken on six continents. It is the
primary language of the United States, the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and various
small island nations in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
It is also an official language of India,
the Philippines, Singapore, and many countries in sub-Saharan
Africa, including South Africa. English is the first choice of
foreign language in most other countries of the world.
(Britannica Encyclopedia, 2014).

6. English in the Aragonese Curriculum:

8.To begin in the oral use of a foreign language with
communicative intention in activities related to the habitual
situations of the classroom, and to show interest and enjoyment on
having taken part in these exchanges.
7. What is CLIL?
CLIL is an acronym for Content and Language Integrated Learning. It
is an approach to teaching the content of curricular subjects through
the medium of a non-native language. In a CLIL course, learners gain
knowledge and understanding of the curricular subject while
simultaneously learning and using the target language. (Marsh, David.
2001)
It is helpful to think of Coyles 4CS of CLIL for planning lessons
(Coyle, 1999):
1. Content: What is the arts topic?
2. Communication: What language will learners
communicate during the lessons? E.g. the artistic
language: colours, forms, etc.
3. Cognition: Which thinking skills are demanded of
learners in the arts lesson?

 4. Culture (sometimes the 4Cs is referred as Community

or Citizenship): is there a cultural focus in the lesson?

7. Considerations when planning a CLIL Arts lesson

Activating prior knowledge: it is helpful to start a lesson by finding
out what learners already know about the art topic. Learners may
know many facts about a topic in their L1 but may have difficulty
explaining this knowledge in a L2 or L3.
Input and output: Teachers need to plan input and output.
Wait time: it refers to the time teachers wait between asking
questions and learners answering them.
Collaborative tasks: Include tasks that involve learners in
producing key subject-specific vocabulary and structures in
meaningful pair or group work activities.
Cognitive challenge: Learners usually need considerable
support to develop their thinking skills in a non-native language.
They need to communicate not only the everyday functional
language practised in many English classes, but they also need
to communicate the cognitive, academic language of school
subjects.
Developing thinking skills: Teachers need to ask which
encourage lower order thinking skills (LOTS) and also the higher
order thinking skills (HOTS). These involve the why and how
questions and therefore require the use of more complex
language.
University of Cambridge (2008). Teaching History through English.
ESOL Examinations.

8. Why use arts? (Amy Lightfoot, 2011)

Lessons based around works of art have many benefits for
both the teacher and the students.
Responding to art can be very stimulating and can lead onto a
great variety of activities.

 Using art provides a useful change of pace.

Incorporating art into the class or syllabus can take the students
out of the classroom and encourage them to use their language
skills in the real world.
Thinking about or even creating art can be very motivating.
Responding to art has the potential to develop students
creative and critical thinking skills.
9. Some problems and solutions (Amy Lightfoot, 2011)
Problems :
Subjectivity

Students (and teachers!) may not perceive some

art-related activities to be useful for language learning.
Solutions :
Choosing art that has some relevance to the students
Structure activities carefully
Clear outcome and learning point

10 References:
Do Coyle, (2008) University of Nottingham. Kunst CLIL.
Lightfoot Amy. (11 July, 2007). British Council, India. Art in the
classroom.
The New York State Education Department Office of Bilingual
Education and Foreign languages Studies, (2010). Art as a tool
for teachers of English language learners.
Oxford Dictionary (2014)
Available at http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionahgries.com/
Britannica Encyclopedia (2014)
Available at http://www.britannica.com/

 Mara del Rosario Flix Valverde; Raquel Toledano Valentn,

(2011). Expresin y comunicacin. Editorial CEP, S.L.
University of Cambridge (2008). Teaching History through
English. ESOL Examinations.
Available at: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/168750teaching-history-through-english-a-clil-approach.pdf
ORDEN ECI/3960/2007, de 19 de diciembre, por la que se
establece el currculo y se regula la ordenacin de la educacin
infantil.