Alyssa Johnson

07/16/2020
Assignment 5
EDUC 426.1
Assignment 5: BICS & CALPS

Language ultimately functions as a form of communication. However, the way we

communicate and where we communicate is complex and diverse. Cummins summarizes the

idea of language through “two language continua called BICS (Basic Interpersonal

Communicative Skills) and CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)” (“BICS &

CALP,” 2009). BICS captures the highly-contextualized, face-to-face interactions that people

have everyday. BICS supports non-native English speakers by building upon their knowledge of

language, while correcting misconceptions through observed body language and instant

feedback (Baker, 2006, as cited in “BICS & CALP,” 2009). Thinking back to one of my EL

students from last year, G, he had achieved a “functional, social use of language” that is

represented under BICS (“BICS & CALP,” 2009). He socialized with grade-level peers and he

resolved recess conflicts independently. He was well liked by his classmates and worked with

partners and groups cooperatively. He had developed ample amounts of language around topics

he enjoyed, such as math, science, what he did over the weekend, soccer practice, and video

games. He also demonstrated knowledge of using language more functionally to meet basic

needs. For example, he knew how to dismiss himself to the restroom and/ or alert the teacher

when he was not feeling well. G immigrated to the United States from Brazil in first grade. He

has been in America for approximately two years, which coincides with Cummins research that

states learners take “approximately two years to achieve a functional, social use of a second

language” (“BICS & CALP,” 2009).

CALP, Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, is the “context-reduced language of

the academic classroom” (“BICS & CALP,” 2009). CALP refers to the part of the “curriculum

where higher order thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, are required”
(“BICS & CALP,” 2009). In comparison to “functional, social use of second language,”

Cummins’s team of researchers estimates that it takes bilingual learners “five to seven years” to

“achieve a level of academic linguistic proficiency comparable to monolingual English speaking

peers” (“BICS & CALP,” 2009). Referring back to my case study student, G, he is still

developing his academic language even though his social use of language is comparable to those

of native speaking peers. He often needs reading and writing skills retaught in a small group. He

is successful when given ample opportunities to attempt a task and receive instant feedback. He

also benefits from the use of sentence frames that allow him to contribute to academic

conversations in a structured and supportive format. Another clear indicator of his continuing

development of academic language is his writing. When asked to write a summary of a story, he

might articulate a few opinions about whether the story was “good” or “bad” and name a few of

the events that took place. However, if you provided him a story map and explicitly stated a

summary is when you retell a story using the “Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then” frame, then

he would be able to successfully include all the components of a summary. Similar to ALL

learners, when engaging in cognitively demanding tasks, he benefits from contextualized

supports.