Eco-CLIL as an Integrated Approach to Sustainable Education - The Case of Austrian High Secondary Schools

The present Master’s thesis investigates the application of CLIL methodology through an ecological approach in high secondary agricultural education. The will for conducting this study has its origins in the Ecostories CLIL training project the author attended in 2025 which fostered in her a deep interest in innovative educational practices and thus, it constituted a strong foundation of the activities the author promoted for the investigation. The study is centred on a two-week teaching experience carried out in the Land of Styria, Austria. During the internship, the researcher spent 32 hours in an agricultural vocational school class, acting as an English language expert. The primary aim was to promote English as lingua franca within a vocational and content-based context. A range of meaningful activities and task-based practices were designed and implemented according to CLIL principles in order to develop language awareness and language skills in English. These activities integrated language learning with subject-specific content related to nutrition and sustainability. Indeed, particular attention was paid to the ecological dimension of learning, emphasising contextualised, authentic and meaningful processes. Data were collected through direct observation and questionnaires. The study highlights the potential of CLIL to enhance linguistic competence and disciplinary understanding. Moreover, the findings verify that an ecological CLIL approach can effectively foster active engagement and meaningful language use in different educational contexts.