BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

BICS and CALP are acronyms representing what many educators refer to as playground English and classroom English, respectively. BICS and CALP proficiency are essential aspects of English language proficiency for English language learners (ELLs).

Acquiring English proficiency for social situations and the classroom setting is necessary for English learners (ELs). BICS focuses on the everyday language needed to navigate society successfully.

BICS proficiency is particularly important for English learners who may be new to the culture. By acquiring BICS, ELs develop their English proficiency while increasing school and broader community access. Successfully developing BICS will help ELs adapt to their new environment and interact with classmates on the playground during recess, lunch, extracurricular activities, and social interactions.

BICS is a poor indication of English proficiency. ELs who have acquired BICS can give the impression of full English proficiency, which can be very misleading to many educators unfamiliar with TESOL. Often ELs pick up complex communication skills from friends quickly before they have the most basic academic language proficiency.

Unfortunately, many well-meaning people believe ELs who have mastered BICS have acquired sufficient English language skills for the classroom. Consequently, some educators do not recognize the lack of academic English proficiency as a characteristic of English as a second language for these students and do not address their needs.

CALP proficiency is also fundamental to ELs. To succeed academically, ELs need to acquire proper grade-level academic English language skills. Therefore, teachers must ensure they incorporate grade-level vocabulary and grammar consistent with academic standards. Like every student, ELs must differentiate between the language used in social settings outside the classroom with appropriate academic language.