Current Trends in ELT and Affordances of the Inverted CLIL Approach

Abstract

The aim of the study is to review current trends in English Language Teaching (ELT) technologies and methodologies to analyze affordances of an approach proposed by Finardi (in press) and called the Inverted CLIL approach. With that aim, the study reviews ELT technologies and methodologies in general and the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach with the use of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and the Inverted Classroom approach in particular. A teaching project based on the Inverted CLIL approach to teach Sustainability through English as a foreign language is elaborated as an example. Results of the study suggest that technologies have a crucial role in language teaching and should be critically incorporated in ELT methodologies. Moreover, the analysis of the Inverted CLIL approach suggests that it represents a relevant alternative for ELT and a good example of the incorporation of technology in current ELT methodologies.