CALLA
Content and Language Learning Strategies

This strategy list was developed by Anna Uhl Chamot
(Copyright 2006) as part of CALLA content and strategies-based
instruction.

Printer-friendly version.For more on
CALLA, see http://calla.ws
See also, “Learning Strategies for Purpose” based on the
ACTFL Standards for Foreign Language Learning.
Please let me
know how you use or teach strategies, in particular with technology,
by answering the poll or survey questions.

STRATEGY

DESCRIPTION

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES

Plan / Organize

Planner

Before beginning a
task:

Set goals.

Plan the task or content
sequence.

Plan how to
accomplish the task (choose strategies).

Preview a text.

Monitor /
Identify

Problems

Check

While working on
a task:

Check your
progress on the task.

Check your comprehension as you use the
language. Do you understand? If not, what is the problem?

Check your production as you use
the language. Are you making sense? If not, what is the
problem?

Evaluate

I did it!

After completing a
task:

Assess how well you
have accomplished the learning task.

Assess how well you have used learning
strategies.

Decide how
effective the strategies were.

Identify changes you will make the next time
you have a similar task to do.

Manage Your Own

Learning

Pace Yourself

Determine how you
learn best.

Arrange
conditions that help you learn.

Seek opportunities for practice.

Focus your attention on the
task.

TASK-BASED
STRATEGIES

USE WHAT YOU KNOW

Use Background

Knowledge

I know.

Think about and
use what you already know to help you do the task.

Make associations between new information and
your prior knowledge.

Use
new information to clarify or modify your prior knowledge.

Make Inferences

Use Clues

Use context and
what you know to figure out meaning.

Read and listen between the lines.

Go beyond the text to understand
its meaning.

Make Predictions

WindowOrg: -1239, 746
WindowExt: 1987, -1796
Content: -1239, -1050, 748, 727

Crystal Ball

Anticipate information to
come.

Make logical guesses
about what will happen in a written or oral text.

Make an estimate (math).

Make a hypothesis (science).

Personalize

Me

Relate new
concepts to your own life, to your experiences, knowledge, beliefs and
feelings.

Transfer / Use Cognates

Coffee/Caf

Apply your
linguistic knowledge of other languages (including your native
language) to the target language.

Recognize cognates.

Substitute /
Paraphrase

Make it work

Use a synonym or
descriptive phrase for unknown words or expressions.

WindowExt: 490, 278
WindowOrg: 0, 0
Content: 0, 6, 477, 277
Ignored Opcodes:
$105USE YOUR
SENSES

Use Images

See it in your
mind

Use or create an actual or mental image to
understand and/or represent information.

Use or draw a picture or diagram.

Use Sounds

Sound Out

Say or read aloud
a word, sentence, or paragraph to help your understanding.

Sound out/vocalize.

Use your
mental tape recorder to remember
sounds, words, phrases, and/or conversations.

Use Your
Kinesthetic Sense

Act out a
role, for example, in Readers Theater, or imagine
yourself in different roles in the target language.

Use real objects to help you
remember words, sentences, or content information.

USE YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL
SKILLS

Find/Apply Patterns

abacus

Apply a rule.

Make a rule.

Recognize and
apply letter/sound, grammar, discourse, or register rules.

Identify patterns in literature (genre).

Identify patterns
in math, science, and social studies.

Classify/Sequence

Life cycle

Categorize words or ideas according to attributes.

Classify living things; identify natural cycles.

Identify
order and sequences in math, science, and social studies.

Sequence events in history.

Take Notes

PDA

Write down important words and ideas while listening or
reading.

List ideas or words to include in speaking or
writing..

Use Graphic Organizers

Venn

A Venn
diagram

Use or create visual
representations (such as Venn diagrams, time lines, webs, and charts)
of important relationships between concepts.

Summarize

Main Idea

Create a mental, oral, or written summary of
information.

Use Selective Attention

WindowOrg: -1214, 745
WindowExt: 1929, -1972
Content: -1214, -1227, 712, 743

Focus

Focus on
specific information, structures, key words, phrases, or
ideas.

MapMode: 8
WindowOrg: 0, 0
WindowExt: 1, 1
MapMode: 8
WindowOrg: 0, 0
WindowExt: 1, 1
WindowExt: 16000, 12591
WindowOrg: 0, 0
Content: 0, 0, 16000, 12591
USE A VARIETY OF
RESOURCES
Title: Counsellor Drawings: People Scenes - Children (1996)
Author: NA
Illustrator: Counsellor, Barbara
Publisher: Zedcor, Inc.
SSm MM 8/30/96
Copyright (c) 1996 Zedcor Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Visit us at http://www.arttoday.com
Keywords: computer

Access Information

Sources

Look
it up!

Use the dictionary, the internet,
and other reference materials.

Seek out and use sources of
information.

Follow a model

Ask questions

Cooperate

Together

Work with others to complete tasks, build confidence,
and give and receive feedback.

Talk Yourself Through It

(SelfTalk)

I can do it!

Use your inner resources. Reduce your anxiety by
reminding yourself of your progress, the resources you have available,
and your goals.