Why we started CALP

CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) is a project to build a deep knowledge of academic English: the English a child needs to understand school subjects.

The gap

India has many home languages, and most parents choose English-medium schools. When the language at home and the language at school are different, children don’t understand the subject, and they start memorising it. They get through the primary classes, and then struggle with the ideas in higher classes. CALP is here to fill this gap.

What CALP builds

CALP builds a child’s English listening and reading, grows their vocabulary and trains them to think in English. Once these improve, speaking and writing improve too, and children learn to put their ideas into words.

If the language at home and at school are different, make sure your child spends regular time with CALP. If you are an older student, in a professional course or preparing for an exam, half an hour a day helps. If English is new to you, start from Class 1 and go up class by class.

Where the method comes from

CALP is based on A framework for scaffolding to teach programming to vernacular medium students, developed by Dr. Yogendra Pal.

I dedicate CALP to my guide, Prof. Sridhar Iyer. Without his guidance it would not have been possible to build a framework that helps students become proficient in English. I also thank Prof. Sahana Murthy and Prof. Kinshuk for their support.