Soft CLIL in Electronics: Developing a Hybrid Unit for Practical Application

Abstract

In higher education, integrating language development with technical instruction has become an increasingly important challenge, particularly in Algerian electronics education. Therefore, this paper demonstrates the development of a hybrid electronics learning unit for third-year students at El Oued University, designed according to the Integrated Content and Language (ICL) approach. More importantly, the unit focuses on the Analog-to-Digital Converter, aiming to establish a correlation between disciplinary knowledge and English language proficiency within a technological context. To achieve the objectives, the unit was structured using the 6Ts model, including Theme, Topic, Text, Task, Transition, and Thread. At the lesson level, activities were developed using the 5Es instructional framework, which involves: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Consequently, technical content and language objectives are aligned and mutually reinforced, thereby facilitating a holistic learning experience. In addition, the unit incorporates multimodal, scaffolded, and collaborative tasks, which enable students to engage with authentic technical discourse while simultaneously improving their English skills. In addition, the unit was used in a hybrid format, combining eighty percent campus-based instruction with twenty percent distance learning. This approach not only fosters learner autonomy but also accommodates different learning preferences and encourages positive interaction among students. Most importantly, the study emphasizes conceptual unit development rather than empirical implementation. As a result, it demonstrates how Soft CLIL principles can be adapted to the Algerian higher education context to advance language-enabling technical instruction. Furthermore, the study provides practical guidance for replicating English integration in technical units by highlighting the importance of teacher collaboration, purposeful task design, and longitudinal evaluation to ensure sustained learning outcomes. In conclusion, the proposed unit exemplifies how structured instructional frameworks, combined with hybrid delivery and scaffolded activities, can simultaneously support technical mastery and language development. Therefore, it offers a replicable model for bridging content and language in higher education and contributes to ongoing efforts to implement context-sensitive, language-enriched instruction in Algeria and comparable educational settings.