Name Jim Cummins Role Professor | Education University of Alberta | |
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Books Language - Power - and Pedagogy, Negotiating Identities, Bilingualism in Education, Literacy - Technology - and Diver, Introductory Reader to the Writin Similar Merrill Swain, David Freeman (screenwriter), Joan Lowery Nixon | ||
Cabe 2015 jim cummins
Jim Cummins is a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto where he works on language development and literacy development of learners of English as an additional language. In 1979 Cummins coined the acronyms BICS and CALP to refer to processes that help a teacher to qualify a student's language ability.
Contents
- Cabe 2015 jim cummins
- From conversation to the classroom dr jim cummins on teaching low frequency words
- BICS Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills
- CALP Cognitive Academic Language ProficiencyAcademic Language Proficiency
- References
From conversation to the classroom dr jim cummins on teaching low frequency words
BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills)
BICS refers to the basic communicative fluency achieved by all normal native speakers of a language. It is cognitively undemanding and contextual and is better understood as the language used by students in informal settings, say, on a playground or cafe. Research by Cummins as well as Virginia Collier suggest that it typically takes language learners 1–3 years to develop BICS if they have sufficient exposure to the second language.
CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency/Academic Language Proficiency)
CALP refers to the ability to manipulate language using abstractions in a sophisticated manner. CALP is used while performing in an academic setting. CALP is the ability to think in and use a language as a tool for learning. Cummins's and Collier's research suggest that K-12 students need 5 to 7 years to acquire CALP in the second language if the learner has native language literacy. Learners who do not have strong native language literacy often need 7–10 years to acquire CALP in the second language.
