THE IMPACT OF CLIL IMPLEMENTATION ON LEBANESE STUDENTS' ATTITUDES AND PERFORMANCE

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been verified as an effective pedagogical approach by a lot of research studies carried out in many European countries. However, modest attempts have been made to prove its efficacy in Lebanon, where English Language is taught in many schools and universities as a first foreign language. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of CLIL application on the academic achievement of Lebanese students and on their self-efficacy and attitude toward it. The participants (n=21) were first year university students enrolled in the faculty of pedagogy at the Lebanese University and majoring in teaching Math at elementary schools. Quantitative as well as qualitative data were collected by means of two questionnaires, pre-post tests and reflection logs. Descriptive statistics were calculated and a series of t-tests were conducted in order to address the questions raised in the study. The results of the study showed positive attitudes of students toward the implementation of CLIL and they revealed the efficacy of CLIL as a pedagogical approach in enhancing students' self-efficacy and academic performance. Further research is recommended in order to determine the extent of CLIL effectiveness in other university contexts and across different majors and courses.