One focus of this program is to improve our language skills. I started learning English at the age of ten. In the first years the focus was on social language aquisition. We learned vocabulary that are important to communicate with other people and got an overview of the grammatical structures that help to make ourselves understud. The teacher trained our Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS). When I entered the upper secondary school (year 11) we started analysing and comparing pieces of literatur. The focus moved from BICS to CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency). At the university where I study we did not work on our BICS anymore. We read and interpreted academic texts and concepts. I feel comfortable when I talk with other people in English but when we start talking about academic topics I have problems with my accuracy and fluency. Because of this I am not very self-assured and try to avoid talking in the classroom (as a student). I really need to improve my CALP.
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Niko,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read about your experience. I think that many who study EFL experience a similar pathway. You have placed yourself in a perfect situation to push forward your CALP in English by joining this program. Please let us know how we can make it more comfortable for you to speak in class.
Best wishes,
Gina