Abstract:

Research and teaching at the University are trading the path towards integrating fields which traditionally were separate in the past. This convergence process is having a major impact on education and is leading to creating new methods that help teachers to adapt their practices to the (real) needs of the students and the society in general.

Innovation is causing a deep impact on the way in which we teach and learn and if we want to satisfy the needs of the Knowledge Society we have to revise our teaching strategies. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has emerged as an extraordinary tool because it can satisfy the demands of two fundamental environments: on one hand, a wider society that needs qualified professionals who are able to communicate in several languages; on the other hand, the University, that needs new approaches which permit to develop good teaching practices to fulfil the requirements of this new social scenario.

The convergence of content and language can have an extraordinary improvement in the learning process and teachers must be aware of the potential changes, gains and hazards that this process can have.

We have begun a CLIL experience at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Cádiz and in the last year we have offered a minor on International Business Management in the Business and Administration Degree. This minor consist of five subjects which are taught completely in English. This paper examines the experience in one of the subjects of this minor: International Accounting and Auditing. We offer here an explanatory study of the first year in which we analyse the main problems and hazards that the integration of content and language can have in the teaching process.

Our results highlight the importance of three main factors: the need for sustained and unconditioned institutional support, the need to work together with a language teacher and the need to change the teaching strategy.

Keywords:

CLIL, business degree, teaching good practices.