The importance of CLIL in language teaching cannot be underestimated. Many institutions of higher education have already decided on introducing courses in languages other than Polish. For Polish people CLIL will undoubtedly become a key concept to facilitate professional functioning in a foreign language environment. This is possible because of political and economic changes including:

1) Since 1989 Polish law has enabled private people to run an institution of higher education. In order to be competitive these private institutions provide new ways of studying, one of them being studying in a second language.

2) With rapidly growing Internet access to all world educational resources students have an opportunity of getting acquainted with books, magazines, journals, scientific reports often in a second language.

3). It is easier to refer to materials in the original language rather than translate, edit, and eventually publish any new books, articles or journals.

4) The introduction of exchange programmes for students has led to growing mobility and increasing need for knowing a second language.

5) Poland must improve the learning of European languages in accordance with the European Commission’s Language Objectives. As it is not possible to have two or three language courses due to restrictions in the curriculum, CLIL may become the only way to master a second language in a respective field.

6) Polish people have been given opportunity to find employment in other European countries and CLIL helps students support their professional development and prepares well for functioning in other than native environment.

7) Students have been given an opportunity of getting various language and professional certificates as well as foreign university degrees. As most exams are in second language the need for instruction in second language emerged considerably, especially in professional education.

Benefits of CLIL include:

- improved fluency through focusing on content rather than accuracy

- greater awareness of the learner’s linguistic needs

- use of a authentic roughly tuned input

- communication in complex language rather than grammar drills

- appeals to a variety of learning styles

- students subconsciously acquire such skills as speaking, reading, writing.

- students are intrinsically motivated for language learning.

- encourages cooperation between content and language teacher

- through working with meaningful input, which is above students actual knowledge, students develop higher-level thinking skills

- students who have been exposed to CLIL during the university course will more willingly participate in student exchange programmes.

Marcin Jazwiec
The Academy of Humanities and Economics in Lódz

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