Ana Medina April 15, 2010

Objectives  Learn key concepts and terms about the interdependence theory  Learn about Jim Cummins’ contribution to the language acquisition theory  Learn about the implications of Cummins’ ideas on bilingual education 2

Jim Cummins  Jim Cummins received his Ph.D. in 1974 from the University of Alberta in educational psychology.  He is currently a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. Link to his pageLink to his page 3

HONOURS: May 1997 Doctorate in Humane Letters (honorary) Bank Street College of Education, New York English-Speaking Union's Duke of Edinburgh English Language Book Competition (highly commended) The development of second language proficiency. (B. Harley, P. Allen, J. Cummins, M. Swain [Eds.], Cambridge University Press, 1990). 4

The Linguistic Interdependence Theory/ The “Iceberg” Model To the extent that instruction in Lx is effective in promoting proficiency in Lx, transfer of this proficiency to Ly will occur provided there is adequate exposure to Ly (in school and environment) and adequate motivation to learn Ly 5

The Iceberg Model Diagram 6

Dimensions of Language BICS – Basic Intrapersonal Communicative Skills CALP – Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency CUP – Common Underlying Proficiency 7

Four Quadrants Model 8

Types of Bilingualism  Balanced bilingual - highly developed in two languages  Dominant bilingual - partially developed in only one language  Double limited bilingual - limited in two languages 9

Types of Bilingualism  Auditory comprehensive style bilingual - has listening comprehension, but doesn’t have the skill to express himself orally, a passive bilingual  Conversational style bilingual - can speak, but cannot read or write  Reading and writing style bilingual - cannot converse, but can read and write 10

Excel Project 11

STOP!!! What does CUP stand for? 12

The Study Is the transfer of L1 to L2 effective if the child has one bilingual parent, two bilingual parents, or none? Are there any other factors? 13

Research Study…  What is the role of the parent in a child’s second language acquisition?  How quickly can a child that has not gone to school learn simple vocabulary in a second language?  Is there a negative or positive effect on the child’s first language?  Does the environment matter for child? 14

Hypothesis… The child with one bilingual parent will be able to have to transfer L1 information to L2 because there is adequate exposure. The child with monolingual parents will not be able to respond to L2. The child with two bilingual parents would be a satisfactory job of knowing L1 and L2. 15

SettingsLimitations  The study was done in the living room of the caretaker. The children are between the ages of 3 to 4 years old. Two are going to start Pre-K in August.  Number of children – only 4 children  Time 16

Research Method  Day #1 - I pointed to objects around the living room and I asked, “¿Que es esto?” The toddler would either respond or not respond/ say I do not know, indicating they did not know the word.  Day #2 – I pointed to objects around the living room and I asked, “What is this?” The toddler would either respond or not respond/ say I do not know, indicating they did not know the word. 17

Scoring 18

Evaluation 19

Was Cummins Right? YES, Cummins noted that instruction in L1 needs to be effective and the child needs to have adequate exposure and motivation for instruction in L2.  Even though Mark is exposed to L2 (Spanish), there is not enough exposure and his L1 is limited, therefore he is not able to transfer L1 skills to L2.  Isabela has only one bilingual parent but at her young age, she is display adequate proficiency for a child in both Spanish and English. 20

Vanessa also has one bilingual parent and displays a limited proficiency in L1. She knew most of the vocabulary words in her L2 (English). There is a negative effect on her L1. Andres was able to transfer words from L1 to L2. Since he has two bilingual parents, there is more than an adequate exposure to both L1 and L2. 21

Implications for Bilingual Students  In order for children to have a balanced bilingualism, the child needs a sufficient development of BICS and then can have a further development of CALP usually when entering school.  Just because a child develops BICS, it does not mean that a student can have academic success. 22

So…Nature or Nurture? NatureNurture 23

24

Bibliography C. Baker & N. H. Hornberger, eds. An introductory reader to the writings of Jim Cummins. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, Cummins, Jim. “BICS and CALP.” Webpage April Cummins, Jim. Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, Cummins, Jim. Bilingual Education and Special Education: Issues in Assessment and Pedagogy. San Diego: College Hill, Haynes, Judie. “Explaining BICS and CALP.” March Shoebottom, Paul. “Second Language Acquisition.” April