Section 3: The Ideal CLIL Teacher

To teach using the CLIL methodology is not an easy task: you have to plan accurately not only the content you are about to teach, but also the language you want your students to use in class. And this is exhausting at the beginning of your CLIL experience.

Before you begin to teach within the CLIL methodology, it is advisable that you reflect on your own deepest feelings and believes about how a good CLIL teacher should be. What qualities should the CLIL excellent teacher have upon your point of view?

The next statements give you some clues about such qualities of a CLIL teacher. Feel free to add whatever extra statement you deem necessary.

CLIL Teacher Profile
1. CLIL teaching is not traditional language teaching or ordinary subject teaching but a different approach that takes from both.
2. A CLIL teacher should have a good command of both the foreign language and the content.
3. Teachers have to provide the students with strategies to develop thinking and speaking skills.
4. A CLIL teacher should have enough strategies in order to achieve an inclusive learning process.
5. CLIL teachers should use the CLIL specific methodology.
6. It is very important to plan all the language students will need beforehand.
7. CLIL teachers should have a basic knowledge of the skills for language reception and language production.
8. The use of visuals is crucial.
9. Teachers should consider that communication is more important than grammar accuracy.
10. Students should have an active role in their learning process.
11. Teachers should provide activities which allow pupils to be aware of the cultural differences.
12. CLIL teachers should keep in mind that accuracy in content learning can be achieved through the use of both “traditional methodologies” and new technologies.
13. A good CLIL teacher knows how to relate content, language and thinking skills in order to help the students to improve their knowledge.
14. CLIL teachers should create a good learning atmosphere in order to build up the learners confidence allowing them to produce.
15. A CLIL teacher should teach the content subject according to a methodology which gives the student an active role in the learning process.

Exercise 1


Take one pen and one sheet of paper. From the 15 statements above (and the extra ones you may have added) choose only nine of them, the ones you think are the most important. After that, rank them: the first one will be the top quality of a CLIL teacher for you, and so on.

This kind of exercise that implies categorization of factors is a high order thinking task. This means that it is a demanding activity that, when used with your students, works better with them grouped in pairs or groups of 3. This also makes them talk to each other and share information.

You can make this exercise more visual using a Diamond 9 Diagram: it helps to prioritise and categorise key factors. In a Diamond 9 activity, participants are given a list of issues or questions. They are asked to select 9 of the most important items and place them on a diamond shaped grid.

  • The most important factors are placed towards the top of the Diamond 9.
  • The least important factors are placed towards the bottom.
  • Factors of equal importance are placed in the same row.
  • Each factor can be colour coded for further sophistication.

Diamond 9


David Marsh and the CLIL Teacher Profile

In this video, David Marsh reflects on his views upon the CLIL teacher profile and provides some suitable topics for discussion. You will also find some ideas of the kind of support that CLIL teachers need at their schools, together with some reasons for the failure of CLIL teaching. Enjoy it!

Exercise 2

After watching the video, check your diamond 9 again to take into account what David Marsh says about good CLIL teaching, and rewrite it if necessary adding new statements.


The video above is part of a longer interview to David Marsh. You can access the whole interview clicking here.