CLIL in the 21st Century Retrospective and prospective challenges and opportunities

This article traces the historical phases in the conceptualisation of and research on Content-and-language-Integrated Learning in Europe since the 1990s. Following upon early programmatic statements, the first wave of CLIL research concentrated on language learning outcomes. In a second wave, the focus was on descriptions of practice and studies of participant perspectives. More recently, studies have focused on the unique character of CLIL as an educational approach in its own right, not simply as a context of foreign language teaching. The crucial content-language interface is being addressed in research focusing on language and literacy in content curricula and classroom practices. A new CLIL research focus is the development of pedagogical practice through theory-based interventions. In line with the UN sustainable development goal of Quality Education, we identify equity and team work as future challenges and argue that CLIL could be a catalyst for a more collaborative and multidisciplinary approach in education.