The CALLA Model: Strategies for ELL Student Success

1. The CALLA Model: Strategies for ELL Student Success Anna Uhl Chamot, Ph.D. Jill Robbins, Ph.D. http://calla.ws Second Language Learning Consultants Washington, DC

2. THE COGNITIVE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE LEARNING APPROACH (CALLA)

3. PURPOSE OF CALLA • Focus on learner. • Improve academic language proficiency. • Motivate with content topics. • Teach learning strategies.

4. AUTHENTIC CONTENT • Aligned to curriculum standards. • Interesting school and cultural topics. • Linked to students’ prior experiential and cultural knowledge. • Taught through hands-on/inquiry-based/cooperative learning tasks.

5. ACADEMIC LANGUAGE • Language development through content across all curriculum areas. • Vocabulary and discourse of content subjects and cultural topics. • Linked to students’ prior linguistic knowledge. • Development of language awareness.

6. LEARNING STRATEGIES • Thoughts and actions that assist learning tasks. • Ways to understand, remember, and recall information. • Ways to practice skills efficiently.

7. Analyzing Textbook Language Using the sample from a text for your level, work with a group to identify some of the content difficulties for ELL students Samples

8. CALLA Sites Lowell, MA McAllen, TX Mesa, AZ New York, NY Ogden, UT Philadelphia, PA Washington, DC Alief, TX Allentown, PA Arlington, VA Bethel, AK Boston, MA Chula Vista, CA Dearborn, MI El Paso, TX Fargo, ND Federal Way, WA Houston, TX

9. CALLA INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE Five Recursive Phases

10. Preparation Expansion CALLA’s Five Phases Presentation Self- Evaluation Practice

11. PREPARATION • Identify objectives. • Elicit students’ prior knowledge. • Develop vocabulary. • Provide motivation.

12. Applying PREPARATION • How does preparation help your students? • What works to encourage vocabulary development? • How can you stimulate increased motivation in your students?

13. PRESENTATION • Present new information in varied ways. • Model processes explicitly. • Explain learning strategies. • Discuss connections to students’ prior knowledge.

14. ApplyingPRESENTATION • What kinds of presentation methods would help the English learner? • Does presenting with a variety of media help ELLs?

15. PRACTICE • Use hands-on/inquiry-based activities. • Provide different cooperative learning structures. • Use authentic content tasks. • Ask students to use learning strategies.

16. ApplyingPRACTICE • What kinds of practice activities would help English learners? • Which are better for ELLs, individual or cooperative group practice activities?

17. SELF-EVALUATION • Students reflect on their own learning. • Students evaluate themselves. • Students assess their own strategy use.

18. ApplyingSELF-EVALUATION • What are the benefits of SELF-evaluation vs. evaluation by others? • How can you help English learners to evaluate themselves more accurately?

19. EXPANSION • Students apply information to own lives. • Students make connections between language and content. • Students relate information to first language knowledge. • Parents contribute to learning.

20. ApplyingEXPANSION • How can what has been learned in ESOL class help English learners in their other classes? • Can better communication with parents or involvement of the community help English students?

21. CALLA Instruction Summary Teacher Responsibility Prepare Changes over time Present Practice Self-Evaluate Expand Student Responsibility

22. Listen & Respond • Listen to the research findings and choose one point to respond to. • On a note paper, write a practical example or application of one of the research findings. • Share your example with a colleague.

23. Research Findings • The learning process is mentally active and strategic. • Learning involves higher level thinking, not just memory. • Social context and interaction are critical. • Students learn content by relating it to their prior knowledge. • Students learn processes through integrative practice individually and with peers. • Learning strategies can be taught and learned.

24. Declarative Knowledge: Self Knowledge World Knowledge Task Knowledge Strategy Knowledge Procedural Knowledge: Planning Monitoring/ Identifying Problems Evaluating THINKING ABOUT THINKING: A MODEL OF METACOGNITION

25. Why Teach Learning Strategies? • Show students how to be better learners. • Build students’ self-efficacy. • Increase student motivation for learning • Help students become reflective and critical thinkers.

26. TIPS ON TEACHING LEARNING STRATEGIES • Build on students’ current learning strategies. • Demonstrate how to use the learning strategy by modeling. • Give the strategy a name. • Provide ample practice opportunities.

27. Metacognitive Strategies Planning Understand the task Organize materials Find resources

28. Metacognitive Strategies Monitoring: While working on a task: Check your progress on the task. Check your comprehension as you use the language. Do you understand? If not, what is the problem? Check your production as you use the language. Are you making sense? If not, what is the problem?

29. Social Learning Strategies • Cooperation: work with others to: • complete tasks • build confidence • give and receive feedback

30. Metacognitive Strategies • Evaluation: after completing a task: • Assess how well you have accomplished the learning task. • Assess how well you have used learning strategies. • Decide how effective the strategies were. • Identify changes you will make the next time you have a similar task to do.

31. Metacognitive Strategies Self-Management: Manage Your Own Learning Determine how you learn best. Arrange conditions that help you learn. Seek opportunities for practice. Focus your attention on the task.

32. Research Support for Teaching Learning Strategies • All second language learners use strategies - BUT • “Good” language learners use more varied strategies and use them more flexibly. • Frequent use of learning strategies is correlated to higher self-efficacy.

33. Strategy instruction improves academic performance. Instruction needs to be explicit. Students need to develop metacognition. Transfer is difficult. Language of instruction matters. More Research Findings

34. CALLA Instruction Is... • Learner-centered • Reflective • Supportive • Focused • Enthusiastic