Jim Cummins

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Jim Cummins (* 1949 ) is a Canadian educator . He is Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto , Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning and Canada Research Chair in Language Learning and Literacy Development in Multilingual Contexts.

Jim Cummins' research interests are in language development and literacy development in students with English as a foreign language in the context of multilingual schools. He is particularly concerned with linguistic and pedagogical barriers that can stand in the way of school success for students with a different cultural background, as well as with the possibility of technological support for the promotion of language skills.

Academic work

In 1971 Cummins graduated from the National University of Ireland with a degree in Applied Psychology . He received his Ph.D. degree in 1974 from the University of Alberta in the department of educational psychology .

He has published numerous papers on the topics of second language acquisition and literacy development and works as a consultant for language planning in the school context at various international institutions. Cummins developed two hypotheses to explain conflicting results from previous research on second language acquisition (for example, large differences between the results of the Canadian immersion programs and those of the submersion programs).

BICS and CALP

The distinction between BICS and CALP was introduced by Cummins in 1979. She supports u. a. to the work of Skutnabb-Kangas and Toukomaa (1976); In studies of Finnish immigrant children, they found that pupils who had already completed primary school in their country of origin learned the second language better and faster.
BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills): These are basic conversational language skills that form the basis for the manifestation of language in direct personal exchange. They are language dependent, used in an informal context and do not require higher cognitive skills. Studies by Cummins and Virginia Collier showed that students acquire age-appropriate conversational skills in L2 after a relatively short learning period of 1–3 years if they are adequately confronted with L2.
CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency): These cognitive-academic language proficiency, also known as “literacy-related skills”, forms the basis for the manipulation of language in decontextualized “academic” situations and when dealing with written language. It is not directly language-bound and means that a student can think in the respective language and acquire learning material with its help. Based on their research, Cummins and Collier assume that students need 5-7 years to acquire CALP in L2 if they are already literalized in L1 . For students who do not have good literacy skills in L1, this process can take 7-10 years. In contrast to the BICS, CALP varies greatly between the speakers of a language.

Cummins does not seek or claim a linguistic definition of the BICS / CALP distinction.

Think tank model

In his think tank model, Cummins postulates "a superordinate, language-related but linguistically neutral store of knowledge or a general mind that can be fed and developed across several languages ​​at the same time". He describes this competence as CUP (common underlying proficiency). In German, the terms “cross-lingual cognitive potential” or “general linguistic competence” are used for this.

Double iceberg model of bilingual language proficiency

To illustrate CUP, Cummins uses the image of an iceberg: a large part of it is under water and is therefore not visible; this is CUP, i.e. the cross-lingual cognitive potential. What can be seen, however, are the language-bound surface features, such as B. Articulation patterns and grammatical systems of rules. In the case of a bilingual person, there are two “icebergs” (“First language surface feature” and “Second language surface feature”).

Interdependence Hypothesis

This hypothesis postulates that the L2 development depends on the level of the L1 at the time of the first intensive confrontation with the L2 (e.g. at the beginning of school): If the skills in the L1 were not sufficiently developed at this point in time, it can Intensive contact with the L2 in the first years of school can have a negative effect on the development of the L1. This in turn affects the development of L2.

Threshold Hypothesis

This hypothesis, also known as the threshold level hypothesis, attempts to explain the cognitive and academic consequences of various forms of bilingualism. It postulates a dependency of cognitive-academic competence on language competence in both languages. Cummins believes that there are thresholds a bilingual child must cross in order for bilingualism to have a positive impact on their cognitive-academic proficiency. The first threshold must be exceeded in both languages ​​so that there are no negative effects on cognitive development. If this threshold is not exceeded, semilingualism arises: there are insufficient skills in both languages. If the language skills are above the first threshold, the result is dominant bilingualism: one of the two languages ​​has age-appropriate skills. Positive effects on cognitive development only arise after the second threshold has been exceeded. In this case it is an additive bilingualism: There is age-appropriate competence in both languages.

On the basis of these hypotheses, numerous models and programs were developed with the aim of including and promoting the L1 in school lessons.

Awards and recognitions

  • 1979: International Reading Association, Albert J. Harris Award for best paper on detection and remediation of reading disability (J. Cummins and JP Das, Cognitive processing and reading difficulties: A framework for research. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 1977, 23, 245-256).
  • 1990: English-Speaking Union's Duke of Edinburgh English Language Book Competition (highly commended): The development of second language proficiency. (B. Harley, P. Allen, J. Cummins, M. Swain [Eds.] Cambridge University Press, 1990).
  • 1992: Los Angeles County Bilingual Directors Association Award
  • 1997: Doctorate in Humane Letters (honorary) Bank Street College of Education, New York.
  • 2010: Alumni Honor Award from the University of Alberta

Works

Books

  • Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters, Clevedon in press.
  • Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society. (Greek Translation). Gutenberg, Athens 1999.
  • with D. Sayers: Brave new schools: Challenging cultural illiteracy through global learning networks. St. Martin's Press, New York 1995/1997.
  • Language learning and bilingualism. Sophia University, Tokyo 1991.
  • with Colin Baker and Nancy H. Hornberger: An Introductory Reader to the Writings of Jim Cummins. Channel View Publications, Bristol 2001.
  • with M. Danesi: Heritage languages: The development and denial of Canada's linguistic resources. Our Schools / Our Selves and Garamond Press, Toronto 1990.
  • with RJ Samuda, SL Kong, J. Lewis and J. Pascal-Leone: Assessment and placement of minority students. CJ Hofgrefe and ISSP, Toronto 1989.
  • Empowering minority students. California Association for Bilingual Education, Sacramento 1989.
  • with M. Swain: Bilingualism in education: Aspects of theory, research and policy. Longman, London 1986.
  • Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. Multilingual Matters, Clevedon 1984.
  • Heritage language education: A literature review. Ministry of Education, Toronto 1983.
  • Effects of French language experience at Kindergarten level on academic progress in French immersion programs. Ministry of Education, Toronto 1981.
  • Bilingualism and minority language children. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto 1981.

Test development

  • with Ana F. Munoz-Sandoval, G. Alvarado and Mary L. Ruef: Bilingual Verbal Abilities Test. Riverside Publishers, 2005.

Web links

supporting documents

  • Jim Cummins: The Importance of Multilingual Children's Mother Tongues in School. (Kompetenzzentrum-sprachfoerderung.de)
  • Jim Cummins: Bilingual Children's Mother Tongue: Why Is It Important for Education? 2003. (fiplv.org)
  • Jims Cummins et al: ELL Students Speak for Themselves: Identity Texts and Literacy Engagement in Multilingual Classrooms. 2008. (achievementseminars.com)
  • Jim Cummins: Teaching for Cross-Language Transfer in Dual Language Education: Possibilities and Pitfalls. 2005. (achievementseminars.com)
  • Jims Cummins et al: Affirming Identity in Multilingual Classrooms. (ascd.org)
  • Homepage of the University of Toronto (oise.utoronto.ca)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cummins 1981, 30 cit. after Butzkamm 1993, 51
personal data
SURNAME Cummins, Jim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cummins, James Patrick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian educator
DATE OF BIRTH 1949