UDP Internacional

Thursday August 14th, 2025

María José González, Director of the General English Program, participated as a speaker at the World CLIL Conference 2025, one of the leading international meetings on language teaching through content-based learning.

The event took place on June 13 and 14 in Maynooth, Ireland, and was organized by Maynooth University, Post Primary Languages ​​Ireland, and Queen’s University Belfast.

Under the theme “CLIL Connects: The Role of CLIL Across Disciplines, Supporting and Developing Multiliteracies, Plurilingual, and Pluricultural Competencies,” the conference brought together specialists and educators from various regions of the world to share experiences, research, and methodologies related to the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach.

The Director’s presentation was the only one from South America, which provided a window into the work being carried out by the UDP in pedagogical innovation in English teaching. Her presentation addressed the experience of integrating the language into disciplinary courses at the School of Health and Dentistry and the School of Medicine, using the CLIL methodology, a pioneering initiative nationwide.

The proposal outlined the design and implementation of a pilot program that integrates English into courses in programs such as Kinesiology, Obstetrics, and Medical Technology, without overloading the curriculum. To achieve this, authentic content linked to the professions is used, allowing students to learn English in a meaningful context related to their future professional careers.

María José González emphasized the importance of participating in these meetings to learn about other institutional experiences. “They allow us to compare ourselves with institutions with more experience in the use of innovative methodologies such as CLIL, access recent research, and adapt models that have already proven effective,” she said.

“In Chile, learning English remains a major challenge, despite its high demand and importance. Looking at established experiences gives us tools to improve our students’ English proficiency, making it more useful and connected to their professional fields,” the academic emphasized.

Participation in the conference allowed us to learn about established experiences from universities in Europe, North America, and Asia, especially in areas such as collaborative work between English teachers and teachers of other disciplines, and the use of formative assessment strategies to promote independent language learning. These elements, according to the Director, can significantly strengthen the UDP General English Program.