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 | Computer Assisted Text Scaffolding for Curriculum Access and Language Learning/Acquisition -Summary- |
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Computer Assisted Text Scaffolding for Curriculum Access and Language Learning/Acquisition (CATSCALLA) Jim Cummins University of Toronto The CATSCALLA system proposes to facilitate the use of target language text as input for language learning by incorporating a variety of L1 and L2 dictionary and learning strategy supports (scaffolding) into a multimedia CD-ROM design. Any text in electronic form could be imported into the system and used as authentic input for target language learning. The system is based on the following premises: 1. Virtually all applied linguists agree that access to sufficient comprehensible input in the target language is a necessary condition for language acquisition; most applied linguists, however, also assign a role to (a) a focus on formal features of the target language, (b) development of effective learning strategies, and (c) actual use of the target language. 2. Formal second language teaching is relatively unsuccessful for a significant number of learners primarily as a result of impoverished input in the target language, both with respect to quality and quantity; consider, for example, the low levels of French proficiency typically attained by English-speaking Canadian school-aged students, despite several years of formal study of "core French" in elementary and high school. Learners usually have minimal interaction with native-speakers of the language and they lack the proficiency to comprehend texts in the target language that would be of interest and intellectually stimulating. Constant reference to dictionaries is cumbersome and frustrating to learners and dramatically slows the pace of reading. 3. Target language text has the potential to provide a virtually inexhaustible supply of authentic comprehensible input for language learning if rapid access to meaning could be ensured. Although this research has been largely ignored by policy-makers and practitioners, there is ample evidence that even without the supports envisaged in the proposed system, simply reading carefully chosen target language texts works better in promoting proficiency than formal teaching of the language (see Krashen, 1993, in press, for reviews) 4. Current CD-ROM technology can supply the necessary supports or "scaffolds" to make a wide range of target language text comprehensible to learners, thereby fuelling the language learning process; the more learners read in the target language, the more access they get to its vocabulary, grammar, idioms, etc. and the more of the language they learn.
A Sketch of the Proposed System and Its Scholarly and Social Significance The proposed system could, in principle, be applied in any language learning context. To illustrate its application, an ESL high school student who has arrived in Canada two years ago will usually have acquired reasonably adequate conversational skills in English but still be far behind grade expectations in academic aspects of English (e.g. reading, writing). Research has documented repeatedly that a period of between 5 and 10 years is typically required for ESL students to catch up academically with native-speaking peers who are also developing their English academic skills throughout their schooling (Collier, 1987; Cummins, 1981; Klesmer, 1994). The formidible task faced by many immigrant students is shown by Watt and Roessingh’s (1994) finding that approximately 75% of ESL students in a Calgary high school over a four year period failed to graduate. The drop-out rate was particularly evident (95%) for those who entered grade 9 as beginning learners of English. In the more flexible Ontario system, a 50% drop-out rate was documented for recently-arrived immigrant students (Radwanski, 1987). The proposed system would serve the academic development and language learning needs of this type of student in the following manner: curriculum-related texts in English and other content areas (e.g. Science, History, etc) could be prepared or made available in electronic form (e.g. through the Internet, CD-ROM, etc.). When the student came to a word or phrase s/he did not understand, s/he could click on the word and obtain any or all of the following supports: (a) a dictionary definition in English, (b) a first language translation equivalent, (c) the English pronunciation of the word, (d) grammatical information related to the word or phrase (e.g. verb tenses), (e) idiomatic expressions, (f) cognates between the first language and English where they exist. The system would be totally self-regulated insofar as students themselves would choose the level and type of support they require. The system could also be designed to allow students (or their teachers) to test their growing proficiency and to monitor growth over time. Thus, all words that students clicked in a passage could be re-presented in a variety of test formats both to reinforce learning and to monitor growth. Students might read the passage initially for meaning, using primarily first language supports, but subsequently when they are in a "study" mode check on their comprehension/retention of the words previously unknown and also access deeper levels of grammatical and semantic information. The theory underlying this system differs from (but also complements) current approaches to both conventional language teaching and multimedia design for language learning. Regardless of the emphasis in current approaches on structural versus communicative syllabus design, the starting point of both instruction and curriculum materials is didactic. The design incorporates pre-determined language structures or functions and vocabulary that the system is designed to teach. There is usually little flexibility to accommodate the learning styles and interests of individual learners – one size fits all. By contrast, in the proposed system, individual learners (or teachers) can choose the material to be read according to their interests or needs, thereby increasing the likelihood of strong motivation; learners also self-regulate the kinds of supports they invoke and the learning strategies that they themselves find useful. Access to first language dictionaries takes a matter of seconds rather than minutes, with the result that the flow of meaning is minimally interrupted. ESL students would be enabled to read grade-appropriate academic content that previously would have been inaccessible. The proposed system draws on research and theory in a multitude of areas. Among these areas are the following: 1. Language learning and teaching. While there is theoretical consensus on some general issues (as noted above), there is considerable acrimony on many other issues such as the extent to which instruction should focus on meaning versus form, the role (if any) of corrective feedback, the extent to which the first language should be used as a stepping stone to meaning or excluded as interference, the role of explicit instruction in language learning strategies, the appropriate time to introduce reading and writing in the target language, the age at which second language teaching should begin, etc. Most of these issues become irrelevant in the proposed system because learners self-regulate the type and degree of support they desire or need. 2. Academic achievement of ESL or minority language students. Overrepresentation of minority language students in special education and drop-out statistics has been documented in many countries (Cummins, 1984) and debates about appropriate educational intervention have become highly volatile in countries such as the United States. These debates have tended to focus on the theoretical and empirical issue of the role of students’ first language in learning academic skills in English. 3. Appropriate ways of teaching literacy. The public debates on "whole language" versus "phonics" approaches (and related issues) tend to obscure a vast amount of research and theory on the reading process and appropriate forms of reading and writing instruction. In the context of the present proposal, a consistent finding is that "large amounts of time for actual text reading" is the most significant predictor of reading comprehension (e.g. Fielding & Pearson, 1994). 4. Critical language awareness. This area has emerged strongly in recent years as an important focus for both research and practice (e.g. Andrews, 1997; Corson, 1996). In the context of the present proposal, the issue becomes how to incorporate linguistic information in the system that would encourage learners to explore the social and political functions of language use in addition to simply its referential functions. 5. Cognitive strategy instruction. The issue of how to maximize the efficiency of learning in general has occupied cognitive psychologists since the origins of the discipline. Of particular importance for the present project are the research and theory articulated by Chamot and O’Malley (e.g. 1994) and Pressley and his colleagues (1990), although there are many other researchers whose work is also relevant. 6. Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and multimedia design. These fields are experiencing extremely rapid growth as more powerful and inexpensive computers open up new possibilities in artificial intelligence and teaching/learning. However, as Watts (1997) points out, the technology is only as powerful as the learning theory upon which the system design is based. The challenge for the present project is to design a flexible and "user-friendly" system that maximizes the learning of language and academic content within the constraints imposed by a rapidly-evolving technology. As noted above, the starting point in this design process (self-regulated second language learning using text as input) is very different from that of any current multimedia package which invariably set out to teach a pre-determined range of vocabulary, structures, and functions using a "one-size-fits-all" approach.
References Andrews, L. (1997). Language exploration & awareness: A resource book for teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Chamot, A. U. & O’Malley, M. (1994). The CALLA Handbook: Implementing the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Collier, V.P. (1987). Age and rate of acquisition of second language for academic purposes. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 617-641. Corson, D. (1995). Using English words. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Cummins, J. (1981). Age on arrival and immigrant second language learning in Canada: A reassessment. Applied Linguistics,2, 132-149. Cummins, J. (1984). Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society. Los Angeles: California Association for Bilingual Education. Cummins, J. (1997). Minority status and schooling in Canada. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 28(3) 411-430. Cummins, J. & Sayers, D. (1995). Brave new schools: Challenging cultural illiteracy through global learning networks. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Fielding, L.G. & Pearson, P.D. (1994). Reading comprehension: what works. Educational Leadership, 51(5), 62-68. Klesmer, H. (1994). Assessment and teacher perceptions of ESL student achievement. English Quarterly, 26(3), 5-7. Krashen, S. (1993). The power of reading. Englewood, CO.: Libraries Unlimited. Krashen, S. (in press). The comprehension hypothesis: Recent evidence. English Teachers’ Journal (Israel). Pressley, M. & Associates. (1990). Cognitive strategy instruction that really improves children’s academic performance. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books. Radwanski, G. (1987). Ontario study of the relevance of education and the issue of drop-outs. Toronto: Ministry of Education. Watt, D.L.E. & Roessingh, H. (1994). Some you win, most you lose: Tracking ESL students’ drop out in high school (1988-1993). English Quarterly, 26(3), 5-7 Watts, N. (1997). A learner-based design model for interactive multimedia language learning packages. System, 25(1), 1-8.
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