Essays on Academic Language

When teaching English to English language learners (ELLs), one of the most important distinctions that must be made is between social and academic English language styles. While social English is the type of colloquial language ELLs and native speakers will use for informal conversations and everyday life, academic English is a specific, complex type of English language that is imperative to master in order to facilitate truly successful academic learning outcomes. By comparing the two types of languages, it is possible to identify the contexts in which both are used, as well as the importance of teaching academic language as a ...

The speech "California is on the Mend" Let's "Prove the Declinists Wrong Once Again" was given by Jerry Brown, Governor of California. She gave a speech to a Joint Session of the State Legislature, Sacramento, Calif in January 19, 2012. The article is about how the state rose from a structural deficit of over $20 billion US dollars through the reduction of the state’s borrowing cost. The speech also talks about how the state transferred the essential functions of the local government closer to its people. According to Jerry Brown, her primary goal was to balance the budget ...

Question 1: Compare and contrast BISC and CALP

BISC (Basic Interpersonal Communicative skills refer to that language needed by students to function in the social situation thus also referred to as social language. CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) on the other hand is the academic language necessary for success of the student in academic endeavors by being able to use more advanced and complex language. BISC is acquired after about two years of educational experience but inadequate in upper elementary school. CALP continues throughout for five to seven years where most of this time is spent in the classroom. Teachers should, therefore, know that second language acquisition ...

Introduction

Academic language represents the language demands of a school in the academic writings that are used in textbooks, classrooms, tests and each discipline. Each academic disciple has its own unique academic language. Academic language is very different from every spoken language. The linguistic of academic writing is the foundation of the language and structure of the academic professionalism. Academic language is very different from the language of daily communication and social interaction. Academic language is normally different in structure and vocabulary. Academic vocabularies and structures vary from common languages. The academic language of science has particularly perce4ived different and ...

Jim Cummins among other authorities have been in the forefront at studying and recommending for the diverse application of BICS and CALP. For English language teachers, BICS and CALP related skills are essential in the overall continuous professional development. A teacher is expected to gain knowledge and understanding in different perspectives with the overall results being the improvement of his or her teaching skills. In addition, the more knowledge and competencies the teacher gathers, the better his or her productivity becomes in terms of teaching the language. One, therefore, must appreciate the role of the skills and knowledge related ...

Abstract

President Obama in his inaugural speech, has been quoted to say that bringing smart, young students especially engineers and enlisting them in America’s workforce will complete the journey of welcoming immigrants who want to live the American Dream. (Sandra Lilley, 2013) This has always been many a president’s speech, but the difference is that in the is day and time the context is very relevant as we see the influx of many countries who send their youth to study abroad. The reason that many foreign students come to the U.S to study is because of the many ...