EAL Fundamentals: BICS and CALP
‘Planning for Success; Developing an ESL Protocol’, a resource for MB schools.
BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
BICS refers to those language skills that allow for communicative competence, that is,
the control over English vocabulary, structures, and rules of social appropriateness that
students need to function in everyday social situations. BICS is the language that
students need to get through the day in face-to-face situations with teachers, classmates,
librarians, canteen / office / sales personnel, neighbours, etc.
Although BICS are important, they are insufficient for cognitively demanding and more
abstract academic language tasks.
It may take students 2 to 3 years to become as fluent as their peers in everyday social
communication situations.
Implications for Teachers.
The greatest motivation for any students to learn an additional language is the desire to
live in fellowship with those individuals who speak that language.
 GRADE LEVEL PEERS ARE ESSENTIAL to language, culture and content
learning!!
Language is for communication and language learning starts here. At the very beginning
stage of language learning we need to provide language support according to:

what students need to know for basic communication with their teachers and
peers, such as:
o greetings: good morning, hi, goodbye, etc.
o getting help: May I please, use the bathroom, phone, stapler, etc.
o instructions: put this in your …., write your name on your paper, get
ready for …., line up, take this to the office, etc.

students’ background knowledge and interests. Use familiar topics and concepts
they already understand and are interested in to develop their English speaking,
reading, writing and computing skills. Students will be:
o eager to talk, read and write
o motivated to accomplish more than they are currently able to do in
English.

‘Planning for Success: Developing an ESL Protocol’ (pp. 4.68 – 4.71)
o 111 basic topics are listed, such as: identifying objects in the classroom,
counting, clothing, weather, family, foods, descriptions, etc.
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Essential Principles

Students need an initial ‘silent period’ which may last days, weeks, months or
semesters to build a listening (receptive) vocabulary. It is important that all teachers
recognize and respect this stage. Language acquisition is gradual; based on receiving
and understanding messages.

Students learn to speak by speaking when ready!

GRADE LEVEL PEERS ARE ESSENTIAL for learning and students’ motivation to
learn!!

Verbal production begins slowly. Expressive skills ‘lag behind’ receptive skills.

Environment is INCLUSIVE: risk-free, pressure-free, accepting, cooperative,
supportive

ALL teachers strive to make written and spoken language comprehensible through:
o Visuals: pictures, books & magazines with pictures, photos, objects, maps,
charts, graphic organizers, drawings, role-playing, games, etc.
o simplified language & texts, translations, summaries of texts by peers or E.A.
o gestures, pantomimes, experiences, demonstrations, hands-on activities
o samples, exemplars, models
o peer helpers/partners, group work, lit circles, guided reading

Adaptation strategies are used for assignments and assessment, such as:
o allowing students to work with a partner
o providing more time
o reducing expectations of length and complexity of students output
o reducing the language load by providing word banks, visuals, translation, etc.
o allowing visual representations to demonstrate student learning
o reading through the errors; respond and assess learning

Errors are expected and necessary to learning. This is perhaps a disturbing concept
for students conditioned to the need to be correct at all times.

Praise for attempts, efforts and willingness to try.
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CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
CALP refers to higher-order language skills that are essential for problem solving
inferring, analyzing, synthesizing, and predicting. The acquisition of CALP, which is
essential for academic success, is a more challenging and lengthy process than the
acquisition of BICS. This language is used mainly in: books, assignments, discussions,
lectures, etc.
All students are expected to know many words and phrases that are NOT part of
everyday face-to-face conversations. Furthermore, all students are expected to know
vocabulary and phrases not used in everyday conversations at a very early age. For
example: Winnie the Pooh declared…, Tigger exclaimed…, Eyore sighed…, etc.
Some students may require seven to nine years to develop CALP to the level of their
peers.
Implications and Direction for Teachers

Reading texts
o Use simplified texts with illustrations for pre-literate and literate students
as soon as possible in order to get to vocabulary and phrases (in context)
that do not arise in normal conversations.
o Teacher read-a-louds, reader theatre scripts, fiction and non-fiction texts
should be used within a thematic approach that continues to be based on
lots of visuals and talking to promote skills in both BICS as well as CALP.
o Resources: library books, literacy lab sets, Reading Recovery texts,
magazines, newspapers, Penguin Readers, Oxford Bookworms, simplified
basic science, health and social studies texts from elementary classrooms
o Encourage extensive reading at students’ level and interest

Writing
o Writing is where BICS (social language) and CALP (academic language)
are demonstrated in the most formal and most difficult mode of
communication.
o Teachers need to quickly provide the appropriate vocabulary and phrases
that students need to communicate their intended thoughts and ideas.
o This is the most productive and useful context in which grammar
instruction can occur, ‘at the point of need’.
 Student: “How you say….?” Teacher: “In English, it needs to
sound like this, …….”
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