Bics and Calp

TESOL 200 ONLINE

What is BICS?
● Bics stands for Basic Interpersonal
Communication Skills. It is the language
that we use in everyday communication.
● It is often called the playground language
because it is the language that children use
when they talk at lunch or to their peers.
BICS continued...
● Using BICS language is cognitively
undemanding.
● It can look like participating in show and tell,
reading simple text supported by pictures or
talking on the phone.
What is CALP?
● CALP stands for Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency.
● It is the language necessary for completing
school work, having a conceptual
understanding of content, and the
language used in tests.
CALP continued...
● Students who don't have CALPs mastered
can struggle with academics.
● CALPs is cognitively demanding.
● In a classroom, CALPs can look like solving
math problems using manipulatives,
completing science experiments, or lecturing
without visual aids.
A Side by Side Comparison
BICS (Social Language)
The rocket took off late

VS.

CALPs (Academic Language)

The launch of Apollo 13 was delayed
Social Language vs. Academic Language
BICS can be looked at as more of a slang way
of talking, while CALPs includes grammatically
correct terms.
In order to be college and career ready, state
standards require that students understand the
proper usage of the English language (CALPs)