AN ADDITIVE APPROACH TO PLANNING IN PLURILINGUAL CLASSROOMS.

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RESEARCH

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UNIT 5

AN ADDITIVE APPROACH TO PLANNING

IN PLURILINGUAL CLASSROOMS.
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RESEARCH
Oreto Martnez

RESOURCES
CLIP 1. Bilingual Kids. Parents TV
CLIP 2. Krashen and Language Acquisition. Youtube
Unit 3. An Additive Approach to Planning in Multilingual Classrooms, Language Acquisition Research

CONTENTS
1. Introduction. Supporting Mother Tongue
2. Bilingualism. What is it?
3. Jim Cummins. The Common Underlying Proficiency Theory and the
Iceberg Metaphor.
4. Factors Affecting language Acquisition. The Interlanguage. Selinker 1972.
5. Interactionists 1, Krashen
6. Interactionists 2, The Scaffolding. Vigotzky and Bruner
7. References
8. Lesson planning

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1. INTRODUCTION. SUPPORTING MOTHER TONGUE

Maintaining ones mother tongue is considered very important to personal identity, it is vital to the
maintenance of our cultural heritage, it helps to promote intercultural understanding, it is also central to
the access of skills that support cognitive development, it promotes additive bilingualism and prevents
from subtractive bilingualism. It also implies many opportunities for the schools themselves because
they are better able to serve the particular needs of their students, with the recognition of the right of
the student to study the literature of their mother tongue, it implies working towards European Council
ideas on intercultural awareness and it has many positive effects on the school as a whole. Supporting
mother tongue at the school level challenges the idea that linguistic diversity is a problem, accepting
the fact that multilingualism is a fact for many people and it takes a proactive stance to the
consequences of an interconnected and interdependent world.

2. BILINGUALISM. WHAT IS IT?

Bilingualism has been defined by different researchers, one definition by the international
Baccalaureate Organization in 2007 is: Social and emotional conditions for learning that value all
languages and cultures and affirm the identity of each learner and promote self teem. Additive
bilingualism is defined as the kind of bilingualism which does not replace that of the mother tongue, vs.
Subtractive bilingualism which does not affirm identity and result in learners with poor self esteem,
because another language has replaced that of mother tongue. (Lambert)
In this sense Multilingual programmes will aim at developing cognitive, language and literacy skills in
both first language and the second, or third, through the use of the students l1 as the medium of
instruction for part of the curriculum. These programmes should begin at the primary education and
must encourage parental involvement.

3. JIM CUMMINS, THE COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY THEORY

Canadian Linguist James Cummins advanced the theory, in the 1980s that people who are learning a
second language are not faced with a totally unmapped territory. They posses a common framework of
language structures and functions that can be described as a common underlying proficiency drawn
form the persons knowledge of one language to help him or her learn the second or additional

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language. The theory holds that there is an interdependence factor between languages. In short, that to
the extent that instruction in the first or native language (L1) is effective in promoting proficiency in L1,
transfer of this proficiency to another language (L2) will occur provided there is adequate exposure and
motivation to learn L2.
Based on the interdependence hypothesis, the first and second languages have a common underlying
proficiency (CUP). Although the surface features of any two languages (e.g. pronunciation, fluency)
may be different, the underlying cognitive/academic proficiency skills are common across languages.
Cummins represented this concept of bilingual proficiency as a dual iceberg in which CUP skills (e.g.
semantic and functional meaning) underlie the surface level language (ex pronunciation and vocabulary
differences of l1 and l2. the CUP principle implies that linguistic exposure and experience in two
languages can promote the cognitive academic skills underlying both languages.
This theory provides excellent support to the advocacy for bilingual education, especially with respect to
the positive use of l1 to learn l2. Common Underlying proficiency is also linked to the cognitive
academic proficiency (CALP) that Cummins believes should be the goal of high quality bilingual
education because this is the type of language that allows for the transfer of academic skills (e.g.
literacy development) from on language to another.
Bilingual or multilingual individuals who have meaningful exposure and experience with two languages
in school or another environment, develop CUP skills which enable the development of cognitive and
academic skills in both languages. With enough time and good instruction, the individuals two
languages are interdependent and come to exist within one central processing system. Cummins
contribution is crucial regarding first language development, it is now accepted that the childs first
language is not a hindrance in terms of learning an l2 or l3. Cognitive academic skills learned in the
native language will transfer to the new language and that such skills are interdependent across
languages.
He also stated the literacy skills which can be transferred:

Directionality

Sequencing

Ability to distinguish shapes and sounds

Knowledge that written symbols correspond to sounds and can be decoded in order and
direction

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Activation of semantic and syntactic knowledge

Knowledge of text structure

Learning to use cues to predict meaning

Awareness of the variety of purposes for reading and writing

Confidence in oneself as a reader and writer

What skills do not transfer:

Critical and Cultural literacy, for example in order to make interpretations of a text given a
specific cultural world view.

4 JIM CUMMINS. THE ICEBERG METHAPHORE

One of the ideas which support the advantages of multilingual programmes regarding the student
cognitive skills improvement is The Iceberg Metaphor. In terms of language proficiency, the part of
the iceberg which is immediately visible, above the water line, is the BICS, which is the acronym for
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, and it is the language needed to interact in socials
contexts such as parties, taking to a friend, It is the language used in everyday communication or
informal settings. Below the water line, we find the CALPs, meaning Cognitive Academic Language
Proficiency which refers to formal academic learning. This level of language achievement is crucial
for students success at school.

Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)

Conversational fluency: social language, ability to converse and understand everyday
discussions
Includes Silent Period
Lasts 1 3 years
Early production: 1000 words (0-1 year)
Speech Emergence: 3000 words (1-2 years)

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(First 2 years)
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)
Academic proficiency: school language, ability to read, write, speak and listen at an academic
level
Intermediate fluency: 6000 words (1-5 years)
Advanced and continuing language development: 7000 words+ (5-7 and even 10 years)
Jim Cummins, establishes that thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are
intrinsically related to CALP, thus, It would be linked to reading comprehension strategies and writing
processes; good CALP acquisition is needed in order to understand explanations, lecture presentations
or participate in class discussions, vs., less cognitive demanding situations such as a telephone
conversation, witting notes, or a face to face conversation in which BICS takes place.

5. FACTORS AFFECTING L2 ACQUISITION. THE INTERLANGUAGE. SELINKER.

Productions of learners are a good source of information to access the mechanisms of language
acquisition. Studying mistakes in L2/L3 learners has provided with a new way of focusing language
learning and teaching.. Some of the most studied are the interference or negative transfer and
interlanguage errors. The interference or negative transfer refers to errors that have their origin in the
application of the L1 grammar rules to the construction of the L2.
An interlanguage is an emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a second
language who has not become fully proficient yet, but is approximating the target language: preserving
some features of their first language or over generalizing target language rules in speaking or writing
the target language.
Language transfer refers to speakers or writers applying knowledge from their native language to a
second language. When the structure of both languages is the same, linguist interference can result in
correct language production called positive transfer, an example is the use of cognates:
Ex: A valencian speaking 5 year old boy learning English as a third language tells the teacher: Pau
mha pushat.

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Negative transfer occurs when speakers and writers transfer items and structures that are not the
same in both languages. The greater the differences between the two languages, the more negative
transfer can be expected... (False friends)
Ex: A valencian speaking 5 year old boy learning English as a third language tells the teacher: I not
can do this, or I no cant do this...
As far as the distance between Spanish, Valencian and English is concerned, most usual negative
transfers are related to the use of auxiliaries for the negation and question, and the third person
singular and the use of Indirect personal pronouns as subject pronouns.
Ex; I not want to go, I not want go/I dont want to go
Ex; she not goes, she not go, /she doesnt go
Ex; want you? Do you want?
ExMe no like
Sometimes the correct option starts to be used at the same time that the kid stills uses the incorrect
one. Thus we can find a young boy producing sentences like: I not want and I dont want, or me no like
and I dont like. That means that correct feedback is being produced and the mistake is not at the stage
of fossilization.
Language transfer produces distinctive forms of learner English, depending on the speaker's first
language. Some examples, labelled with a blend of the names of the two languages are: chinglish,
Franglais, Spanglish. Such language names are often also used informally to denote instances of code
switching, code-mixing and borrowings (using loan words).
Spanish refers to the code-switching of English and Spanish in the speech of people who speak parts
of two languages, exchanging words to English in the same sentence. Ex; a 5 year old trilingual
student tells his mother at home: Mhe deixat el llibre on the table, or estic on the carpet, or at school:
donam el apron, please (speakers practice code switching when they are each fluent in both language)
Sometimes we can also find intraword switching, it occurs within a word, itself, such as at a morpheme
boundary, ex: pushat.
It is also usual to borrow some words from English, using false cognates: ex. carpeta is folder, not
carpet.

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6. INTERACTIONISTS. KRASHEN
They are called this way because both depart from the following assumptions:

Childrens language development results from the interaction between the learner and
language environment, assisted by innate cognitive processes

Adults tend to address young children using modified input

ESL learners need interaction with proficient speakers of English; they need modified or
comprehensible input to make sense of the language (Krashen)

Learners need background knowledge in the subject area to relate to the context and the
language level of the lesson must not be too far above the learners current level

Learners then need to be given opportunities to produce meaningful output and receive
feedback

STEPHEN KRASHENS 5 MAIN HYPOTHESES

1. THE NATURAL APPROACH. ORDER OF ACQUISITION

Individuals learn a second language in a predictable order; in stages. Stephen Krashens theory of five
stages has influenced the entire field of ESL teaching, according to him Learning is an unconscious
process, it follows a natural order, teaching is out of this natural order and these stages dont follow a
complexity order. These stages are:

Stage 1: Preproduction
-Students are not ready to produce language
-Teachers communicate with gestures and actions (Total Physical Response Asher, 1982) while
students develop vocabulary

Stage 2: Early Production

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-Students speak in one or two words, short phrases, and have a working vocabulary of 1000 words;
they can answer who, what, where questions
-Teachers encourage students to build receptive vocabulary and to produce vocabulary they
already understand

Stage 3: Speech Emergence

-Students are ready for increased English language development
-Teachers teach curriculum content using native language support as necessary

Stage 4: Intermediate Fluency

-Students have developed improved conversational skills and increased academic skills depending
on their age and level of literacy in a native language
-Teachers still provide native language support in language because students ability to understand
and complete academic tasks in English may lay behind.

Stage 5: Advanced Level

-Students continue to need to have their English skills refined in order to further develop their
academic skills
-Teachers need to recognize gaps in academic ability and provide students with specific learning
strategies

2 THE ACQUISITION LEARNING HYPOTHESIS

There is a distinction between second language acquired through natural communication and second
language learned formally. There is a difference between acquisition and learning. Acquisition is done
in an unconscious way and is the result of participation in natural communication, where the emphasis
is on meaning. Learning occurs as a result of conscious study of the language formal properties; this
has the implicit idea that students learn best through modelling and practice, not over correction by the
teacher

3 MONITOR HYPOTHESES

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Individual learners internalize the rules of the second language and use them to monitor their own
errors before and after language production, The monitor scans utterances for accuracy in order to
make corrections but this can only happen if enough wait time is allowed by the instructor. The monitor
may only influence the natural order in a certain way because acquisition comes from input

4 INPUT HYPOTHESES

Language learners progress from one developmental stage to the next, so teachers need to
know/assess the level of students functioning and respond accordingly with a greater or lesser degree
of curriculum support, in order to make progress in acquiring English, an ESL student needs to get what
he calls gap+1, where the 1 is the current level of proficiency. Clearly, a student can not cope from
language input that is i+6, o i+13. The input must be comprehensible.

5 AFFECTIVE FILTER

However, he claims that no language will be acquired in the presence of the affective filter, this simply
means that a student who is nervous or bored in class will learn neither subject content nor new
language, even if the input is comprehensible. A positive affective (stress free) learning environment will
enhance language learning

6. INTERACTIONISTS 2. VYGOTSKY AND BRUNER

VYGOTSKY
Scaffolding is the term given to the provision of appropriate assistance to students in order that they
may achieve what alone would have been too difficult for them. Visual scaffolding is support that
includes images and words that can be seen as well as heard. Visual scaffolding is an excellent way to
provide comprehensible input to ESL students so that not only will they learn the essential subject
content by also they will make progress in their acquisition of English.

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The theoretical basis is provided by different researchers in cognitive psychology and second language
acquisition. Vygotsky, Krashen and Bruner
This Russian psychologist introduced the concept of proximal development ZDP, which is the notional
gap between a.) The learners current developmental level as determined by independent problemability and b.) The learners potential level of development as determined by the ability to solve
problems under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.

BRUNER
Jerome Bruner, researcher in cognitive and educational psychology coined the term scaffolding as a
description for the king of assistance given by the teacher or more knowledgeable peer in providing
comprehensible input and moving the learner into the zone of proximal development. Scaffolding
includes all the things that teachers do already when they predict the kinds of difficulty that the class or
individual students in it will have with a given task. Typical examples are the activation of background
knowledge at the beginning of the lesson or a brief review of key vocabulary at the end of it.

7. REFERENCES AND WEBSITES

Applied linguistics and Didactics. Duisburg Essen University

http://www.uni-due.de/anglistik/applied_linguistics_didactics/lingon/int1_2.shtml

Bruner, J. (1983): Childs Talk: Learning to Use language

Cummins J. What Are Bics And Calp

http://articlesnatch.com/article/what-Are-Bics-And-Calp/1448364

Chamot, a. U. (1981): Applications of Second Language Acquisition Research to the Bilingual

Classroom, ncbe, washington.

Fabbro, f. (1999): The Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism: An Introduction. Psychology Press, Hove.

Garton, a. F. (1994): interaccin social y desarrollo del lenguaje y la cognicin, Paids/ Mec,
Barcelona.

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Garton, a. F. pratt, c.( 1991): aprendizaje y proceso de alfabetizacin, Paids /Mec, Barcelona.

Genesee, f. (1998): A Case Study of Multilingual Education in Canada, dins Cenoz, j. Genesee,
f.: beyond bilingualism. Multilingualism and multilingual Education, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon.

Gregg, k. (1984): krashens Monitor , applied linguistics, 5 (2).

Guilford, j. P. (1967). The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York: Mcgraw-hill.

Lighltbown, p. - Spada, n. (1999): How Languages are Learned, university press: Oxford.

Krashen, s. (1982): Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, Pergamon, Oxford.

Krashen, s. (1985): the input hypothesis: issues and implications, Longman, London.

Pascual, v. (2006): el tractament de les llenges en un model deducaci plurilinge per al sistema
educatiu valenci, generalitat valenciana. Conselleria de cultura, educaci i esport, Valencia.

Selinker, Larry. Rediscovering Interlanguage (Applied Linguistics and Language Study), Longman
Group UK Limited 1992

Siguan, m. (2001): bilingismo y lenguas en contacto, alianza editorial, Madrid.

Teaching Styles Online

http://www.teachingstylesonline.com/interlanguage.html

Vygotsky, l. S. (1979): el desarrollo de los procesos psicolgicos superiores, Grijalbo, barcelona.

What is the Role of Transfer in Interlanguage pdf

http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/groups/crile/docs/crile33powell.pdf

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LESSON PLANNING
1. WARM UP. SUPPORTING MOTHER TONGUE. 10M
Task 1. Read and discuss the quote.
Languages embody the intellectual wealth of the people that speak them. Losing any of
them is like dropping a bomb on the Lovre Ken Hale, linguist
2. BILINGUALISM. WHAT IS IT?. 15
Task 2 Listening comprehension task.
Watch Parents TV clip to introduce the topic of multilingualism. Ask them to write down
main ideas and discuss
3. THE COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY AND THE ICEBERG METAPHORE
4. FACTORS AFECTING LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. THE INTERLANGUAGE. 45
Task3. Interlanguage. Comment on different examples of positive and negative
interferences. Ask around in order to see if they understood the Interlanguage concept
Take a look at the following examples of oral productions of a 5 year old bilingual boy who is in
an immersion programme with a high exposure to English. He is speaking at school to his
friends or to his teacher and at home with his mother, who is also trilingual.
At school he says:
-Pau mha pushat.
-I not can do this, or I no cant do this
-I not want to go, I not want go
-Lucia not goes, she not go
-want you this?
-Me no like this homework
At home:
-Mhe deixat el llibre on the table estic on the carpet,
- Donam el apron, please.

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Do you think this productions are errors, why are they originated?
Is his first/second language a hindrance to the learning of the others?

5. INTERACTIONISTS. Krashen.
Task 4. Listening comprehension task. (If time)
Krashen clip. Ask them to take notes on main ideas

6. INTERACTIONISTS II, THE SCAFFOLDING. VIGOTZKY AND BRUNER

*Ask them to write a summary on those contents, which due to the lack of time and the
length of the unit, remain unexplained

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