Integrating CLIL within Business English Teaching

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Abstract

This article examines five industry-specific Business English (BE) courses in a Thai international university in order to understand the role of specialist business content in those subjects. The study comprises two parts: an investigation of course documents, such as the course syllabus, course objectives, teaching/learning activity plans, assessment methods, and textbooks; and a questionnaire to draw out teachers’ perceptions towards the integration of specialist content into course design and delivery. The study revealed that, contrary to traditional language-focused BE teaching practices, BE teachers in this context considered the instruction of specialist business content as their major concern. Their practice was indicative of an integration of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approaches within their pedagogy. Findings from the study serve to advocate the synergy of ESP and CLIL principles in classroom practice, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings.