CALLA METHODOLOGY

CALLA Methodology

Calla Methodology

Introduction

The distinction between language and speech is not only conceptual; it can be also reflected in the field of language teaching. Indeed, the history of second language teaching reminds us that it was the grammatical approach that teachers have taken first. Following this principle teaching, it is clear that teaching a second language functioned mainly on grammar exercises with an additional, possibly, those of translation, most often in conditions where learners were part of a homogeneous medium, with same primary language. The appearance of "culture" there appeared in the form of short texts including a number of historical or geographical information. In this way, the target culture functioned as a "fifth dimension" (Damen 1987)-after speaking, writing, listening and reading.

Discussion and Analysis

The major objective of ESL programs at the elementary and secondary levels in the United States, to prepare students to function successfully in classrooms where English is the medium of instruction for all subject areas. While this goal may be accomplished in classrooms across the country, ESL students typically encounter severe difficulties once they are mainstream into the all-English curriculum. With the number of language minority students dramatically increasing, the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach may be the answer to facilitate the needs of ELLs. CALLA is an instructional model that fosters the school achievement of students who are learning through the medium of a second language.

The approach

An analytic comparison of three models of reading strategy instruction (Allen, 2003), points out that the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach itself has three main components and instructional objectives in its curricular and instructional design. First, the content in the ESL classroom can be aligned with the content in the mainstream grade-level classroom (Allen, 2003). Second, academic language development includes all four language skills taught in the content area subject (Allen, 2003). The four language skills include speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Third, learning strategies can be taught explicitly by naming the strategies, telling students what the strategy does to assist learning, and then providing ample instructional supports while students practice and apply the strategy (Allen, 2003).

In the CALLA Handbook, (Chamot & O'Malley, 1987) the cognitive model of learning indicates that learning is an active, dynamic process in which learners select information from their environment, organizing the information. It relates to what they already know, retain what they consider being important, use the information in appropriate contexts, and reflect on the success of their learning efforts. To relate how information can be stored in long-term memory, Chamot and O'Malley (1987) introduce declarative and procedural knowledge. Chamot and O'Malley (1994) describe declarative knowledge as what we know or can declare, and procedural knowledge as the things we know how to do. Examples of declarative knowledge include word definitions, facts, and rules, including our memory of images and sequence of events (Chamot & O'Malley, 1987). Procedural knowledge includes both simple and complex physical or psychological procedures and can be stored in memory as production systems (Chamot & O'Malley, ...