Teaching Application of the CLIL Model in the "Chinese + Hotel Management" Program——A Case Study of a Vocational College in Hangzhou

Liu Ruoyu

China Jiliang University

Abstract：

With the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, “Chinese + Vocational Skills” education has emerged to meet the demand for interdisciplinary talents. The Content and Language Integrated Learning(CLIL) model, which emphasizes the integration of language and content, aligns well with the “Chinese +Hotel Management” program. This study, based on a survey and teaching practice at a vocational college in Hangzhou with 48 Nepalese international students, identifies three major problems in current teaching: a disconnect between language learning and hotel management scenarios; a gap between practical training and theoretical knowledge; and a rigid assessment approach that fails to measure students’ integrated language and professional skills. To address these issues, the research adopts the CLIL pyramid model (theme selection, mediadevelopment, task design, and review) to design and implement an experimental teaching unit “GreetingService”. Mixed methods including CLIL two-dimensional matrix evaluation, student questionnaires, andsemi-structured interviews are used to assess the effectiveness. Results show that CLIL significantly improves students’ language application in real hotel service scenarios and promotes the integration of practice andtheory. However, challenges remain in providing adequate language scaffolding and matching task difficulty with students’ low Chinese proficiency (mostly HSK level 1). The study concludes that CLIL is applicable andvaluablein “Chinese + Hotel Management” courses, but calls for refined scaffolding, graded tasks, and individualized support.

Key Words：

CLIL model; Chinese plus; teaching application research; hotel management; vocational education