TKT CLIL Unit 13: Learning Strategies Explained with Exam Tips
Learning strategies play a crucial role in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Unit 13 of the TKT CLIL module focuses on how learners approach learning tasks and how teachers can support them in becoming more effective and independent learners.
In CLIL contexts, learners face a double challenge: learning subject content and doing so through a non-native language. Learning strategies help learners manage this challenge by giving them tools to plan, process, and reflect on learning.
What Are Learning Strategies?
Learning strategies are the conscious decisions learners make about how to learn. These can include memorising vocabulary, drawing diagrams, making notes, asking questions, or reflecting on progress.
Research shows that effective learners:
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are aware of how they learn
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use a wide range of strategies
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choose strategies depending on the task
Less effective learners may rely on only one or two strategies or use strategies that are not suitable for the task.
Learning Strategies Before, During, and After Tasks
Before starting a task, learners benefit from setting goals, analysing the task, and planning how they will complete it. During tasks, strategies such as predicting meaning, asking for clarification, paraphrasing, note-taking, and risk-taking help learners stay engaged and flexible.
After tasks, reflection is essential. Reviewing work, exchanging feedback with peers, summarising learning, and comparing current work with earlier attempts all help learners understand how they are improving.
Metacognition: Thinking About Learning
A key concept in Unit 13 is metacognition, or thinking about learning. Metacognition involves planning learning, selecting strategies, monitoring progress, integrating new strategies, and evaluating outcomes.
Teachers can support metacognition by modelling their own thinking, giving learners opportunities to discuss strategies, and encouraging reflection after tasks.
Exam Tip for TKT CLIL Unit 13
In the TKT exam, questions often test whether you can:
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identify which learning strategy solves a learner’s problem
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distinguish learning strategies from teaching techniques
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recognise metacognitive processes
Always focus on what the learner is doing mentally, not what the teacher is doing.
🎥 Recommended YouTube Videos for Unit 13
▶️ Learning Strategies in CLIL Explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mm8qn8Ynqk
Clear explanation of learning strategies and metacognition in CLIL classrooms.
▶️ TKT CLIL: How to Answer Exam Questions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSxzgzLrCQA
Step-by-step guidance on answering TKT CLIL questions, including Unit 13 items.
▶️ Study Skills and Learning Strategies for Students
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAIoDgrIIVM
Practical examples of learning strategies learners use before, during and after tasks.
Final Thoughts
Helping learners develop learning strategies is essential in CLIL. When learners understand how they learn, they become more confident, independent, and successful — both in the classroom and beyond. For TKT candidates, mastering Unit 13 means recognising strategies, metacognition, and learner autonomy clearly and confidently.
