Picture a tapestry. Examine it closely, and one sees a stunning variety of colors and textures in the weave. Step back and details begin to emerge. Step back even further and one sees the tapestry as a whole, how parts are distinct and yet combine to create a cohesive image. This is the metaphor to keep in mind when reading Dalton-Puffer’s work on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in Austrian lower- and upper-secondary classrooms. The rich tapestry woven here provides a detailed and comprehensive picture of content development and language use in CLIL classrooms. The discussion of key concepts, such as initiation, response, and feedback sequences (IRF), conversation analysis, repair, and constructivist learning, compose the warp, whereas the description of the research and findings compose the weft of the tapestry.
In this book, Dalton-Puffer attempts to answer two main research questions: “What patterns of language use and language forms are characteristic of a CLIL lesson?” and “What are the implications of these findings for (a) the formulation of an explicit underlying model of learning in CLIL and (b) pedagogical and didactic decisions in the classroom” (pp. 11–12). To describe the characteristics of a CLIL lesson, Dalton-Puffer explores the following: (a) IRF sequences as facilitators of the “collaborative construction of knowledge” (p. 90); (b) classroom questions that serve as “structuring devices to drive the talk forward” (p. 123); (c) the presence or, more accurately, the lack of defining, explaining, hypothesizing, and predicting language; (d) directive speech acts within the curricular constraints and the specific nature of the Austrian CLIL classroom; and (e) repair as “a complex activity co-constructed by all the participants and informed by a variety of contextual factors” (p. 256). Dalton-Puffer then relates the findings discussed in chapters 4–8 to second language learning theories and communicative competence (as defined by Canale & Swain, Reference Canale and Swain1980).
This book serves as a reference to those new to classroom language analysis by providing excellent literature reviews of areas related to SLA and CLIL and by presenting a historical perspective of classroom talk research and CLIL. In addition to this extensive literature base, Dalton-Puffer provides developing researchers with a model study that explores discourse data to their fullest extent. Quantitative and qualitative analyses allow the reader to follow the threads of Dalton-Puffer’s findings, which makes it possible to appreciate the richness and complexity of CLIL classroom discourse. For those primarily familiar with current issues of teaching English language learners using sheltered content instruction, this book offers a vivid picture of the interaction between content and language, between students and teachers, and between learning and context.
In addition to providing developing researchers with rich resources, Dalton-Puffer’s work offers something for experienced classroom discourse researchers in (a) the reexamination of specific threads of theory and practice; (b) the combination of what she calls top-down and bottom-up perspectives such as oral practices, discourse grammars, conversation analysis, speech acts, and genre analysis in her research; and (c) the way she situates CLIL research in current SLA theory and second language practice. Of particular importance are her explorations of the role of IRF sequences in CLIL classrooms and the relevance of sociocultural theory to the language-content interaction and the participatory nature of CLIL classrooms.
In sum, Dalton-Puffer’s tapestry is worth viewing, whether the reader is new to classroom language analysis or looking for a comprehensive image of CLIL classrooms. She weaves a complex picture of CLIL and situates the work within the context of second language discourse research and second language learning literature.
