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Language Acquisition: BICS and CALP

Language acquisition encompasses both basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). ELLs first develop BICS, which is used for interpersonal interactions and oral communication. Students will then begin to develop CALP, which is the highly-specialized and cognitively-demanding academic language used in a classroom setting.

This lesson provides guidance and various instructional strategies for ELLs' vocabulary development.

Language Development

Zwiers (2008) explains that language development begins at home and in the community, and it is further expanded in a school setting. He uses the figure below to provide a visual representation of the different layers of language that develop. CALP is represented in the top two layers of this visual. The use of language (represented in the circles) expands and contracts, depending on where we are and with whom we interact.

Dutro and Moran (2003) define academic language as the language of texts, of academic discussion, and of formal writing that students must be taught explicitly and across all subject areas.

A targeted instructional approach to language and vocabulary is required in order for ELLs to achieve advanced levels of academic language proficiency.

Content-specific and General Academic Vocabulary

"Brick" and "mortar" are the terms that Dutro and Moran (2003) use to differentiate between content–specific vocabulary and general academic terms. They use this architectural metaphor to explain the instructional needs of both types of academic vocabulary.

Brick and Mortar Words by Content Area

The following table contains just a sampling of “brick” and “mortar” words for a particular concept from each content area. Take a moment to reflect on students' abilities to understand the lesson's key vocabulary without familiarity of the “mortar” words. Also reflect on the instructional need for connecting both types of academic vocabulary.

Knowledge of vocabulary is critical and essential for building academic background knowledge that students need to understand the content they will encounter (Marzano and Pickering, 2005).

In order to effectively prepare students for success in academic subjects, teachers need a focused approach to teaching language in every classroom and every subject area (Dutro and Moran, 2003).

Daily instruction of academic terms must be purposeful and applied across the curriculum to assist students in content and language development.

Which words to teach?

The selection of which words to teach is generally the most difficult part of vocabulary instruction. In order to select a lesson's academic terms, educators need to know and understand 

• TEKS student expectations for their content area;
• language and terms used in the textbooks or supplemental materials;
• students’ current academic language proficiencies; and
• language and terms that will make the lesson comprehensible and meaningful.

Direct vocabulary instruction can include many different approaches. The required content, assigned academic tasks, and students’ current language proficiency levels will influence the best approach for vocabulary development. Educators must recognize that teaching content and language simultaneously is crucial for students’ academic success. Instructional tasks should include listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will then have the ability to apply cognitive and linguistic skills to important concepts and themes (Texas Education Agency/University of Texas System/Education Service Center Region XIII, 2010).

Sentence Frames for Building Academic Vocabulary

Sentence frames can be used in direct and collaborative learning interactions to build students’ academic vocabularies. To create a sentence frame, a teacher starts a sentence but leaves blank spaces. Students are tasked with filling in the blanks to complete the sentence. Sentence frames can be scaffolded to varying levels of language proficiency and can be used across the curriculum.

Academic Vocabulary Development

After direct vocabulary instruction, students need practice using new terms or language in discussion and writing. Students should be provided with multiple opportunities to listen, speak, read, and write in a variety of contexts.

While not all the academic terms may require the same rigorous instruction, the degree and depth of activities should be scaffolded to support students at different levels of language proficiency.