Skip to Main Content

SPCL 7823 Psycholinguistics, Bilingualism, & Counseling in Schools: Session 4 - Module 3: Sequential Bilingualism

Open Educational Resource (OER) created for Professor Elizalde-Utnick's SPCL 7823 course.

TASK LIST TO PREPARE FOR CLASS SESSION

Please complete the following PRIOR to our class session on February 20:

1. Complete the readings.

Baker & Wright (2021b)

Krashen & Terrell's Stages of Second Language Acquisition

     + Description of Stages

2. Prepare for Quiz (RAT).

The 5-question multiple-choice quiz will be on the assigned readings.

EXPLORING BICS AND CALP

BICS, or Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, refers to a person's ability to converse with others. It is a superficial level of language proficiency, and for a second language learner, it usually takes about 1-2 years to achieve.
 
CALP, or Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, refers to a person's ability to make complex meaning explicit in either oral or written modalities by means of language itself rather than contextual or paralinguistic cues. This takes a minimum of 5 to 7 years to acquire and can take up to 10 years, depending on a variety of factors that we will discuss in class.
 
Which group will actually take 7 to 10 years to achieve CALP in the second language? Why?
A. Those who arrive between the ages of 8 and 12 with several years of schooling
B. Those who arrive before the age of 8

SUMMARY

In this session we will explore later development, or sequential acquisition, of bilingualism. We will look at factors that influence acquisition, such as educational experiences, age, motivation, and attitudes. We will also explore normal processes of second language acquisition, such as the silent period, interference and fossilization, and language loss.

APPLICATION ACTIVITY: EXPLORING HOW YOU COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS IN YOUR LIFE

When you verbally interact with others in your life, what language do you use? And what language does the person you speak with use? Consider these questions for your family of origin, the family you live with now (if it isn't your family of origin), significant others, and friends. In class we will discuss how to assess this when we interview clients regarding their language usage and history.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

  • Age
  • Motivation
  • Practice
  • Personality characteristics
  • Level of acculturation
  • Parental and community attitudes about the language
  • Degree of parents' bilingualism
  • Literacy level in the home
  • Sociocultural background
  • History of education
  • Quality of second language input

Which factor is likely to have the least amount of influence on second language learning?

A. age of initial exposure

B. learner motivation

C. practice

D. quality of second language input

VIDEO: BICS & CALP