CLIL Materials for Deep Learning and Responsive Teaching in Kazakhstan

This chapter explores the rationale behind the design of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teaching and learning materials. The materials are model units for Physics developed for the Kazakhstan trilingual (English, Russian, and Kazakh) secondary-level educational system. Target learners are 14–15 years old with an A2 to B1 English level. The production of these model CLIL materials followed on from an evaluation of textbooks designed by a Kazakhstani university to use in English-medium classes so that the materials could be used to support further development of the textbooks informed by CLIL pedagogy. The chapter looks at how the CLIL materials seek to address two key problems: How can CLIL materials help drive deep learning? How can CLIL materials support responsive teaching? Responsive teaching refers to how teachers respond to learning needs as they arise within the flow of a single lesson. The concept of responsive teaching is a crucial element in the shift from a transmissive towards a transformative model of teaching and learning, as encapsulated by the concept of sustainable learning. Deep learning goes hand-in-hand with this concept of sustainable learning, through an emphasis on active and collaborative learning processes, and through how these processes support learners to develop an ability to reflect on their learning. In addition, the chapter considers the constraints and opportunities involved in designing model CLIL materials for a top-down CLIL context.