Towards the pedagogical validation of science Cefr-aligned literacy descriptors in secondary CLIL classroom interaction

Insights from physics teaching episodes

Bibliographic Data

ID21820105
AuthorsPilar Gerns (0000-0002-1754-5395, Universidad Internacional De La Rioja), Sami Lehesvuori (0000-0003-3889-5279, University of Jyväskylä), Dorothea Bagalová (0009-0007-0239-4639, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra), Josephine Moate (0000-0003-3530-4373, University of Jyväskylä)
Year2026
Publication date2026-07-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueApplied Linguistics Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1868-6303 • E-ISSN: 1868-6311
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/applirev-2026-0103
OpenAlexW7167733850
LanguageEN
References cited27

This study aims to pedagogically validate CEFR-aligned science descriptors, in particular, contributing towards physics literacy descriptors. It explores how disciplinary literacies align with the pedagogical talk and actions of a CLIL Physics teacher, drawing on Dalton-Puffer’s construct of Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs). CDFs have proven useful for identifying subject-specific language demands in L2 content subjects and serve as the foundation for a heuristic assessment tool for CEFR-disciplinary literacy descriptors. Using classroom interaction data, the study examines the applicability of CEFR-aligned disciplinary literacy descriptors – originally developed for assessing students’ writing – to teacher talk in whole-class teaching episodes. The study pursues two aims: first, to provide qualitative insights into how the CDFs Define, Describe and Explain are embedded in pedagogical meaning-making in a seventh-grade bilingual CLIL Physics lesson, using two complementary analytical approaches; and second, to explore how these insights can inform and refine the heuristic tool for CEFR-aligned science literacy descriptors. The findings contribute to the pedagogical validation and further development of the heuristic assessment tool, strengthening its relevance and applicability for classroom interaction in secondary CLIL Physics education

Applied linguistics · Construct (python library) · Discipline · Heuristic · Literacy · Relevance (law) · Scientific Literacy · Science Education and Pedagogy · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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