Content and language integrated learning 280 in the system of linguistic education: pro et contra

In the globalized world with expanding boarders and increasing demands in cross-cultural professional communication, the higher school is facing the challenge of educating future specialists possessing interdisciplinary bilingual competencies that allow them to successfully participate in different spheres of cross-cultural professional communication. In this context, the search of the effective ways of professionally oriented foreign language teaching acquires special significance. The didactic model of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) was the response of the methodology of foreign language teaching to this challenge. At present, CLIL is being actively developed and implemented into the European system of language education while in the Russian education environment CLIL is just starting out and is being implemented mostly in teaching English to students specializing in non-linguistic areas. The objective of this research is as follows: firstly, to study and analyze the experience of content and language integrated learning in Russia and abroad and on this basis to identify its relevance and perspectives for teaching students specializing in linguistics; secondly, to figure out the optimal ways of implementing this didactic model into the system of linguistic education. The forms of implementing CLIL into the curriculum of linguistic education can be variable: (a) elective courses; (b) module courses based on the combination of modules in the mother tongue and the target language; (с) project works developing students' skills of autonomous creative activity; (d) courses representing gradual transition from professionally-oriented language learning to CLIL-model aimed at acquiring cross-cultural bilingual competence in professional sphere. The use of content and language integrated learning in the system of linguistic education will contribute to training future specialists possessing interdisciplinary cross-cultural competence allowing them to acquire additional qualifications not restricted only to the linguistic sphere. In the context of growing international contacts in different spheres of professional communication, the introduction of CLIL-model into the curriculum of linguistic education can promote professional career growth of young specialists on the domestic as well as on the international job market.

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