Views: 560
Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 17. Number 2, June 2026 Pp.356-373
School of Foreign Languages, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Content and Language Integrated Learning is recognized for its potential to enhance language proficiency while fostering content mastery, particularly in multilingual and globalized education systems. However, its impact on English-speaking proficiency, particularly in the Chinese tertiary education context, remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining the effects of a 12-week Content and Language Integrated Learning intervention on the speaking complexity, accuracy, fluency, and pronunciation of Chinese university students. The study is significant because it extends current understanding of how CLIL influences different dimensions of speaking proficiency in higher education and provides evidence-based insights for improving English language pedagogy in the Chinese tertiary context. Employing a mixed-methods approach, quantitative data were gathered through pre- and post-tests, complemented by qualitative insights from classroom observations and student interviews. The findings revealed that the intervention significantly improved fluency and pronunciation, yet had limited effects on speaking complexity and accuracy compared to traditional instruction. Qualitative data highlighted that meaningful communication tasks fostered confidence and spontaneity in speaking but lacked a focus on explicit grammar and vocabulary instruction, leading to cognitive overload in balancing content comprehension with linguistic refinement. The study underscores the need for integrating form-focused instruction into Content and Language Integrated Learning frameworks to achieve balanced language development. These findings provide valuable implications for teachers and curriculum planners, emphasizing the importance of harmonizing content and linguistic objectives to optimize the dual focus of Content and Language Integrated Learning in English language education.
Hu, H. & Hashim, H. (2026). The Impact of Content and Language Integrated Learning on English Speaking Proficiency: A Mixed-Methods Study in Chinese Tertiary Education. Arab World English Journal, 17(2): 356-373
Alonso, R. A. (Ed.). (2018). Speaking in a second language. John Benjamins.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage.
Bulté, B., & Housen, A. (2012). Defining and operationalising L2 complexity. In A. Housen, F. Kuiken, & I. Vedder (Eds.), Dimensions of L2 performance and proficiency: complexity, accuracy and fluency in SLA (pp. 23–46). John Benjamins.
Cao, Y. (2021). Exploring content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teaching materials in Chinese universities: Teachers’ and students’ perceptions and reflections. International Journal of English and Literature, 12(3), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.5897/IJEL2021.1444
Chen, Z. (2024). A study of Chinese undergraduate students’ English language speaking anxiety, expectancy-value beliefs and spoken English proficiency. Sage Open, 14(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231219312
College Foreign Language Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education. (2020). 大学英语教学指南 [Guidelines for College English Teaching]. Higher Education Press.
Costa, F. (2025). Alternation between L1 (Italian) and L2 (English) in three CLIL and EMI contexts (2nd ed.). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Coyle, D., & Meyer, O. (2021). Beyond CLIL: Pluriliteracies teaching for deeper learning. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108914505
Ding, Y. (2022). Translanguaging in content and language integrated learning (CLIL): Practices in the classroom of a Chinese university. OLBI Journal, 12(1), 311–331. https://doi.org/10.18192/olbij.v12i1.5992
Ellis, R., & Barkhuizen, G. (2005). Analysing learner language. Oxford University Press.
Fan, Y., & Zhang, S. (2024). Exploration on the construction of bilingual teacher development system for foreign students in university of traditional Chinese medicine based on the CLIL theory. Chinese Medicine Modern Distance Education of China, 22(7), 27-29. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1672-2779.2024.07.009
Hidalgo, D. R., & Ortega-Sánchez, D. (2023). CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodological approach in the bilingual classroom: A systematic review. International Journal of Instruction, 16(3), 915–934. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2023.16349a
Hu, H. (2022). Factors pertinent to first language use in foreign language classroom: A case of content and language integrated learning Arab World English Journal, 13(2), 177–191. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol13no2.12
Hu, H., Said, N. E. M., & Hashim, H. (2022). Killing two birds with one stone? A study on achievement levels and affective factors in content and language integrated learning (CLIL). International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 21(4), 150-167. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.21.4.9
Hu, H., Said, N. E. M., & Hashim, H. (2023). Sustaining content and language integrated learning in China: A systematic review. Sustainability, 15, 5, Article 3894. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15053894
Hussain, S. S. (2022). Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in ELT as a link between language learning and content development. Arab World English Journal, 13(2), 386–400. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol13no2.26
Ikeda, M., Izumi, S., Watanabe, Y., Pinner, R., & Davis, M. (2022). Soft CLIL and English language teaching: Understanding Japanese policy, practice and implications. Routledge.
Joo, M. (2022). Effects of pre-task and on-line planning on complexity, fluency, and accuracy in computer-based English speaking and writing tests. Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics, 22, 938–956. https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.22..202210.938
Klewitz, B. (2021). Content and language integrated learning (CLIL): A methodology of bilingual teaching. Ibidem Verlag.
Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon.
Li, S. (2021). The CLIL model of teaching in the College English curriculum in China: Policies, perceptions, and practices. Onomázein, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.7764/onomazein.ne9.01
Li, Y. (2020). Educational change amongst English language college teachers in China: Transitioning from teaching for general to academic purposes. Springer.
Liao, Y. (2024). An Exploration of Teaching Reform of Integrating Moral Education into English Speaking Course Based on POA. Journal of Qingdao Ocean Shipping Mariners College, 45(1), 73-77. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.2095-3747.2024.01.016
Luoma, S. (2004). Assessing speaking. Cambridge University Press.
Mahan, K. R. (2023). Instructional scaffolding in CLIL: An overview of theory and research. In D. L. Banegas & S. Zappa-Hollman (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of content and language integrated learning (pp. 284–298). Routledge.
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2009). Towards an organic approach to investigating CAF in instructed SLA: The case of complexity. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 555–578. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp044
Peérez, A. C., & Unamuno, V. (2024). The challenges of integrating linguistic and disciplinary knowledge in public secondary schools in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. In E. Codó (Ed.), Global CLIL: Critical, ethnographic and language policy perspectives (pp. 96–122). Routledge.
Siskova, Z. (2012). Lexical richness in EFL students’ narratives. Language Studies Working Papers, 4(2016), 26–36. https://www.reading.ac.uk/elal/-/media/project/uor-main/schools-departments/elal/lswp/lswp-4/elal_lswp_vol_4_siskova.pdf?la=en&hash=E13FADFF59A93DD925B67C972D8F972B
Skehan, P. (2009). Modelling second language performance: integrating complexity, accuracy, fluency and lexis. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 510–532. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp047
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235-253). Newbury House.
Sylvén, L. K., & Tsuchiya, K. (2023). CLIL in various forms around the world. In D. L. Banegas & S. Zappa-Hollman (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of content and language integrated learning (pp. 373–386). Routledge.
Sysoyev, P. V. (2021). Teacher training for content and language integrated learning at the university. Vysshee Obrazovanie v Rossii, 30(5), 21–31. https://doi.org/10.31992/0869-3617-2021-30-5-21-31
Teaching Advisory Board in Tertiary Education of the Ministry of Education. (2018). 外国语言文学类教学质量国家标准 [National Standards for Teaching Quality in Foreign Languages and Literature]. Higher Education Press.
Thomas, C. G. (2021). Research methodology and scientific writing. Springer.
Uhl, P., Steinlen, A., & Piske, T. (2023). Elementary school first graders’ acquisition of productive L2 French grammar in regular and CLIL programs. Languages, 8(2), Article 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020138
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Zanoni, F. (2021). Students’ view on CLIL: Perceived benefits and limitation. EL.LE, 10(2), 261–278. https://doi.org/10.30687/ELLE/2280-6792/2021/02/005
Zhang, F. (2024). Contrast between Chinese and Western cultural values and its effects on English learning in China. Trans/Form/Ação, 47(4), Article e0240062. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-3173.2024.v47.n4.e0240062
Zhang, J., Ismail, H., & Sulaiman, N. A. (2024). Teachers’ classroom roles under CLIL: A ten-year systematic review. World Journal of English Language, 15(3), 35–49. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v15n3p35
Zhang, Y. (2022). The application of CLIL approach in EFL writing course integrated with ideological and political elements. Journal of Advances in Education and Philosophy, 6(12), 568–572. https://doi.org/10.36348/jaep.2022.v06i12.002
Zhang, Y. (2023). A Corpus-based NLP Study on Code-switching in English Majors’ CLIL Classroom. Journal of Intelligence and Knowledge Engineering, 1(2), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.62517/jike.202304206
Zheng, J. (2023). A comparison of CLIL teaching in China and the United Kingdom—Taking the English language teaching materials of the first grade 6 of SEPE as an example. Transactions on Comparative Education, 5(8), 40–44. https://doi.org/10.23977/trance.2023.050807
Hengzhi Hu is a research fellow and language teacher with a PhD in Teaching English as a Second Language. His research interests include bilingual/multilingual education, innovations in language teaching and learning, language assessment, and curriculums and pedagogies. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5232-913X.
Harwati Hashim is the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, with a PhD in Teaching English as a Second Language. Her research interests include innovations in language teaching and learning, teaching English as a second language, and technology-assisted language teaching. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8817-427X