Cummins is one of the world’s leading authorities on bilingual education and second language acquisition. Mainstream teachers who have knowledge of his theories and act on his advice will be in a much stronger position to help the students in their classes.
3.3.1 BICS/CALP
Cummins makes the distinction between two differing kinds of language proficiency. BICS are Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills; these are the "surface" skills of listening and speaking which are typically acquired quickly by many students; particularly by those from language backgrounds similar to English who spend a lot of their school time interacting with native speakers.
CALP is Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, and, as the name suggests, is the basis for a child’s ability to cope with the academic demands placed upon her in the various subjects.
Cummins states that while many children develop native speaker fluency (i.e. BICS) within two years of immersion in the target language, it takes between 5-7 years for a child to be working on a level with native speakers as far as academic language is concerned.
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3.3.2 Additive/subtractive Bilingualism
Cummins draws the distinction between additive bilingualism in which the first language continues to be developed and the first culture to be valued while the second language is added;
and subtractive bilingualism in which the second language is added at the expense of the first language and culture, which diminish as a consequence. Cummins (1994) quotes research which suggests students working in an additive bilingual environment succeed to a greater extent than those whose first language and culture are devalued by their schools and by the wider society.
3.3.3 Its Implications for mainstream Teachers
The dangers of subtractive bilingualism for the non-native speakers in our school are obvious.
Nevertheless, we should do all we can to demonstrate to non-native IsiZulu speaking students that their cultures and languages are equally as valid and valued as the indigenous culture.
Teachers and departments of education should explore every possibility to incorporate the different cultural backgrounds of our students into their daily teaching and curricula.
Furthermore, Cummins work has featured strongly in studies on bilingualism and his most notable contribution to the field of academic literacy is captured in his distinction between Basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). Cummins (1980) defines CALP as “those aspects of language proficiency which are closely related to the development of literacy skills in L1 and L2”, while BICS comprise the skills that are needed for oral fluency.
Hence Cummins’ theory of academic language acquisition compares strongly with Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which argues that there is a symbolic distance between a learner’s actual development level and the level of potential development under the guidance of and through collaboration with adult or expert (Jaramillo, 1996). Though Vygotsky’s ZPD theory was meant as a general theory of learning, it has received much support in language learning circles, particularly in relation to the notion of scaffolding in language acquisition.
Plausible as it is, Cummins’ theorisation has not been without criticism. Criticism was harsh and forthcoming. Notable criticisms have been that the distinction represent the ability to take tests
61 | P a g e and do not necessarily predict how well the student will do in academic contexts (since CALP is regarded as measurable in a test) and that CALP promotes a deficit theory as it attributes academic failures of bilingual minority students to a lack of CALP rather than to other aspects such as schooling (Edelsky cited in Shore and Sabatini, 2009).
However, Cummins in Otto (1997) is also of the view that language can be used in the form of Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) which requires sound literacy skills, vocabulary that is broad to allow for subject-matter mastery, concept development and skill in formal oral and written expression. And by virtue of it being used in formal education, CALP can be viewed as a prestigious form of language usage and in the South African context; English is accorded the role of CALP (Otto, 1997). Another main form of language use is regarded as the Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), a form of L1 which is acquired in early childhood and meant for social access due to its relatively limited vocabulary. Otto says in South Africa, the L1 is accorded the role of BICS which has contributed to negative attitudes towards the first language, because of it not being used as CALP, during the initial years of schooling. I think this language learning method is most suitable for students who are learning Conversational isiZulu as a second language in the university.
As Cummins (2000) states: "Conceptual knowledge developed in one language helps to make input in the other language comprehensible. Cummins has devised a model whereby the different tasks we expect our students to engage in can be categorized. In the case of this study tasks range in difficulty along one continuum from cognitively undemanding to cognitively demanding; and along the other continuum from context-embedded to context-reduced. A context-embedded task is one in which the student has access to a range of additional visual and oral cues; for example he can look at illustrations of what is being talked about or ask questions to confirm understanding. A context-reduced task is one such as listening to a lecture or reading dense text, where there are no other sources of help than the language itself. So, one can say that Conversational IsiZulu is a context enriched not context reduced module.
The neglect of the students’ L1 is unfortunate because several studies show that not only does the use of L1 enhance the development of writing skills in bilingual and L2 students, but it also helps these students to construct their bilingual and bicultural identities (Reyes, 2001, Reyes & Azuara, 2008). Gutierrez, Rymes, and Larson (1995) noted that this usually happens in classes where
62 | P a g e students and teachers express their thoughts and interests freely as they engage in different learning activities in an unrestrictive space.