Content and Language Integrated Learning for Teaching the Theoretical Language of Sociology of Education to Preservice Teachers: A Quasi-Experimental Study

In this study, the principles of content and language integrated learning (CLIL), used for teaching a foreign language, were applied to teaching a theoretical language and the sociology of education (SOE). A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent group was employed, and 118 students aged 20-24 years were recruited from a teacher education program at a Taiwanese university and assigned to one of two groups: the experimental group comprised 58 students, and the control group comprised 60 students. The experimental group taught SOE integrating CLIL principles, including strengthening the connection to specific terminology, mind mapping involving communication and problem solving, interactive response systems, and team discussions on the terminology in context. The preservice teachers' final examination was used to establish validity, and a self-developed questionnaire was collected and analyzed to understand the participants' perceptions of SOE learning and the integration of CLIL into teaching. A t test and correlation analysis were applied to the examination scores. The t test verified that the scores for the two groups differed significantly (t = - 2.383, p =.019), and the mean of the score for the experimental class (= 79.81) was higher than that of the control class (= 75.08). Moreover, the mean total score of the self-developed questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale was 3.86. The factor analysis results demonstrated that three factors had eigenvalues > 1: "enhancing knowledge" (Cronbach's alpha =.92), "learning recognition" (Cronbach's alpha =.91), and "acceptance attitude" (Cronbach's alpha =.73). A Pearson r analysis demonstrated moderate correlations among the three factors. The results revealed that integrating the principles of CLIL into the teaching of SOE had a significant effect on preservice teachers' learning of the theoretical language. Moreover, they positively perceived the enhancement of SOE knowledge, recognition, and acceptance through CLIL. This study highlights that CLIL can be applied to the teaching of a theoretical language and contribute to our understanding of SOE learning.