Leonzini Luisella (2013) Challenges in the re-distribution of the teacher’s roles: responsibilities and competences of the CLIL teacher. in Gotti, M, Nickenig,C. (eds.), Multilinguismo, CLIL e Innovazione Didattica, pp. 141-164, Libera Università di Bolzano

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explore the role/s, responsibilities, and competences the content teacher should be endowed with and activate when s/he engages in the challenging experience of the CLIL journey. By promoting negotiation and flexibility, the CLIL approach triggers both learner and teacher motivation and activation, it contributes to developing learners’ content acquisition and linguistic competence and teachers’ expertise. Language becomes a precious tool to improve learners’ receptive and productive skills as well as to prompt subject-oriented acquisition and performance. Teachers become a precious resource and key figures who are given the responsibility to build a dynamic and interactive environment aimed at triggering learners’ proficiency. In this paper I will examine how two secondary schools in Trieste have experienced their ten-year CLIL projects. I will base my analysis on how two physics teachers, each belonging to one of the schools mentioned, have been trained, how hard it had been for them to experiment new methodologies, and to find suitable materials.