Developing Academic Literacy in IB Programmes (Aug 2014)

Developing academic literacy in IB programmes

Published August 2014

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Cognitive academic language proficiency

Contents

Introduction 1

Developing academic literacy in IB programmes 1

Appendix 5

Bibliography 5

Cognitive academic language proficiency 11

Introduction

What is an IB education? (IB 2013) explains the ideals that underpin the IB programmes. It identifies the development of multilingualism for all students as an essential characteristic of an IB education (IB 2013: 6).

In the publication Language and learning in IB programmes (IB 2011: 2127) the concept of multilingualism is described and explained in some detail. Six language domains in which students may become proficient are identified in this explanation. One of the domains is that of cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP), a term coined by Jim Cummins in 1979 to refer to the language necessary for cognition in the academic discourses, for example, biology or history.

IB students must become fluent in the academic languages or discourses of several disciplines. IB teachers have a responsibility to develop their students CALP abilities in the discourses or disciplines that they are teaching; it is in this sense that all teachers are language teachers (IB 2011: 25)

A framework for the development of a cognitive academic language proficiencyA framework has been designed to assist teachers in planning for and reflecting on the teaching and learning of academic literacy or CALP (see figure 2, a framework for planning CALP development). It is intended for use with single lessons or schemes of work and units of inquiry over a period of time. It can be used for:

planning activities that maximize learning of academic literacy

differentiating activities for diverse learners

checking that all literacy skills are practised sufficiently

collaborating with literacy specialists and other teachers.

The framework has two axes; horizontally it shows the stages of the pedagogical process for developing CALP, and vertically it shows the CALP skills.

Pedagogy for developing CALPThe document Language and learning in IB programmes (IB 2011: 28) describes a pedagogy based on the work of Jim Cummins (who was interviewed by Carol Inugai-Dixon in 2007) for developing CALP across the curriculum. It identifies four essential dimensions as follows and as illustrated in figure 1, the language and learning cycle of good practice.

Affirming identity

Activating and building background knowledge

Scaffolding learning

Extending language




Figure 1The language and learning cycle of good practice (based on the work of Jim Cummins)

Affirming identityThe culture of any IB learning community, reflecting the qualities described in the learner profile, should be one in which the identity of every member is affirmed. Students skills and knowledge in all their languages should be explicitly valued and recognized as resources for exploring new ways of thinking and knowing. For successful learning within this affirming culture, the other three pedagogical dimensions (activating and building up background knowledge, scaffolding and extending language) should be embedded.

Activating and building up background knowledgeNew learning and understanding are constructed on previous experiences and conceptual understandings in a developmental continuum. Background knowledge includes previous experiences and conceptual understandings in any language. It is therefore important to:

activate students previous background knowledge, which may be in a non-target language

activate current CALP in the target language

build up any background CALP to a stage that allows for the planned new learning to take place.

ScaffoldingScaffolding is a temporary strategy that enables learners to build on what they know and extend their learning so they can accomplish tasks that would otherwise be impossible or much more difficult. The concept is linked to the idea that each student has a zone of proximal development where teacher support can enable learning (Vygotsky 1978). There are three important stages in constructing new learning where scaffolding strategies are effective, as follows.

New comprehensible inputAny new input must be comprehensible if it is to be assimilated and become new learning (Krashen 2002). Contextualizing new input, using analogies and providing concrete and experiential examples for a variety of learning styles are some ways of scaffolding for comprehensible input.

Background knowledge

Affirm identity

Scaffolding

Extending language



Processing of new inputNew input, even if comprehensible, can remain superficial and passive and may easily be forgotten unless there are opportunities to practise and process the understandings. A variety of multimodal inquiries and activities should be planned as opportunities for the processing and assimilation of the new learning.

New comprehensible outputComprehensible output is an essential factor in demonstrating new learning. Students need practice in activating and expressing new learning so they gain confidence and fluency in its application (Swain 1985).

Extending cognitive academic language proficiencyIndependently demonstrating and applying new CALP in novel and varied situations is a sign of successful learning and may be part of formative or summative assessment. This new learning will become part of students background knowledge upon which more new and extended learning can be built in the next cycle.

Cognitive academic language proficiency skills CALP skills include literacy skills and thinking skills.

Literacy skills include abilities to:

listen for meaning and speak meaningfully, both also part of interactive dialogues

apply complex reading skills to actively decode academic texts

write complex texts for a variety of academic purposes and audiences.

Textual features, and thus the decoding and encoding skills required for understanding them, vary depending on the disciplinary discourse. All of the literacy skills are linked to corresponding complex thinking skills from which they become increasingly inseparable, such as analysing and evaluating concepts and ideas. Critical literacy is particularly significant in assessing the validity of perspectives that have contributed to the social construction of knowledge that is encoded in language (IB 2011: 26).

The framework for planning CALP developmentIn some ways, breaking down skills and pedagogical dimensions into single discrete strands, as has been done in the framework, betrays the complexity of their relationships and intricate interconnections. It should be stressed, therefore, that that the resulting boxes are artificial and should not be viewed as having uncrossable borders so as to avoid any risk of reductive thinking.

The expectation is not that every single box on the framework will be attended to in detail in each case. A lesson is likely to focus mainly on one or two literacy skills and may address a specific aspect of pedagogy. However, over a period of time in a series of lessons or a unit of inquiry, it would be sound practice to ensure that all the skills and pedagogical dimensions have been adequately addressed.

The framework can be adapted to suit individual needs and preferences. It is being used in this way to develop an academic literacy focus component in teacher support materials for IB subject area and curriculum guides.



Cognitive

Academic

Language

Proficiency

S K I L L S

P E D A G O G Y

Background knowledge (BK)

Scaffolding for: Extended CALP

Activating and building up BK

New comprehensible input

Processing of new input

New comprehensible output

Demonstrating and applying

Listening

Speaking

Interacting

Reading

Writing

Thinking

Figure 2A framework for planning CALP development


Bibliography

Appendix

Cummins, J. 1979. Cognitive academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters. Working papers on bilingualism. Number 19. Pp 1219.

IB. 2013. What is an IB education? Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate Organization.

IB. 2011. Language and learning in IB programmes. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate Organization.

Inugai Dixon, C. 2007. Unpublished interview with Jim Cummins on conditions for learning.

Krashen, S. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. 1 May 2002. http://www.skrashen.com/SL_Acquisition_and_Learning

Swain, M. 1985. Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In Gass, S. and Madden, C (Eds). Input in Second Language Acquisition. Pp. 23556. New York, New York, USA. Newbury House.

Vygotsky, L. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Harvard University Press.

Documents

Developing Academic Literacy in IB Programmes (Aug 2014)