Cognitive Academic Language Learning

(CALLA) Strategies:
An Update
DEFINITION
CALLA
An instructional model designed to
increase the school achievement of
students who are learning through
the medium of a second language.

Is designed to provide
comprehensible instruction for
English Language Learners (ELL) in
ESL or bilingual programs.
DEFINITION

THREE COMPONENTS OF CALLA MODEL

1. A standards based curriculum
correlated with grade appropriate
content subjects.
2. Academic language development
focusing on literacy (Reading +
Writing).
3. Instruction in the use of learning
strategies.
THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
CALLA focuses on:
“Language and Cognitive Development”

??HOW ?? ??HOW ??

By integrating content,
language and leaning strategy
instruction.
 The Development of CALLA’s Theory

• Anderson (1985, 1993) – Cognitive Learning

 Declarative Knowledge:
“facts, concepts, vocabulary and images”
 Procedural Knowledge:
“language skills (writing, speaking, listening,
reading)”
• Bandura (1986, 1993)
“The importance of self efficacy (effective) beliefs
and teacher modeling for the needs of English
language learners in attaining academic goals”
The Development of
CALLA’s Theory
Schunk & Zimmerman (1994)
“Self—regulated learning provides an
important rationale for explicit
instruction in learning strategies”
“
Newman, Griffin, & Cole (1989)
Social nature of learning and in
particular the zone proximal
development to the students who are
learning both academic language and
content subject matter at the same
time”
 The Development of CALLA’s Theory
• New/Modern CALLA on Cognitive Social
Learning/Model focuses on:
“Combination of learners’ mental activity and the social
context”
• The Form of cognitive social model:
“Complex cognitive skills and social and affective values”

Purpose

Students as community of caring learners

The Development of
CALLA’s Theory
Application

1. Students who seek to regulate their

own learning in an fashion while
concurrently participating in
collaborative learning.
2. Students who have a more pronounced
internal locus of control or strongly
attracted to a social interactive
approach to learning.
 The Development of CALLA
Theory
• Learners  “Active participants in the teaching learning
interaction”

• Mental activity is characterized by:

“The application of prior knowledge to new problems, the
search for meaning in coming information, higher level
thinking, and collaboration and developing ability to regulate
one’s own learning”

Advantages

The teacher can elicit students’ mental activity through activities in

which students reflect on their own learning and learn how to
learn more effectively, both independently and collaboratively”
STUDENTS & TEACHERS
CALLA is designed for:
1. Students who have developed social
communicative skills through beginning ESL
classes or exposure through English-speaking
environments, but have not yet developed
academic language skills appropriate to their
grade level.
2. Students who have acquired academic
language skills in their native language and
initial proficiency in English, but who need
assistance in transferring concepts and skills
from their first language to English.
3. Bilingual students who have not yet developed
academic language skills in either language.
 STUDENTS & TEACHERS
• CALLA has been successfully implemented with
young children and with students at the beginning
level of English proficiency.

??HOW ?? ??HOW ??

By modifying the content to reflect the developmental level

and language proficiency of participating students.
STUDENTS & TEACHERS
• In bilingual programs, CALLA
instruction is provided in students’
native language.

??HOW ?? ??HOW ??

By developing conceptual knowledge in the

different content areas and in teaching
learning strategies more explicitly.
 STUDENTS & TEACHERS

Advantage Advantage

Teacher can find about the students’ understanding

of concepts and strategies at a deeper level and are
able to make transfers to English when prompted.
STUDENTS & TEACHERS
• A number of school districts are now
implementing CALLA across schools,
involving both native English speakers
and English Language learners.

As a result As a result

CALLA teachers are No longer exclusively ESL

teachers, but now include bilingual teachers and
grade—level mainstream teachers.
 COMPONENTS OF CALLA
Academic Needs of L2/Bilingual Learners

Content

Literacy

Language
COMPONENTS OF CALLA

1. Curriculum Content
2. Academic Language
3. Learning Strategies
 Curriculum Content
• In the U.S.A “high priority topics” are defined
by the national standards established for
each discipline, state curricular frameworks
and the requirements of high-stakes,
mandated, standardized assessments.

• ESL teachers need to be well-informed about

required content and their collaboration with
content teachers now assumes critical
importance.
Academic Language
• The movements from
Quadrant I-IV takes place as
continuity not absolute.

• The sample activities from

each quadrant are appropriate
for differing levels of English
proficiency, age, and grade
levels
 Academic Language
• The CALLA model operates mainly in Quadrant III by providing
conceptually demanding learning activities: scaffolding,
contextualized and assisted with learning strategies.

• The academic language components of the original CALLA

model has been elaborated in 3 major ways:
1. the importance of developing literacy from the beginning
level of English proficiency and providing literacy
instruction across the curriculum.
2. the academic language include all students, not just
English language learners (ELLs).
Notes: a. in the U.S.A: Teachers of all subjects urge to assist both
second language students and native English speakers by engaging in
them in language activity related to the subjects they teach.
Academic Language
Helping students develop an awareness of how
language is used to achieve different purposes
provides them with a powerful tool for using
language to meet their own needs.
3. ESL teachers needs to show students how
language is used functionally in other
subjects by showing them:
 how to listen to explanations in different subject
areas,
 how to read expository and discipline-specific
texts as well as literary texts,
 how to answer questions about content subjects
and explain reasoning and problem solutions,
 how to write reports and informational
summaries as well as creative and personal
experience compositions.
 Learning Strategies
Categories of Learning Strategies:
 Metacognitive
 Cognitive
 Social/affective
Metacognitive Strategies
Executive processes in
planning for learning,
monitoring one’s
comprehension and
production, and evaluating
how well one has achieved a
learning objective.
 Metacognitive Strategies
Advanced Organization
Advanced Preparation
Organizational Planning
Selective Attention
Self-Monitoring
Self Management
Cognitive Strategies
The learner interacts with the material
to be learned by manipulating it
mentally (as in making mental images
or transferring previously acquired
concept or skills) or physically (as in
grouping items to be learned in
meaningful categories or taking notes
on important information to be
remembered)
 Cognitive Strategies
 Resourcing  Imagery
 Grouping  Auditory
 Notetaking Representation
 Summarizing  Elaboration
 Deduction  Transfer
 Inferencing
Social-Affective Strategies
The learner interacts with
another person in order to
assist learning, as in
cooperation or asking question
for clarification, or uses some
kind of affective control to
assist a learning task.
 Social-Affective Strategies
Questioning for Clarification.
Cooperation.
Self-talk
Learning Strategies -
Reorganization
1. Metacognitive Strategies
 Organize/plan
 Manage your own learning
 Monitor
 Evaluate
Learning Strategies - Reorganization

2. Task-based strategies
Use what you know Use background knowledge
Make inferences
Make prediction
Personalize
Transfer/use cognates
Substitute/Paraphrase
Use your imagination Use imagery
Use real objects/ role play
Learning Strategies -
Reorganization
2. Task-based strategies

Use your organizational Find/apply patterns

skills Group/classify
Use graphic organizers/take
notes
Summarize
Use selective attention
Use a variety of Access information sources
resources Cooperate
Talk yourself through it (self-talk)
 Learning Strategies -
Reorganization
• Ways to teach strategies  elaborated
– Teachers model how to use the strategies
– The students observe how the expert deals with the
task
– The students practice the strategies
– The students select the best applied

• The outcome of learning strategy instruction  the

development of metacognition
CALLA INSTRUCTIONAL
SEQUENCE
Framework  task-based & 5 phases:
1.Preparation
◦ Eliciting students’ prior knowledge,
developing vocabulary, assessing
students’ strategies

2.Presentation
◦ Make new information & skills
comprehensible through a variety of
techniques
CALLA INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE
3. Practice
o Engage students in activities to use the new
information

4. Self-Evaluation
o Students assess their own understandings

5. Expansion
o Students apply what they have learned in their own
lives
CALLA INSTRUCTIONAL SE
QUENCE
• Each of the 5 phases combines
the 3 components:
– Content
– Academic language
– Learning strategies
 CONCLUSION
• CALLA instructional model can be used by both
ESL and content subject teachers to develop
subject matter knowledge, academic language
and learning strategies.

• Students’ prior knowledge is valued in CALLA

classroom for its role in constructing new
knowledge for all students.