BICS: Basic Interpersonal Conversational Skills
Vocabulary: Tangible objects, nouns and verbs, such as, "Open your red math book."
Years to acquire: 1 to 3
Characteristics: Student is able to speak English very well on a conversational level.
What's missing: Student is unable to understand academic terms, has difficulty reading and writing and has not yet developed the cognitive skills necessary to succeed in the regular classroom.
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
Vocabulary: Intangible concepts, abstract vocabulary, language/jargon of academic subjects, such as, "How does pollution harm the environment?"
Years to acquire: 5 to 7
Characteristics: Student is able to read, write and perform academically on a level with peers.
Because many students at the BICS stage sound as if they totally understand English, accurate assessment is more difficult than it is at the CALP level. See our site for information about a pre-referral process that helps address this issue.
— Adapted from Colorado Springs School District 11's ESL Inquiry Kit, unit on Special Education.
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