March 2026 · CLIL
Academic language functions are the cognitive-linguistic operations students perform across subjects: classifying, comparing, hypothesizing, evaluating, sequencing, defining, and describing cause and effect. Teaching these functions explicitly gives CLIL students the language tools they need to think and express ideas in English across the curriculum.
Classifying: "X belongs to the category of..." "X can be classified as..." "There are three types of..." Comparing: "X is similar to Y in that..." "Unlike X, Y..." "Both X and Y..." "X is more/less... than Y." Hypothesizing: "If X happens, then Y will..." "X might/could/may..." "It's possible that..." Defining: "X is a type of Y that..." "X refers to..." "X means..."
Cause and effect: "X causes/leads to/results in Y." "Y is caused by/is the result of X." "Because of X, Y..." Evaluating: "The most important factor is..." "X is effective/ineffective because..." "The strengths of X are... The limitations are..." Sequencing: "First... Then... After that... Finally..." "The first step is... followed by..."
Science: "The experiment shows that..." "The variable that changed was..." "The results suggest..." "We can conclude that..." History: "The main cause of X was..." "As a consequence..." "X led to..." "During this period..." Geography: "X is located in..." "The population of X is..." "The climate is characterized by..." Math: "X is equal to..." "If we add/subtract/multiply..." "The formula shows..."
Display language frames on classroom walls or provide pocket reference cards. Model the functions explicitly: "Watch how I use comparison language — I'm going to say 'unlike' and 'whereas'." Practice functions in isolation before integrating: give students data and ask them only to classify, then only to compare, then to do both.
Use graphic organizers that map to language functions: Venn diagrams for comparing, flow charts for sequencing, T-charts for cause/effect, mind maps for classifying. The visual organizer supports both thinking and language production.
A2: Simple frames ("X is bigger than Y," "First..., then..."). B1: Compound structures ("Although X, Y," "X leads to Y, which causes Z"). B2: Complex hedging and evaluation ("It could be argued that...", "While X has some merit, Y is more convincing because..."). C1: Sophisticated academic discourse ("The evidence overwhelmingly suggests...", "Notwithstanding the limitations of this approach...").
Include language function use in your assessment criteria. A CLIL rubric might have: content accuracy (40%), use of academic language functions (30%), communication clarity (20%), participation (10%). Observe and note which functions students use confidently and which need more practice.