CLIL as a learning strategy at universities of applied sciences

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There is a lack of technically trained professionals with good language skills in the programme area. Therefore, a better link between education and the labour market and an increase in the quality of professional language skills are necessary. This project responds to this shortfall. The main goal is the effective implementation of the CLIL method at universities of applied sciences that offer technical study programmes, with the aim of increasing the deployment of field experts with corresponding foreign language skills and skills needed for the labour market in the cross-border region. Achieving the project objective will contribute to the expansion of a common educational offer in technical study programmes, whereby the skills and competencies of the graduates will correspond to the requirements of specific companies in the region, which lack specialists with corresponding foreign language skills. Finally, the project can also contribute to better opportunities for graduates on the labour market, increased mobility and the harmonisation of the education systems in both countries. The project is geared to students and teachers at universities of applied sciences, companies in the region and their employees. The main results will be modules of specialist courses and technical disciplines (mechanical engineering, construction, logistics, computer science) that are developed in German, Czech and English using CLIL, as well as specialist books and publications used in teaching and practice. It also includes joint events as well as the realisation of a pilot project to review the results of the project in practice. The project aims to establish Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) - integrated bilingual teaching theory - as a teaching/learning strategy. It is about integrated learning of content and language, that is, teaching a non-linguistic subject using a foreign language to convey the content. The project endeavours to, at least in part, harmonise selected subjects and study programmes that are taught at both universities of applied sciences, so that their content meets the needs of the practice on both sides of the border. For this reason, cross-border cooperation is necessary, since peculiarities on both sides of the border must be considered. Coordination of the results with the practice should also guarantee the inclusion of relevant institutions from Austria and the Czech Republic in the form of strategic partners. In the project, the level of territorial linguistic knowledge (D, CZ) and Lingua Franca knowledge (E) overlap. For this reason, all results will be in German and Czech and a part in English, which is also the requirement of the professional practice. We see the implementation of CLIL in the cross-border context and the interest in the intervention programmes for increasing professional and social competencies in the foreign languages ​​(D, CZ, E) as beneficial innovations.

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