The Potentials and Limitations of Applying Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Approach to English Teaching for Medical Students

Abstract

The Faculty of Medicine, the University of Mataram, Indonesia, renewed its curriculum to teach English to aide Indonesian university graduates to enter the competitive international job markets. Adopting this new curriculum will affect the provision of teaching and learning activities. This paper attempts to justify whether the use of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) would fit within the current English curriculum. A comprehensive review of a literature was conducted to identify barriers and facilitators for the implementation of CLIL in higher education settings. Results of the literature review were then used to evaluate the potential strengths and limitations of the recently renewed curriculum when implemented at the Faculty of Medicine. Availing of curriculum and learning materials has the potential to sustain CLIL implementation in the Faculty of Medicine. However, factors that may impinge the successful implementation include: lecturers’ language, content pedagogical competences and the need to employ differentiated instructional modules. An ongoing professional development for lecturers prior to curriculum implementation could address these limitations.