Enhancing Critical Thinking Through Calla In Developing Writing Ability Of EFL Students

Abstract

The objectives of this research are firstly to investigate the application of Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach in improving students’ English writing ability andsecondly to answer what factors influence the students’ writing performance. The subjects of the research were the students of senior high schools in Indonesia consisting of a group of students as experimental group and as control group. The results showed that students improved their writing after they were involved in Cognitive Academic Language Learning Actvitities. Furthermore, the study also showed that levels of students’ critical thinking did not any significant effects toward their writing achievement INTRODUCTION Many studies have revealed that learners from different cultures may learn a foreign language in differentways. The students learning a foreign language in Asian contexts used different learning strategies compared to students that learn the same language in Western context (Setiyadi, et al 2016). Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA)combines English language development with contentbased ESL and with instruction in special learner strategies that will help students understand and remember important concepts (Chamot and O’Malley, 1987). Since English is taught as a foreign languagein Indonesia, the implementation of CALLA might be different from the original one. Therefore, this study attempts to modify the procedures or steps in CALLA in order it can be applicable in the language classroom. The modification includes the use of specific strategy (i.e. metacognitive strategies), the learning activities and the learning materials selected and applied by the teacher. This paperintends to investigate whether or not there is any significant effect of modified CALLA on the use of metacognitive strategies and students’ writing achievement before and after conducting the treatment at the second grade students of a private high school in Indonesia.This study tries tofind outwhether or not there is any significant effect of students’ critical thinking level on their writing achievement. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK CALLA combines English language development with content based ESL and with instruction in special learner strategies that will help students understand and remember important concepts (Chamot and O’Malley, 1987). Chamot and O’Malley (1987) furthermore pointed out that second language methods can be based on a syllabus (or a curriculum) or on a theory of learning processes and instructional procedures and that many current methodological Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.6, Issue 11 Nov-2019 Copyright © Society for Science and Education, United Kingdom 303 approaches reflect one assumption but not the other. CALLA makes these two approaches to language teaching methods interdependent by integrating language learning and teaching theory and the specification of content to be taught. Richards (1984)indicated the importance of addressing the needs of second language learners in program planning. CALLA is designed to meet the educational needs of three types of LEP students: (a) students who have developed social communicativeskills through ESL or exposure to an English-speaking environmentbut who have not developed academic language skills appropriate to their grade level; (b) students exiting from bilingual programs who need assistance in transferring concepts and skills learned in their native language to English; and (c) bilingual, English dominant students who are even less academically proficient in their native language than in English and need to develop academic English language skills. Chamot and O’Malley (1987) stated CALLA is intended for students at the intermediate and advanced levels of English proficiency who need additional experiences in English language development specifically related to three academic areas: science, mathematics, and social studies Figure 1.framework for strategies instruction cited in Amin, et al., 2011 According to Chamot and O’Malley (1987) the CALLA model has three components: (a) a curriculum correlated with mainstream content areas, (b) English language development integrated with content subjects, and (c) instruction in the use of learning strategies. Content-based English language development is not onlyimportant for developing academic language skills, but it is alsoinherently more interesting to many students than ESL classeswhich focus on language only. Content areas such as science,mathematics, and social studies present numerous topics related toa variety of personal interests. LEP students can be motivated notonly by the topics presented but also by knowing that they are developing the concepts and skills associated with these subjects—in other words, that they are actually doing Huzairin., & Yufrizal, H. (2019). Enhancing Critical Thinking Through CALLA In Developing Writing Ability Of EFL Students. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 6(11) 302-313. 304 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.611.7345. “real” school work instead of merely learning a second language for applications that have yet to be revealed. To select content topics for CALLA lessons, ESL teachers can coordinate with classroom teachers and consult subject-area textbooks for the grade level concerned. Classroom teachers can identify the most important concepts and skills taught in the content areas they teach. Science, mathematics, and social studies textbooks can be used as a source of specific information to be presented. Having used these resources to identify lesson topics, the ESL teacher can build language development activities onto the content information selected. To sum up, the CALLA content-based curriculum is based on authentic subject matter from the mainstream curriculum which has been selected as central to the concepts and skills that are developed at particular grade levels. The purpose of English language development, the secondcomponent of the CALLA model, is to provide students withpractice in using English as a tool for learning academic subjectmatter. Reading and language arts can be taught as part of contentareasubjects such as social studies, mathematics, and science. Thelanguage demands of the different content subjects, which includethe language of curriculum materials and of classroom participation,need to be analyzed so that students can be taught the actuallanguage functions, structures, and subjectspecific vocabulary thatthey will need when they enter the mainstream content class. Theselanguage demands, which are different from those of thebeginning-level ESL class or the type of language used for socialinteraction, need to be specifically taught and practiced in thecontext of actual subject-matter learning. The following aspects of language should be included in the language development component of the CALLA model (Chamot, 1985): development of the specialized vocabulary and technical terms of each content area; practice with the language functions used in academic communication, such as explaining, informing, describing, classifying, and evaluating; development of the ability to comprehend and use the language structures and discourse features found in different subject areas; and practice in using thelanguage skills needed in the content classroom, such as listening to explanations, reading for information, participating in academic discussions, and writing reports. By integrating these types of language activities with grade-appropriate content, a curriculum based on the CALLA model can provide LEP students with the conceptual knowledge and language skills they will need to participate successfully in the mainstream classroom. The CALLA model uses learning strategy instruction as anapproach to teaching the contentbased language developmentcurriculum described in the preceding sections. Learning strategyinstruction is a cognitive approach to teaching that helps studentslearn conscious processes and techniques that facilitate thecomprehension, acquisition, and retention of new skills andconcepts. The use of learning strategy instruction in secondlanguage learning is based on four main propositions (see Chipman,Sigel, & Glaser, 1985; Derry & Murphy, 1986; Weinstein & Mayer,1986). 1. Mentally active learners are better learners. Students who organize new information and consciously relate it to existing knowledge should have more cognitive linkages to assist comprehension and recall than do students who approach each new task as something to be memorized by rote learning. 2. Strategies can be taught. Students who are taught to use strategies and provided with sufficient practice in using them will learn more effectively than students who have had no experience with learning strategies. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.6, Issue 11 Nov-2019 Copyright © Society for Science and Education, United Kingdom 305 3. Learning strategies transfer to new tasks. Once students have become accustomed to using learning strategies, they will use them on new tasks that are similar to the learning activities on which they were initially trained. 4. Academic language learning is more effective with learning strategies. Academic language learning among students of English as a second language is governed by some of the same principles that govern reading and problem solving among native English speakers. Studies in learning strategy applications indicate that students taught to use new strategies can become more effective learners (O’Malley, 1985). In a recent experimental study, second language learners were taught to use learning strategies for vocabulary, listening comprehension, and formal speaking tasks using academic content (O’Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Russo, &Küpper, 1985). The results showed that learning strategy instruction was most effective for the more integrative language tasks which involved the use of aca