Title:
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Bruneian secondary teachers' lived experiences of teaching science through EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) : a Gadamerian analysis applying key concepts from CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)
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This research focuses on what it means to teach Science through the medium of English for a purposive sample of Bruneian secondary school teachers. A review of existing literature revealed two significant aspects. The first aspect is the importance of conceptualizing the teaching of content through the medium of another language that is different from the students' home or first language. It is established that implications of such situation calls for teachers of content to be literacy and language responsive. In the case of this study, this means that Science teachers should have awareness and understanding of literacy and language demands posed on students who are English language learners, and for Science teachers to plan for integration that addresses both content and language issues. Furthermore, less is known about the teaching of Science through the medium of English in Brunei. This presents itself as the second aspect. This study thus utilize the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) model (Coyle, Hood and Marsh, 2010) as a framework of integration that advocates a consideration of 4 aspects in planning for teaching i.e. C-Cognition, C-Communication, C-Content and CCulture. I perceive this model as being literacy and language responsive because of its potential capacity for integrating important elements of subject teaching and learning i.e. development of content knowledge, thinking and language. Therefore, in an attempt to gain a nuanced understanding of what it means to teach Science through the medium of English through investigating teachers' lived experiences, hermeneutic phenomenology, specifically Hans-Georg Gadamer's concepts of 'conversation' and 'fusion of horizons', is used as a strategy of inquiry. Data on teachers' lived experiences were collected through interviews and classroom observations. These are presented as teacher stories organized around themes emerging from working with the data. Through 'conversation' with the data, evidence of literacy and language responsiveness was found in the teachers' lived experiences. It was also found that the Science teachers' cultural view of Science influences the teachers' capacity to integrate the 4Cs of the CLIL model. Although the sample of this study is small to make generalizations about Science teachers in Brunei, it opens up a line of inquiry that may inform reform and research for policy makers, school leaders and practitioners.
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