4. The 4 Skills and Assessment

In this module, we focus on how language is developed and used in the CLIL classroom through the four key skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These skills are essential not only for language acquisition, but also for supporting understanding of subject content. Effective CLIL teaching requires a careful balance, ensuring that learners are challenged while still feeling confident and supported.

In this introduction, we explore the role of the four skills in primary CLIL and how they should be introduced progressively. We focus in particular on the importance of starting with listening and speaking, before gradually integrating reading and writing according to learners’ readiness. The aim is to help you design lessons that develop language skills step by step, creating achievable tasks that support both communication and content learning without overwhelming your students.