This document discusses the differences between social language (BICS) and academic language (CALP) acquisition for English learners. It states that students can develop social language proficiency within 2-4 years through informal interactions, while achieving academic language proficiency takes 5-7 years and requires mastery of cognitive skills. Formal schooling in a student's first language significantly impacts their ability to acquire both types of English language skills by transferring knowledge between languages. The document prompts readers to consider questions about assessing levels of language acquisition for a hypothetical student named Ha.

1. English Language
Acquisition:
Understanding Social &
Academic Language
LTC 660-899
Dr. Sarah Nixon
Fall 2023

2. Prior Knowledge Activation:
Take a minute to contemplate the following
statement:
“The most significant variable in how
long it takes to learn English is the
amount of formal schooling students
have received in their first language.”
(Thomas & Collier)

3. Pertinent questions to understand:
1. Why is the amount of formal schooling a student
receives in their native language [L1] so
important?
2. What knowledge does a student acquire about
language learning in their L1?
3. What knowledge does a student acquire about
the process of learning?

4. 4. What content knowledge does a student
acquire when they have attended formal school
in their L1?
5. What does a student learn about the
function & process of schooling when they
have attended formal school in their L1?
6. How does a student’s formal schooling in
their L1 affect his/her family?

5. Consider the following questions:
How long does it take to acquire
social language?
 For casual conversations?
 To read books and websites for pleasure?
 To participate in social media?

6. Basic Skills or BICS (Cummins) This ability
Interpersonal Communication refers to the
acquisition of communicative competence in
order to achieve some social functions.
BICS are acquired through informal,
nonacademic interactions, using a variety of
cues, including body language & intonation to
make meaning.

7.  Students can gain BICS—conversational proficiency—in
2-4 years and will be able to verbally communicate fairly
well. For younger students, they may develop proficiency
in BICS within 6 months to 2 years.
 They will appear to be fluent speakers of the
language, but if they have acquired only a
level of proficiency & not an academic level of
proficiency—they will have difficulty with cognitively
complex concepts in the target language.

8. Consider the following questions:
How long does it take to acquire
academic language?
 For in-depth academic discussions?
 To read and study academic texts?
 To write academic papers?

9. Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
or CALP (Cummins) This ability refers to the use of
conceptual knowledge as a tool for learning
across content areas.
 It takes students 5-7 years to fully gain CALP or academic
academic language proficiency; possibly 7-10 years for
older students who do not learn English until after
puberty.
 CALP includes skills such as comparing, classifying,
synthesizing, evaluating, and inferring.

10.  Even though a student may be able to speak a language
well enough to communicate their needs through
BICS, academic learning skills take much longer to
develop.
 As a student gets older, the context of academic tasks
becomes more cognitively demanding.
 Because of this, it is important that instructional
support for the development of cognitive academic
language proficiency in English extend well beyond
conversational skills or basic English.

11. Common Underlying
Proficiency [CUP]
There is a common underlying
proficiency {CUP} between two
languages.
Skills, ideas, and concepts students
learn in their first language [L1] will be
transferred to the second language
[L2].

12. Expand your knowledge base:
Read the two short texts on Blackboard:
 Explaining BICS & CALP
 The Challenges of Learning English
 Make note of key concepts

13. Application: Há as a Case Study
Contemplate what you learned about Há for
evidence of the following:
 BICS
 CALP
 Common Underlying Proficiency
 Formal schooling
 Cultural background
 Immigrant/Refugee status
 Prior Difficult Experiences

14. 12 Pertinent Questions to understand
about Há if she were a student in your class:
1. Why is the amount of formal schooling Há received
in her native language [L1] so important?
2. What knowledge has Há acquired about language
learning in her L1?
3. What knowledge has Há acquired about the process
of learning?

15. 4. What content knowledge did Há acquire when she
attended formal school in her L1?
5. What did Há learn about the function & process of
schooling when she attended formal school in her L1?
6. How did Há’s formal schooling in her L1 affect her
family?

16.  7. Há has been placed in 4th grade. What are Há’s
strengths? How can you use her strengths to assist
her with learning English?
 8. Why is it important that she develop strong BICS?
What can you do to help Há learn & strengthen her
BICS?
 9. Why is it important that she develop strong CALP?
What can you do to help Há learn & strengthen her
CALP?

17. 10. What can you do to make Há feel welcome in your
classroom? How can you advocate for Há’s educational
and social needs?
11. In the few days that you have before Há arrives, what
can you do to prepare for her arrival?
12. What are some resources you can access immediately?

18. After Reading & Reflection:
“The most significant variable in how long it takes to
learn English is the amount of formal schooling
students have received in their first language.”
Revisit your initial response to the prompt:
 How has it changed?
 What have you learned?
 Why is this important information?
 How can this new knowledge help inform your
instruction?