CLIL language course - students in higher education architecture

ARCHI21 is an EU-funded project which aims to get students to use 3D virtual immersive and Web 2.0 environments and to promote the potentialities of these environments in the fields of architecture and design. By adopting a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach, ARCHI21 also seeks to facilitate language learning, while accompanying the process of competence building in architecture and design.

ARCHI21 involves six institutional partners in four countries: - Coordination : École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris Malaquais (ENSA-PM, France) ; - Centre international d’études pédagogiques (CIEP, France) ; - The Open University (OP, United Kingdom); - Univerza v Ljubljani – Fakulteta za Arhitekturo (UL-FA, Slovenia); - Aalbord Universitet (AAU, Denmark) ; - The University of Southampton (SO, United Kingdom).

Produced by the Centre international d’études pédagogiques (CIEP) Sandrine Courchinoux - Manuela Ferreira Pinto - Manon Hübscher

Centre international d’études pédagogiques Département langue française 1, rue Léon-Journault – 92318 Sèvres cedex – France Téléphone : 33 (0) 45 07 60 00 Site internet : www.ciep.fr

Introduction Universities are carrying out an increasing number of their activities whithin the context of partnerships that help open them up to Europe and the international scene as a whole. With a view to nurturing and developing such initiatives, language teaching has become a focus of special 1

attention. The ARCHI 21 project , initiated by the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de ParisMalaquais (ENSAPM), aims to incorporate CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) into the pedagogical approaches of the higher schools and faculties of architecture and design that are taking part in it: the Open University, United Kingdom (Design, Development, Environment and Materials Department); Univerza v Ljubljani, Slovenia (faculty of architecture); Aalbord Universitet, Denmark (Architecture, Design and Media Technology Department); and the University of Southampton, United Kingdom (Modern Languages Department).

In order to respond to training requirements and provide support to educational teams in practical implementation of a pedagogical approach with dual orientation, in which a foreign modern language is used for teaching and studying both architecture and the language in question, ENSAPM has called upon the widely recognised expertise of the Centre international d’études pédagogiques (CIEP). As a partner of the ARCHI 21 project, CIEP has been commissioned to create tools designed to be simple, shared points for the setting up of a CLIL project in an academic context, in the field of architecture and design.

In the pages that follow, this document proposes components for a module whose linguistic and cultural content bears directly upon the disciplinary and crosscutting competences expected from students of architecture, with a view to providing support for reworking of university architecture curricula by progressive development of synergies between disciplinary teaching and modern language, as provided for by the CLIL approach.

This programme is presented in the form of a table: for each unit, contextualised communicative objectives are listed (“At university”), alongside the corresponding disciplinary and methodological objectives that seek to make the architecture student more autonomous in his/her 2

studies (“Towards autonomy”) .

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The ARCHI21 project is led within the framework of the programme « Languages (KA2) » of the European Lifelong Learning Programme : http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/ka2/languages_en.php 2 In the French version of the tool, language objectives have been added for indicative purposes. They may be added to and/or adapted depending on the student body concerned.

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It is composed of 16 units following a progression based on the recommendations and levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL): -

units 1 to 4 correspond to level A1;

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units 5 to 9 are adapted to level A2;

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units 10 to 12 enable work at level B1;

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as from unit 13, level B2 is targeted.

Depending on the institution’s strategic choices and students’ levels in the language being taught, the programme may be started at whichever unit corresponds to the objectives sought after.

The programme is also designed to ensure that it covers all five main forms of discourse to be found in university-level architecture courses (with predominant forms depending on discipline and course format): descriptive, narrative, injunctive, explicative and argumentative. A variety of teaching modes are usually exercised in higher schools of architecture: lectures, tutorials, project studios, seminars and placements. For each of these teaching modes and the communication situations specific to them, language teachers and their colleagues teaching architecture as a non-linguistic discipline will be responsible for setting up strategies designed to facilitate reception of discourse in a non-native language.

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For lectures, it will be useful to project an illustrated slideshow (iconography, concepts,

key words, etc.) which may allow for language switching, as well as presenting a course outline highlighting the main issues involved. In addition to such visual aids, teachers will, as far as possible, use restatement techniques (repetitions and reformulations) in order to help students understand their oral discourse.

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For individual and group work (tutorials and research seminars in particular), instructions

should be handed out to students, explaining the exercises they are to do or research they are to carry out and the methods to follow in so doing. Such written documents might well be illustrated in the same way as an “instructions for use” manual, in order to provide students with further pointers to understanding.

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For project studios, teachers will distribute lists of required materials. They will above all

take care to employ gestures and actions to help clarify his discourse – showing constructions on a site, pointing out the components of a model, drawing a diagram or sketch, for example, to back up an oral explanation. In order to stimulate students’ creativity and develop intercomprehension, it will also be helpful – particularly when designing a project – to overlap language repertoires (mother tongue and target teaching language) and bring out the cultural representations, perceptions of the world and forms of imagination borne by the various languages concerned.

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Finally, for placements, it will be a matter of preparing students for intercultural

encounters, providing them with information on the host country’s cultural and professional habits, or with exercises in observation of practices, with resulting conclusions shared and discussed upon return to the university and/or in the placement report.

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1 – Let me introduce myself!

Communicative objectives

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

At university

Towards autonomy

Greetings Introducing yourself/ somebody Giving personal details Asking someone who they are

Teacher/pupil: using formal/informal forms of address Participating: please! Excuse me!

Gestures accompanying speaking in class Gestures accompanying greetings, with a friend, with another student, with a teacher, with a colleague, with a line manager (during a placement)

Understanding simple instructions Participating in class Taking part in an informal conservation with colleagues

Naming and using punctuation marks Learning to come to conclusions by forming hypotheses Recognising documents: extracts from manuals, specialised books on architecture – newspaper articles – advertising (visual and audio) – radio interviews – administrative documents – invoices – estimates – student cards, etc.

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2 – I’m studying architecture!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Introducing yourself /somebody else Saying what you like Asking for/giving information about yourself / somebody else Asking for / telling someone the time Talking about your timetable

Talking about the various university departments Talking about the various subjects taught Talking about a company’s departments (on placement) Filling out an information sheet Naming various kinds of places and buildings (amphitheatre, lecture hall, studio, hall, prefab, etc.).

Naming various types of classes (studio, lecture, tutorial, etc.)

Naming various types of schoolwork (exercises, presentations, research, etc.)

Taking notes on a discourse: the timetable

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3 – I’m studying!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Describing people Finding one’s way around a building/space Affirming / denying Naming work tools Naming architecture sector professionals and services Locating monuments Locating rooms in a building

The university: reading a simple organisation chart Be answerable to, be responsible for, be in charge of Describing actions carried out in class using simple verbs: write, look for, measure, design, imagine, draw, represent, create, manufacture, build, etc.

Taking notes on a discourse: Finding one’s way around a building/space, describing people The grading system (comparison, continuous assessment, final examination).

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4 – I learn by doing!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Naming school supplies and work tools, using them in class Understanding instructions Naming computer equipment Expressing possession Designating and describing an object Giving orders Expressing need and obligation

Verbs used to represent objects Understanding instructions requiring use of instruments: turn on/off, use, take, print, download, record, burn a CD, etc.

Listing the various ways of depicting objects: drawing, sketch, diagram, plan, cross-section, model, etc.

Geometric figures: a square, a rectangle, a lozenge, a circle, a pyramid, a cone, etc.

Using e-mail software and writing e-mail Taking notes on a discourse: list of equipment

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5 – I know where it is!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Finding one’s way around a building/space Asking the way / showing somebody the way Making proposals in class Suggesting Participating in order to suggest something

Understanding abbreviations frequently used at university / in class / in everyday life Naming the various ways of depicting spaces: satellite photo, aerial view, map, plan, etc.

Learning to say and understand units for measurement of distance Naming instruments used for measuring distance and writing how they function Naming distances: a kilometre, a metre, a centimetre, a millimetre Describing the plan of a large town: organisation of space, main roads, historical town and modern town, centre and outskirts, districts, suburbs, etc.

Taking notes on a discourse: locating places

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6 – That’s interesting!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Describing a typical day at the university Writing an email introducing yourself and saying what you like doing Talking about your habits Naming and describing leisure activities Making plans Telling the time / telling someone the time Saying what the weather is like and what it will be like

Learning and understanding vocabulary: lexical network or word family Root, suffix, prefix Words of Latin and Greek origin in scientific terminology Words of English origin in computer vocabulary Learning to describe socio-economic groups based on their leisure activities (e.g. going to museums, shopping in certain districts or types of shops) The verb practise: construction and use Expressing preferences enthusiastically I love it! It’s great! Fantastic! One in a million! That’s the one for me! etc.

Expressing sensations (describing something as hot, cold, soft, etc.)

Taking notes on a discourse: usages

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7 – I like that!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Naming and describing materials and foodstuffs Making proposals Expressing desires Asking something politely Expressing quantity Describing the steps in a process

Weight, capacity Naming units of mass and capacity: tonne, kilogram, gram, litre, decilitre, etc.

Naming instruments for measuring mass and giving simple descriptions of how they work Using verbs in the simple infinitive to list the stages in a process: imagine, trace, locate, present Using logical connectives: first of all, then, initially, later, finally, in the end, etc.

Describing an experience Producing a descriptive text based on a diagram or plan The diagram presents…, the plan represents… flow, circulation You leave from … You go along… you arrive at…

Expressing pleasure / displeasure That’s beautiful! Yuck! I hate it! It’s horrible! Yum-yum! It’s delicious! It’s divine! How fancy! I love it! Its pleasant / unpleasant, etc.

Taking notes on a discourse: processes

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8 – I’ll explain!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Talking about your school and university background Narrating and expressing notions of time Expressing cause Expressing consequence Expressing opposition

Describing the communication situation in order to learn to understand the gist of a text or an oral exchange: Where are we?

Who is writing? Who is speaking?

To whom?

What for?

The source Taking notes on a text Naming the different parts of a written work Naming the typographical characteristics of literary, advertising, informative, scientific, economic, legal etc. texts.

Pinpointing essential information in a text with the help of analysis of the communication situation and its typographical characteristics: Title – subtitle – subheading In bold, in italics In capitals, in lower case

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9 – That’s the way it is!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Describing Expressing purpose Expressing possession Comparing Expressing lack

Learning to spot the characteristics of a descriptive text Verbs: see, observe, note, notice Recognising nominal sentences Recognising adjectives Telling the difference between descriptive, objective and subjective texts The place of the transmitter in descriptive texts – of a scientific or commercial nature, for example Verb tenses in descriptive texts

Recognising descriptive texts in academic writings in various disciplines Characterising such texts Recognising instructions requiring production of descriptive texts Producing a descriptive discourse (describing a habitat, product, machine, organisation, site, etc.).

Learning to make sketches Naming types of graphs and their components: table, curve, bars, sectors, histogram, diagram, pie chart, etc.

Commenting on an image: In the foreground, in the back ground This image is composed of …, includes…, is made up of two parts…

This image illustrates…

You have the impression of…

That looks like …

You feel …

Taking notes on a descriptive discourse (organising ideas)

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10 – Looking for information!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Comparing architectural styles Expressing intensity Reassuring and advising Prohibiting Giving your opinion Comparing

Looking for information at university library and on internet Understanding instructions Spotting key words Filling out forms Searching a catalogue Accessing websites Selecting and organising information Importing information Formatting Illustrating Explaining the various stages in creating an object Learning to compare Commenting on quantified data Increase /decrease, has increased / decreased by, has gone from ‌ to Falling, increasing rapidly/slowly Exponential increase Maximum, minimum Taking notes on a discourse: instructions for use, quantified data

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11 – Here’s the result!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Drafting a curriculum vitae for participation in a mobility programme or a placement Narrating in the past tense Organising your ideas Expressing duration Giving your opinion

Searching for information online The most important architecture firms and their location in the world Informative texts and narrative texts: characteristics Understanding instructions requiring the writing of a descriptive / informative / narrative text Narrating – Explaining – Describing – Imagining – Saying – Informing - Showing Drafting a curriculum vitae Civil status Education Professional experience Hobbies, other experience Taking notes on a discourse: school and university path, projects Expressing your opinion strongly: Not for me! Well, that’s my opinion! This is what I think…! As far as I’m concerned, I think… how about you?

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12 – It’s due in tomorrow!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Making plans Estimating the time needed to accomplish planned tasks Participating in a workgroup Indicating means of transport Expressing condition Expressing impatience

Participating in a workgroup in order to carry out a study project Understanding instructions Setting objectives for the group Deciding upon the final form of the work Drawing up a timetable Sharing out roles Sharing out tasks Exchanging information in the workgroup Roles: coordinator, secretary, facilitator, spokesperson Etiquette and conventions in professional meetings: preparing the meeting, documents to distribute, greetings, taking the floor, summarising, minutes Example: the board of directors Expressing proportion (percentage) Expressing impatience: Hey! Are we going or not? When’s it for? What on earth are you doing? I’m waiting! I can’t wait all day! Is it for today or for tomorrow?

Taking notes on a discourse: a meeting

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13 – I’m going to present my work!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Making a presentation Reporting what someone says in the present Expressing duration Expressing simultaneousness Inciting, describing, highlighting in advertising discourse Explaining Expressing wonder Writing an advertising leaflet

Identifying the features of an advertisement Recognising the various parts of an advertising document Identifying the transmitter / receiver in the advertisement Saying what the transmitter’s intention is: To encourage To sell To convince To describe To campaign To challenge To promote To present in a favourable light To explain Metaphorical expressions Advertising as revelatory of society Comparing the famous slogans of top brands Taking notes on an architectural agency’s advertising leaflet or website Expressing wonder / admiration: That’s wonderful! Splendid! Great! Fantastic!

Marvellous! Really outstanding!

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14 – What are you trying to say?

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Taking part in a discussion

The place of the written word in society When to call? When to write? When to go and see your interlocutor?

Expressing hopes and wishes Expressing agreement / disagreement Expressing cause Expressing wants and wishes Expressing doubt Expressing obligation Expressing prohibition Expressing hypotheses

Letter-writing: polite formulas, letter organisation Taking the minutes of a meeting Drafting a report on a meeting with a customer

Reformulating what you say Illustrating what you say

Taking notes on a course outline Similes and metaphors Expressing doubt: hmm… I’m not so sure. I have my doubts. I’m not entirely convinced. I don’t know about that. etc.

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15 – So it would appear…

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Participating in a trade fair and drafting a report on it

Joining a student or professional social network The association network: being a member of an association, to do what?

Students’ associations Professional associations Joining

Refuting, arguing Expressing regret Expressing anteriority Reporting what somebody has said Expressing purpose

Preparing for a negotiation Improving written expression through filling out or summarising Taboo subjects: at work, among friends Expressing regret: I’m really / terribly sorry – I really regret… – I do apologise – I would have liked to…, etc.

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16 – That’s a valid point!

Interdisciplinarity and cultural openness

Communicative objectives

At university

Towards autonomy

Going on a placement in a company Narrating in order to explain and argue

Practising language intercomprehension Homonyms Synonyms Antonyms Paronyms Correspondences between languages Transparent words The limits of translation Thinking about what is untranslatable Plurals of compound nouns

Introducing explanations and examples Expressing feasibility Making a favourable / unfavourable judgement Expressing annoyance

Drafting a report Reading the instructions several times, defining the topic, setting a specific objective Determining the communication situation (who is writing to whom and why?)

Determining what kind of text to write depending on objective or instructions (describing, narrating, encouraging, explaining, arguing, informing, giving an opinion) Noting down all ideas on rough paper Sorting ideas Writing the introduction Drafting the plan Writing the various parts of the development in a well-argued, illustrated manner Writing the conclusion

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