BICS VS. CALP
What does BICS stand for?
Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills
What is “scaffolding” in ESL instruction?
Providing temporary support that helps students understand and use new language until they can do it independently.
What is phonology?
The study of the sounds of a language.
Who created the loads?
(Lois M.) Meyor
Which of the following strategies helps students understand morphology?
A) Practicing tongue placement for certain sounds
B) Breaking words into morphemes to identify meaning
C) Listening to dialogues to improve comprehension
D) Using gestures to model sentence structure
B) Breaking words into morphemes to identify meaning
What type of language is used in everyday conversation and social settings?
BICS (social language)
Name two types of instructional supports that helps English learners during lessons. (examples: visuals (pictures))
Gestures, paraphrasing, repetition, summarizing key points, or graphic organizers
What is morphology?
The study of how words are formed and structured.
What are the four “loads” that can create barriers for English learners?
Cognitive load, culture load, language load, and learning load.
Which skill is typically developed first in second language acquisition: Writing, Speaking, Listening, or Reading?
Listening
What type of language is used in classrooms and academic work?
CALP (academic language)
What kind of instruction uses real-life tasks that focus on meaning?
Task-based instruction.
What term describes when a learner’s first language influences errors in their second language?
Negative transfer.
What is Language Load?
How many unfamiliar words the English learner
encounters as he or she reads or listens in the classroom.
A teacher helping students distinguish between /p/ and /b/ sounds is addressing which aspect of language?
A) Morphology
B) Syntax
C) Phonology
D) Semantics
C) Phonology
How long does it usually take to master CALP?
5-7 years?
What are the 4 language skills teachers should integrate when teaching?
Listening, speaking, reading, and writing
True or False:
Phonology is the study of how words are formed and their meanings.
False — that’s morphology. Phonology is the study of sounds.
What is Culture Load?
How much cultural knowledge is needed to understand or participate in an activity
A student says “dat” instead of “that.” What kind of phonological error is this?
A) Deletion
B) Distortion
C) Replacement
D) Substitution
C) Replacement (They replace /θ/ with /d/ because the /th/ sound doesn’t exist in their L1.)
Question:
Explain why an English learner who speaks fluently with friends at lunch may still struggle to understand lessons or write essays in class. (open choice, as long as it some what matches the correct answer)
Because they’ve developed BICS (social language), which is used for casual, everyday conversations, but not yet CALP (academic language) — the more complex vocabulary and structures needed for academic success.
How can teachers help students move from BICS to CALP? (open ended; as long as it somewhat matches the correct answer)
By connecting familiar social language to academic concepts, rephrasing, using visuals, and practicing new vocabulary in context.
Why should ESL teachers understand phonology and morphology?
So they can identify language transfer issues, correct pronunciation, and teach word structure effectively.
What is cognitive load?
How many new ideas or concepts are introduced in a lesson.
Which of the following best describes the main difference between BICS and CALP?
A) BICS develops through academic instruction, while CALP develops through social interaction.
B) BICS is conversational language acquired quickly, while CALP is academic language that takes years to develop.
C) BICS is formal and used in writing, while CALP is informal and used in speaking.
D) Both BICS and CALP can be mastered in less than one year with sufficient practice.
B – BICS refers to social language that develops quickly through everyday interaction, while CALP is academic language that takes much longer to acquire.