Innovation in Language Learning

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is not considered a new phenomenon in the educational process any more. The approach is employed widely at different levels of education in a lot of countries and different contexts. As it has mostly been promoted as an advantageous approach that enhances at the same time learners’ language acquisition (L2 proficiency) as well as professional work-related knowledge, the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (EASS) also applied it already five years ago.

This paper describes the complexity of the development of the implementation of CLIL (at both tertiary and vocational level of education) in an institutional establishment where students in the field of internal security are taught. It discusses the very first steps of introducing the term CLIL in the institution until five years later when CLIL has already been integrated in curricula. The article also presents supporting facts from a survey carried out among EASS students, showing the disadvantages and advantages of CLIL from students’ perspective, as well as what methods they prefer and consider more efficient, the drawbacks and difficulties of implementing the approach.