Abstract:

The development of linguistic skills is of paramount importance in the students' learning process and in teacher training. As Portugal is increasingly becoming a tourist destination of choice, training/training students and teachers in mastering a second language is a priority, covering the Human Interaction Skills developed within the scope of project work. The implementation of the Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) methodology in professional courses, presented here under the title Talk like a Pro, has the following objectives:
(1) to promote the learning of the English language in an integrated way (orality, writing, reading and comprehension),
(2) to develop of communication in the area of ​​training,
(3) promote multicultural and multilingual learning.

The project sessions are organized by the teachers in charge, taking into account the curriculum of the training area. These sessions are carried out in a practical way, ensuring the involvement and participation of all students. The activities arising from the implementation of the pilot experience allowed that, at the end of the school year, students carried out activities in contact with society, with pedagogical supervision, activities carried out exclusively in English. CLIL sessions take place weekly, using the Work by Project methodology, thus ensuring dynamic sessions adapted to the characteristics of the group/class. In order to achieve maximum efficiency, the themes presented in the sessions fit in with the students' training area, thus allowing for contextualized learning. In this sense, we resort to practical approaches such as simulations, videos, surveys, pair and group activities. The originality of the project comes from the fact that we implement a double curriculum, that is, in Portuguese and in English, in a professional course. Project work allows the development of skills such as communication and problem solving. Allied to the learning of a second language, critical thinking, synthesis mentality and creativity are also developed, using exploratory divergent thinking and integrative convergent thinking.

The implementation of this project is divided into three phases:
Phase 1: Alignment of the training team and training in CLIL;
Phase 2: Pilot experience of the CLIL methodology in a vocational education class;
Phase 3: Expansion of the project to three classes of professional education.

Each of these phases was subject to monitoring, evaluation and readaptation by the team involved, such as teachers/trainers and the Projects Department. This psycho-pedagogical initiative was part of the installation stage of the Pole of the UNESCO Chair in Youth, Education and Society, in the Portuguese educational institution in which the project presented here takes place. Within the scope of the Internationalization Plan, it is planned to train more teachers/trainers and to extend the project to other areas of professional training, such as Commerce Technician, Sales and Marketing Technician and Sports Technician. In addition, the creation of a CLIL project in Spanish is planned. The results of this project are disseminated through social networks, in addition to the fact that the students involved in the project will influence their colleagues in the school space and future students of the institution and entities that are part of the Cátedra UNESCO for Youth, Education and Society network. The implementation stages, the achieved objectives and the achieved products are presented.

Keywords:

Problem solving, linguistic skills, learning process, multilingual learning.