ESOL

Chapter 2 : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Chapter 2 Language Proficiency, Bilingualism, and Academic Achievement

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: Demonstrate familiarity with various theories and instructional methodologies in first and second language acquisition Demonstrate familiarity with past and current methods for teaching English as a second language.

Evolution of a Theoretical Framework : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Evolution of a Theoretical Framework Skutnabb-Kangas and Toukomaa (1976) initially brought attention to the fact that Finnish immigrant children in Sweden often appeared to educators to be fluent in both Finnish and Swedish but still showed below grade/age level expectations of verbal academic performance in both languages.

Evolution of a Theoretical Framework : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Evolution of a Theoretical Framework The ideas of Cummins (1979, 1981, 1996, 2000) were built on the work of Skutnabb-Kangas and Toukomaa in 1976. Cummins perceived language and learning difficulties that students faced in school as: (BICS) a gap between conversational fluency in a new language and academic language proficiency. Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills. (CALP) the language needed for academic work as Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency.

Evolution of a Theoretical Framework : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Evolution of a Theoretical Framework 1978 - Iceberg Metaphor was adapted from Roger Shuy. Expressed the distinction between BICS and CALP by pointing out that most language teaching (L1 and L2) develops functional or communicative proficiency by focusing on the surface fluency even though the language acquisition was from deeper communicative functions of language. Surface and Deeper Levels of Language Proficiency Range of Contextual Support and Degree of Cognitive Involvement in Communicative Activities

Evolution of a Theoretical FrameworkTwo surface languages rest on top of the “water”. Common Underlying Proficiency that both languages share supports the surface language. : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Evolution of a Theoretical FrameworkTwo surface languages rest on top of the “water”. Common Underlying Proficiency that both languages share supports the surface language.

Evolution of a Theoretical Framework(BICS) depend on the surface features of language and lower levels of cognitive processes above the waterline.(CALP) relates to the meaning of language and higher level of cognitive processes below the waterline. : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Evolution of a Theoretical Framework(BICS) depend on the surface features of language and lower levels of cognitive processes above the waterline.(CALP) relates to the meaning of language and higher level of cognitive processes below the waterline.

Evolution of a Theoretical FrameworkThe upper parts consists of the communicative tasks and activities that become mastered. They require little cognitive involvement. The lower parts consists of the communicative tasks and activities are not mastered. They require active cognitive involvement. : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Evolution of a Theoretical FrameworkThe upper parts consists of the communicative tasks and activities that become mastered. They require little cognitive involvement. The lower parts consists of the communicative tasks and activities are not mastered. They require active cognitive involvement.

Embedded and Disembedded Thought and Language : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Embedded and Disembedded Thought and Language Embedded – to make an integral part of language Disembedded – opposite the meaning being communicated is strongly supported by contextual or interpersonal cues (such as gestures, facial expressions, and intonation present in face-to-face interaction) or supported by linguistic cues. “context-reduced” is used in recognition of the fact that all language and literacy practices are contextualized the range of textbook reading support in academic contexts is reduced in comparison to the support available in face-to-face contexts.

Application of the Theoretical Framework : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Application of the Theoretical Framework allows the academic difficulties of both language minority students and those characterized as learning disabled to be conceptualized as a general relationship between language proficiency and academic achievement. the range of contextual support and degree of cognitive involvement in communicative activities are not the only dimensions that would incorporate all aspects of language proficiency or communicative competence. concludes that these frameworks are all relevant to language proficiency and educational achievement they provide research data on the linguistic and academic progress of language minority students.

Conceptualizing Bilingual Proficiency : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Conceptualizing Bilingual Proficiency Experience with either language can promote development of the proficiency of both languages if given adequate motivation and exposure to both either in school or in the wider environment Subject matter knowledge, higher-order thinking skills, reading strategies, writing composition skills, developed through the medium of L1 transfer or become available to L2 given sufficient exposure and motivation. If L1 and L2 proficiencies were separated, this would leave the bilingual in a curious predicament in that he would great difficulty in communicating.

Conclusion : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Conclusion Deeper understanding of the nature of academic language and its relationship to conversational fluency and other forms of literacy will emerge from teachers, students, and researchers working together in instructional contexts collaboratively pushing (and documenting) the boundaries of language and literacy exploration. Strong promotion of L1 proficiency is an effective way to develop a conceptual and academic foundation for acquiring English literacy.

Reference : 

by Cheryl L. Smith and Wanda Smith February 2, 2009 Reference Richard-Amato, Patricia A. & Snow, Marguerite A. (1992). The multicultural classroom: Readings for content-area teachers. Los Angeles: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.