Bics/Cals Linguistic Theories Bics/Cals Theory Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 1018 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 3

In "model sheltered instruction courses, language and content objectives are systematically woven into the curriculum of one particular subject area, such as 4th grade language arts, U.S. history, algebra, or life science" (Echevarria & Short 5). Students receive academic support in abstract-level reasoning as well as instruction in ESL. SIOP classrooms are extremely individuated, to take advantage of different levels of academic as well as linguistic proficiency.

Perhaps the most valuable insight of the BICS/CALS model is that it highlights how "problems arise when teachers and administrators think that a child is proficient in a language when they demonstrate good social English" (Hayes 2004, cited by Hernandez). For example, the child of Cambodian immigrants might have great experience in interpreting for their parents, and know how to speak English at a high level to order in a restaurant or to talk to customers at their parent's store, but they may have had little education in conventional academic subjects. In contrast, some ESL students have "strong academic backgrounds before they came to the U.S." And are even above equivalent grade levels in the school's curricula, in math and science" (Echevarria & Short 3). They are comfortable with abstract thinking, even if their English may be weak on a spoken level -- perhaps even weaker than students whose grammar and academic education needs far more substantial support.

Stuck Writing Your "Bics/Cals Linguistic Theories Bics/Cals Theory" Essay?

View All Our Example Bics/Cals Linguistic Theories Bics/Cals Theory Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written



Other students "arrive at our schoolhouse doors with very limited formal schooling -- perhaps due to war in their native countries or the remote, rural location of their home. These students are not literate in their native languages" and have little experience with formal schooling (Echevarria & Short 3-4). These students are not yet proficient, in short, with thinking about language on a CALS level, and acquiring fluency is not the only challenge they face. Academic language acquisition is more than simply understanding vocabulary. "It includes skills such as comparing, classifying, synthesizing, evaluating, and inferring…if a child has no prior schooling or has no support in native language development, it may take seven to ten years for ELLs to catch up to their peers " (Hayes 2004, cited by Hernandez). This is not to say that such improvement is impossible, of course, but that ESL instruction must be individuated, and every student requires a unique balance between BICS and CALS instruction. A Japanese student with a strong academic background may need to learn to relax when speaking English and experiment with colloquialisms (BICS), while a fluent child of Hispanic immigrants may need academic vocabulary support and a stronger basis in grammar on a CALS level.

Works.....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Bics Cals Linguistic Theories Bics Cals Theory" (2009, March 26) Retrieved May 20, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/bics-cals-linguistic-theories-bics-cals-23625

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Bics Cals Linguistic Theories Bics Cals Theory" 26 March 2009. Web.20 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/bics-cals-linguistic-theories-bics-cals-23625>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Bics Cals Linguistic Theories Bics Cals Theory", 26 March 2009, Accessed.20 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/bics-cals-linguistic-theories-bics-cals-23625
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example