BICS/CALP Jim Cummins

Cummins makes the distinction between two differing kinds of language proficiency. BICS are Basic
Interpersonal Communication Skills; these are the "surface" skills of listening and speaking which are
typically acquired quickly by many students; particularly by those from language backgrounds similar to
English who spend a lot of their school time interacting with native speakers.

CALP is Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, and, as the name suggests, is the basis for a childs
ability to cope with the academic demands placed upon her in the various subjects. Cummins states that
while many children develop native speaker fluency (i.e. BICS) within two years of immersion in the target
language, it takes between 5-7 years for a child to be working on a level with native speakers as far as
academic language is concerned.

Input Hypothesis Stephen Krashen

The Input hypothesis is Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a second language how
second language acquisition takes place. The Input hypothesis is only concerned with 'acquisition', not
'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses when he/she receives second
language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a
learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input'
that belongs to level 'i + 1'. We can then define 'Comprehensible Input' as the target language that the
learner would not be able to produce but can still understand. It goes beyond the choice of words and
involves presentation of context, explanation, rewording of unclear parts, the use of visual cues and
meaning negotiation. The meaning successfully conveyed constitutes the learning experience.

Language Acquisition Device Noam Chomsky

The LAD is a hypothetical tool hardwired into the brain that helps children rapidly learn and understand
language. Chomsky used it to explain just how amazingly children are able to acquire language abilities as
well as accounting for the innate understanding of grammar and syntax all children possess. Chomsky
proposed that every child was born with a LAD that holds the fundamental rules for language. In other
words, children are born with an understanding of the rules of language; they simply need to acquire the
vocabulary.

Communicative Competence Dell Hymes

Linguistic competence is the knowledge of the language code, i.e. its grammar and vocabulary, and also
of the conventions of its written representation (script and orthography). The grammar component
includes the knowledge of the sounds and their pronunciation (i.e. phonetics), the rules that govern sound
interactions and patterns (i.e. phonology), the formation of words by means of e.g. inflection and
derivation (i.e. morphology), the rules that govern the combination of words and phrases to structure
sentences (i.e. syntax), and the way that meaning is conveyed through language (i.e. semantics).

Sociolinguistic competence is the knowledge of sociocultural rules of use, i.e. knowing how to use and
respond to language appropriately. The appropriateness depends on the setting of the communication,
the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating. Moreover, being appropriate depends
on knowing what the taboos of the other culture are, what politeness indices are used in each case, what
the politically correct term would be for something, how a specific attitude (authority, friendliness,
courtesy, irony etc.) is expressed etc.

Discourse competence is the knowledge of how to produce and comprehend oral or written texts in the
modes of speaking/writing and listening/reading respectively. Its knowing how to combine language
structures into a cohesive and coherent oral or written text of different types. Thus, discourse competence
deals with organising words, phrases and sentences in order to create conversations, speeches, poetry,
email messages, newspaper articles etc.

Strategic competence is the ability to recognise and repair communication breakdowns before, during, or
after they occur. For instance, the speaker may not know a certain word, thus will plan to either
paraphrase, or ask what that word is in the target language. During the conversation, background noise
or other factors may hinder communication; thus the speaker must know how to keep the communication
channel open. If the communication was unsuccessful due to external factors (such as interruptions), or
due to the message being misunderstood, the speaker must know how to restore communication. These
strategies may be requests for repetition, clarification, slower speech, or the usage of gestures, taking
turns in conversation etc.

Zone Proximal Development Lev Vygotsky

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) has been defined as "the distance between the actual
developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential
development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more
capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).

Whole Language Approach

The whole language approach is an instructional philosophy on teaching reading and writing. It is based
on three constructivist assumptions: (1) learning cannot be separated from its context, (2) each learners
purpose for learning is integral to what is learned, and (3) knowledge gained by each learner is socially
constructed through negotiation, evaluation, or transformation.