Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) consists language skills that allow people to communicate using academic language. This type of language takes place in the classroom from kindergarten through college, and in the professional workplace. Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency is also more abstract in nature, which will require the student to employ higher-order cognitive skills in order to acquire the secondary target language.3 Due to the lack of high volume feedback, which is found in basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) it can take a person from five to seven years to acquire cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). The adoption of cognitive academic language proficiency depends on many variables such as language proficiency level, age, time of arrival in the United States and at school, student motivation, total years of education in the native language, level of academic language proficiency, negative or low expectations from the student and the teacher, and the degree of support.4
3. SLAEncyclopediaSp12 "Cummins' Theories of Language and Cognition"
4. JPSchools.org "Variables Influencing Second Language Acquisition"
4. JPSchools.org "Variables Influencing Second Language Acquisition"