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There is a common misbelief that students who can casually speak English must be able to do academic work in English. - MYTH! Check out our page to see why it is a mistake to believe that students will automatically be able to read and write in English for academic purposes because they can speak socially.
This article from ¡Colorín Colorado! goes into the differences between social and academic English. This is a good place to start to learn about some of the differences.
The following table is from the book Unlocking English Learners' Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible by Diane Staehr Fenner and Syndey Snyder. This helps to break down and give examples of the differences between social and academic language.
BICS and CALP
BICS and CALP
BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALP(Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) are two terms coined by Prof. Jim Cummins from the University of Toronto.
BICS are the skills needed for everyday socializing. This is the english that they will use on a regular basis talking to friends, teachers, coworkers, etc.
CALP deals with the writing, listening, reading, and speaking in regards to academic content. This usually takes longer for students to acquire.
Resource: EdNews Daily
This is a helpful video describing the differences between BICS and CALP
This is a helpful video describing the differences between BICS and CALP
This is a video of Jim Cummins discussing BICS and CALP and what he observed in leading up to these designations
This is a video of Jim Cummins discussing BICS and CALP and what he observed in leading up to these designations
Assessing Social and Academic Language
Assessing Social and Academic Language
The WIDA Consortium, made up of 41 states and territories, has developed standards for English Language Acquisition. The first standard assesses the Social learning while the other 4 standards address the Academic learning for English learners.
Resources:
Colorin Colorado. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/what-difference-between-social-and-academic-english.
EdNews Daily. (2021). Understanding The Difference Between BICS And CALP In English Language Acquisition. Retrieved from: https://www.ednewsdaily.com/understanding-the-difference-between-bics-and-calp-in-english-language-acquisition/
Fenner, D. S., Snyder, S., & Breiseth, L. (2017). Unlocking English learners' potential: Strategies for making content accessible. Corwin, a SAGE Company.
TELL 410 - Rosborough (July 2021). BICS and CALP. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkjAq96zUV4
WIDA. (2020). WIDA English language development standards framework, 2020 edition: Kindergarten–grade 12.
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
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