Cummins’+Theories+of+Language+and+Cognition

=Cummins’ theories of language and cognition= Jim Cummins has been called a "no-nonsense voice in the world of second language acquisition" (Timothy Lange, 2007) He is currently a professor at the University of Toronto Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (Cummins' Faculty Profile) He has been an active force in Bilingual Education and research for most of the past thirty years.

Jim Cummins’ research led to the belief that language is a cognitive development, rather than behavioral. His work is influential in building a case for bilingual education. Cummins not only found that bilingualism improves classroom learning, but that “knowledge of [a] first language provides a firm foundation for second-language acquisition” (Díaz-Rico & Weed, 2010).

=BICS vs.CALP= BICS stands for Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills and consists of those language skills that allow students to communicate everyday social contexts, such as at home or while spending time with a group of friends (Díaz-Rico & Weed (2006). Since BICS is //context embedded// (understanding and meaning are provided in the situation due to continuous feedback between participants), English Language Learners tend to develop it within two years; much more quickly than CALP.

CALP stands for Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency and can be thought of as academic, or school, language. It consists of more “abstract and decontextualized” (Díaz-Rico & Weed, 2010) ideas and requires higher-order thinking skills from the student. Because of a lack of context clues that CALP provides, it can take up to five years for English Language Learners to develop.

It is important to remember that both BICS and CALP are more than words. BICS can also consist of more social cues, such as a wave or a smile when passing a friend in the hallway, or a ‘thumbs up’ from a teacher to show that a student is doing a good job. CALP requires more complex though processes, such as categorizing, and analyzing (Díaz-Rico & Weed, 2010).

In order to allow for the development of BICS, teachers need to give students time to socialize throughout the school day. This time could be during a work time or even just at lunch and on the playground. Without many opportunities to communicate socially, English Language Learners will struggle with basic language development.

The development of CALP in an English Language Learner is one that will take more time and thought on the part of the teacher. When introducing content-specific language in the classroom, it is helpful to provide student with visuals and realia as much as possible. Giving students the opportunity to visually picture the concept will aid their understanding. When the concept is more abstract, as is the case with more upper-leveled grades, resources such as charts, graphs and graphic organizers may be particularly helpful in the development of CALP.

=Common Underlying Proficiency= Cummins feels that cognition and language fundamentals learned in a student's primary language, or L1, form a basis for further learning in any language. Or in other words, if a student has competence in their L1, they are more likely to achieve competence in a second language, the L2. This //common underlying proficiency// is often referred to as CUP; the CUP acts as a central operating system for both languages. (Cummins, 1981). In short, if a student can understand the water cycle in their L1, that knowledge transfers to learning about the water cycle in another language. Linguistic knowledge, as well as skills such as summarizing chapters, can also transfer between languages (Freeman & Freeman, 2004). This idea is sometimes illustrated as an Iceberg with two distinct peaks above the waterline (the two different languages), yet having a large shared base below the water (the shared base of knowledge, or common underlying proficiency).

Some of the implications of CUP for teachers are that students should be encouraged to continue to develop and use their L1. Perhaps teachers could suggest that students read something in their native language for fun, or talk about their school day with their parents in their native language. Cummins himself says that "not only does maintenance of L1 helps students to communicate with parents and grandparents in their families, and increase the collective linguistic competence of the entire society, it enhances the intellectual and academic resources of individual bilingual students" (Cummins, 2000, p. 38).

References:  Cummins, J. (1981) //Bilingualism and minority language children.// Ontario; Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Cummins, J. (2000) //Language, Power and Pedgogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire.// Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Díaz-Rico, L. T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010). //The cross-cultural, language, and academic development handbook, fourth edition//. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Freeman, D. E. & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). //Essential linguistics: What you need to know to teach reading, ESL, spelling, phonics, and grammar//. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Lange, Timothy (2007) //Jim Cummins Demolishes NCLB's Ideology and Practice//. The Daily Kos. retrieved from: [].