Versión de HTML Básico
revista
de la Universidad Latina de México
45
states, learning does not depend solely on the facts we
just mentioned since the learners’ characteristics play an
important role in acquisition, too. This means that those who
do not achieve the learning of certain contents are likely to
have the same problem when studying the corresponding
topic in their L1. This condition may be more repetitive in
secondary school than in elementary school, especially with
subjects such as Physics or Mathematics which students
find particularly difficult and contents require both a high
linguistic level and a good background on the topic. To
handle this situation, most schools (at least in Mexico) teach
Science, Social Studies and Arts which enable students to
use a wider range of vocabulary and expressions in order to
offer more possibilities to make the most of supplementary
materials and technology.
Since culture is considered as one of the key elements in
CLIL, as well as content, cognition and communication,
learning through a different language should be crucial
to understand cultural diversity. To get this objective, the
contents to be included need to be carefully considered
in addition to the use of authentic materials which are
important tools to achieve pluricultural understanding
(Commission of the European Communities, 2008).
We have studied that languages do not exist in isolation;
they represent an important cultural feature of certain
regions and are a fundamental part of the identity of their
speakers. Therefore, we consider that some subjects which
are definitely overly related to the cultural contents of a
country or region should be taught in L1. This is the case
of the History of a country lesson because attempting to