<Slide 1 Title> Transcript for the presentation, BICS vs. CALP In this presentation, we are going to discuss two continuums of language known as BICS and CALP, and the importance of context. <Slide 2> BICS stands for Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills while CALP means Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. The concept that there is one type of language that is used in general conversation during everyday activities, BICS, and another type of language that is used primarily in academic settings, CALP, was developed by Jim Cummins in 1979. We know now that these two language continuums are specific to certain contexts, but can also be used simulataneously. <Slide 3> Someone who has proficiency in BICS can be recognized by their conversational fluency. They have surface language skills that enable them to listen and speak during everyday conversations. These skills are typically acquired quickly during the ELs first six months to two years in an English-­‐speaking environment, and may include simple greetings and the ability to talk about their feelings, likes, dislikes, etc. <Slide 4> CALP on the other hand refers to the ELLs ability to cope with academic demands in content classes. In the classroom, ELs are required to listen, speak, read and write about specific subjects. Each content area requires specific vocabulary that is used in a particular way in that subject. For example, the word “case” in everyday language may be used in a sentence such as, “Oh, I’ll bring my umbrella with me in case it rains.” Whereas, in a biology class, a reference may be made to someone who has a “case” of pneumonia. In English class, the same word would most likely refer to upper and lower case letters. In social studies though, it could refer to Supreme Court cases. It is important for teachers to recognize that while BICS is generally learned in six months to two years, it can take five to seven years to develop CALP and if the EL has limited formal education or limited support for native language development it can take as many as ten years to develop CALP. <Slide 5> Lets take a look at why BICS is learned so much faster than CALP. First, BICS tends to be meaningful, cognitively undemanding, context-­‐embedded and non-­‐specialized. To illustrate this lets look at the example I used earlier of the word “case”. When someone says I’ll bring my umbrella with me in case it rains. They’re likely getting ready to go outside. They’ve put on their shoes and jacket and maybe they looked outside and commented about the clouds. Or they just finished watching the weather report. As they say that they will bring their umbrella in case it rains, they’re probably picking up their umbrella. All of these visuals cues and comments are meaningful to the listener who maybe thinking, “I better bring my umbrella too or I might get wet”. It’s cognitively undemanding meaning that the listener isn’t trying to learn anything other than the language itself. And it’s context-­‐embedded; that means that all of the things happening as the speaking takes place, gives the listener contextual cues about what is being said. So looking outside, putting on shoes and a jacket and reaching for an umbrella gives lots of cues about what’s being said. This helps the listener to determine that “case” is a reference to probability. Finally, BICS is not specialized. A four-­‐year old would be able to understand the concept of bringing an umbrella in case it rains. CALP, on the other hand, is abstract, cognitively demanding, often context-­‐reduced and specialized. <Slide 6> Let’s look at the following sentences, which come from a secondary government textbook. The text reads, “the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction cases form a very small part of its yearly workload; an average of fewer than five cases a year.” First of all, this is abstract. <Slide 7> There aren’t specific objects that could make the meaning of the sentence clear. Second, it is cognitively demanding. In order to understand the word, “cases”, one has to know what the Supreme Court is. What is meant by the word “jurisdiction” and “original”. And they also must understand how the word “original” modifies the word “jurisdiction”. For an English learner to understand the whole sentence, they must know a great deal. We say it is context–reduced because there are relatively few contextual cues that are generally given when using academic language. As social studies teachers, it’s important to recognize this and contextualize lessons as much as possible for the English Learners in the classroom. We’ll talk more about this shortly. Finally, academic language is specialized. This is evident in the variation we see in how the word “case” is used differently in each content area. Additionally, there are many words that are only used when talking about government or that are only used in history discussions. <Slide 8> Academic language doesn’t just involve specialized content-­‐area vocabulary. In academic settings, students are asked to perform skills that are not often used in basic interpersonal communication. These language skills include comparing, classifying, synthesizing, evaluating and inferring, to name a few. So in academic situations, ELs are often negotiating language meaning, while engaging in more difficult cognitive processes simultaneously. This can be tiring for ELs over extended periods of time, which is one reason we might chunk the amount of academic language they must work with or adjust the types of tasks they do with larger amounts of language, based on their proficiency level. <Slide 9> first click Now we have an activity to test your knowledge of BICS and CALP. Please pause this presentation and complete the BICS-­‐CALP activity. When you’re finished, return to the presentation and press “play”. Please pause the presentation now. second click Welcome back. Here you can check your work. You can see the characters of BICS (pause) CALP (pause) and those that overlap. <Slide 10> Already we’ve looked at the difference between BICS ad CALP. Now we’re going to distinguish between the classroom tasks that are context-­‐embedded and those that are context-­‐reduced. Just to review, context embedded tasks are ones where students have access to a range of additional visual and oral cues. <Slide 11> If a task is context-­‐reduced, students will have no other sources to gain comprehension other than language. <Slide 12> Examples of context-­‐reduced tasks are lectures, reading textbooks and listening to debates. Context reduced tasks are more difficult for English learners who are struggling with language. Let’s look at the most difficult tasks that are both context-­‐reduced and cognitively demanding. <Slide 13> This is Jim Cummins’ model that illustrates the difficulty level of tasks for ELs related to the type of language and level of cognitive demand. The tasks that you see in quadrant D are the most difficult. They are both context-­‐reduced and cognitively demanding. These include listening to a lecture, reading a textbook, writing a persuasive essay, writing a lab report, solving a word problem in math and taking a standardized test. Tasks that are cognitively demanding should be modified, so that they are context-­‐
embedded. This can be done by adding graphic organizers, manipulatives, or other visual aids to a lecture or by using textbooks that have lots of pictures, charts and maps. You can see examples of tasks that are cognitively demanding yet supported with context in quadrant B. Before having students write an essay have them discuss the topic, read about it and organize the information in a graphic organizer. By doing these things you’ll be helping your ELs to conceptualize the content that you’re teaching. These modifications don’t just help ELs; any student who is struggling with the content will likely benefit. In fact, these modifications are also recommended for students who have an IEP. Also, for students who are prone to daydreaming during social studies, they will be better able to stay focused if there are visual aids that help them stay engaged. You may also notice that the tasks in quadrants A&C are cognitively undemanding. These are examples that primarily rely on BICS, or social language, yet if you pay attention to quadrant C, you will notice that these tasks are still difficult, because the ELs must make meaning from language alone. This makes tasks like talking on the phone a little more challenging than face to face. We should keep this in mind when considering home-­‐school communication, especially if students’ parents are also learning English. <Slide 13> So, now that you understand BICS and CALP, and the importance of context, what should you do to support ELs in your classroom? Assess which activities in your class are context-­‐
reduced and cognitively demanding. Contextualize instruction and all activities for ELs and other students who may need it. And, don’t be fooled by ELLs who have good conversational English. They may still need lots of help with CALP.