​Abstract

This paper will introduce the results of a step-by-step discussion in English Communication, developed for Japanese freshman university students with an introductory English level. This communication class was included in Liberal Arts at college, and conducted in the first semester of 2023, using the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach. One vital component of this step-by-step discussion was that students created a draft of their discussion before having a discussion. While writing the discussion draft, students had some time to familiarize topic-related language, argumentative points, and deepen their thoughts by doing a lot of research. Furthermore, they developed their critical thinking by constructing a discourse strategy. This writing and the teacher’s feedback about it became two important scaffoldings before students having an English discussion. The other vital component of this step-by-step discussion was training students with a 30-second

speech at each class and its assessment at mid-term and finals. This task was not only for enhancing speaking ability but also organizing ability and critical thinking. Consequently, this step-by-step discussion enabled all introductory-level students to speak up in a discussion in English while integrating content and language.