Differences between BICS and CALP

Differences between BICS and CALP

Read Chapter 6 of your textbook entitled, “English-Language Oracy Development.”  Also, read the “Introduction to BICS/CALP” PowerPoint presentation.  BICS stands for Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills.  CALP stands for Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency.

Answer the following questions:

1. What are the differences between BICS and CALP?  Why is it important to know about BICS and CALP?
2. In addition to BICS and CALP, what are two things you have learned about oracy development?  How have these two things changed the ways in which you will teach ELLs?

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Differences between BICS and CALP

The Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) are the communication skills that a person uses to communicate with friends or strangers. These are communication skills usually employed when one is involved in casual conversations. These skills enable a person to be very polite and kind to others. This can be exhibited through ways that a person uses in requesting for something or asking questions

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