Motivation and Assessment Strategies for CLIL and EMI Classrooms
Session 11: Motivation in CLIL Contexts
Motivation — what is it?
Definition — motivation
Motivation is the reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way. It can also refer to a person’s desire or willingness to do something, their enthusiasm or drive to take action. Keeping students motivated when they’re learning a subject through a language that is not their first language can at times feel like a juggling act for a teacher. Likewise, students are faced with the challenge of learning the content through English and using English to carry out tasks, complete assignments and demonstrate their achievement of the learning outcomes. Motivation is key here, both for lecturers and students. For lecturers, having some knowledge about theories of motivation can make a big difference as regards how you interact with your students and prepare classes. The final goal of familiarisation with motivation theories is to create a more engaging class environment when faced with some unique challenges that arise in CLIL/EMI settings. Motivating students will never result from a single or simple process (or theory); instead, it is a combination of elements (including motivation theory). This idea demonstrates the dynamic nature of learner motivation.
Self-determination theory
Three basic needs that drive our behaviour: autonomy, competence, connection.
Ranges of motivation:
- Amotivation
- Extrinsic motivation (externally regulated, introjected regulation, regulation through identification, integrated regulation)
- Intrinsic motivation
Expectancy-value theory
The relationship between a student’s expectancy for success at a task or the achievement of a goal in relation to the value of task completion or goal attainment. Expectancy and value interact with each other to predict outcomes such as engagement, continuing interest, and academic achievement.
Expectancy: How confident an individual is in their ability to succeed in a task. “Can I do this task?”
Value: How important, useful or enjoyable the student perceives the task to be. “Do I want to do the task?”
Achievement goal theory
A person’s degree of motivation to achieve a goal is influenced by their goal orientation. Students’ goal orientation can be categorised into four categories:
- Mastery-approach: Wanting to complete a task for the purpose of self-improvement and learning as much as possible.
- Mastery-avoidance: Wanting to avoid a task because the student feels they won’t learn as much as needed to complete the task.
- Performance-approach: The desire to complete a task in order to outperform peers, achieve the appearance of superiority, and receive extrinsic rewards.
- Performance-avoidance: The desire to avoid the task to evade embarrassment, shame, self-doubt, or public failure.
According to Nicholls (1984), an individual’s sense of ability can be judged based on past performance or relative to others, leading to two distinct achievement goal states:
- Task involvement: Task-involved students get a sense of competence from personal mastery and improvement.
- Ego involvement: Ego-involved students gain a sense of competence from demonstrating superior performance compared to others.
Mastery-approach and Performance-approach are associated with a growth mindset: a person’s focus is primarily on what they are capable of if they put in the effort. Mastery-avoidance and Performance-avoidance align with a fixed mindset: people who avoid a task because they don’t believe they have the capacity for improvement or success.
Fixed and growth mindsets
Mindsets play a significant role in determining how individuals approach challenges, setbacks, and opportunities. For example, a person with a growth mindset is more likely to embrace challenges and persist in the face of difficulties, leading to greater resilience and achievement.
Cognitive load theory
Although this theory is not a motivation theory, it can certainly impact motivation. Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) explains how the human brain processes information and how teaching can be optimized to enhance learning. The theory is based on our understanding of human cognitive architecture, particularly the relationship between working memory and long-term memory. Working memory has a limited capacity and can only hold a few pieces of information at a time. When too much information is presented simultaneously, it can overwhelm working memory, leading to cognitive overload. This overload can hinder the learning process because the brain struggles to process and store the information effectively.
To prevent cognitive overload, teaching should aim to reduce unnecessary cognitive load and focus on essential information. This can be achieved by breaking down complex information into smaller, manageable chunks, using visual aids, and providing clear and concise instruction. All of this is key in CLIL/EMI contexts — remember scaffolding, breaking down content and language into manageable parts.
Types of Load:
- Intrinsic: The natural difficulty of the content.
- Extraneous: Unnecessary load caused by poor instruction or confusing materials.
- Germane: Productive effort that helps build long-term memory.
CLIL — relation to motivation and theories
Improving motivation in CLIL contexts is about making learning meaningful, engaging, and supported. Balancing content and language learning in a way that students can relate to personally or professionally is key to fostering motivation. It involves creating an environment where students are engaged with both the content and the language.
Strategies:
- Make content relevant and meaningful.
- Foster a supportive learning environment.
- Scaffold language learning.
- Use active learning techniques.
- Gamify the learning experience where appropriate.
Session 12: Assessment Problems in CLIL Contexts
Grade vs. Assessment
Grade = evaluation. Assessment = helps the teacher know where their students are.
Formative assessment
Formative assessment is continuous and takes place during the learning process. Its main aim is to support learning, not to grade students.
Examples:
- Teacher feedback during tasks
- Observation
- Peer assessment
- Self-assessment
- Drafts and ongoing tasks
Summative assessment
Summative assessment takes place at the end of a learning unit and is used to measure achievement.
Examples: exams, final projects, presentations, tests.
Deciding the focus of assessment in CLIL
In CLIL assessment, teachers must decide what is being assessed: content, language, or both. One may be the main focus and the other supportive.
Key ideas:
- Content and language objectives must be clear.
- Language errors should not always penalise content understanding.
- Assessment must be transparent and aligned with objectives.
Ways to assess in CLIL contexts
Assessment in CLIL should be flexible and inclusive.
Common ways:
- Multiple choice, matching, gap-fill
- Oral tasks with visual support
- Pair or group work
- Use of visuals and graphic organisers
- Allowing glossaries or extra time
Teachers often reduce writing load and use closed questions.
Examples of assessment in CLIL
CLIL assessment examples include:
- Assessment plans with content and language objectives
- Use of formative or summative assessment
- Scaffolding (sentence frames, models, vocabulary lists)
- Tools such as rubrics, quizzes and performance tasks
Bloom’s Taxonomy can be used to design questions at different cognitive levels.
Common assessment problems and solutions in CLIL
Typical problems:
- Difficult language in instructions or texts
- High cognitive demands
- Low written or spoken English level
Main solutions:
- Simplify language and instructions
- Use visuals and models
- Allow pair work, glossaries and extra time
- Reduce writing and use closed responses
Feedback in CLIL contexts
Feedback is essential in CLIL assessment.
Effective feedback:
- Is clear, supportive and specific
- Focuses on meaning before accuracy
- Helps learners improve without discouraging them
Feedback supports both content and language learning.
Motivation, assessment and feedback in CLIL
Assessment and feedback strongly affect motivation.
Good CLIL assessment:
- Builds confidence and competence
- Reduces anxiety
- Encourages engagement and participation
Supportive feedback increases motivation and learning.
The language used in class is too difficult
Before assessment:
- Paraphrase or simplify language
- Add a model example of what learners have to write or do
During assessment:
- Read instructions aloud twice
- Explain instructions more simply
- Explain instructions in L1
The language used in texts or problems is too difficult
Before assessment:
- If possible, use synonyms
- Use simple rather than complex sentences
- Add visuals or diagrams
- Present information using bullet points
During assessment:
- Paraphrase orally
- Allow use of a glossary or bilingual dictionary
The task demands cognitive skills that are too high
Before assessment:
- Add visual organisers to support output
During assessment:
- Encourage learners to work in pairs
Learners have a low level of written English
Before assessment:
- Provide visuals
- Reduce the amount of writing at word and sentence levels
- Design matching, labelling, numbering, circling and gap-fill tasks
- Design questions with closed responses
During assessment:
- Give encouragement
- Allow use of glossaries
Learners are slow at writing
Before assessment:
- Limit the length of the written work
- Change some tasks to multiple choice, yes/no or closed responses
During assessment:
- Give extra time
- Provide time limits where appropriate
Learners have a low level of spoken English
Before assessment:
- Pair learners so they can support each other
- Allow learners to practise using speech bubbles or outline scripts before they speak
During assessment:
- Allow learners to use gestures
- Allow learners to code-switch sometimes
- Provide prompts
Texto para responder: motivación alumno y la práctica de enseñanza
This case can be explained using different motivation theories applied in CLIL, such as Self-Determination Theory, Expectancy-Value Theory, Achievement Goal Theory and Growth Mindset Theory. The student may show low motivation due to a lack of autonomy or competence, low expectations of success or task value, a focus on performance or avoidance goals, or the belief that abilities are fixed. In CLIL contexts, learning content through a foreign language increases cognitive load and anxiety, which can reduce participation and engagement. To address this situation, the teacher should scaffold tasks, reduce linguistic and cognitive load through visuals and models, and provide clear and supportive feedback focused on meaning. Pair and group work, offering choices and creating a safe classroom environment can help increase motivation and engagement, leading to more effective content and language learning.