Advantages and challenges of teaching CLIL

Since 2002 the European Commission has required every European citizen speaks at least two languages in addition to their native tongue. In order to fulfil this stipulation it is recommended to accustom students from a very early stage on with foreign languages. Teaching CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) in primary schools is an appropriate strategy recommended by experts of the European Commission to provide pupils with the necessary basics and competences for a bilingual/multilingual education. This study gives an insight into CLIL-practice in everyday primary school-life in Lower Austria. It investigates the extent to which this educational method is used and describes the greatest advantages and possible challenges instructors face implementing it. Furthermore, it shows correlations between specific CLIL-features and offers figures that suggest the future development of CLIL and its application in Austria.