Implementing CLIL Mathematics in Taiwan: Curriculum Use, Task Demand, and Instructional Challenges

Abstract

This study examined the implementation of a first-grade Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) mathematics curriculum through three interrelated dimensions: curriculum use, task cognitive demand, and linguistic and cognitive challenges. A mixed-method case study was conducted with four teachers from two Taiwanese elementary schools implementing the same CLIL mathematics curriculum. Data included classroom recordings, instructional materials, and semi-structured interviews. Mathematical tasks were analyzed for curriculum use and cognitive demand, while classroom and interview data were qualitatively analyzed to identify linguistic and cognitive challenges during instruction. Results showed that teachers relied predominantly on textbook-based tasks, with relatively limited adaptation and creation. Procedures with Connections constituted the most frequent task type, indicating that higher-cognitive-demand tasks primarily involved conceptual connections within structured procedures, whereas Doing Mathematics tasks requiring non-routine reasoning, strategy exploration, and justification were rare. Linguistic and cognitive challenges were closely intertwined, particularly in maintaining linguistic precision in mathematical meaning-making and sustaining cognitive demand through mathematical interaction in an additional language. Teachers’ curriculum use and classroom enactment appeared to be influenced by instructional experience, linguistic confidence, and task demands. These findings suggest that CLIL mathematics implementation involves ongoing negotiation among curriculum resources, mathematical task demands, and linguistic support. By examining these dimensions together, the study provides a context-specific account of how Content, Cognition, and Communication interact during CLIL mathematics curriculum implementation, with implications for curriculum design and teacher development.