Cover not available

Article In: Review of Cognitive Linguistics: Online-First Articles

The effects of CLIL programmes on L2 conceptualisation and language anxiety

Insights from cognitive linguistics

 | University of Córdoba
 | University of Córdoba
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
The present study explores whether participation in CLIL programmes has an influence on the way in which the additional language of the programme is cognitively construed, and whether these construals are associated with language anxiety. The analysis explores orientational and temperature based metaphors as embodied representations of the additional language (English). The methodological design consisted of a cross sectional study with a sample of 111 pre service teachers. The instrument gathered sociodemographic data, preferred metaphorical conceptualisations of the L2, and levels of anxiety from the s FLCAS. The results showed that CLIL learners tended to choose more positively valenced, embodied and proximity based construals of the L2 than their non CLIL counterparts, who opted for more external or negatively valenced metaphorical constructions. These patterns were associated with language anxiety, since internal and warmer conceptualisations of the L2 were linked to lower anxiety, and they were the preferred option among CLIL learners.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework
    • 2.1CLIL in Spain: Models, effectiveness and the Andalusian model. An educational approach shaping L2 experience in spain
    • 2.2Cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics as foundations for L2 conceptualisation
    • 2.3Brain, emotions and Cognitive Linguistics
    • 2.4From the metaphorical frame to the Brain: Basic concepts of cognitive linguistics and research methods
  • 3.Method
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1RQ1. To what extent does participation in CLIL programmes shape preservice teachers’ cognitive conceptualisation of a second language through image-schemas, and how is this related to levels of anxiety toward the language?
    • 4.2RQ2. To what extent does participation in CLIL programmes shape preservice teachers’ cognitive conceptualisation of a second language through embodied temperature-based metaphors, and how is this related to levels of anxiety toward the language?
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Data availability statement
  • AI statement
  • Author queries
  • References
References (58)
References
Alonso-Belmonte, Isabel, & Fernández-Agüero, María. (2018). The C of cognition in CLIL teacher education: Some insights from classroom-based research. In Kırkgöz, Yasemin & Kenan Dikilitaş (Eds.), Key issues in English for Specific Purposes in Higher Education (pp. 305–321). Springer International Publishing. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Arnaiz-Castro, Patricia, Gómez-Parra, María Elena, & Espejo-Mohedano, Roberto. (2022). An exploration of the impact of bilingualism on mobility, employability, and intercultural competence: The Colombian case. Studia Anglica Posnaniensia, 57(1), 179–197. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Arzouan, Yossi, Goldstein, Abraham, & Faust, Miriam. (2007). Brainwaves are stethoscopes: ERP correlates of novel metaphor comprehension. Brain Research, 1160, 69–81. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baiocco, Laura, Pfeifer, Valeria A., & Lai, Vicky Tzuyin. (2025). Metaphor processing is influenced by stimulus emotionality and task demands: Evidence from ERPs. Brain and Language, 261, 105530. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barbero García, María Isabel, Vila Abad, Enrique, & Holgado Tello, Francisco P. (2015). Psicometría. Editorial Sanz y Torres.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Botes, Elouise, Westhuizen, Lindie van der, Dewaele, Jean-Marc, Macintyre, Peter, & Greiff, Samuel. (2022). Validating the short-form foreign language classroom anxiety scale. Applied Linguistics, 43(5), 1006–1033. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chan, Kevin, Yeung, Pui-sze, & Chung, Kevin Kien Hoa. (2025). The effects of foreign language anxiety on English word reading among Chinese students at risk of English learning difficulties. Reading and Writing, 38, 273–291. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chong, Kai Hao, Price, Jessica, Irwin, Derek, Dowens, Margaret Gillon, & Leong, Christine Xiang Ru. (2025). Language anxiety in EFL and ESL academic environments. Asian Englishes, 27(3), 766–782. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Coyle, Do, Hood, Philip, & Marsh, David. (2010). CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Demjén, Zsófia, & Semino, Elena. (2020). Metaphor, metonymy and framing in discourse. In Anna De Fina & Alexandra Georgakopoulou (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of discourse studies (pp. 213–234). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Díez Velasco, Olga Isabel. (2002). Metaphor, metonymy and image-schemas: an analysis of conceptual interaction patterns. Journal of English Studies, 3, 47–63. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Feddermann, Maja, Möller, Jens, & Baumert, Jürgen. (2021). Effects of CLIL on second language learning: Disentangling selection, preparation, and CLIL-effects. Learning and Instruction, 74, 101459. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández, Eva M., & Smith Cairns, Helen. (2018). The handbook of psycholinguistics. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández-Agüero, María, & Alonso-Belmonte, Isabel. (2023). Cognition in CLIL at Pre-primary level. In Otto, Ana & Beatriz Cortina-Pérez (Eds.), Handbook of CLIL in pre-primary education (pp. 63–77). Springer International Publishing. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García-Marín, Lourdes, Gómez-Parra, María Elena, & Huertas-Abril, Cristina Aránzazu. (2022). Physiological responses to anxiety and gender differences in second language oral performance. El Guiniguada, 31, 41–53. [URL]
Gómez-Parra, María Elena. (2020). Measuring intercultural learning through CLIL. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 9(1), 43–56. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2021). Educación bilingüe en la infancia. El enfoque PETaL. Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gómez-Parra, María Elena, & Espejo-Mohedano, Roberto. (2021). Percepción de los estudiantes españoles sobre la utilidad esperada de la educación bilingüe. British Council. [URL]
Harmer, Jeremy. (2015). The practice of English Language Teaching (Fifth Edition). Pearson.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hijazo-Gascón, Alberto. (2011). Las metáforas conceptuales como estrategias comunicativas y de aprendizaje: Una aplicación didáctica de la lingüística cognitiva. Hispania, 94(1), 142–154. [URL].
Hijazo-Gascón, Alberto, & Llopis-García, Reyes. (2019). Applied cognitive linguistics and foreign language learning. Introduction to the special issue. IRAL — International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 57(1), 1–20. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hill, Kent. (2020). Cognitive linguistics, sociocultural theory and content and language integrated learning: Researching development of polysemous L2 lexis. Language and Sociocultural Theory, 6(2), 133–157. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Horwitz, Elaine. K., Horwitz, Michael B., & Cope, Joann. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ibarretxe-Antuñano, Iraide, & Valenzuela-Manzanares, Javier. (2021). Lenguaje y cognición. Editorial Síntesis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johnson, Mark. (1987). The body in the mind: The bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason. University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krashen, Stephen D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lakoff, George. (1987). Women, fire, and dangerous things. What categories reveal about the mind. The University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lasagabaster, David, & Doiz, Aintzane. (2017). A longitudinal study on the impact of CLIL on affective factors. Applied Linguistics, 38(5), 688–712. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lorenzo, Francisco, & Granados, Adrián. (2020). One generation after the bilingual turn: Results from a large-scale CLIL teachers’ survey. Elia, 20, 77–111. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
MacIntyre, Peter D., & Gardner, Robert C. (1994). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44(2), 283–305. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martín del Pozo, María Ángeles. (2016). An approach to CLIL teacher language awareness using the Language Triptych. Pulso. Revista de Educación, 39, 141–157. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martín-Gascón, Beatriz. (2023a). Teaching irony in the Spanish/L2 classroom. Porta Linguarum. Revista Interuniversitaria de Didáctica de las Lenguas Extranjeras, 39, 213–230. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2023b). Unlocking the power of emotion in L2 Spanish: A study of verbs of affection instruction. ELUA: Estudios de Lingüística. Universidad de Alicante, 40, 379–398. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Meier, Brian P., & Robinson, Michael D. (2006). Does “feeling down” mean seeing down? Depressive symptoms and vertical selective attention. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(4), 451–461. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J., Bailey, Philip, & Daley, Chistine E. (1999). Factors associated with foreign language anxiety. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20(2), 217–239. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Palacios-Hidalgo, Francisco Javier, Gómez-Parra, María Elena, Espejo-Mohedano, Roberto, & Huertas-Abril, Cristina Aranzázu. (2021). Employment, work abroad and bilingual education: Spanish bilingual graduates’ self-perceived employability, mobility and intercultural competence. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 12(2), 279–298. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peña Cervel, María Sandra. (2001). A cognitive approach to the role of body parts in the conceptualization of emotion metaphors. EPOS: Revista de Filología, 17, 245–260. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2003). Topology and cognition: what image-schemas reveal about the metaphorical language of emotions. LINCOM Europa.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pérez Cañado, María Luisa. (2018). CLIL and educational level: A longitudinal study on the impact of CLIL on language outcomes. Porta Linguarum, 29, 51–70. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pérez-Hernández, Lorena, & Duvignau, Karine. (2016). Metaphor, metonymy, and their interaction in the production of semantic approximations by monolingual children: A corpus analysis. First Language, 36(4), 383–406. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pérez-Hernández, Lorena, & Pérez-Sobrino, Paula. (2024). Consequences of metaphor frames for education: From beliefs to facts through language. Cognitive Studies, 2024(24), 3074. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Phillips, Elaine M. (1992). The effects of language anxiety on students’ oral test performance and attitudes. The Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 14–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Reali, Florencia, Soriano, Tania, & Rodríguez, Daniela. (2016). How we think about depression: The role of linguistic framing. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 48(2), 127–136. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez, Francisco José, & Pérez Hernández, Lorena. (2011). The contemporary theory of metaphor: myths, developments and challenges. Metaphor and Symbol, 26(3), 161–185. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez, Francisco José, & Agustín Llach, María del Pilar. (2016). Cognitive Pedagogical Grammar and meaning construction in L2. In De Knop, Sabine & Gaëtanelle Gilquin (Eds.), Applied Construction Grammar (pp. 151–184). De Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schubert, Thomas W. (2005). Your highness: Vertical positions as perceptual symbols of power. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(1), 1–21. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soriano Salinas, Cristina. (2012). La metáfora conceptual. In Ibarretxe Antuñano, Iraide & Javier Valenzuela Manzanares (Eds.), Lingüística cognitiva (pp. 98–121). Anthropos.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Steen, Gerard J., Dorst, Aletta G., Herrmann, J. Berenike, Kaal, Anna A., Krennmayr, Tina, & Pasma, Tryntje. (2010). A method for linguistic metaphor identification: From MIP to MIPVU. John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Szyszka, Magdalena, Peltonen, Pauliina, & Lintunen, Pekka. (2026). Unravelling the relationship between language anxiety and foreign language speech fluency in a monologue production. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 47(1), 323–337. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tay, Dennis. (2021). Image schemas. In Wen, Xu & John R. Taylor (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of Cognitive Linguistics (pp. 161–172). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wen, Xu, & Taylor, John R. (Eds.). (2021). The Routledge handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yichi, Liu. (2025). The integrative application of conceptual metaphor in English vocabulary teaching. International Journal of Humanities and Education Development, 7(5), 1–7. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zheng, Ying, & Cheng, Liying. (2018). How does anxiety influence language performance? From the perspectives of foreign language classroom anxiety and cognitive test anxiety. Language Testing in Asia, 8(1), 13. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-dark jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-light jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold prag Twitter_Logo_Blue